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WORLD NEWS Thursday 12 OcTOber 2017

Qatar says hosting Hezbollah says new US measures won’t affect group
of World Cup ‘not

up for discussions’ group. He was reacting to
the State Department’s an-
By JON GAMBRELL nouncement Tuesday of a
Associated Press total of $12 million for infor-
DUBAI, United Arab Emir- mation leading to the loca-
ates (AP) — Qatar on tion, arrest or conviction of
Wednesday strongly criti- two senior commanders.
cized Emirati officials for “It is part of the continuous
questioning Doha’s hosting efforts to demonize Hezbol-
of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, lah. They are false accusa-
saying that the tournament tions that will not have any
“is not up for discussion or effect on the operational
negotiation” amid a dip- activities of Hezbollah,” the
lomatic crisis engulfing the official said, speaking on
region. condition of anonymity in
Four Arab nations, includ- line with party regulations.
ing the United Arab Emir- The rewards are the first of-
ates, have been boycot- fered by the United States
ting Qatar for months, in for Hezbollah leaders in a
part over allegations that it decade, and come amid
supports extremists and has heightened U.S.-Iran ten-
overly warm ties to Iran. sions following Trump’s
Qatar, which hosts a major election. Trump has called
U.S. military base, has long In this October 24, 2015 photo, Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah addresses a crowd the nuclear deal one of
during the holy day of Ashoura, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. A Hezbollah official says
denied supporting extrem- multimillion dollar rewards offered by the Trump administration in return for information leading to America’s “worst and most
ists. the arrest of its operatives are part of ongoing U.S. efforts to “demonize” the group. one-sided transactions”
Qatar’s Government Com- ever. He is expected to
munications Office said By ZEINA KARAM has expanded its influence “The U.S. and Israel are decline this week to certify
the attempt by Emirati of- Associated Press across the region through concerned about Iran con- Iran’s compliance and re-
ficials to link the games BEIRUT (AP) — Hezbollah the Lebanese militant solidating its position in Syr- fer the matter to Congress.
to the dispute shows that on Wednesday dismissed group and other proxies. ia. With no reliable sign that He also is expected to tar-
the boycott “is founded a multimillion dollar reward U.S. and Israeli officials have either party is willing to do get Iran’s paramilitary Rev-
on petty jealousy, not real offered by the Trump ad- expressed mounting con- anything decisive about olutionary Guard with new
concerns.” ministration in return for in- cern about the expanding that, they’re left with op- sanctions. On Wednes-
“This demand is a clear at- formation on two of its key footprint of Hezbollah and tions such as sanctions, ar- day, Iranian Foreign Min-
tempt to undermine our operatives, describing it other Iranian-backed forc- rest warrants and the like,” ister Mohammad Javad
independence. The World as an ongoing attempt to es in war-torn Syria, and are said Faysal Itani, a senior Zarif warned of a tough
Cup, like our sovereignty, is “demonize” the group. looking for ways to pres- fellow with the Atlantic response if Trump presses
not up for discussion or ne- The tougher U.S. measures, sure Tehran. President Don- Council’s Rafik Hariri Center ahead with his threats to
gotiation,” it added. including a plan to further ald Trump is threatening to for the Middle East. scuttle the nuclear deal,
Organizers of the Middle tighten sanctions imposed scuttle the landmark 2015 A Hezbollah official told The saying Iran “will never re-
East’s first World Cup urged on Hezbollah, are part of nuclear deal with Tehran, a Associated Press in Beirut negotiate” the agree-
regional rivals to rally be- a larger effort to ramp up process he could initiate in Wednesday that the U.S. ment brokered under the
hind the “once-in-a-life- pressure on Iran, which the coming days. measures will not affect the Obama administration.q
time opportunity for us all”
and stop the blockade.
“We’ve always taken the US rules out negotiated IS withdrawal from Raqqa
simple position that sport is
elevated from conflict and By SARAH EL DEEB worst month in 2017 for ci-
that the 2022 FIFA World Associated Press vilians in Syria.Dillon said the
Cup in Qatar will be a plat- BEIRUT (AP) — The U.S.- Raqqa Civil Council, a lo-
form to bring people to- led coalition battling the cal administration of Arab
gether, separate from any Islamic State group said and Kurdish officials, was
political ideology,” the su- Wednesday that it won’t leading the discussions to
preme committee said in a accept a negotiated with- ensure the safe evacuation
statement. drawal for hundreds of IS of civilians. However, it was
Lobbying firms and in- militants holed up in the not clear with whom the
terest groups funded by Syrian city of Raqqa, once council is speaking inside
the boycotting Arab na- the extremists’ de facto Raqqa. A Kurdish-led force,
tions increasingly have fo- capital. the Syrian Democratic
cused on Qatar’s hosting The remarks by coalition Forces, is leading the battle
of the soccer tournament. spokesman, Col. Ryan Dil- on the ground.
They’ve pointed to alle- lon, came as coalition al- This photo purports to show al-Qaida-linked fighters from Hayat “We are seeing some good
gations of corruption sur- lies were working out ways Tahrir al-Sham or Levant Liberation Committee walk inside the progress of civilians that
Syrian village of Abu Dali in Idlib province, after they captured
rounding Qatar’s winning to safely evacuate an esti- from Syrian troops. are being able to safely
bid, as well as the condi- mated 4,000 civilians who (Ibaa News Agency, via AP) exit Raqqa. The trend has
tions that laborers working remain trapped in the city. its final stages. The city, on been killed there since turned into ... a broader
in Qatar face in building in- The coalition has said IS the banks of the Euphrates June. effort by the Raqqa Civil
frastructure for the games. militants are holding some River, has been badly dam- The United Nations esti- Council to get the remain-
Such conditions are preva- civilians as human shields, aged by the fighting, and mates 8,000 people are ing civilians out of there,”
lent across Gulf Arab na- preventing them from es- activists have reported that trapped in Raqqa, and Dillon told The Associated
tions. q caping as the fight enters over 1,000 civilians have said September was the Press. q