As the Friends of Syria summit opened in Istanbul, US Secretary of State John Kerry announced $100 million in new “non-lethal” aid to the Syrian opposition.
With Israel’s harsh restrictions on freedom of movement, Palestinian Christians’ attempt at a Good Friday procession in Jerusalem is converted into a protest for rights and dignity.
Hundreds of Islamists demonstrated in Jordan to demand faster political reform after an election weeks earlier that produced a mostly pro-government parliament.
Riots over rising prices exploded across Jordan, while the oposition held a mass rally in Kuwait to oppose an electoral law aimed at extending the power of the royal family.
A UK immigration court granted the appeal of Muslim cleric Abu Qatada, blocking his extradition to Jordan on the basis that he could not receive a fair trial there.
As the Assad regime, backed by Russian air-strikes, opens its offensive on the Free Syrian Army's Southern Front in Daraa governorate—and towns start to fall to pro-regime forces, with thousands fleeing their homes in fear of reprisals—the White House has issued a statement to the rebels, warning, "[Y]ou should not base your decisions on the assumption or expectation of a military intervention by us." This despite Washington's earlier warning to Assad and Putin that any violation of the so-called “de-escalation zones” would have "serious repercussions." Not surprisingly, this betrayal comes just as Trump reportedly told Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White House that he is seeking a deal with Putin on terms for a withdrawal of remaining US forces from Syria. The US has long been constraining the rebel forces from fighting Assad as a condition of receiving aid, insisting they fight only ISIS and other jihadists. Now that ISIS is essentially defeated, we appear to be witnessing the betrayal of the Syrian opposition in a Trump-Putin carve-up deal. (Southern Front logo via Wikipedia)
Egypt's chief prosecutor referred 555 individuals suspected of joining a local ISIS affiliate to military court. The charges against them arise out of a series of attacks carried out by dozens of small militant groups situated in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula. The suspects will faces charges for the planned and executed killings of security personnel, attacks on military checkpoints, and the destruction of a gas pipeline between Egypt and Jordan. The charges come amid growing concerns over torture, lengthy solitary confinement and other rights abuses in Egypt's prisons. (Photo: Egypt Daily News)
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