Excerpts: Anti-Assad rebels 48 hour threat to US,Russia. Rebuilding Iraq May
23, 2016

+++SOURCE:AlArabiya News 5/23/’16:”Rebels give US, Russia 48 hours to end
Assad assault,by Agence France Presse

SUBJECT: Anti-Assad rebels 48 hour threat to US,Russia

FULL TEXT:Rebel groups Sunday[‘5/22] set a 48-hour deadline for the US and
Russian sponsors of a February ceasefire in Syria’s conflict to halt a
regime offensive in the Damascus region.

“We are giving the sponsors of the ceasefire 48 hours to rescue what remains
of the accord and to force the criminal regime of (President Bashar al-)
Assad and his allies to completely and immediately halt their brutal
offensive against Daraya and Eastern Ghouta,” 29 rebel groups said in a
statement.

“In view of the regime’s offensive against all the liberated regions, in
particular Daraya... we consider the ceasefire accord to have totally
collapsed,” the groups said.

“Rebel groups will take all possible measures and respond with all means to
defend our people and on all fronts until the regime totally halts its
offensives against all liberated regions, especially Daraya, and pulls back
to its pre-May 14 positions,” they said.

Syria’s army, backed by Lebanon’s Shiite militia Hezbollah, on Thursday
recaptured the town of Deir al-Assafir and nine nearby villages in the
Damascus region, taking advantage of clashes in the Eastern Ghouta area
between rival rebel groups Jaish al-Islam and Faylaq al-Rahman which were
among those listed on the joint statement.

Hundreds of families fled the area, which Islamist rebels had controlled
since 2012.

The town of Daraya, also near the capital, was one of the first to erupt in
demonstrations against the government in 2011. It has been under a strict
regime siege since late 2012.

Meanwhile, Russian warplanes hit a key rebel supply route to Aleppo on
Sunday[5/22] in Moscow’s first strikes on Syria’s battleground second city
since a February ceasefire, a monitoring group said.

“The Russian and Syrian warplanes together carried out at least 40 air
strikes on the Castello road,” Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief
Rami Abdel Rahman said.

“They are the heaviest air strikes there since February, and they are also
the first confirmed Russian strikes since the truce began,” Abdel Rahman
said.

The violence wracking Aleppo city over the past month has killed some 300
civilians and left world powers scrambling to save the fragile truce
brokered by the United States and Russia nearly three months ago.

The northern city -- once Syria’s commercial powerhouse -- is divided
between rebel groups in the east and regime forces in the west.

The Castello road is a key supply route for rebels leading north out of
Aleppo.

Even while the rest of the city witnessed relative calm in the first few
weeks of the truce, fierce fighting has raged for the highway.

On Friday, Moscow proposed joint air strikes with Washington against
militants in Syria from Wednesday[5/18], but its offer was spurned.

Russia has been carrying out air strikes in Syria since last September in
support of its ally President Bashar al-Assad.

Washington launched its air war against the Islamic State group and other
jihadists in Syria in 2014.

Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said the US military does “not
collaborate or coordinate with the Russians on any operations in Syria.”

US State Department spokesman John Kirby said nothing had been agreed with
Moscow as its ally Damascus was responsible for the “vast majority” of
violations of the February ceasefire.

Russia’s intervention has significantly strengthened the Syrian government
in the five-year-old civil war that has killed more than 270,000 people and
driven millions from their homes

+++SOURCE: Jordan Times 5/23/’16:” Arab investors urged to forge
partnerships to ‘rebuild Iraq”By Mohammad Ghazal –

SUBJECT:Rebuilding Iraq

QUOTE:”Arab countries were encouraged on Sunday[5/22] in infrastructure and
construction projects worth approximately $22 billion designed to rebuild
Iraq”

FULL TEXT:AMMAN — Arab countries were encouraged on Sunday[5/22] to engage
in infrastructure and construction projects worth approximately $22 billion
designed to rebuild Iraq.

The call was made by Chairman of the Federation of Arab Contractors Fahd Al
Hammadi at a conference held in Amman, with the participation of several
Arab and foreign countries on available investment opportunities in Iraq and
plans to rebuild the country.

“Currently, there are opportunities for investing in projects worth around
$22 billion in Iraq in infrastructure and many other fields. Arabs need to
do more to engage in the process of rebuilding Iraq,” Hammadi said at the
event, which was attended by hundreds of businesspeople from the Arab world.

“This event provides a great platform for building partnerships and
exchanging ideas,” said Hammadi, stressing that need for financing
institutions and banks in the Arab world to effectively partake in the
process of rebuilding Iraq through extending necessary finance for several
projects.

Stressing on the key role Jordan can play in the rebuilding of Iraq, Safia
Al Souhail, Iraq’s ambassador to Jordan, called on businesspeople to forge
partnerships to effectively contribute to the rebuilding of her country.

“Rebuilding Iraq is a key tool to fight terrorism,” said the ambassador.

“Iraq has given a lot to all, now it looks for your support to be rebuilt.
We need Arab and international community’s support,” said the Iraqi
diplomat.

Minister of Housing and Public Works Sami Halaseh said the conference is an
opportunity for businesspeople to boost cooperation and explore current and
future investment opportunities in Iraq.

The minister stressed on the role Jordan can play in the construction sector
in Iraq.
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Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA