Syria is coming under increasing pressure: the UN says killings have increased since the arrival of monitors; protesters have been repeatedly shot during observer visits, monitors themselves have been attacked; and a observer has resigned claiming the mission is a farce.
(all times GMT) Welcome to Middle East Live. The Arab League's monitoring mission toHere's a round up in more detail:
Syria
![Susan Rice](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20120112155829im_/http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/audio/video/2011/3/17/1300356223016/Susan-Rice-002.jpg)
• A senior UN official said 400 people been have killed in Syria since the Arab League monitors arrived in an escalation of the crackdown against protesters. The figures, revealed in a closed session of the security council, were seized on by the US ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, who chided Syria's ally Russia for its failure to produce a promise draft resolution on the crisis. "Unfortunately after a bit of a show last month of tabling a resolution, the Russians inexplicably have been more or less Awol in terms of leading negotiations on the text of that resolution," Rice said.
• Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi has denounced attacks on Arab observers in Latakia and Deir Ezzor and said he was holding the government in Damascus responsible for their mission. He said: "The Arab League denounces the irresponsible action and acts of violence against the league's observers. It considers the Syrian government totally responsible for the protection of the members of the observer mission."
• Arab League observer Anwar Malek has resigned because he said the monitoring mission was a farce. He told al-Jazeera that Syria is failing to implement any of the League's proposals and engaging in fabrication and deception.
• Syria's embattled president, Bashar al-Assad, yesterday blamed "foreign conspiracies" supported by Arab states for the crisis in his country and promised to crack down on terrorism with "an iron fist". In a defiant speech at Damascus university he said: "We cannot relent in the battle against terrorism. We strike with an iron fist against terrorists who have been brainwashed."
• The US led international condemnation of the speech claiming it confirmed that Assad "needs to go". State department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said:
Assad manages to blame a foreign conspiracy that's so vast with regard to the situation in Syria that it now includes the Arab League, most of the Syrian opposition, the entire international community. He throws responsibility on everybody but back on himself.
French foreign minister Alain Juppe accused Assad of inciting violence in the country, AFP reports
• Assad has proved himself spectacularly ill-suited to the presidency, Simon Tisdall argues. He said Assad now has three options: flight, fight or negotiation.
• Syria's state news agency has published a full text of the speech.
![wordle-assad-speech](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20120112155829im_/http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/1/11/1326271692233/assadwordle.jpg)
A Wordle version of the text shows how much of the address was devoted to the Arab League and Arabism, and Assad's emphasis on the importance of the Syrian state.
Egypt
• Former US president Jimmy Carter dismissed concerns about the success of Islamist parties in Egypt's first elections since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak, because it represents the will of the Egyptian people. His Carter Centre has sent 40 observers to monitor Egypt's staggered parliamentary elections since voting started in late November, the freest and fairest in decades. Carter said his organisation was "very pleased" with the conduct of the elections so far.
Bahrain
• Several thousand people held a protest on Tuesday outside the United Nations' offices in Bahrain's capital, Manama, the BBC reports. The demonstrators chanted "Down, Down, Khalifa" - a reference to long-serving Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman al-Khalifa, activists said. They also carried banners urging the UN to "intervene to protect civilians".
Libya
• The international criminal court granted Libyan authorities more time to answer its questions about Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, who is wanted by the court but is being held by Libyan fighters. Libya's new rulers said they need three more weeks to respond to questions about Saif "due to the security situation".
Iran
• Iran's interior ministry has blocked at least 33 MPs from running in parliamentary elections in March, adding to calls for a countrywide boycott. At least 33 Iranian MPs were told on Tuesday that their candidacies had not been approved even though they currently serve in the parliament, local news agencies reported. Many reformist MPs and even some conservatives are among those barred from running in the March vote.
An Iranian university professor working at a key nuclear facility has been killed in a bomb explosion, the latest in a series of assassinations and attempted killings linked by the country's authorities to a secret war by Israel and the US to stop the development of what Tehran insists would be a peaceful nuclear capability.
Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, 32, a chemistry expert and a director of the Natanz uranium enrichment plant in central Iran, was killed after two assailants on a motorcycle attached magnetic bombs to his car, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
Turkey's Zaman newspaper reported:
Turkish customs officials intercepted four trucks on Tuesday suspected of carrying military equipment from Iran to Syria, a Turkish provincial governor has said.
The governor of Kilis province said the trucks were confiscated at the Oncupinar border crossing into Syria after police received information about their cargo.
Authorities have intercepted a cargo of ammunition bound for Syria for checks, reports said today. A vessel carrying the cargo stopped for refuelling at the port of Limassol where the cargo was intercepted, Politis newspaper reported.The ship was carrying 60 tonnes of ammunition and had been sailing to the port of Latakia in Syria from St Petersburg in Russia, the newspaper said.
The Arab League monitoring mission appears to be falling apart, according to al-Jazeera. It has this translated version of an interview with former Algerian monitor, Anwar Malek - still in his orange vest.
"The mission was a farce and the observers have been fooled. What I saw is a humanitarian disaster," he told the broadcaster. Malek said he saw snipers on the roofs of building under the command of army officers, and claimed the security forces attacked areas as soon as monitors left.
Horrific accounts and videos have emerged of Tuesday's violence in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor during an Arab League monitoring visit to the city.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 15 people were killed in the city of Deir Ezzor when the Syrian security forces opened fire on protesters.
Graphic video highlighted by US-based blogger Ammar Abdulhamid showed the moment when a young man was shot while trying to film the shooting on his mobile phone.
Another clip shows the moment when two protesters were shot in a back street [warning: disturbing content].
![Ali Abdullah Saleh signing the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative agreement](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20120112155829im_/http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/audio/video/2011/11/24/1322147689421/Ali-Abdullah-Saleh-signin-002.jpg)
The immunity deal for Yemen's president Ali Abdullah Saleh amounts to a license to kill and should be rejected by the parliament, Human Rights Watch said.
Sarah Leah Whitson, its executive Middle East director, said:
Passing this law would be an affront to thousands of victims of Saleh's repressive rule, including the relatives of peaceful protesters shot dead last year. Yemeni authorities should be locking up those responsible for serious crimes, not rewarding them with a license to kill.
The US defended the deal as necessary to persuade Saleh and his supporters their "era is over".
The Swedish football team is due to play Bahrain in an international friendly on January 18. On Twitter, Maryam Alkhawaja of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights has urged the Swedes to watch this video first.
requesting the #Swedish Football team to see this film before plying with #Bahrain- please respect Human Rights
It tells the story of A'ala Hubail, the Bahraini striker who was arrested in April last year along with his brother Mohammad, also a member of the national side, and dozens of other sports stars.
has changed the rules of the game- but not in a good way, writes Amal Hanano in Foreign Policy.
The Arab League mission in SyriaThe regime sends spies to take pictures of the protesters who dare speak to the observers. Before every excursion, the streets are secured in any way necessary, by bullets or arrests (for the safety of the observers or to preserve what's left of the regime's tarnished image?). The streets of Deraa have to be scrubbed clean of its people, silencing their voices and erasing any sign of dissent, to present an image of control, safely guarded by snipers lurking on rooftops.
Since the observers' arrival, the revolution's landscape has changed, writes Hanano.
The regime added tear gas, water cannons, and nail bombs to its arsenal of mass arrests, torture, live ammunition, and sniper fire used to attack protesters. Last Friday, Jan. 7, the people of Damascus awoke to news of an explosion in the Midan, the heart of the city.
And on the ground, Syrians have become rapidly disillusioned with the monitors' ability to do their work. Hanano quotes an unnamed activist in Daraa as telling him:
When the observers first arrived, the people were extremely optimistic. On the first day the team met with the mayor, so we couldn't do anything. The second day, we invited them to a protest at a martyr's funeral. They said, 'We don't have cars for transportation.' We asked, 'How could the team of observers not have cars?' So we postponed the protest.
The third day, we asked them to come and observe the protest, but the regime took them somewhere else. Their work is not even at 1 percent. Nothing is happening. They aren't gathering testimonies from the families. They are witnessing the snipers and the army on the streets. They see this with their own eyes. A stranger walking in the streets would know.
Ian Cobain is looking for help in trying to contact the family and friends of Tariq Sabri Mahmud al-Fahdaw, born in Baghdad in around 1966, who disappeared after being detained, along with about 60 other men, by coalition forces at a roadblock west of Ramadi on 11 April 2003.
Our colleagueIf you have any information please contact Ian via Twitter: @IanCobain
نحن بحاجة للاتصال بعائلة طارق صبري محمود
مواليد ١٩٦٦
تم اعتقاله و مجموعة من الاشخاص من قبل قوات التحالف
غرب الرمادي في ١١نيسان ٣..٢
The Iranian nuclear scientist killed in an explosion this morning had been planning to attend a memorial ceremony later today for a physics professor who was also killed in a blast two years ago, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency.
Masoud Ali Mohammadi, a senior professor at Tehran University, died on January 12 2010 when a bomb-rigged motorcycle exploded near his car as he was about to leave for work.
Roshan, 32, was inside the Iranian-assembled Peugeot 405 car together with two others when the bomb exploded near Gol Nabi Street in north Tehran, Fars reported. It said the person accompanying Roshan died later of injuries at a hospital.
Fars described the explosion as a "terrorist attack" targeting Roshan, a graduate of the prestigious Sharif University of Technology in Tehran.
Roshan was a chemistry expert who was involved in building polymeric layers for gas separation, which is the use of various membranes to isolate gases.
China's premier will be discussing the Arab Spring with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar during a visit to the region next week, AP reports.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun said China's views on how the Middle East unrest should develop were "clear-cut." He said:
China hopes the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of these countries will be respected by the international community.
Wen Jiabao's visit to Saudi Arabia will be the first by a Chinese premier in two decades.
Bashar al-Assad has made a surprise appearance at a pro-regime demo in Damascus's Ummayad Square, according to reports.
The crowd shouted "Shabiha forever, for your eyes Assad", a reference to pro-Assad militiamen who have frequently fought pro-democracy protesters, Lebanon's LBCI News wrote.
Assad told the crowd: "Syria is facing a conspiracy but we will beat it; I've never felt weak."
"Conspiracy is in its final phase; we should be ready when the country calls for us," the Syrian presdient said.
Here's a video of his appearance.
@stephenstarr, a freelance journalist, has tweeted that Assad was accompanied by his wife, Asma al-Assad.
Appearance of First Lady and children at #Damascusrally to quell reports she had fled #Syria #Damascus #Assad
Although the picture is grainy, you can just about make out Asma al-Assad standing on the ground with her children at about 4.05 minutes in.
Assad told his supporters he wants to "draw strength" from them, according an initial take by AP.
President Bashar Assad joined thousands of his supporters Wednesday in an extremely rare public appearance at a rally in the capital Damascus, telling the crowd he wanted to draw strength from them.
Assad, 46, was surrounded by security guards when he appeared in the crowd, dressed more casually than usual in a jacket but no tie.
"I wanted to be with you so I can draw strength from you in the face of everything that Syria is subjected to," he said. "It was important that we maintain our faith in the future. I have that faith in the future and we will undoubtedly triumph over this conspiracy," he said.
Ian Black has been given a one-sided view of the city of Homs on a government-organised trip to the centre of Syrian uprising.
Speaking by phone from the city, Ian said:
The atmosphere remains very, very controlling. What's true for the Arab League monitors is even more true for journalists. If you are in Syria as a journalist with a visa then you are pretty closely subject to government control. This trip today is an interesting example of that.
This is a government-organised trip to show the government's side of the story and they are doing that very energetically. They have brought us to the part of Homs which is controlled by the Syrian government. From here you can see virtually nothing of what's going on in the areas controlled by what people call gunmen.
A few minutes before the call Ian could hear shooting from an area said to be controlled by gunmen. Government minders want to keep parts of the city "out of the picture because it doesn't fit the official government narrative," Ian said.
A wounded soldier in a hospital in Homs told Ian that protests were initially peaceful but then turned violent. Ian said he did not get a chance to verify the claim.
You can't get to see what's happening on the other side of the city where many people don't even have the benefit of hospitals or medical care. It is interesting to see quite how fiercely the Syrian government is defending its position in the city and how much apparent loyalty it can command here.
There is a significant armed presence even in areas of the city away from the front line, he said.
In the commercial centre whole streets of shops are shut down. It doesn't look like a city that is leading a normal life at all, even on the side that is completely under government control. There are soldiers in full combat gear in the middle of the city. It has got a strange feeling to it.
Ian added:
The people you talk to here are all singing very much from the same sheet. They all talk about terrorism, murderers and treachery, and particularly they complain about the support of western governments for these enemies of the Syrian regime. There is a sense that they are all saying the same thing from the same script. A man just insisted to me that there was only a security solution to this crisis, no political solution.
We are only hearing one side of the story, but it is important to say there is real strength of feeling, [and] apparently, at least, pretty unanimous support for the government.
On the future of the Arab League mission, Ian said:
It was clear from the start that this was pretty much mission impossible. But there is a strong pressure for the Arab League mission to be maintained. If it is withdrawn there is no international presence or pressure point at all on the Syrian regime.
Here's a summary of the latest developments.
Syria
• Bashar al-Assad has made a surprise appearance at a rally of his supporters in Damascus, along with his wife and children. The rare public outing, which comes just a day after he vowed to quash the "terrorist" opposition with an "iron first", offered the president a chance to rail again against the "conspiracy" facing Syria. (See 11.44am.)
• A small group of foreign journalists has been taken on a tightly-restricted government tour of Homs. The Guardian's Ian Black said his minders were "energetically" showing them "the government's side of the story" and that it was very unlikely the journalists would be taken to Baba Amr or any other restive neighbourhood. From what he had seen so far, he said, there was "apparently, at least, pretty unanimous support for the government." (See 12.14pm.)
• 400 people been have killed in Syria since the Arab League monitors arrived in an escalation of the crackdown against protesters, said a senior UN official. The figures, revealed in a closed session of the security council, were seized on by the US ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, who chided Syria's ally Russia for its failure to produce a promise draft resolution on the crisis. Horrific violence emerged last night and this morning of events in Deir Ezzor yesterday, where the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights said 15 people were killed- see 9.42am.
• Arab League observer Anwar Malek resigned from the mission, saying the work was farcical and was failing to denounce a "humanitarian disaster". He told al-Jazeera that Syria was failing to implement any of the League's proposals and engaging in fabrication and deception. (See 9.15am.)
Iran
• A scientist working at the Natanz nuclear facility was killed in an explosion which an Iranian official said had been orchestrated by Israel. Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, 32, a chemistry expert, died after two assailants on a motorcycle attached magnetic bombs to his car, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
Egypt
• Egypt risked inflaming tensions with Israel by saying it would not be "appropriate" for Jewish pilgrims to make an annual visit to a sacred tomb in the Nile Delta. An official told AP the government had told Israel two months ago that the ceremony would be "impossible" this year because of political instability.
Yemen
• Human Rights Watch has called on Yemen's parliament to reject a law that would grant immunity to President Ali Abdullah Saleh. "Passing this law would be an affront to thousands of victims of Saleh's repressive rule, including the relatives of peaceful protesters shot dead last year," said a spokeswoman.
A Moroccan rapper who has become one of the monarchy's boldest critics is today awaiting a verdict in his trial for assault charges which his lawyers and right activists said were a ploy to muzzle the popular singer.
Reuters writes that Mouad Belrhouat, better known as El-Haqed, or "The Sullen One", "has become the singing voice of a protest movement inspired by Arab uprisings, demanding a constitutional monarchy, an independent judiciary and a crackdown on corruption."
The judge adjourned the case on Wednesday after an all-night hearing to consider his verdict, expected on Thursday.
The 24-year-old rapper has been in jail since his arrest in September after a brawl with a monarchist. Bail requests by his defence team have been rejected and the trial has been adjourned six times.
Khadija Ryadi, who chairs Morocco's main human rights group, AMDH, said:
The charges are a farce. El Haqed is being persecuted for his critical songs. The state is keeping him in jail and repeatedly adjourning his trial to silence him.
You can hear one of El Haqed's tracks laid over images of Morocco's protests in this video.
A western journalist was killed on Wednesday and another wounded as they visited Syria's Homs city, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
We will have more details soon from Ian Black who is in Homs.
(Technical problems have meant we haven't been able to post updates for an hour or so, apologies.)
The foreign journalist killed in Homs was from France 2 TV, according to France 24.
A French journalist from FRANCE 2 TV was killed in #Homs and his colleague wounded #Syria
— Tatiana El Khoury (@AswatF24) January 11, 2012
On his way back to Damascus from Homs, Ian Black has given this account of the attack which, he has been told, left one journalist and eight Syrians dead, and another journalist injured.
As we were leaving a march was beginning, a march in solidarity with the Syrian regime- the sort of thing that happens quite a lot particularly when foreign journalists and especially television cameras are there.
There was a second group of journalists travelling separately from our group and who we've been told were filming the march as it was setting off when we think a vehicle in which they were travelling was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.
We don't have any further details. But what this does appear to be is the first time that a foreign journalist has been killed in the violence accompanying the uprising in Syria.
They've told us what happened- it certainly appears to fit in with their view of how things are on the ground: the Syrian state on the one side and armed terrorists on the other.
But as I say this is the first time I think that a foreign journalist has been killed and, in the way of the world, that's likely to have quite a wide resonance.
Of course Syrians are being killed every day; eight others we're told have been killed in this incident. It's part of the ongoing violence in what seems to me, after a few days now in Syria, to be a conflict that is getting worse all the time, not showing any signs of stabilising - quite the opposite. So this will be another detail in that grim, still unfolding story.
The French journalist killed in Homs was Gilles Jacquier, a well-known reporter for the France 2 television channel.
According to the website of the Bayeux-Calvados war correspondents' prize, he covered most of the conflicts of the last ten years- Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Israel, Haiti and Algeria. He won the Albert Londres Prize in 2003, with Bertrand Coq, for a report during the second intifada.
listen here to Ian Black's account of what happened in Homs today.
You canThe French foreign minister, Alain Juppé, has issued a statement condemning the attack and sending his condolences to Jacquier's family and friends. He added:
We ask that an investigation be opened so that light is shed on the circumstances of this incident.
It is up to the Syrian authorities to guarantee the safety of international journalists on their territory and to protect that basic freedom- the freedom of information.
The circumstances of the Homs attack in which French journalist Gilles Jacquier and eight Syrians were killed remain unclear.
Ian Black, our reporter in Syria who was in Homs today in a different group of journalists, has posted this Tweet.
Homs attack that killed French journalist first described as involving mortars then changed to rocket-propelled grenade. Circs v unclear
— Ian Black (@ian_black) January 11, 2012
Envoyé Spécial, the programme Jaquier worked for, has posted this video in tribute to him.
Entirely in French, it was taken in 2009 when he won a Jean-Louis Calderon prize for a piece on girls going to school in Afghanistan. Jacquier is filmed explaining how he did the report. The narrator says:
[Jacquier] is an habitué of conflict. He has covered the best-known, like Kosovo and Algeria, but also...those which go on but of which noone speaks.
His prize-winning report from Kandahar is hailed by the chief judge as "un reportage de vérité"- a work of truth.
![Luke Harding](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20120112155829im_/http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/12/30/1325252896879/Luke-Harding-001.jpg)
Russia's apparent military support for the Syrian regime emerged today when a Russian ship carrying 60 tonnes of arms for Damascus was stopped in Cyprus, reports my colleague Luke Harding.
In this recently-filed report, Luke writes that the MV Chariot, which set off from St Petersburg in early December, was forced to pull into the Greek Cypriot port of Limassol because of stormy seas. It had been on its way to Turkey and Syria, inspectors said.
Customs officials who boarded the ship discovered four containers. They were unable to open them but concluded that they contained a "dangerous cargo". State radio in Cyprus went further, alleging that the Chariot was carrying "tens of tonnes of munitions".Russia is one of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's few remaining international allies. Moscow resents what it regards as western encroachment on its traditional sphere of influence and has continued to supply Damascus with advanced weapons and other arms, to the annoyance of Washington.
has given this account of events in Homs today.
Mohammed Ballout, described by Le Figaro as an Arabic-speaking journalist for the BBC,Like the Guardian's Ian Black, he was in the other group of journalists, but heard an RPG exploding either near or in the crowd of pro-regime supporters.
William Hague, the foreign secretary,The journalists from Jacquier's group ran to see what was going on. At that moment, a second RPG was shot in their direction. Gilles Jacquier was killed on the spot.
A journalist from the Flemish [Belgian] radio station VRT suffered a head injury. The France 2 cameraman was not injured. The attack took place in the street.
Zahira is an Alawite stronghold which has been targeted several times in the past by protesters. In this neighbourhood, there is often sniper fire from protesters.
![]()
Deep sympathy for family of journalist & civilians killed in Homs. Shows scale of violence & risks to those who bring it to world attention
Activists are reported to be questioning the official version of the Homs attack, accusing the regime of firing tanks at the crowd.
![Live blog: Twitter](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20120112155829im_/http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/04/08/twitter.gif)
Carl Fridh Kleberg, a Swedish journalist, has posted these Tweets:
Uncertainty re: #Homs attack that killed French journo (not to forget several others). Accusations from both sides, overt or implied. #Syria
Spksmn för #Syria Obs. for HRs accuses regime for #Homs attack that killed French journo + others. Claims residents saw tank fire 2 shells.
8 killed, 25 "very severely" injured in #Homs attack that killed French journo today, #Syria Observatory for Human Rights tell me.
A Dutch freelance journalist was injured in Homs today, according to a foreign ministry spokeswoman quoted by AP.
The spokeswoman says the man was treated in a local hospital and released Wednesday.
She declined to identify him or detail his injuries.
The Dutch foreign ministry spokeswoman could not confirm the Dutch reporter was part of the reporting trip when he was injured.
The details of the Homs attack remain murky. Several sources have identified the injured journalist as an employee of the Flemish Belgian VRT radio station.
The Arab League is postponing a decision to send more observers to Syria after three monitors were mildly injured in an attack this week, an official has said.The Arab League will not send more observers to Syria for the time being until the situation calms down.
Three monitors- two Kuwaitis and one from the UAE- had been hurt in the attack in Latakia when protesters attacked their vehicle, he said.
The AL is also showing signs of wanting to distance itself from an Algerian observer who quit the mission, saying he had witnessed an "humanitarian disaster". The official said of Anwar Malek:
He was ill and bedridden at his Syria hotel. So how could he make those claims?
Here's a summary of the latest developments from across the region.
Syria
• A French journalist and up to eight Syrians were killed in an attack in the city of Homs. The death of award-winning Gilles Jacquier- the first of an international journalist during the Syrian crisis- occurred in unclear circumstances during a government-led tour of the city by two groups of journalists. The Guardian's Ian Black said he had been told that the vehicle in which Jacquier and others had been travelling had been hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, but cautioned that details remained unclear. A BBC journalist said Jacquier was killed "on the spot" by a second RPG- the first of which had been fired earlier near a crowd of pro-regime protesters. (See 4.45pm.) A Dutch journalist was also injured, according to the foreign ministry in the Hague.
• France called for an immediate investigation into the attack, which it described as "odious". Alain Juppé, the foreign minister, said France held the authorities responsible for the protection of foreign journalists on Syrian soil.
• Activists questioned the official version of the attack. A spokesman for the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said residents had seen two tanks firing at the area where the attack took place.
• Bashar al-Assad made a surprise appearance at a rally of his supporters in Damascus, along with his wife and children. The rare public outing, which came just a day after he vowed to quash the "terrorist" opposition with an "iron first", offered the president another chance to rail again against the "conspiracy" facing Syria. (See 11.44am.)
• An Algerian former observer for the Arab League said he had resigned from the mission because it was a "farce". Anwar Malek told Al Jazeera that a humanitarian disaster was unfolding in Syria and the authorities were engaging in fabrication and deception. The Arab League moved to discredit Malek; an official said he had been bed-ridden during the mission and was therefore speaking with no authority.
• The Arab League said it was going to postpone sending more observers to Syria after an incident left three monitors lightly injured. An unnamed official said the attack earlier this week in Latakia, when protesters stood on and broke windows of an Arab League vehicle, had made the League reconsider. (See 5.18pm.)
• Russia's apparent military support for the Syrian regime emerged when a Russian ship carrying 60 tonnes of arms for Damascus was stopped in Cyprus. The MV Chariot, which set off from St Petersburg in early December, was forced to pull into the Greek Cypriot port of Limassol because of stormy seas. It had been on its way to Turkey and Syria, inspectors said.
Iran
• A scientist working at the Natanz nuclear facility was killed in an explosion which Iran said had been orchestrated by Israel and the US. Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, 32, a chemistry expert, died after two assailants on a motorcycle attached magnetic bombs to his car, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
Yemen
• A Yemeni committee tasked with demilitarising the capital gave armed opponents and backers of outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh 48 hours to begin withdrawing after months of street fighting, state news agency Saba said. Reuters said the presence of armed elements in Sanaa, defying an earlier deadline to leave their positions by the end of December, underlined the ongoing volatility of the country.
• Human Rights Watch called on Yemen's parliament to reject a law that would grant immunity to President Ali Abdullah Saleh. "Passing this law would be an affront to thousands of victims of Saleh's repressive rule, including the relatives of peaceful protesters shot dead last year," said a spokeswoman.
Comments
11 January 2012 10:14AM
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16497462
And away from the headlines the crisis in Iraq contonues. Yesterday:
In the deadliest incident, a bomb exploded in the village of Yathrib, near Tikrit, killing three boys - aged nine and 10 - on their way to school.
Two agriculture ministry employees were also killed when a bomb attached to their vehicle exploded in al-Sharqat, in the province of Salahuddin.
In the evening, two soldiers died when gunmen attacked an army checkpoint in the northern city of Mosul.
An army colonel was earlier killed in Saadiya, in Diyala province, when a roadside bomb struck the convoy in which he was travelling.
One unconfirmed report said another roadside bomb in western Baghdad killed two Shia pilgrims, who were walking to the holy city of Karbala for Arbain, which marks the end of 40 days of mourning for Imam Hussein.
11 January 2012 10:14AM
For once I agree with a US foreign policy statement. Gaddafi blamed his demise on foreign powers, Saleh in Yemen blamed a "Zionist plot", Ceausescu blamed imperialists in 1989...notice any similarities, dictator sympathiasers? Everyone is always to blame but them.
11 January 2012 10:19AM
re Iran alleged CIA agent
claim is based on an alledged confession which includes mention of CIA funding game developers, but such confessions, valued in sharia have been critised by human rights campaigners in Iran and abroad, but an interesting link picked up by NYT article:
'A Pentagon language-training contract won in 2009 by Kuma Games, a New York-based company that develops reality-based war games — including one called “Assault on Iran” — lists as a main contact Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, the former Marine from Flint, Mich., now on death row in an Iranian prison, convicted of spying for the C.I.A.'
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/11/world/middleeast/iran-imposes-death-sentence-on-us-man-accused-of-spying.html
11 January 2012 10:31AM
Moscow Tmes running with report confirming (or giving disinfo) some of debkafile earlier report Adm Kuznetsov in Syria:
'Five ships, including aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and destroyer Admiral Chabanenko, put in at Russia's naval maintenance and supply facility in the Syrian port of Tartus, Interfax said.'
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/russian-warships-pay-visit-to-syrian-port/450760.html
11 January 2012 10:36AM
Erdogan takes time off worrying about civil war in Syria to worry about civil war in Iraq:
"Turkish PM urges Iraqis to prevent sectarian conflict
(AFP) – 22 hours ago
ISTANBUL — Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on political and religious leaders in Iraq on Tuesday to prevent sectarian tensions in the country.
"The last thing we want to see in Iraq is a fight between brothers," Erdogan said in televised remarks in a weekly address to his lawmakers in parliament.
"I call on all our brothers in Iraq, regardless of their persuasion and ethnic roots to listen to their conscience and hearts," Erdogan said.
"I also invite the Iraqi government, religious leaders, community leaders and countries trying to influence Iraq to behave with consciousness and responsibility," he said.
"Countries that are fanning sectarian divisions and conflicts will be responsible for each drop of blood that is shed," Erdogan added, without naming the countries.
11 January 2012 10:36AM
Reuters - Iran jamming Al Jazeera broadcasts: document
11 January 2012 10:44AM
debkafile earlier report, so all great powers are sending their carriers, seperately confirmed reports carriers from Russia (Kuznetsov), US (Stennis), France (DeGualle)
http://www.debka.com/article/21633/
the exception is Cam on account of SSDR means we are sending Type 45 destroyer (mine sweepers would be more useful but less headline grabbing) as our carriers sold to India, two carriers cost £7bn yet to be built and wont have planes, as Seaharriers sold to USMC, F-35 8-10 years away
11 January 2012 10:45AM
Morning. If you've noticed, Iran is seemingly stepping up aid to the Syrian government, judging by some of these accounts:
Cyprus intercepts arms bound for Syria
Turkey intercepts Syrian arms trucks.
I came across an interesting piece regarding direct Iranian and Hezbollah participation in the fighting. According to this source over 120 Hezbollah and Iranian Basij paramilitary forces have been killed by the armed Syrian opposition in the fighting.
11 January 2012 10:46AM
mornin PB
"The last thing we want to see in Iraq is a fight between brothers," Erdogan said in televised remarks in a weekly address to his lawmakers in parliament.
"I call on all our brothers in Iraq, regardless of their persuasion and ethnic roots to listen to their conscience and hearts," Erdogan said.
bit rich given Turks recently bombed (Sept-Aug) the Kurds; and wonder if they will play the genocide card in Syria (given they deny there own, and still pissed at the french on that one)
11 January 2012 10:49AM
I found this article regarding the recent stance of Assad and comparisons to Gaddafi's attitude: http://www.yalibnan.com/2012/01/10/syrias-bashar-al-assad-chooses-the-qaddafi-model/
The part that struck me was the list of things all these dictators have done in common:
11 January 2012 10:50AM
Here's a video in Arabic about the Tawerghan refugees currently staying in Benghazi, which at least gives you an idea of the conditions they are living in.
11 January 2012 10:52AM
I think Erdogan is probably more worried about Northern Iraq becoming a bit too independent and then being used as a rallying point for Kurds from Syria and Iran for a movement to establish Kurdistan, especially with Syria starting to look shakey.
11 January 2012 11:01AM
Nic Robertson of CNN has been tweeting from Homs
11 January 2012 11:02AM
benad
just to pick up, the Cyprus intercept was from St Petersberg, it mentions earlier Iran shipment (which was left in the sun and blew up),
the Turkish intercept is interesting, alledged to come from Iran to Syria, could be true, but could be disinfo; not sure how can tell a box of ammo in a truck was from Iran (paperwork etc wouldnt be if your smuggling; whereas ship can be tracked) and how can you tell if destined for Syrian govt or FSA?
the defector source claim is much more interesting, only one uncorroborated source, but if report true, FSA in last 3 months have killed 120 Hezbollah and Iranian paramiliteries; raises interesting questions:
- given Hezbollah acquitted themselves well against IDF (one friend lost half his old platoon killed or wounded S Leb);
- means FSA ranks include some very well trained, experienced and require coordination, intelligence (to identify, track, and coordinate ambush)
- most reports FSA is umberella like TNC militias, I suspect some poorly equipped civlians are being used for defensive operations, whereas those offensive ops attacking Syrian Army, and if allegation true, fighting Hezbollah will be hardcore LIFG, salafists, AQ aligned); given killed 120, that means in 1,000s
11 January 2012 11:03AM
In Egypt the SCAF has just announced Jan 25th will be a new national holiday in place of July 23rd which commemorates 1952 revolution.
11 January 2012 11:07AM
@benad361 Made a good point about the dictators ,they tend to do these kind of things,instead of admitting the truth....thanks benad361
1- Shut down the internet
2- Send thugs (on foot or horseback)
3- Attack and arrest journalists
4- Shoot people
5- Promise to investigate who shot people
6- Do a meaningless political reshuffle
7- Blame Al Jazeera
8- Organise paid demonstrations in favor of your regime
9- Make a condescending speech about how much you love the youth
10- Warn that the country will fall into chaos without you
11- Blame foreign agitators
11 January 2012 11:13AM
Assad is addressing a rally in Damascus right now, you can watch it live here.
11 January 2012 11:13AM
@BrownMoses
I was way yesterday so couldn't respond to this post.
I have never claimed Gaddafi was a saint or that him or sections of his fighters committed no crimes at all.
What I have consistently said is that your 'human rights organizations' like HRW, AI and PHR alongside the TNC, Western and Gulf Arab government ably supported by mainstream western and Gulf Arab media have exaggerated and sometimes outright lied about the extent of what was happening in Libya and have used very flimsy and dodgy 'evidence' to support their allegations.
Most of these allegations of atrocities leveled against Gaddafi can not hold up to any serious investigations and more than one intensive investigation into the main charges leveled against Gaddafi have been discredited by even your very own 'human rights organizations'.
Amnesty questions claim that Gaddafi ordered rape as weapon of war
So BrownMoses, you can say you never liked Gaddafi because he was not a western styled democrat towing the western line and for that reason, you are happy in his overthrow and death but don't come here spouting those discredited allegations of atrocities to justify the intervention.
As I said, your hatred of Gaddafi(even assuming he was tyrant) has blinded you to the reality that it is ordinary Libyans and the state of Libya that has paid the price of your hatred of Gaddafi and has also blinded you to the moral and legal hypocrisy that the intervention entailed.
P.S.
You are right: 'The world isn't black and white, good versus evil, imperialism versus whatever, and each situation is unique'
The world is many shades of gray and each situation is unique. A violent and armed uprising is not peaceful protestors. Libya was not Tunisia or Egypt, The dynamics and components were totally different.
You should have thought of that when you were calling Gaddafi a tyrant whose many crimes justified the illegal, immoral and unjustified attack on his country and his family and which has led to the current state of Libya now: thousands dead, tens of thousands injured, infrastructure set back decades, no security, no stability, no functional government, no unity, no sovereignty or territorial integrity and the oil and money being stolen right infront our eyes while ordinary Libyans suffer.
11 January 2012 11:16AM
That probably coincides with the Russian fleet that docked in Syria some days ago to 'replenish supplies' or something of that nature.
I've seen footage of what claims to be Hezbollah fighters in Syria, and read testemony of defected soldiers and others which claims there are also Revolutionary Guards and Iranian troops alongside the Hezbollah fighters. Their job seems to be infantry support (especially as they're not likely to defect) and to shoot dead any soldier trying to defect. Here's some examples:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6u3P80VrNU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPWuhHueW4k
http://www.sawtbeirut.com/world-news/buses-will-move-fighters-into-syria-from-hezbollah-and-iranian-revolutionary-guard/
How they allegedly know the names and numbers of those fighters killed is less clear, but I expect they have sources inside and outside the government and military, as well as defectors. In some areas, the FSA seems more like an umbrella than an organised movement. Another figure claimed 160 dead, so it is probably many more:
http://kataeb.org/EN/News/245455
11 January 2012 11:22AM
benad361
the tools of repression are the same, most apply to Bahrain, Eygpt
I could also make a decent case that most apply to US to lesser extent and with a bit of creativity:
1- Shut down the internet: Homeland Security have same monitoring software from Italy as Syrians
2- Send thugs (on foot or horseback): if you count NYPD (New York Mayor bragged about his private army)
3- Attack and arrest journalists (wikileaks, AJ journalist in Gitmo)
4- Shoot people: excepting Bloody sunday, race riots, 60s student protesters, and now more sophiticated policing, in UK get kettling (also US killing is mainly overseas, drones in other countries, one for thinking about joining jihadist group, so a thought crime)
5- Promise to investigate who shot people (well, they dont even admit to drone killings, and torture)
6- Do a meaningless political reshuffle (some mayors and police cheifs might lose jobs)
7- Blame Al Jazeera (USAF bombed AJ Kabul, Baghadad, and Bush may have considered a full house with bomb Qatar, Blair told him off, also Serb and Libyan tv)
8- Organise paid demonstrations in favor of your regime (one thing democracies dont really do)
9- Make a condescending speech about how much you love the youth (applies to every political speech I have ever heard)
10- Warn that the country will fall into chaos without you (whole war on terror)
11- Blame foreign agitators (Saudi diplomat assassination plots, Gulf Tonkin)
point being, not that I want violent regime change in US, but its a list that you are using selectively
11 January 2012 11:23AM
Judging by Assad's surprise appearence at this rally and his recent lengthy speeches I'm beginning to think he's been possessed by the ghost of Gaddafi.
11 January 2012 11:29AM
benad361
'read testemony of defected soldiers and others which claims there are also Revolutionary Guards and Iranian troops alongside the Hezbollah fighters'
the thing with youtube defector testimony without corroborration it cant be seen as proof, they have an incentive to exaggerate; and the same line is being used by Assad to paint opposition as all AQ
you need nationality id cards, and ideally dna link to known terrorist, or other incriminating evidence (same with US evidence of foriegn jihadists in Iraq sinjar reports); my personal view, both pro and anti Assad are using violent minority groups, with foriegn help, and we prob agree that if it was peaceful to start with, its not anymore
my concern, with car bomb, more will follow and its going to be long and bloody, people caught in between
11 January 2012 11:38AM
I agree, but a similar narrative is being used in Syria, Assad is worryed about Homs and other cities being used as a rallying point, becoming independat, and a base for wider Turkey protectorate, especially as US invaded Iraq and left behind sectarian violence, and getting back at it for proxy support Hamas and Hezzobollah, and that Hamas has jumped ship, and US has backed jihadists via CIA in Libya and they are next
point being that when I said 'bit rich' I want to challenge the offical narrative Erdogan is democratically elected and reigned in excesses of Turkish military and playing a valuable geo political role, Assad is murdering madman with blood on his hands and should go; and its Erdogan who is coming up with a humanitarian corridor whereas if you compare relative death tolls kurds killed in airstrikes in 100s; and syrian opposition accepting 5,000 figure but that still means only one side has used planes and one commited genocide which it denies (Armenians);
11 January 2012 11:44AM
Just a reminder that we don't always get the full picture of what is and isn't happening in Libya. These are from impeccably anti-Gadaffi sources about events in Sabha in the south of Libya, so I think we can assume the events are genuine rather than some of the figments of pro-Gadaffi imagination that occur regularly on Twitter:
Libyan4life Assia Bashir Amry
How can you support a guy who is dead? RT @feb17libya Protests in Sabha in support for #Gaddafi took place earlier today - #Libya
5 Jan
libyanproud Libyan and Proud
#Sebha: Several #Gaddafi supporters from Amla district arrested (including 2 snipers) following lethal attacks on Thuwar checkpoints. #Libya
7 Jan
Personally I don't think there is that much nostalgia for Gadaffi, certainly not in the north, but like I say, this sort of thing does show that the situation in Libya may stil be more complex than we sometimes think.
11 January 2012 11:45AM
Syria also appears to be violating its pledge under the agreement to protect people who communicate with the monitors from reprisal. For example, a resident of the Mo`adamiyeh neighborhood in Damascus told Human Rights Watch on January 3 that after she and her friend spoke to Arab League monitors on January 1, security forces detained her friend on January 2.
She explained that when their bus heading to Mo`adamiyeh was stopped at a military checkpoint, “they took our ID cards from us and they had a picture of her with them, and an officer said to her, ‘You were the one talking to the monitors.’ After that they pointed a gun at her until she got off of the bus. When we were speaking to the monitors I had my face covered, but she did not, which is why they could recognize her. They took her away in a security car. It was a Mitsubishi without a license plate.” ( from human rights watch)
11 January 2012 11:48AM
If the Syrian Embassy in London is reading this......How do you sleep at night????
11 January 2012 11:52AM
zoskia's
thanks for that, full HRW report here:
http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/01/06/syria-comply-agreement
11 January 2012 11:59AM
They hate our freedoms. We are the good guys.
LOL !!
11 January 2012 12:01PM
Have you only just noticed this?
11 January 2012 12:04PM
re AI
I have said and defended AI and HRW work (and other INGOs) but have raised concerns about their rigour, and that there work is becoming increasingly politicised and cherry picked
Franklin Lamb (articles have been posted on volatirenet but also counterpunch and she is a genuine human rights campaigner) article on AI flawed investigation Syria hosptials 'Despite its generally exemplary work, Amnesty International, like the rest of us, in not infallible.
The fact that AI appears to have been somewhat lazy in its work and continues hyping its deeply flawed “investigation” is egregious.
AI also failed to meet the standard of investigative work that we who will continue to support and endorse its human rights work expect from it.'
http://www.opinion-maker.org/2011/10/amnesty-international-and-syria/#
even if you dont agree with her conclusion, raises some good points
11 January 2012 12:07PM
*sniff sniff* What's that smell?
11 January 2012 12:08PM
And as if things weren't already volatile enough in Iraq:
from Haaretz:
"The leading French newspaper Le Figaro reported on Wednesday that Israeli Mossad agents are recruiting and training Iranian dissidents from Iraq’s Kurdish region to work against the regime in Tehran.
Quoting a security source in Baghdad, Le Figaro reported that members of the Israeli intelligence agency are actively operating in Kurdistan and recruiting Iranian exiles in the region."
Now let's see. In a situation where Maliki's Shiite Iraqi regime, with string links to Iran, is already in serious conflict with the Kurds over Kurdistan's vast oil reserves (reckoned to be equivalent to all the oil taken out of the North Sea up until now) would it be in Tehran's interests to try to calm things down between Malki and the Kurds or make them worse?
11 January 2012 12:17PM
An alternative view from Syria
I posted this late yesterday - well worth a read and relevant to the double standards of western moralising over other nations:
David Hicks - ex Gitmo detainee interview
11 January 2012 12:22PM
re Iran sanctions
nicely balanced article in Guardian from a market analyst:
'To improve their political acceptability, advocates have portrayed sanctions as a carefully calibrated and low-cost way to ratchet up pressure on Iran and force the country's government to suspend its enrichment programme without sparking an uncontrolled escalation of violence.
In reality, sanctions are a gamble: a bet Iran will not choose to escalate further; a bet the oil market can absorb the loss of exports without'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/10033690
the publically stated position on sanctions conforms to maxim from Iraq, downplay the risks, and overstate the benefits but no one believes the politicians anymore
11 January 2012 12:25PM
Then Erdogan is responsible for a lot of it in Syria. Guy's a comedian. How desperate is he to join the EU?
11 January 2012 12:26PM
Exactly. A massive bomb was/is apparently planned for Aleppo, which is huge and which would no doubt be a disaster. It is also easy to fake YT accusations if the one making them wants to remain anonymous. However I have no evidence of this.
It is a massive insurgency at best and civil war at worst.
11 January 2012 12:37PM
wow, Bashar "in a jacket but no tie", now here's a real reformer. And nobody got shot? Why, nobody gets shot in those therapy sessions, bacause it's enough to "have that faith", and you're safe.
now the Algerian observer who resigned better hurry back home:
11 January 2012 12:46PM
Not much has changed then. They're now exploited by the NTC and others instead of the Gaddafi family.
11 January 2012 12:48PM
God forbid that we believe what people in Homs have to say about Homs. It would have been more reliable if it were an anonymous tweet bashing Assad.
11 January 2012 12:54PM
Ian Black has been given a one-sided view of the city of Homs on a government-organised trip to the centre of Syrian uprising.
'The atmosphere remains very, very controlling. What's true for the Arab League monitors is even more true for journalists. If you are in Syria as a journalist with a visa then you are pretty closely subject to government control. This trip today is an interesting example of that.
This is a government-organised trip to show the government's side of the story and they are doing that very energetically. They have brought us to the part of Homs which is controlled by the Syrian government. From here you can see virtually nothing of what's going on in the areas controlled by what people call gunmen.'
excepting that he may feel more intimadated, how does that control differ to embedding, where journalists volutarily give one side of the story; either embedding USMC in Fallujah, or British Army in Afghanistan; our method of restricting access are more subtle but the result is the same, control and/or co opting of the media:
'Because journalists find it almost impossible to reach and report from the frontline of the conflict. When the Royal Marines launched a fierce hand-to-hand battle last Christmas in the muddy poppy fields of central Helmand, four soldiers died - but the only news that escaped was a press release from the Ministry of Defence.
As in so many wars, truth seems to be the first casualty of this conflict. There has been a devastating breakdown of relations between many defence correspondents and officialdom, journalists say. "Dealing with the Ministry of Defence is genuinely more stressful than coming under fire," says the Telegraph's defence correspondent, Thomas Harding. "We have been lied to and we have been censored."
Stephen Grey cites other experienced journalists, Anthony Lloyd, Christina Lamb, although Kim Sengupta defends,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jun/15/afghanistan-embedded-journalists-mod
11 January 2012 1:00PM
I've been mulling over an Iraqi Pie hypthesis for weeks now hoping it would remain null, but am now worrying it may, in part, be proven.
A slice each for the Kurds, Syria and Iran. Don't know if the Saudi's want some; their piece doesn't look particularly appetising.
Amercan Pie... Iraqi Pie... strategic nightmare!
11 January 2012 1:02PM
'Libya may still be more complex than we think' - Part 2.
A bit of light royal relief, again from an impeccably anti-Gadaffi source. Make of it what you will, but she's usually fairly accurate, and other tweets support the idea that at least a few tribal chiefs have actually said something like this:
FromJoanne Joanne ♌ Leo by ArmchairArab
#Exclusive #Libya TV Will Announce today Tribal chiefs want 2Declare Cyrenaica an Emirate under Rule CrownPrince #London #MohamedElSenussi
1 hour ago
11 January 2012 1:02PM
All those who are standing up to the murderous Syrian regime are absolute HEROES, and I can't begin to imagine what they are going through - both now, and over the previous decades of oppression - so I don't want to be flippant in any way, but I have to note that this (@ 12:14PM)
is exactly the same trite phrase used by nearly all the British media (especially the BBC) any time there is any disorder here. I imagine the Syrian media are also using phrases like 'a hardcore of troublemakers' and 'outside elements who hijacked the demonstration'.
11 January 2012 1:08PM
@benad361
You are totally wrong.
Under Gaddafi there was
- a united Libya where factions didn't control various towns, cities and parts of the capital
- a sovereign Libya(that could get even European leaders and governments and American senators grovelling at their feet)
- a territorially secure Libya that was controlled all it's land and borders
- the oil and money was accounted for by state organizations that were run with structures and checks and balances so much so that the Libyan assets(from state organizations) were more than $150billion and Libya had no real debts whiles controlling it's oil sector
You forgot to add but I'll add since you intentionally partially quoted me
- a functional government with structures and control over the country
- a secure Libya where ordinary Libyans did not need to fear undisciplined, armed and violent thugs and robbers in their cities and towns, even the capital
- no thousands dead, no tens of thousands injured
- an up to date and improving infrastructure with construction of modern facilities taking place all over Libya
P.S.
You no longer want to argue that the revolution improves the life of Libyans?
Only giving them more of the same?
The why the need for all the death, suffering and destruction inflicted on Libya and Libyans?
11 January 2012 1:13PM
The Arab League are far more corrupt, greedy and obsessed with self interest than any Western country is considered to be. What is happening in Syria is an abomination.
How China and Russia and that disgraceful Arab League can allow Assad's militia go murdering through the streets to keep a dictator in power is appalling. This situation was entirely predictable and preventable and we have done nothing. Turn the heat up on China and Russia and the appalling murderous Arab League and get a UN resolution to protect civilians like for Libya and get an arrest warrant for Assad and his henchmen. Do you remember what happened to Gaddafi, Assad? Just imagine if they get their hands on you ...
11 January 2012 1:16PM
Are the Syrian and Iraqi crises about to link up? It could be the start of the nightmare scenario of a regional catastrophe if they do.
"Three Iraq policemen killed in Anbar province
(AFP) – 4 hours ago
RAMADI, Iraq — Insurgents attacked an Iraqi police station near the Syrian border early Wednesday morning and killed three policemen, including a captain, security and medical officials said.
Police managed to kill one of the gunmen who carried out the 3:00 am (0000 GMT) attack in the town of Al-Qaim, in the mostly Sunni Anbar province west of Baghdad, and wounded another. A third shooter escaped.
"Three police -- two policemen and a captain -- were killed when several armed men attacked the police station at about 3:00 am," said police Captain Mohanned Mukhlif Hamadi.
"The attack was followed by clashes between policemen at the station and the attackers.
11 January 2012 1:18PM
Grabbing oil producing Kirkuk for the Kurds was certainly part of the impetus for the 2003 Iraq invasion. If a man wanted by the Iraqi government can't be touched in Northern Iraq, it's effectively it's own state.
If the rest of Iraq goes to crap, the US can always rely on their Kurdish friends.
11 January 2012 1:18PM
Baba Amr or any other restive neighbourhood. From what he had seen so far, he said, there was "apparently, at least, pretty unanimous support for the government."
even if its all stage managed, there are certainly areas of Homs where they dont support Assad; it does show that Assad has some support, and not the about to crumble in weeks peddled by Isreal; which aligns to the yougov poll from Qatar that 55% of Syrian respondents do not believe President Assad should resign and only cited in Asian Times and this British Islamic cite:
http://www.alnoorcet.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=717:majority-of-syrians-do-not-want-assad-to-resign-according-to-yougovqatar-foundation-poll&catid=52:other-news-around-the-globe&Itemid=160
for some reason, my browser wont open, but original link here:
http://clients.squareeye.net/uploads/doha/polling/YouGovSirajDoha%20Debates-%20President%20Assad%20report.pdf
11 January 2012 1:21PM
@The AfricanMan
A morbid thrill perhaps.
And here we have the guardian reporting on an Iranian Nuclear scientists killed most likely in the covert war being waged by the US and Israel, similar to whts going on right now in Syria:
An example of the democracy that the Americans are just itching to bring to Syria with the likes of reformed Alqaeda terrorists such as Belhaj, who now heads the Free Syrian Army.
11 January 2012 1:21PM
Afternoon all ,lively posts I see.
@PeterBrit
#Exclusive #Libya TV Will Announce today Tribal chiefs want 2Declare Cyrenaica an Emirate under Rule CrownPrince #London #MohamedElSenussi
So translation being Libya splitting into two ?.Bit like former Yugoslavia.
@TheAfricanMan
Comparing what we have now in Libya post Gaddafhi, thats a pretty accurate analogy you posted prior to the uprising, but no doubt others won't see it like that.