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Baghdad (ICRC) As fighting intensifies around the Iraqi city of Mosul, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is increasing its presence in the field, in order to respond swiftly to new humanitarian needs. Two additional surgical teams are in the process of being deployed to hospitals receiving wounded from the front lines, while stocks of food and other essentials are ready to be distributed to people displaced by violence.

"When people start to flee the western side of Mosul, we are expecting that many will arrive in bad shape. Supply routes have been cut from that side of the city and people have been facing shortages of food, water, fuel, and medicine. We can only imagine the state people will be in," said the ICRC's field coordinator in Erbil, Dany Merhy. The western side of the city is densely populated, and the ICRC is extremely worried about the safety and welfare of hundreds of thousands there who chose to stay or are currently unable to leave.

The ICRC is sending additional medical staff surgeons, trauma nurses, anaesthetists to hospitals receiving wounded from the front lines, to ensure medical facilities can cope with rising demands for emergency treatment and care. This deployment is being supported by Red Cross National Societies from Finland, Norway and Germany. An ICRC surgical team has already been working at Sheikhan hospital near Mosul since October 2016.

"All sides must do everything in their power to protect civilians who stay in Mosul, just as they must ensure safe passage for those who leave the city," said the ICRC's head of delegation in Iraq, Katharina Ritz. "They must also do their utmost to minimize the damage to civilian homes as well as to infrastructure essential for their survival and, given the extensive damage they cause, avoid the use of explosive weapons in populated areas."

Since the start of the Mosul offensive, the ICRC has provided food, clean water and essential relief items to over 130,000 people. It has set-up operating theatres and provided war-wounded kits and other medical supplies to health structures that can help treat more than 280,000 patients. The ICRC has also helped train emergency staff.

For further information, please contact:

Sara Alzawqari (English/Arabic), ICRC Baghdad, tel: +964 790 191 69 27Iolanda Jaquemet, ICRC Geneva, + 41 79 447 37 26

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Iraq: the ICRC steps up its humanitarian response around Mosul - ICRC (press release)

about 10 hours ago Updated: about an hour ago

Battlefield defeats in Iraq and Syria continued to splinter the so-called Islamic States hold on both countries on Thursday, with Mosul airport seized by advancing Iraqi forces and the town of al-Bab finally falling to Syrian rebels.

Backed heavily by Turkey, rebels said they had recaptured nearly all of al-Bab, which had remained Isiss westernmost stronghold throughout five months of intensive fighting and a key target of the war against the terror group.

The seizure of al-Bab came as the airfield on the western outskirts of Iraqs second city fell to Iraqi troops after a brief, but intense, battle. Its capture allows advancing government forces to consolidate a stronghold close to Mosul before launching an all-out push to retake it a move that would strip Isis of its last urban stronghold in Iraq.

By nightfall, troops were moving into the sprawling airfield to launch operations into the fortified western suburbs, where several thousand of Isiss most seasoned fighters have prepared for a last stand.

If the west of the city falls, the extremists presence in Iraq will be confined to a border area in the countrys northwest, which spills towards its last remaining centre of gravity, the Syrian city of Raqqa.

Backed by US jets and drones, national police forces were first into the Mosul airfield and had secured most of the runway by noon local time. Militants had laid mines throughout the disused complex and were clashing heavily with advancing forces, before capitulating late in the afternoon.

A spokesman for the Iraqi counter-terrorism forces, Sabah al-Numan, said: Our forces started a major operation this morning to storm the Ghazlani airport base and I can confirm that it is only a matter of time before we control the whole area.

The seizure of the base will give the forces and their US backers control of two large airfields near Mosul, the other one being the Qayyarah military base, to the south of the city.

In al-Bab, a Syrian rebel spokesman said mines had been laid every square metre throughout the centre of the city, which had been home to Isiss external operations arm that part of the organisation responsible for plotting a series of spectacular terror attacks in Europe.

Rebels advanced cautiously through central neighbourhoods as Isis members retreated to the west, where a series of towns and villages spreading towards Raqqa offer one of its last redoubts in Syria.

Outnumbered and outgunned in Syria and Iraq, Isis is expected to intensify the guerrilla campaigns that became its signature acts in both countries over the past 2 years, in which it ran rampant over a large swath of the region.

Mines, barricades, trenches and tunnels were littered throughout eastern Mosul, making heavy going for Iraqi forces, which eventually retook the area earlier this year after a three-month battle.

However, the west of the city is a more difficult landscape to take militarily. West Mosuls narrow streets will make the going tough for armoured vehicles, meaning a lot of the fighting will need to be done house to house.

Isis is known to have deployed dozens of suicide bombers along approaches.

A British jihadi, Jamal al-Harith, born Ronald Fiddler, is thought to have been among them and to have blown himself up in an area known as Abu Saif on Monday.

Aid organisations say as many as 750,000 civilians may still be in western Mosul. Mercy Corpss country director, Suad Jarbawi, said: We need to be nimble and ready to respond to the needs of the people wherever and however we find them.

In the battle for the eastern half of the city of Mosul we saw the overwhelming majority of civilians staying in their homes rather than fleeing. This was a marked departure from what weve seen in previous battles. However, we dont yet know what civilians in the western side of the city will choose to do.

As many as half of Mosuls remaining residents are thought to be under 18, and 160,000 have already fled the west of the city for newly erected refugee camps to the south. Iraqi forces have detained hundreds of military-aged men as they have fled, in an attempt to weed out any Isis members among them.

Iraqs prime minister Haider al-Abadi has demanded that troops be held accountable for any abuses. In the fight for the east of the city, relatively few allegations of abuse arose, with national police and soldiers winning the cautious trust of communities who, before the Isis takeover of Mosul in mid-2014, had been deeply wary of a security order imposed by Baghdad.

Guardian service

The rest is here:
Isis suffers strategic reversals in Iraq and Syria - Irish Times

By Ayat Basma | ERBIL, Iraq

ERBIL, Iraq With their waxed moustaches, precision-clipped beards and dapper clothes, members of the Mr. Erbil gentleman's club look like the smarter residents of Brooklyn or Shoreditch.

But rather than the hipster neighborhoods of New York or London, this is Erbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdish region - just 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the grim battle to drive Islamic State fighters from their last bastion in the country.

Although an oasis of calm in a country torn apart by war since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003, Erbil has been unable to provide its young people with the opportunities they crave, say the men who set up their club last year to change that.

"When we started we were in a bad situation, economic crisis and then an expected war against ISIS (Islamic State)," said Goran Pshtiwan, 26, wearing a three-piece suit and custom-made moccasins decorated with the club's logo - without socks, naturally.

"There was no business activity so we started with the idea to gather and make something different and unique and change the look of the people and the way that they are thinking."

As well as regular meetings where they dress in different styles, from smart casual to black tie and traditional Ottoman-time attire, the club aims to support local tailors and craftsmen who help make their outfits.

Accessorized with purple-trimmed handkerchiefs, pocket watch chains and selfie-sticks, the men, in their 20s and 30s, hold photoshoots at local beauty spots, posting the results on Instagram where they have more than 60,000 followers.

The buzz has surprised co-founder Omer Nihad, a 28-year-old former stock trader, who said Star Trek actor George Takei, who has more than 2 million Twitter followers, had mentioned the club.

A recent video they shot received 5 million views, he said.

While a boy's only club, Mr. Erbil uses its internet platform to promote women who are working to improve rights and opportunities for girls.

The group has about 40 members and is receiving so many requests that the founders are considering toughening the admission requirements which already set demanding standards for fashion taste.

Nihad said the club aimed to launch its own clothing brand, set up a shop and collaborate with fashion houses. And he would love to see Mr. Erbil featured in a high fashion magazine.

"Of course, we don't want to be on the front page," he said. "It is okay if we were in the middle!"

(Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

RIYADH A comic show and a recent pop concert have drawn rebuke from powerful religious figures and social media users in Saudi Arabia this week, highlighting the sensitivity of cultural reforms underway in the conservative kingdom.

MILAN Milan's fashion elite strolled down an elegant street in "Rome" on Thursday, sporting subtle and elegant creations that recalled the timeless movie scenes of yesteryear.

JERUSALEM Forgoing the provocative and risque, a group of designers in Jerusalem on Thursday held Israel's first major fashion show for Orthodox Jewish women, whose tradition requires they dress in conservative outfits.

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Far from Brooklyn, Iraq's hipsters declare war on poor dress sense - Reuters

UPDATE:

On February 23, Abdelrazeq al-Nadhouri, chief of staff of the forces known as the Libyan National Army (LNA) and the military governor of the region that extends from Derna to Ben Jawwad, repealed his order requiring women who wish to travel abroad to be accompanied by a male guardianand replaced it with a new order imposing travel restrictions on all men and women ages 18 to 45. The new order specifies that people in that age group need clearance by relevant security agencies ahead of any international travel from eastern Libya. Justifying these restrictions, the order refers to the necessity to put in place measures to counter risk from abroad that threaten national security.

Libyan officials in the east should immediately repeal this new order, Human Rights Watch said. While governments have the authority to restrict travel on an individual basis based on narrow and appealable grounds laid out in law, al-Nadhouris order, by its sweeping nature targeting all would-be travelers of a certain age, gravely undermines the right enshrined in international law that entitles everyone to leave any country, including their own, and to return to their country.

(Tunis) Officials in eastern Libya should immediately repeal an order, issued on February 16, 2017, that bans women under age 60 from traveling abroad unless they are accompanied by a male guardian, Human Rights Watch said today. The order threatens to curtail freedom of movement for women in eastern Libya, including for medical treatment, education, and professional travel.

Abdelrazeq al-Nadhouri, chief of staff of the forces known as the Libyan National Army (LNA) and the military governor of the region that extends from Derna to Ben Jawwad, issued the order requiring women who wish to travel abroad by land, air, or sea to be accompanied by a male guardian, also known as a mahram. The text of the order justifies it as necessary for reasons of public interest and to limit negative aspects that accompanied Libyan womens international travel. On February 21, after a public uproar, al-Nadhouri reportedly suspended implementation of this regulation until further notice.

Libyan women celebrate the third anniversary of the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi at Freedom Square in Benghazi, February 17, 2014.

2014 Reuters

Requiring adult women to have a male guardian with them when they travel is a humiliating step backward for women, said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of the Middle East and North Africa division at Human Rights Watch.

In a television interview on February 19, al-Nadhouri claimed that the order was necessary for the national security of Libya and that it had no religious or political background. Al-Nadhouri claimed, without providing any details, that several young women had collaborated with foreign intelligence agencies, creating a risk that they would disclose information that could harm the national interest. He also warned, As long as [a Libyan woman] is in Libya, she is free. Once she leaves Libya our eyes will be on her.

Many womens rights activists and human rights lawyers rejected the regulation, saying it violated womens rights, as protected by Libyan laws. On February 22, womens rights activists staged a demonstration in al-Kish square in Benghazi protesting the travel restrictions.

Libyan women have had the right to travel abroad without the permission of a male relative. In 2014, the Tripoli-based religious authority, Dar Al-Iftaa, called for a woman to be accompanied by a male guardian if she wished to travel abroad, but the religious edict, or fatwa, never became law.

The Libyan National Army operates with affiliated militias and the army special forces in eastern Libya under the command of Khalifa Hiftar, a retired general who served under the ousted Gaddafi government. The LNA has gained control over territory in much of eastern Libya since the outbreak of hostilities in May 2014. It is aligned with the so-called Interim Government based in al-Bayda, and the House of Representatives, based in Tobruk, both in the eastern part of the country. The Interim Government is not recognized by the United Nations or the international community and is competing for legitimacy with the Tripoli-based and UN-backed Government of National Accord.

Article 14 of the Libyan Constitutional Declaration guarantees the right to freedom of movement. Libyan authorities are also bound by numerous international treaties ratified by the country. The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), to which Libya acceded in 1989, legally obligates member states to end all discrimination against women, without delay, and guarantees the right to freedom of movement.

As a state party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, Libya must ensure nondiscrimination and the right to freedom of movement for all people, without distinction as to gender. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights also provides: Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state [and] to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Read more from the original source:
Libya: Discriminatory Restriction on Women - Human Rights Watch

The bodies of 13 migrants who died of suffocation have been recovered from a shipping container in western Libya, the Red Crescent says.

The migrants appear to have been locked in the container for several days as it was transported to the coast at Khoms, where they were to attempt to cross the Mediterranean towards Europe, the Red Crescent said in a statement on Thursday.

Fifty-six migrants were rescued from the container, some suffering from serious injuries and fractures, the statement said.

Libya has become the main gateway for migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. A record 181,000 migrants reached Italy along the route last year.

Within Libya, migrant smugglers operate with impunity, and migrants are subjected to a wide range of abuses, including rape, torture and forced labour.

Earlier this week the bodies of 74 migrants were found on the shore near Zawiya, west of Tripoli. The local coastguard said smugglers had stolen the engine from their boat.

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Thirteen dead migrants found in Libya - NEWS.com.au