Palestine
Arab Spring hits the West Bank
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said he would resign if that is the will of the people, amid growing protests across the West Bank over the rising cost of living.
Tag: Arab Revolution
Iran
Syria: flashpoint for war with Iran?
With Tehran revealed to be supplying Damascus with arms through Iraqi airspace, events in Syria could be propelling the US towards unprecedented military commitments.
Greater Middle East
Syria: 1.2 million displaced, 3 million face hunger
Aid workers protest that while media reports on Syria focus on the political stalemate, a humanitarian crisis grows, with over a million displaced and 3 million facing hunger.
Greater Middle East
Aleppo archbishop flees as Syria slips towards sectarian war
The Melkite Catholic archbishop of Aleppo flees Syria after his offices are sacked by jihadistsāas the US State Department establishes an Istanbul office to aid the Syrian rebels.
Greater Middle East
Pro-democracy protest (or ‘terror’?) rocks Bahrain
Security forces in Bahrain used tear gas and rubber bullets after protesters hurled Molotov cocktails at a police station, in what official media called a “terror attack.”
Greater Middle East
Egypt: president ends pre-trial detention of journalists
Egypt President Mohammed Morsi issued a new law that bans pre-trial detentions of journalists for speaking out against the government, overturning the Mubarak-era practice.
North Africa
Eid terror in Libya
Authorities say they suspect Qaddafi supporters in three car bomb attacks in downtown Tripoli that came as the streets were filled with worshippers headed to mosques for Eid prayers.
Greater Middle East
Syrian anarchist speaks
The British anarcho-syndicalist website Solidarity Federation runs a statement from a representative of a “group of young Syrian anarchists and anti-authoritarians from Aleppo.”
Greater Middle East
UN: Syria government has committed war crimes
Syrian forces and their supporting Shabbiha fighters have committed “war crimes and gross violations of international human rights and humanitarian law,” a UN report finds.
North Africa
General strike shuts birthplace of Tunisian uprising
A general strike shut down Tunisia’s Sidi Bouzid regionābirthplace of last year’s uprisingāto demand the release of detainees and the resignation of the governor.
Greater Middle East
Syria moves towards sectarian war; Turkey next?
As urban warfare rages in Damascus and Aleppo, rebel gunmen abducted 47 Iranian pilgrims outside the capitalāand a mob attack on Alawites was reported in Turkey.
Greater Middle East
Egypt requests release of last citizen held at Gitmo
The Egyptian government announced that it has requested the release of the last of its citizens currently being held at the GuantƔnamo Bay detention facility.