Samer Al-Atrush
@SameralAtrush
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Middle East Correspondent @thetimes . Any views expressed my own.
Here and there
Joined December 2011
Hours after Damascus fell, Abu Mohammed Al Jolani headed to his childhood home, which the regime had confiscated and handed to sympathisers, rang the doorbell, and asked the tenants: "Would you mind vacating?" .
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Meet my new hero: Foreign Minister of Comoros Mohamed El Amine. He fell asleep in the Arab summit, woke up to give a speech, then went back to sleep. Excellent time management and rose to the occasion.
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Visionary.
@PPathole Based on current trends, probably close to zero new cases in US too by end of April.
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More Russians. This man seemed cheerful and said he's off to Russia. Others didn't appreciate the intrusion.
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In case you missed it, a Belgian farmer singlehandedly shrank France
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Exclusive: A Russian Pantsir air defence missile system captured on a Libyan battlefield was flown intact to a US air base in Germany in a covert mission, The Times has learnt.
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The tenants, a couple, asked for a few days to pack their belongings and left on Wednesday. Jolani had been accompanied by his brother Maher, and their sudden appearance the Damascus suburb was the first his neighbours, who all recalled him fondly, had seen him in years.
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Russian troops pouring into Hmeimeim airbase in Syria as cargo jets take off. HTS guarding the main entrance say they've been told they're all leaving.
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Libyan militia leader freshly returned from exile in the UAE with Dolce Gabbana sweatshirt, and matching man purse and shoes, is the uniquely Libyan content I live for
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One of them, Ayman, was walking his Bichon Frise when Jolani pulled up to the building with his armed escort. They spent half an hour gossiping about the neighbours, and Ayman posed for a picture alongside Jolani and Maher
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Short thread here on Dmitry Utkin, the commander of the Russian Wagner mercenary force. A picture of this distinguished gentleman appeared on line showing he sports Nazi tattoos.
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Horrifying cctv footage of air strike that targeted cadets at Tripoli's military academy
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Looks like a Houthi Quds Missile may have landed in southern Jordan yesterday. That means that while targeting Israel, the Houthis have successfully managed to bomb only Egypt and Jordan….
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Exclusive: Remember that Pantsir, the Russian missile defence system the US extracted from Libya? It ended up in Turkey, under joint US and Turkish custody.
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How to enforce social distancing with a helicopter: in Tunisia, authorities used a helicopter to unceremoniously end a football match that violated a countrywide lockdown.
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Exclusive: After years in hiding, Saif al-Islam Qaddafi is poised to go public imminently as he considers running in elections this December, having conducted outreach to diplomats and journalists
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"One day I will be free."."Fuck life.".Graffiti in the bombed migrant detention center in Tajoura, Libya that killed dozens of migrants.
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In possibly my worst dining experience yet in Egypt, was smacked hard on the head by a flying RAT that a waiter had KICKED.
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The gist here: a highly repressive and murderous regime that once sheltered Bin Ladin is overthrown in a democratic uprising. US: great but you're still sanctioned till you give the president a foreign policy victory.
U.S. push for Sudan to recognize Israel falters — and puts Khartoum in a tight spot.
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I find it hilarious when a media report refers to an ISIS commander as "elusive." Are there ISIS commanders who keep office hours at a known address?.
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“You are about to see the largest aerial campaign in Libyan history in the coming hours,” LNA's Jaroushi said in a statement. GNA security chief Bashagha said a number of MiG 29s and SU24S reached Haftar from Russian countrolled Syria base. via @bpolitics.
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A scene I see everyday but still find breathtaking. Evening falls over Marsa, Tunisia
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Mohamed Fahmy and his wonderful wonderful wife Marwa after his release outside his old highshool http://t.co/5qKdkIkSG0.
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How upset is Egypt over the Rafah operation? Egypt announces it is formally intervening to support South Africa's case against Israel in the ICJ.
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First tweet by Alaa Abdel Fattah, pivotal Arab Spring activistin Egypt, after five years imprisonment:.I am the poison, I am the antidote.I am the medicine, I am the sickness.I am the ghost of a spring past.
أنا السم أنا الترياق.أنا الدواء انا أصل الداء.أنا شبح الربيع اللي فات.
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One Taliban commander in the central province of Ghazni said the government forces' collapse started as soon as U.S. forces started withdrawing "as they didn't have any ideology except fleecing the Americans.".
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Guess who I ran into in Maadi after police randomly dropped them off outside a highschool http://t.co/nmqg6AGMyp.
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EXCLUSIVE ON @business: Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar has accepted a ceasefire and a political initiative that will be formally announced today in Cairo to end the war. The political initiative is the one floated by Aguileh Saleh to reform the presidential council.
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At the entrance of the Russian naval base in Tartus, soldiers yell at us to leave. Some Syrian sailors told me they killed someone who got too close on Sunday.
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A Western mercenary team linked to UAE registered companies deployed to Libya last summer to assist Haftar, planning everything from maritime interdictions and helicopter backing to a targeting cell. Within days, they fled to Malta, a UN document says.
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Now the bats have also retained a crisis management and PR firm
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Exclusive details: In 2019 a Turkish drone strike killed Emirati officers in Libya. The UAE then tried to move in an American Patriot battery to Libya, drawing a rebuke from the US. Russia’s Wagner mercenaries calls the shots in fight for Libya.
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Furry of alerts from Reuters citing a US official suggests we've reached the breaking point between Washington and Jerusalem: U.S. OFFICIAL FAMILIAR WITH TALKS SAYS NETANYAHU AND ISRAELI WAR CABINET HAVE NOT APPEARED TO NEGOTIATE WITH HAMAS "IN GOOD FAITH" IN LATEST ROUND.
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I'd never thought I'd see the day when Arabic media is flashing breaking news about an American president demanding an end to counting ballots in an election.
#الولايات_المتحدة — ترامب مغردا: أوقفوا عد الأصوات.
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I have no idea how this will play out but several concepts that have long shaped the region collapsed today. The concept of "armed resistance." The concept of Iranian backed-militia forming a counter to Israel. And the Iron Wall will appear vindicated to its proponents.
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Red Hot Chili Peppers at the pyramids. Great ending. Started off with Flea saying: "Asalamu alaikum. We're really fucking honoured to be here." ❤
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Libyans cheering a rescue dog that helped find dozens of people under the rubble, and has been of more utility all things considered than their leadership which just blamed God for the disaster.
هتافات في #درنة دعماً للكلب ايڤار الذي انقذ عشرات الضحايا من تحت الركام
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"We called this meeting to inform you that we want some of your grilled chicken."
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Now that's out of the way, the notorious Wagner group is in fact thought to be named after Utkin's military codename. Wagner--an affectation by the former special forces commander who has a penchant for white supremacist ideology.
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Just off the bat, a spokesman for the litiguous Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of Wagner, denies Prigozhin's links to Wagner or Utkin and said my questions prompted a 10 minute Prigozhin rant.
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If you believe both LNA and GNA media, the rival forces have advanced so much they've entirely missed each other and ended up in different countries, possibly continents.
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That Utkin has these tattoos comes as no surprise--his inclinations were already known, and those also of many of his fighters. In Libya, Wagner mercenaries left behind Nazi and white supremacist scrawlings in buildings they occupied.
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Exclusive: the United States blocked an attempt by the United Arab Emirates to move a Patriot missile battery to Libya after a Turkish drone strike killed UAE officers there.
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EXCLUSIVE @business : . Libya's GNA interior minister Fathi Bashagha says forces intend to retake Sirte, Juffra and will not allow for Russian bases there. Bashagha says political talks with east to begin after Sirte and Juffra taken, suggests no advances after that.
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Like in many other parts of the world, especially Europe and North America, far right leanings among some members of the armed forces are common in Russia as well. But the type espoused by Utkin remains anathema in a country where millions died fighting Nazis.
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There’s a big difference between warning of a specific attack and warning that a situation has become dangerous and will likely explode if not addressed. I gather Egypt gave the latter warning to Israel, not the former.
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This glorious cat turned up with its scalp missing at The Kitchen restaurant in Marsa and after a year of eating steaks has morphed into a teddy beat cc @thecatreviewer
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(speaking of the far right in Russia, Navalny, for example, holds racist views that would have him ostracised from public life in the West).
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That’s nice. In libya his Wagner buddies liked to deface mosques and scrawl white supremacist graffiti inside them.
Russian General Sergei Surovikin reads the Holy Quran during a visit to the Abdelhamid Ibn Badis Mosque in Algeria.
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وزارة الداخلية الليبة لحكومة الوفاق تلقي القبض على الجناة الذين ظهروا في فيديو و هم يسيؤون لعمال مصريين في مصراتة بعد احجتازهم
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Levantines need to get over the fact that Egyptians make better moloukhiya and falafel.
On Mloukhie:. Stop mashing up your mloukhie leaves into liquid green sludge! It’s not a soup and it’s not meant to look like one. This 👌 This is nasty 👇
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Turkish warships are screwed if they come within 10 meters of that LNA missile launcher on shore.
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Libya’s Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj is planning to announce his resignation soon to stay in on a caretaker capacity through talks in Geneva scheduled for next month, officials say.via @bpolitics.
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The Russians were bombing the Syrian rebels a week ago, but on Friday they were counting on their protection as they set out in massive convoys to fall back to coastal two bases. HTS guarding them say they will leave soon, but the Russians want to stay.
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Chadian president Deby has been killed, according to state tv. What started off a week ago as a small incursion from Libya by Chadian rebels and tribe members has ended with this.
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Exclusive: a French navy frigate stopped an oil tanker destined for east Libya to illicitly export oil for a UAE registered company, diplomats say via @bpolitics.
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The one in Russian says: "I see mosques in Russia, but it's better to see them burn in hell". It was scrawled on the walls of a mosque in a Tripoli suburb. 14/88 means ""We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children" and Heil Hitler.
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Trump, according to public readouts:. Erdogan: I'm invading the Libyan oil crescent. Trump: 👍. Two days later. Sisi: We will resist. Sirte will not fall. We have a ceasefire proposal. Trump: 👍.
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20,000 shares. How facebook connect's conspiracy theorists and the gullible.
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Incredibly, a Hamas official was citing this report. The disinformation actually feeds into the assessments and calculus or a warring side.
Not only have there been zero reports of this—Israel hasn't had a channel 10 since 2019.
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Entering Red Hot Chili Peppers concert at Cairo Pyramids. Police officer asks: "you have no flags?" Asked what type of flags responds: "flag for the gays. Not allowed.".
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So now we know "Baghdadi is dead" meant "Baghdadi gained weight, dyed his beard and has a fancy new custom AK. And follows current affairs."
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Sisi: "look I'm just saying, I really don't think you can take Tripoli in 48 hours"
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With reports that Yemeni mercenaries might be joining the Libya fray
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A car with a poster commemorating the "martyrs of Moadamiyat Al-Sham", a site of early anti Assad protests, drives past Russian soldiers leaving their base.
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PSA to all Arabs: dear in English isn’t exactly the equivalent of عزيزي , unless you are a kind grandmother of course.
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France banned pro Palestinian protests in Paris, so Tunisians apparently decided to hold a pro Palestinian protest in front of the Fremch embassy.
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Job interview: so you captained a ship? How was that?.Captain: I singlehandedly jacked up global oil prices once.
#Oil prices rise more than 1 pct after a ship runs aground in the #SuezCanal raising supply concerns, although fears of a slow recovery in demand due to #European pandemic lockdowns limit gains.
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This is hilarious. He clearly didn’t like the result and was expecting another one, so decided to redo it.
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So none of this is surprising, although what is surprising is it took so long for a picture of Utkin's long reported Nazi tattoos to surface. This one did in December on some Russian VK accounts and a Telegram group affiliated with the mercenaries.
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It is official: Libya's Tripoli based government has approved a request demanding Turkish military assistance "by land sea and air," a senior GNA official tells me, to repel Haftar's offensive on the capital.
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There's much we don't report on in Libya that matters--limited appetite from editors and publications, or seen as too incremental, or it counters assumptive frameworks, so it ends up on the cutting room floor. Hope to highlight them here in the future.
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The base is sectioned off in Tartus port, whose entrance is guarded by several HTS fighters. "I don't know why they're so scared," said one about the Russians. "We're treating them better than our people. Anyway inshallah give it a couple of days.".
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Alerting news like the US is an Arabic country:. American leader deploys army, threatens to shoot protesters. American leader cracks down on social media. Turkey leads global condemnation of American crackdown on protesters.
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I've been saying for some time that Zawahiri wants to transform AQ from a terrorist group to a podcast.
Friday night viewing sorted. #AlQaeda commemorates 9/11 with a bash at investigative documentary: Deal of the Century or Crusade of the Century. Ironic to hear Zawahiri slam #AlJazeera's lax "professionalism & integrity" (check out his own "halo"). 42 mins & it's only episode 1.
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Egyptian president Sisi warns there will be no tolerance to threats against national security. That would include the idea of Gazans being driven into Sinai, which the Egyptians won’t tolerate.
الرئيس المصري: لا تهاون أو تفريط في أمن مصر القومي تحت أي ظرف #العربية_عاجل.
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An insight into Hamas weapons smuggling networks to Gaza: how a cell in Libya with connections in Turkey and Serbia sought to smuggle antiaircrafy missiles to Gaza, and how it all backfired.
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Interviewed Libya's GNA prime minister Fayez al-Sarraj today. He says Haftar's foreign backers have supplied him weapons since offensive started fears this could become a proxy war
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This is the group that Khalifa Haftar, in a Faustian pact, invited to Libya to help anoint him as dictator. Now, his nationalist senior officers rue that decision.
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The best part about this is Moroccan police thinking: oh the khawaga is clearly insane, let's take her to a hospital.
A British tourist has been caught on video berating and then attempting to bite a chicken seller in Morocco for keeping his hens in a cage
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Pakistan, Morocco, Oman started Ramadan on Wednesday. It has nothing to do with "following"--it's an evergreen dispute on calculating the lunar cycle and seeing the crescent.
If you doubt why Saudi Arabia is a vital ally, consider this:. Saudi Arabia announced Ramadan begins *today*. 85% of 1.8 billion people *followed*. That’s 55 nation states. Iran’s Ayatollahs declared Ramadan for *tomorrow*. No nation followed. Appeasing Iran is a blunder.
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How Putin Was Thrown Off Course by a Furious Libyan General . The backstory to the Moscow meeting where Putin tried his hand at Libyan peace making.
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Man who shot Russian ambassador in Turkey can be heard saying "نحن الذين بايعوا محمد على الحهاد" We are those who pledged jihad to Mohamed.
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One good outcome of the horrible attacks on Imene is the outpouring of support in Algeria and the rest of the Arab world for a woman who had to fight hard since she was a little girl in a conservative family and society to get to the Olympics.
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