More than a hundred Egyptians attacked police with rocks and sticks in the town of Samalut south of Cairo on Oct. 9 after a pregnant woman died during a police search of her home. Mervat Salam Abdel Fatah, in late… Read moreEgypt: town riots after police kill woman
The Sept. 29 bus bombing in the Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli, which killed five people including four soldiers and wounded at least 33 others, triggered angry reactions from political leaders. Future Movement MP Saad Hariri lashed out at Syrian… Read moreLebanon terror blast escalates tension with Syria
With the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen launching a major offensive on the rebel-held port of Hodeidah, aid groups are warning of a humanitarian disaster on a scale far outstripping that already seen. Yemen is already considered the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with 10.4 million people at risk of famine. Hodeidah is the entry point for 70% of the aid upon which over 22 million Yemenis depend. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned that a sustained battle or siege of Hodeidah could lead to the deaths of as many as 250,000 civilians. (Map via University of Texas)
At least 17 civilians were killed and 14 injured in a car bomb attack on a security post in the southern Sidi Qada suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus early Sept. 27. The explosion occurred on the intersection leading to… Read moreTerror blast, mysterious assassination in Syria
Presumed al-Qaeda militants attacked the US Embassy in the Yemeni capital Sana Sept. 17, exploding a car bomb and firing automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades in an assault that left 16 dead—six militants, six guards and four civilians. Three police… Read moreAl-Qaeda attacks US embassy in Yemen
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) denied involvement in two bombs that exploded in a busy Istanbul suburb on July 27, killing 17 people. “The PKK has nothing to do with this event,” the group’s leader, Zubeyir Aydar, said in a… Read morePKK denies Istanbul terror blasts
Turkish conscientious objector Mehmet Bal has started a hunger strike, claiming that he was subjected to violence and pressure following his arrest June 8. The Istanbul branch of Turkey’s Human Rights Association and Antimilitarist Initiative said in a press release… Read moreTurkey: conscientious objector on hunger strike
Saudi Arabia won applause around the world last year when women were finally allowed to drive in the conservative kingdom. But now, just as this reform is about to take effect, some of the activists who campaigned for it have been arrested—and may face the death penalty. A Saudi government statement said that the seven activists had been detained for "contact with foreign entities with the aim of undermining the country’s stability and social fabric." The statement also accused them of working "to violate religious and national values." An online "smear campaign" has also been launched against them, wth social media posts portraying them are "traitors." Prominent among the detained is Loujain al-Hathloul, well known for her work campaigning against the driving ban. (Image: social media post with the word "traitor" stamped on the faces of those detained. Via Middle East Eye.)
Middle East Development LLC, the Dubai-based construction company controlled by Tarek Mohammad bin Laden, half-brother of Osama bin Laden, announced it is seeking to raise $190 billion to build two new cities in Djibouti and Yemen and a 28.5-kilometer bridge… Read moreBin Laden family in secret war for Yemen
A crisis over the Yemeni island of Socotra was resolved as the United Arab Emirates agreed to withdraw and turn control over to Saudi forces, which will in turn restore full Yemeni rule. The island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its unique flora and fauna, hailed as the "Galapagos of the Indian Ocean." Emirati forces seized Socotra at the start of the month, and raised their flag over the airport and other strategic points—sparking angry protests from residents. Socotra's governor condemned the move as an "occupation" and "a flagrant violation of Yemeni sovereignty." Even after the de-escalation, suspicions remain. Yemen's ambassador to UNESCO, Ahmad al-Sayyad, accused Saudi Arabia and the UAE of "a hidden inclination to divide Yemen." (Map via University of Texas)
Bashar Assad arrived in Russia to publicly thank Vladimir Putin for his military support in the ongoing re-conquest of Syria—prominently including the deployment of new missile systems. Undoubtedly discussed behind closed doors was the new "energy cooperation framework agreement" between Moscow and Damascus, under which Russia is to have exclusive rights to exploit oil and gas in Syria. (Photo of Vityaz missile launcher via Wikipedia)
Egypt's chief prosecutor referred 555 individuals suspected of joining a local ISIS affiliate to military court. The charges against them arise out of a series of attacks carried out by dozens of small militant groups situated in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula. The suspects will faces charges for the planned and executed killings of security personnel, attacks on military checkpoints, and the destruction of a gas pipeline between Egypt and Jordan. The charges come amid growing concerns over torture, lengthy solitary confinement and other rights abuses in Egypt's prisons. (Photo: Egypt Daily News)
