DAILY SCOPE: Saudi War Did Not Change Despite Name Change

Local Editor

NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES
 
AS-SAFIR

‘Akkar Cell' Falling Apart: Important Catch in the Hands of the Army
Dust of the ‘Storm' Hampers Yemeni Settlement

AN-NAHAR

Lebanon Receives Arms from Saudi Arms Donation
 
AL-AKHBAR

Lebanon Hands Major ‘al-Qaeda' Terrorists to Saudi Arabia
THE GUARDIAN
 
Yemen Conflict Continues despite Saudi Arabia Claiming to have Ended Campaign

Syrian Refugees Debate in Government --- AS-SAFIR

Lebanese Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil discussed the issue of Syrian refugees in a cabinet session on Thursday, that the authorities were accepting more displaced Syrians despite a decision not to do so.

Bassil briefly debated over the issue during the session held at the Grand Serail, telling the government that he had information about the entry of more Syrian refugees to Lebanon.

Since last September, around 50,000 new refugees have been officially registered, Bassil told the cabinet.

In remarks published by As-Safir daily on Friday, Bassil said that certain Lebanese institutions "are not abiding by the decision taken by the cabinet to stop the flow of refugees," adding "We can no longer remain silent on the violations."

"The number of displaced Syrians began rising lately. International agencies continue to register more refugees," he added.

The UNHCR says there are about 1,150,000 Syrian refugees registered in Lebanon.

Army Arrests Terrorists in North --- THE DAILY STAR

The Lebanese Army said Thursday it had arrested during raids in north Lebanon eight individuals, including two high-ranking members of a terrorist group suspected of involvement attacks against the Army in recent years.

An Army statement said that the "exceptional raids" in the Akkar towns of Khirbet Daoud and Doueir Adwiyeh targeted suspects accused of assaulting Lebanese soldiers and carrying out terrorist operations in Lebanon.

Speaking to The Daily Star on Friday, a senior Army source said that the detainees were suspected to be involved in some of the explosions and attacks against the Army that took place over the past two years.

"Investigation will reveal if they were planning any future explosions," the source said.
The raids led to the arrest of First Sgt. Abdul-Monem Mahmoud Khaled, a defected sergeant in the Lebanese Army who is accused of serving as a high-ranking member of an unidentified terrorist organization, the statement said.

The Army also arrested an "emir of a terrorist group," who was identified as Syrian national Abdel- Monhem Zoghbi, also known as Abu Hureira.

The senior Army source explained that Khaled, from the village of Doueir Adwiyeh, announced that he had joined ISIS in a video last October, adding that he had abandoned his Army post before the announcement. The source said that Abu Hureira was the head of a terrorist group based in Akkar and loyal to ISIS.

Decisive Storm Replica of "Israeli" Ops --- AS-SAFIR 

The ambassador of a ‘major' power told As-Safir newspaper that it is too early to speak about a Saudi ‘victory' in its war on Yemen, adding that "all scenarios are related to the dark image of war and destruction amid regional tension full of attempts to sow sectarian strife and give the region into a Sunni-Shia or Arab-Iranian nature.

In a military evaluation to the ‘Decisive Storm', the ambassador considered that the operation is a replica to the "Israeli" operations against Lebanon, whether in 1996 or in 2006.

Name Changed, War the Same --- WASHINGTON POST 

The Washington Post said on Friday that Saudi Arabia may have changed the name of its operation in Yemen - from Decisive Storm to Restore Hope - but not much has changed on the ground.

"Even after officials declared the near month-long Saudi-led bombing campaign over on Tuesday, airstrikes continued, pounding the capital Sanaa and Houthi positions in the city of Taiz," read the paper.

The paper noted that the country's toothless government, driven out of Sanaa last year, had come to power in 2012 through a Saudi-authored transition, which Saudi Arabia is fighting to restore.

Civilian casualties are mounting and what's left of the Yemeni state is on the brink of "an imminent collapse," the paper quoted reports the WHO, referring to the country's health care services.

It quoted some reports as saying that "the turmoil unleashed by the Saudi bombing campaign also presented the extremist militants with an opportunity to make their own gains, including a successful assault on a Yemeni air base and a major sea port.

According to figures from the UN's World Health Organization, at least 944 Yemenis have been killed and nearly 3,500 injured since the Saudi-led campaign began.

Source: al-Ahed news