Weekly Panorama: ISIS still manages launching attacks, Turkey slammed worldwide

During the past week, Arab newspapers reported on the activity of ISIS mercenaries two years following its defeat, in addition to the tension between Iran and America and Turkey's withdrawal from the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.

'ISIS ... without a voice and no lone wolves'

To start with the Syrian issue, and in this setting, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper touched on the issue of the defeat of ISIS in Al-Baghouz, and said: “On this day, two years ago, ISIS lost its stronghold in Al-Baghouz, in northeastern Syria. It had been under its control since 2014, the Iraqi-Syrian border areas, and spread over an area roughly the size of the United Kingdom, had been reduced in March 2019 to a small town on the banks of the Euphrates River, and some of its members surrendered and others fought, but defeated geographically".

"After months of defeat in Al-Baghouz, ISIS suffered another blow," it added.

 In October 2019, US commandos carried out an operation against the hideout of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in northwestern Syria. ISIS chose a new leader called Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Qurashi. The new caliphate inherited an alleged " on-paper-state". The organization appeared to be a skeleton for al-Baghdadi's organization, without a voice.

It explained, “In the peak of ISIS’s influence, it was able to boast that it had “ticking bombs” in the world. After the defeat, the attacks of the so-called the “lone wolves” diminished day by day. But the“sleeper cells ”are still able to launch attacks in the world. The Syrian Badia and the Al-Hol camp for the displaced east of the Euphrates, which includes thousands of (ISIS) Arabs and foreigners, made it a dilemma for all."

' America is concerned about information about Iranian plans to target Washington'

Regarding the tension between the United States of America and Iran, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper said: “A prominent member of the US Senate expressed his grave concern about the intelligence information that talked about intercepting Iranian messages in January that included preparations for attacks on the Fort McNair military base in Washington, DC, in response to the killing of Iranian leader Qassem Soleimani.

The top Republican in the Council's Foreign Relations Committee, Jim Risch, told Asharq Al-Awsat: These reports are "evidence of the necessity for the administration of President Joe Biden to link any negotiations with Tehran on the nuclear deal to the file of Tehran's support for terrorism." Stressing that he will pressure the administration to set tougher conditions on Iran.

"This is not the first time that, we hear reports that the Iranians are trying to target officials in the American capital," Risch added.

On Monday evening, National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan told MSNBC that the Biden administration takes seriously Iranian threats, both inside and outside the United States, stressing that Biden will "take steps to defend ourselves and make Iran understand the price, it can pay for this kind of behavior. "

Angry reactions against Turkey's withdrawal from the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.

Al-Arab newspaper reported that Turkey continues to obliterate women's rights through its withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention and the condemnations it was subjected to, and said: “The Turkish regime headed Erdogan, was subjected to large-scale international and domestic condemnations and criticisms following his decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Women's Rights Convention, in a step Reflecting the size of the decline in the human rights file, it also opens the door to more divisions within Turkish society and the crucifixion of the ruling AKP due to differences regarding the policy pursued in this file.

European leaders slammed what they dubbed as Turkey's confusing and worrying decision to withdraw from an international agreement aimed at protecting women from violence and urged Erdogan to reconsider it.

Germany, France and the European Union expressed displeasure with this decision, and this was for the second time, in four days in which European leaders slammed Ankara for human rights issues, after the Turkish Prosecution moved to close a pro-Kurdish political party.

"We can only express our deep regret and express our lack of understanding of the Turkish government's decision," said Josipporel, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, on Saturday.

It added that the decision “risks endangering the protection and basic rights of women in Turkey and sends a dangerous message around the world. Then we can only urge Turkey to reverse the decision.

Paris emphasized that Turkey's withdrawal represents a new reaction with regard to human rights, while Berlin said that culture, religion or traditions cannot be "an excuse to ignore violence against women." The agreement led to a split not only in the ruling Justice and Development Party headed by Erdogan, but also in his family.

Observers believe that Erdogan took advantage of this agreement to mobilize his conservative voters. After this measure, he succumbed to the pressure of conservative Islamic groups calling for months to abandon this agreement, which, in their view, has harmed "traditional" family values, at a time when many women fear that abandonment the agreement will open the door to an increase in the level of violence against women, which is already widespread.

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ANHA