North Africa
Libya: paramilitaries behind Benghazi battles?
Libyan Special Forces, army troops and protesters repeatedly clashed with a paramilitary unit in Benghazi called the Libyan Shields, leaving some 30 dead.
Tag: Arab Revolution
Iraq
Nusra Front nixes merger with Iraq Qaeda franchise
Syria’s Nusra Front appealed to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri to mediate in a dispute with the Islamic State of Iraq, rejecting the latter’s attempted hostile take-over.
Greater Middle East
Kuwait woman sentenced to 11 years for tweeting
A criminal court in Kuwait sentenced a woman to 11 years in prison for remarks she made on Twitter, including insulting Emir Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah.
Greater Middle East
Samantha Power signals Syria intervention?
Samantha Power’s appointment as UN ambassador may signal a determination on the part of the Obama administration that intervention in Syria is inevitable.
Greater Middle East
Bahrain court sentences protesters up to 15 years
A Bahrain court issued sentences to three activists for taking part in anti-government protests as well as attempting to kill a police officer in a clash at a Shi’ite village.
Greater Middle East
Egypt court convicts 43 in NGO crackdown
An Egyptian court convicted 43 foreign and domestic non-governmental organization employees of engaging political activity without proper documentation.
Greater Middle East
Lebanon’s hashish valley drawn into Syrian war
Lebanon’s hashish heartland of the Bekaa Valley is increasingly embroiled in the civil war raging across the border in Syria, with a wave of sectarian clashes and abductions.
North Africa
ICC rules Libya cannot try Qaddafi son
The International Criminal Court rejected a challenge by the Libyan government to the court's jurisdiction over Saif al-Islam Qaddafi, son of the deposed dictator.
Greater Middle East
‘Sunni cleansing’ in Syria?
Turkey sees in the battle for Qusayr a strategy to create an Alawite mini-state within Syria, purged of Sunni Muslims, to which the ruling elite can withdraw for a last stand.
Greater Middle East
Turkey to build wall on Syrian border
Turkey will build a 2.5-kilometer wall along the Cilvegözü post on the border with Syria, near where a twin bomb attack killed 51 and wounded more than 100 earlier this month.
Greater Middle East
Israeli air-strikes near Damascus
Israeli missiles struck a research center near Damascus, as massacres of Sunni families by pro-government militias are reported from Syria’s coastal Alawite stronghold.
Greater Middle East
Egypt: sweep of Black Bloc protesters
Egyptian “Black Bloc” protesters continue to clash with police as 22 of their comrades have been detained in a “terrorism” investigation.