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Tag: Syria

  • Lebanon Imposes Visa On Syrians Seeking To Enter The Country

    Lebanon Imposes Visa On Syrians Seeking To Enter The Country

    BEIRUT: For decades, Syrian and Lebanese citizens have enjoyed free movement across their shared border, but now they fear this is a thing of the past.

    For the first time ever, Syrians wishing to cross into Lebanon need a visa, regardless if they are fleeing a civil war.

    Wael Arbiley has been living in Lebanon for two years, but his family is still in Eastern Ghouta, near Damascus. Like many, Wael lives between the haven of Lebanon and the rubble of war-torn Syria. “My wife will give birth in a month. Her mother wants to visit us in Lebanon,” he said. “We are afraid that she will have difficulties at the border but we heard of a three-day visa that she could get.”

    This controversial measure, introduced earlier this year, is part of an effort by Beirut to restrain the influx of Syrian refugees into Lebanon. Syrians now need to obtain one of six types of visas: Tourist, transit, business, student, short stay or medical.

    The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says there has been a 50 per cent decrease in Syrians coming to register as refugees since the new measures were imposed.

    “It is still unclear how this problem will affect refugees who are already inside the country,” said Dana Sleiman, a UNHCR public information associate. “It’s mostly currently affecting refugees wishing to enter Lebanon. And we continue to discuss … with the government to see how these humanitarian exceptions will be implemented at the border.”

    Lebanon’s infrastructure has almost reached the point of collapse. The refugee influx has tested the limited resources of the country, as well as the patience of its citizens.

    But activists feel that is no reason to turn Syrians away in their time of need. “They should not impose a visa,” said Lebanese taxi driver Kamal Raqqa. “Refugees don’t have money. They are homeless. If they don’t have visas, they will go back to Syria and to their death.”

    It is a controversial policy that could endanger not only the lives of fleeing Syrians, but the special relationship between the two countries. But the Beirut says it has no choice.

    For months, the Lebanese government has warned the international community that it can no longer deal with the influx of Syrian refugees. This newly-imposed visa on Syrians seems to be the latest in a series of cries for help from Lebanon to contain the spill over of the Syrian crisis.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Japan PM Speechless After IS Released Video Indicating One Japanese Hostage Killed

    Japan PM Speechless After IS Released Video Indicating One Japanese Hostage Killed

    TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s prime minister said Sunday he was “speechless” after an online video purportedly showed that one of two Japanese hostages of the extremist Islamic State group had been killed, and he demanded the release of the other.

    Shinzo Abe told Japanese broadcaster NHK that the video was likely authentic, though he said the government is still reviewing it. Abe offered condolences to the family and friends of Haruna Yukawa, a 42-year-old adventurer taken hostage in Syria last year.

    He declined to comment on the message in the latest video, which demanded a prisoner exchange for the other hostage, journalist Kenji Goto. He said only that the government was still working on the situation, and reiterated that Japan condemns terrorism.

    “I am left speechless,” he said, stressing he wants Goto released unharmed. “We strongly and totally criticize such acts.”

    Yukawa’s father, Shoichi, said he hoped “deep in his heart” that the news of his son’s killing was not true.

    “If I am ever reunited with him, I just want to give him a big hug,” he told a small group of journalists invited into his house.

    President Barack Obama condemned what he called “the brutal murder” of Yukawa, saying in a statement that the United States stands by Japan and calling for Goto’s release.

    The Associated Press could not verify the contents of the message, which varied greatly from previous videos released by the Islamic State group, which now holds a third of both Syria and Iraq.

    The Islamic State group had threatened on Tuesday to behead the men within 72 hours unless it received a $200 million ransom. Kyodo News agency reported that Saturday’s video was emailed to Goto’s wife.

    Patrick Ventrell, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said U.S. intelligence officials were also working to confirm whether it was authentic.

    Abe said after a Cabinet meeting late Saturday that the government of Japan will not succumb to terrorism and will continue to cooperate with the international community in the fight against terrorism.

    Japanese diplomats left Syria as the civil war there escalated, compounding the difficulty of reaching the militants holding the hostages.

    Abe spoke by phone with Jordanian King Abdullah II on Saturday, the state-run Petra news agency reported, without elaborating on what they discussed. He also called the two hostages’ families.

    Goto’s mother, Junko Ishido, told NHK that in the purported message her son “seemed to be taking seriously what may be happening to him as well.”

    “I’m petrified,” Ishido said. “He has children. I’m praying he will return soon, and that’s all I want.”

    But Ishido also was skeptical about the voice claiming to be Goto. “Kenji’s English is very good. He should sound more fluent,” she said.

    Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said the audio was still being studied, but there was no reason to deny the authenticity of the video.

    One militant on the Islamic State-affiliated website warned that Saturday’s new message was fake, while another said that the message was intended only to go to the Japanese journalist’s family.

    A third militant on the website noted that the video was not issued by al-Furqan, which is one of the media arms of the Islamic State group and has issued past videos involving hostages and beheadings. Saturday’s message did not bear al-Furqan’s logo.

    The militants on the website post comments using pseudonyms, so their identities could not be independently confirmed by the AP. However, their confusion over the video matched that of Japanese officials and outside observers.

    Japanese officials have not directly said whether they are considering paying any ransom. Japan has joined other major industrial nations in opposing ransom payments. U.S. and British officials said they advised against paying.

    Nobuo Kimoto, a business adviser to Yukawa, told NHK: “I was hoping he would be released, or at least that his life would not be taken.”

    “I wish this was some kind of a mistake,” he said.

    Yukawa was captured last summer, and Goto is thought to have been seized in late October after going to Syria to try to rescue him.

    ___

    Associated Press writers Maamoun Youssef in Cairo, Mari Yamaguchi, Ken Moritsugu, Kaori Hitomi and Elaine Kurtenbach in Tokyo, and White House Correspondent Julie Pace at Ramstein Air Base, Germany contributed to this report.

     

    Source: https://sg.news.yahoo.com/

  • Islamic State Pamphlets Abuses Quranic Verses

    Islamic State Pamphlets Abuses Quranic Verses

    Everything anyone might want to know about the Islamic State (Isis) is a few keyboard strokes away on the Internet. From its fighters’ daily activities, recipes cooked by the militants’ wives, to the terror network’s bigger agenda in forming a new caliphate across the Middle East.

    Isis has savvy strategists who look after their online propaganda, and this includes producing content to convince others to take up their cause.

    One of their recent productions is a pamphlet with Quranic verses on female slaves that they have manipulated and used to their benefit.

    “Isis is well structured but the two main departments that they focus on are the online team and their (physical) armies. They are strong because they know how to get through to the masses using the social media and online media. They know where to find people who would submit to their beliefs,” said a source working in counter-terrorism.

    Intelligence officials said Isis recently published a pamphlet which was shared through one of its Twitter accounts in November.

    The hardcopy version is printed by its publishing house, the Al-Himma Library, and is titled Su’al wa-Jawab fi al-Sabi wa-Riqab, or Questions and Answers on Taking Captives and Slaves.

    In the pamphlet, certain Quranic verses are used to justify the acts of taking slaves for sex and having sex with underage girls.

    Using the question-and-answer format, one of the questions in the pamphlet asks: “Is it permissible to have intercourse with a female captive?”

    In the answer, it says this is permissible and cites: “Allah the almighty said: ‘(Successful are the believers) who guard their chastity, except from their wives (or the captives and slaves) that their right hands possess, for then they are free from blame (Quran 23:5-6)’…”

    “Quranic verses are being manipulated over and over again to show that their actions are permissible, (it is) the same with killing non-Muslims and that it was not a sin to kill them,” said the source.

    The verses, read in isolation, lead many to believe in Isis cruelty when the Quran should be read as a whole to understand its context, the source added.

    “They came up with their own holy book using Quranic verses to convince people. Those who lack knowledge and are seeking guidance can be easily influenced.

    “One verse is linked to another so one should read as a whole. This is the problem with those seeking guidance but are not reading correctly,” he said.

    Another problem, however, is that propaganda material, like the pamphlet, is easily available online.

    So far, Malaysian police have yet to confiscate any such material in printed form from Malaysians arrested for their links with Isis. It is learnt that the items seized have mainly been flags and small items.

    To date, 67 Malaysians are known to have gone to Syria and Iraq, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was reported as saying recently.

    Another 120 people are in police custody for suspected Isis links or for being sympathisers, he had also said.

    The Malaysians fighting alongside Isis forces in the Middle East were influenced to take up the struggle via social media, intelligence sources had said previously.

    Five, so far, have been killed in fighting there.

    Some, like former Kedah PAS Youth information chief Lotfi Ariffin who was killed in Syria, had not only posted about their activities with the militants on Facebook, but had issued call-to-action messages, too.

    On November 26, Parliament approved the White Paper on combating the threat posed by Isis, with a promise to enact a new law to help prevent such threats in future, Bernama had reported.

    Zahid had said that the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act would stress on prevention.

     

    Source: www.themalaysianinsider.com

  • Chinese Nationals Using Malaysia As Transit Point To Join Islamic State

    Chinese Nationals Using Malaysia As Transit Point To Join Islamic State

    PUTRAJAYA — More than 300 Chinese nationals have used Malaysia as a transit point on their way to join the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Syria and Iraq, Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi revealed today.

    They had moved on to a third country from Malaysia prior to entering Syria and Iraq, he said, adding that this was disclosed to him by China’s Vice Minister of Public Security Meng Hongwei at a meeting at his office here today.

    Ahmad Zahid said Kuala Lumpur and Beijing viewed seriously this security threat and were committed to curbing it in a more comprehensive manner.

    “Although there exists an arrangement between Malaysia and China to combat terrorism through counter-terrorism measures, this problem is serious.

    “This is because ties exist at the international level between terrorists in China and those in other countries in the Southeast Asian region,” he told reporters after Meng had called on him.

    Asked about the possibility of these Chinese nationals having ties with Malaysians, Ahmad Zahid said no information had been received on that.

    On another matter, the minister said there had been no proposal or discussion yet on the issuing of visas free to tourists from other countries besides China.

    When announcing measures to strengthen Malaysia’s economic resilience yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had said visas would be issued free to tourists, including from China.

    Ahmad Zahid said tourists from China visiting Malaysia still had to apply for a visa but they were exempted from having to pay the fee of 80 yuan (RM46.45).

    He said the Cabinet decided that an official announcement on the free-visa measure would be made after all rules and conditions had been refined by the Malaysian Immigration Department.

    “We will make an official announcement at the Malaysian embassy and consulates general in China,” he said.

     

    Source: www.themalaymailonline.com

  • Islamic State Releases Video Showing Japanese Captives And Demanding Ransom From The Japan Government

    Islamic State Releases Video Showing Japanese Captives And Demanding Ransom From The Japan Government

    DUBAI (Reuters) – The militant Islamic State group, which holds territory in Iraq and Syria, issued a video online on Tuesday purporting to show two Japanese captives and demanding $200 million from the Japanese government to save their lives.

    A black-clad figure with a knife, standing in a desert area along with two kneeling men wearing orange clothing, said the Japanese public had 72 hours to pressure their government to stop its “foolish” support for the U.S.-led coalition waging a military campaign against Islamic State.

    The militant, who spoke in English, demanded “200 million” without specifying a currency, but an Arabic subtitle identified it as U.S. dollars. The video identified the men as Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto.

    The video was not dated, but on a visit to Cairo on Jan. 17, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged around $200 million in non-military assistance for countries battling Islamic State.

    Abe was in Jerusalem on Tuesday as part of a regional tour.

    In Tokyo, Japan’s foreign ministry said it was checking the video to see whether the footage was genuine and said that, if it was, “such a threat by taking hostages is unacceptable and we are extremely resentful.”

    Goto is a freelance reporter who was based in Tokyo. He has written books on AIDS and children in war zones from Afghanistan to Africa and reported for news broadcasters in Japan.

    Goto met Yukawa last year and helped him travel to Iraq in June, he told Reuters in August.

    Yukawa’s father, Shoichi Yukawa, declined to comment, saying he was overwhelmed by the news reports.

    The video resembled others distributed by Islamic State outlets in which captives were threatened or killed.

    The militant, who spoke with a British accent, appeared to have the same voice as a jihadist shown threatening captives in previous Islamic State videos.

     

    Source: https://sg.news.yahoo.com