Oil installations hit by protests in southern Iraq

On July 13, special forces from the counterterrorism unit arrived in Basra to protect the oil companies and oil fields in the province. Equipment from the oil fields has also been stolen in the ongoing protests, but demonstrators managed to arrest eight of the perpetrators on July 11, handing them over to the authorities in an exchange of confidence between the protesters and security forces. Source Al Monitor

Lebanon’s Hezbollah to work with Syrian state on refugee returns

Hezbollah will work with the Syrian state and Lebanon’s General Security agency to help return Syrian refugees who want to go back home, its leader said on Friday, a project that critics see as premature in the absence of a peace deal. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, whose Iran-backed movement fights alongside Damascus, also said a “very big victory” was coming in south Syria, where an army offensive has made rapid gains against insurgents. Source Reuters