The United States is expanding its military role in Yemen. Yemeni officials say U.S. forces assisted Yemeni troops in launching a wide air and land offensive against militant groups in the south of the country.
Syria's fragmented opposition has suffered a further setback, with the newly re-elected head of the main exiled coalition offering to resign due to criticism of his leadership and infighting that has plagued groups trying to oust President Bashar al-Assad.
The International Criminal Court, or ICC, next month will consider whether to grant Libya’s request to try the son of former dictator Moammar Gadhafi in a domestic court.
Details after the break.
The United States is expanding its military role in Yemen. Yemeni officials say U.S. forces assisted Yemeni troops in launching a wide air and land offensive against militant groups in the south of the country.
The United States has a long history of advising and assisting Yemen in that country's fight against the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula group.
That cooperation was suspended during Yemen's recent political turmoil, in which violent protests led to the exit of longtime ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh.
With new President Abd Rabbou Mansur Hadi taking steps to restore constitutional order and signs terrorist activity is growing in the country, U.S. help has resumed with the Pentagon recently announcing the return of a limited number of U.S. troops to train and assist Yemeni forces.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters a recently foiled terrorist plot to bring down a U.S. commercial airplane underscores the need for U.S. forces to intensify their hunt for al-Qaida operatives wherever they are and wherever they try to hide.
"The recent threat that concerned all Americans about the possibility of another effort to take down an American airliner has come out of Yemen and it is for that reason that we will continue to take all of the steps necessary to try to go after those who would threaten our country and threaten the safety of American people," said Panetta.
Panetta and other officials are not giving specifics on the operations under way in Yemen, but they say the cooperation is growing. The Defense Secretary rules out sending in U.S. ground forces.
"There is no consideration of that," Panetta added. "Our operations now are directed with the Yemenis going after al-Qaida."
Yemeni officials say the most recent assault on militants was carried out by Yemeni warplanes and troops with direct guidance from a small number of U.S. personnel in the country. Officials outside the Pentagon, speaking anonymously, say U.S. forces are helping Yemenis with intelligence, including satellite imagery, pictures from drones and other means to help them locate targets.
The United States military's aim is to build the Yemenis' capacity, an approach consistent with the Obama administration's defense strategy that calls for a smaller U.S. footprint in international operations.
Defense analyst Anthony Cordesman at the Center for Strategic and International Studies research group says that is accomplished with special operations forces and others who are sent in to work closely with the Yemenis.
"They are really partners," Cordesman explained. "They work with forces that are not used to this kind of mission that may be experiencing serious problems in terms of political leadership, and direction in a country that is going [through] the kind of turmoil that Yemen has. These partners effectively are capable of taking units that do not have the same level of experience, basically guiding the officers, guiding the unit, helping it really perform the mission. At what point are you leading and at what point are you partnering, this is sort of an exercise of semantics."
The operations are part of Washington's broader effort to bring stability to Yemen and stamp out al-Qaida in a region the United States sees as strategically important due to its history as a haven for terrorists, and its proximity to shipping lanes leading to the Suez Canal, the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.
The White House last month gave the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency wider authority to carry out drone strikes against militants in Yemen.
It has also bolstered its support of President Hadi, who analysts say has shown a greater willingness to work more directly with U.S. forces than the previous government. This week, President Barack Obama signed an executive order to freeze assets of those who threaten Yemen's political transition process.
Sources say the U.S. military's efforts in Yemen are being carried out on a much smaller budget than before cooperation was suspended last year, a reflection of the Pentagon's new financial constraints in the face of severe cuts.
Syria
Syria's fragmented opposition has suffered a further setback, with the newly re-elected head of the main exiled coalition offering to resign due to criticism of his leadership and infighting that has plagued groups trying to oust President Bashar al-Assad.
Syrian National Council chief Burhan Ghalioun said Thursday he does not want to be a cause of division in the opposition coalition and will step down as soon as a replacement is chosen through consensus or election.
The Paris-based secular academic has served as SNC leader since its formation last year and was elected Tuesday to another three-month term by a majority of SNC members who attended a meeting in Rome. Ghalioun promised to stay active in the group after his resignation.
The SNC's Paris-based head of foreign relations Bassma Kodmani told VOA that leaders of the body planned to meet later on Thursday to make a quick decision about how to elect a new council president.
Analysts say the SNC's leadership dispute highlights a major shortcoming of the Syrian opposition movement: a continued lack of unity in its battle to end Mr. Assad's 11-year rule. But, in a phone interview with VOA, Kodmani said the leadership transition is an "opportunity" for the SNC to refocus its efforts on what she called its original purpose of serving the activists at the front line of the uprising inside Syria.
Western and Arab nations supporting the uprising have long urged the SNC to heal its divisions and present a credible alternative to the Assad government. But a series of prominent dissidents has quit the SNC in recent months, with some complaining that Islamists hold too much influence over the group.
Kodmani said the SNC will try to limit the influence of groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood by finding a balance in its membership that reflects Syria's political, religious and ethnic diversity.
Earlier Thursday, a faction of the SNC threatened to quit unless the organization restructures itself. The Local Coordination Committees accused SNC leaders of failing to cooperate with revolutionaries inside Syria and marginalizing young members of the organization. The LCC is an activist network whose members are mostly Syria-based.
The Local Coordination Committees' representative to the SNC told VOA that Ghalioun's offer to resign is a "step in the right direction" of reforming the opposition coalition. Speaking by phone from Berlin, Hozan Ibrahim said the SNC also should channel more money to youths and revolutionaries engaged in relief work and protests inside Syria.
Ibrahim said the LCC suspended its involvement in SNC meetings last month and will withdraw completely if reforms are not implemented. But, he downplayed the significance of such a move, saying the LCC has a limited interest in politics and could still support the organization from the outside.
Libya
The International Criminal Court, or ICC, next month will consider whether to grant Libya’s request to try the son of former dictator Moammar Gadhafi in a domestic court. The international court has issued an arrest warrant for Saif al-Islam Gadhafi to be tried at The Hague. He is being held by a Libyan militia outside the capital, Tripoli.
Libya's deputy U.N. ambassador, Ibrahim Dabbashi, told the U.N. Security Council that Libya is not a party to the ICC and therefore requested to try Saif al-Islam in Libya because the primary responsibility for trying major crimes remains the responsibility of the domestic judiciary.
"Such a request only affirms that Libyan judicial authorities are adamant on carrying out the trials in Libya. The trial documents as well as the statements by defendants and witnesses are part of Libya’s history. Therefore, all Libyans are keen on them taking place there, in Libya," Dabbashi said.
Chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told reporters that he will present his views to the judges at The Hague on June 4. The judges could then ask for more evidence from Libya or other parties before deciding whether to grant the Libyan request.
Ocampo said the capacity of the Libyan judicial system would not be a factor in the court's decision. Instead, the ICC would consider whether the Libyan court is trying the same individual for the same crimes as the international court's prosecutor is seeking to do. Also weighing into their decision would be whether a Libyan court could be independent and impartial.
The prosecutor reported to the Security Council on Wednesday that Libyan authorities say Saif al-Islam is being kept in "adequate" conditions of detention.
"Libyan authorities also say that Saif al-Islam has been kept in adequate conditions of detention, provided with sufficient and good quality food, given access to ICC and the option of retaining a domestic lawyer of his choosing. Saif also received visits from the ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross], NGOs [non-governmental organizations] and family members. He has been provided with proper medical and dental care, and not been subject to physical abuse," Ocampo said.
Human rights groups have raised concerns about the conditions of Saif al-Islam's detention, because he is being held by former rebels in the mountain town of Zintan and has not seen a lawyer.
Libyan envoy Dabbashi said national laws require that criminal cases cannot be tried without legal representation and that it is Saif al-Islam who has refused to appoint a defense attorney.
Richard Dicker, who heads the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch in New York, says he is concerned that Saif al-Islam might not get a fair trial that meets international standards if it is held in Libya.
"So we have real concerns about the situation and conditions in Libya and whether that will lead to a fair and impartial trial. I think it would be a loss for the Libyan people, first and foremost, to have a kind of rerun of the proceedings meted out for Saddam Hussein in Iraq, where no accountability is fairly established," Dicker said.
Last June, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Saif al-Islam charging him with two counts of crimes against humanity - murder and persecution.
All content based on VOA News reports.
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