War

Saudi Arabia and Turkey are willing to wait for the peace process in Syria to unfold before committing to a ground invasion, with the help of a US-led coalition, according to officials. S The Independent reports: A Saudi diplomat said Sunday that Saudi Arabia was “very serious” about sending ground troops into Syria, but will first wait to see whether plans for a pause in hostilities agreed by the United States and Russia transpires.

Sources from the global chemical watchdog say Islamic State (IS) militants used sulphur mustard (mustard gas) in an attack on Iraqi Kurdish forces last year. Lab tests came back positive for the substance after Kurdish soldiers fell ill on the battlefield. The BBC reports: The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was sent samples after 35 Peshmerga fighters became ill near Irbil in August. On Monday, the sources said the samples tested positive for sulphur mustard.

Saudi Arabia is to host what has been described as the “the largest and most important” military drills in the region’s history. The drills will last for 18 days with contingents from 20 countries, including Pakistan the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said. The announcement which was made on Sunday said that participating troops were to begin arriving in “the next few hours” and follows Riyadh’s warning that Syrian President Bashar Assad would be toppled.

Early last month, we outlined the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Libya, which was transformed into a lawless wasteland in the wake of NATO-backed efforts to topple Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The story is hopelessly convoluted but generally speaking, there are two governments. One in Tripoli and one internationally recognized body operating out of Tobruk, where the House of Representatives remains in exile after efforts to form a unity government in the capital fell apart.

Over the weekend, the biggest story in the geopolitical world was Turkey’s escalation in Syria.

With the Sunni-backed opposition on its last legs in Aleppo and under near constant bombardment by Russia from the air and Hezbollah on the ground, Ankara and Riyadh have a decision to make: intervene or allow the rebellion to be crushed.