News from the Middle East

— 🇬🇧☪️ A Muslim woman was repeatedly hit in the face and had her hijab forcibly removed during an attack in Cardiff, Wales, according to details shared by her family. - The victim's husband stated that the situation began when two individuals began stalking his wife in their vehicle during the day, shouting abusive comments toward her as she walked. - After being followed and threatened, the woman attempted to document the harassment by taking a photograph of the perpetrators' vehicle. "When they clocked that she had taken the photo, they ran towards her, shouting abuse, and attacked her," her husband said. "She was punched repeatedly. Both of them held her while shouting 'get her scarf off' and ripped her hijab from her head. All in front of children." -The physical attack-carried out in full view of children-has intensified concerns regarding Islamophobic violence and street attacks targeting minorities across the UK. 🌍 | @duckdiaries

—🇹🇷🇸🇾 Turkish Ambassador Noah Yılmaz said Ankara wants to see the Syrian Democratic Forces “completely eliminated” as a terrorist organisation during the next phase. 📌 Yılmaz said Turkey is closely following the ongoing integration process involving the SDF, while noting President Erdoğan’s assessment that the process is progressing slowly. 📌 He added that Ankara hopes the process will be completed as soon as possible, stressing that Turkey remains “very sensitive” to the issue. 📌 According to Yılmaz, Turkey is prepared to support the process in order to ensure its rapid and safe completion. 🌍 | @duckdiaries

—🇺🇸🇸🇾🇱🇧🇮🇱 The Washington Examiner has published a proposal outlining a potential US-backed framework for reshaping the regional situation involving Syria, Israel and Lebanon. 📌 The proposal reportedly calls for Damascus to receive administrative control over Lebanon’s city of Tripoli and its Mediterranean port, alongside efforts to dismantle remaining Hezbollah smuggling networks. 📌 It also proposes transferring around 50 square kilometres of the “Anduf” area to Syria as a partial return of the Golan Heights, while Israel would retain control over the remainder of the territory. 📌 Israel would further be expected to withdraw from approximately 480 square kilometres of Syrian territory it recently took control of, under a US-mediated security arrangement. 📌 The plan calls for Israel to provide security guarantees for around 700,000 Druze in Suwayda and southern Syria through the creation of a “Druze Liaison Authority” responsible for local and security coordination. 📌 Selected accredited Druze from Suwayda would reportedly be permitted to live, work and receive medical treatment in Israel. Israeli personnel would also train and arm Druze self-defence units in Suwayda as part of a proposed joint early-warning network. 📌 According to the proposal, implementation would require the appointment of a White House envoy, congressional approval for a reconstruction fund for Tripoli’s port excluding Hezbollah-linked entities, and the launch of the Liaison Authority in Majdal Shams within 90 days. 🌍 | @duckdiaries

Turkish President Erdogan to Al Jazeera: Europe does not appear willing to admit Türkiye into the European Union. Joining the European Union is not our priority, and Europe is the one that loses out from Türkiye not joining.

— 🏳️ Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told The New York Times that the United States could reopen its embassy in Kabul and restore a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan. — Muttaqi also urged the United States to invest in Afghanistan’s vast mineral reserves, dams and roads, projects on which three successive US administrations and their allies spent billions of dollars, while Taliban insurgents spent two decades trying to undermine them. 🌍 | @duckdiaries

— 🏳️ Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban interior minister, says the group is seeking to resolve existing challenges through engagement with the world, while warning that some circles abroad are trying to create disorder in Afghanistan. — In a video message on Friday, 14 August, marking the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power, Haqqani said the group wanted stability in Afghanistan to continue and that the country should not again face insecurity or the presence of foreign forces. 🌍 | @duckdiaries

— 🏳️ Taliban Defence Minister Yaqoob Mujahid warned on Friday that the group’s forces were ready to confront internal and external threats, saying any Pakistani aggression against Afghan territory would receive a calculated response. — Speaking to Taliban-controlled National Television on the fifth anniversary of the group’s return to power, Mujahid accused Pakistan of equipping and financing destructive elements, particularly Islamic State members, along the Durand Line and in major Pakistani cities to carry out activities against Afghanistan. — Mujahid said Pakistan’s unreasonable demands suggested that Islamabad viewed Afghanistan’s security and progress as a threat. 🌍 | @duckdiaries

—🇮🇱🇺🇸🇹🇷🇸🇦🇵🇰🇪🇬 Israel has reportedly asked Washington for freedom to conduct military operations in Syria targeting Turkish positions or Turkish-backed forces, according to Israel’s Channel 13. 📌 The request was reportedly rejected, with US President Donald Trump personally intervening to block the proposed operation. 📌 Israeli officials have reportedly been monitoring what they describe as an increased Turkish effort to expand and strengthen its presence in Syria in recent weeks. The reported dispute comes amid closer security ties between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The three countries have signed a collective defence agreement under which an attack on one member would be treated as an attack on all three. 📌 Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has also said Egypt could join the alliance “in the next stage”. 🌍 | @duckdiaries

—🇸🇾🇦🇹 Counter-Terrorism Police have arrested former Syrian police colonel Musab Abu Rakaba in the town of Noua, Deraa Governorate. 📌 The arrest reportedly came after Syrian activists called for him to face accountability over alleged violations and crimes committed against civilians in Raqqa under the previous regime. 📌 Abu Rakaba returned to Noua in early August, where his family reportedly held a welcoming ceremony following his return from Austria, where he had fled during his trial. 📌 A Vienna court sentenced the former colonel to eight years in prison last month after finding him guilty of charges including physical assault, coercion and sexual assault. 🌍 | @duckdiaries

— 🏳️🇮🇳 Five Years After Afghanistan Takeover, Taliban Set To Host First ‘Victory Day’ event it will be the first major public engagement hosted in New Delhi by the Taliban since it took control of Afghanistan in August 2021. — The Indian government is expected to be represented at the event, though it was not immediately clear exactly who will attend the reception. 🌍 | @duckdiaries

— 🇹🇯🏳️ Tajikistan has lodged a formal protest with the Taliban over what it described as a violation of its airspace and territorial integrity during fighting across the border in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province, which left a 21-year-old woman dead and damaged residential properties. — Tajikistan’s Foreign Ministry said Dushanbe had sent a protest note to the Taliban and demanded a serious investigation into the incident. — It called on the Taliban administration to respect Tajikistan’s territorial integrity and border sovereignty and take effective measures to prevent similar incidents. 🌍 | @duckdiaries

— 🏳️ The United Front of Afghanistan said on Friday, 14 August, that its forces had carried out three operations against Taliban forces in Helmand and Kandahar over the previous 24 hours. — According to the group’s statement, two Taliban police officers were killed and two others wounded in an attack on the Taliban’s first police district in Lashkar Gah. 🌍 | @duckdiaries

— 🇮🇱🇱🇧 Initial report says an IED detonated in a gathering of Israeli soldiers inside a house in Jabal Amel, Lebanon. 🌍 | @duckdiaries

🇬🇧⚡️- Far-right Reform leader Nigel Farage has won the Clacton by election against a BIN!!

— 🇮🇳 India's Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that China had stopped Indian Army patrols at several locations in Arunachal Pradesh and called the development a matter of concer. 🌍 | @duckdiaries

— 🇮🇱🇸🇾 The Israeli army reportedly opened fire on civilian areas of a rural village in southern Syria, in the Daraa province, from areas it also occupies in southern Syria. — According to Syrian state television Al-Ikhbariya, the Israeli army opened fire toward civilian homes in several sections of the village of Maariya. — The gunfire reportedly forced some residents to leave their homes. — As yet there were no reports of deaths or injuries in the incident. 🌍 | @duckdiaries

🇬🇧⚡️- An election was held in Clacton, southeast UK today, and was announced after far-right Reform Party leader Nigel Farage ‘quit’ as an MP after tax scandals. He stood in this new election and led to widespread criticism and every major party boycotting the election results. The only other candidate was a parody Count Binface.