FRI 29 - 3 - 2024
 
Date: Sep 15, 2011
Source: Associated Press
 
Latest developments in Arab world's unrest
LIBYA
The potential proliferation of both conventional and unconventional weapons in Libya after six months of civil war is a "key concern" for the United States, says U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jeffery Feltman. The conflict that ended Moammar Gadhafi's 42-year rule and sent the former dictator into hiding also threw open the gates to his regime's extensive armories. The country's new leaders, who are struggling to establish a government, have failed to secure many of the weapons caches. Witnesses have watched looters, former rebel fighters or anyone with a truck carry them away.
___
SYRIA
Syrian troops fire tear gas at a gathering of mourners just hours after U.S. Ambassador Robert Ford and other Western diplomats express their condolences to the family of a rights advocate killed last week. The incident could increase already high tensions between Washington and Damascus, which has accused the United States of helping incite violence in Syria. Authorities have also criticized two earlier visits by Ford to the country's central and southern regions.
___
YEMEN
Fierce clashes between Yemeni government forces and al-Qaida linked militants in southern Yemen kill 14, including 12 militants. Islamic militants linked with al-Qaida have taken advantage of the turmoil gripping Yemen over anti-government protests, seizing control of a number of towns and the provincial capital of the southern province of Abyan. In recent weeks, the military has gone on the offensive, but fierce fighting has not shaken the militants hold on the area and has left thousands of civilians displaced.
___
EGYPT
Egypt's top security chief testifies in a closed session of the trial of ousted President Hosni Mubarak, who is charged with complicity in the killing of protesters in the uprising against his rule. Interior Minister Gen. Mansour el-Issawi is the latest in a string of top figures summoned to the stand under a complete media blackout, barring journalists from attending or even reporting accounts of what was said in the sessions. El-Issawi's cross examination by the defense team representing Mubarak, his security chief and six other aides, the prosecution, the lawyers representing the families of victims and the judge lasts more than three hours.
___
JORDAN
Demonstrators demand the closing of the U.S. Embassy in Jordan over Wikileaks cables suggesting covert U.S. plans to turn Jordan into a home for Palestinians. It's a rare anti-American demonstration in Jordan, a close ally of the U.S. The 70 activists burn American and Israeli flags in a noisy protest opposite the embassy in Amman. Roughly half of the country's 6 million population is of Palestinian origin.
___
TUNISIA
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister visits Tunisia in the first trip by a high-level Saudi official to the country since Tunisians ousted their longtime leader in January. Former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia after the monthlong uprising. The new interim government has repeatedly requested he be extradited to Tunisia. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal did not mention the matter after talks with interim Tunisia President Fouad Mebazza.
___
BAHRAIN
Bahrain security forces fire tear gas at crowds of protesters chanting anti-government slogans in the Gulf kingdom's oil hub of Sitra. At least seven people are injured. Clashes have become a near nightly event in Bahrain, involving police and mostly Shiite demonstrators demanding greater rights in the tiny, strategically important island nation that is the home of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.


 
Readers Comments (0)
Add your comment

Enter the security code below*

 Can't read this? Try Another.
 
Related News
Rallies for Assad, ‘massacre’ in Idlib
Arab Spring ushers in bright future despite worry
UN rights panel condemns Syria, Lebanon abstains
Tunisia shows Islamists can win in democracy
1st Arab Spring votes more about stalling change
Related Articles
Rising Middle East public trust in Arab armed forces
Blame the state for sham Arab democracy
Reckoning lies ahead for the Arab state
Constitutions matter, the Arabs say
Turkey feels history’s weight in Syria
Copyright 2024 . All rights reserved