• Opposition working to refer Syrian officials to ICC
• Renewed protests expected in Bahrain
• Clashes continue in Yemeni capital Sana'a
Click here for a summary of the latest developments
The local coordination committees in Syria, which plan and organise protests, claim 50 people were killed by security forces in al-Rastan in Homs province last night and that shooting is continuing.
Eyewitnesses reported to the local coordination committees about heavy gunfire from the security forces and the military yesterday night around 9pm. At least 50 people were killed and injured during the shooting then the security forces kidnapped the dead bodies and the wounded. Several houses and mosques were bombed. Among those buildings were the al-Ashtar Mosque and the houses of Shamoo Al-Rajab, Abdul Aziz Naser. The security forces also burned the residents' motorcycles. and the gunshots continue up till now.
Avaaz, the online activist network, has passed on a statement from the people of al-Rastan in which they plead for help and deny that they have taken up arms against government troops:
Despite what we have been through in the past two days - being under siege, the heavy shelling of the city with tanks, shooting randomly with machine guns in retaliation to protests, the city's people have participated, in their tens of thousands, in daily peaceful demonstrations throughout the past few weeks. We have found it necessary to clarify what is happening and refute the propaganda of this lying regime who kill people, and want them to admit to the killings themselves. The regime has started spreading lies that people in al-Rastan have chosen the path of "armed resistance", and that "terrorists and infiltrators" are involved in violent actions. This is not true. We have never taken up arms against anyone. Those who have been going out in peaceful demonstrations in tens of thousands, for weeks, cannot carry weapons after that. However, we have heard similar lies in every city that has been attacked by the regime's forces.
Brief news from Egypt of a significant development. Egypt's state news agency says former President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons will go on trial on 3 August.
The Middle East News Agency quoted a court official as saying Mubarak will be tried on charges of corruption and intentionally killing protesters during the 18-day uprising that ousted him on 11 February.
An interesting tweet from Bahrain's ministry of interior (translated from Arabic) suggests that it is engaging in dialogue - although what kind we can only guess at:
His Excellency the Minister of Interior meets in his office at the Ministry a number of representatives of associations and political actors
Comment is Free has a transcript of the speech given to journalists by the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, yesterday. Here's an excerpt:
We have worked throughout our reign to create a democratic life in which everyone could raise their demands freely through institutions furnished by this democracy. In adherence to these measures, and in support of the initiative of the crown prince, backed by the government and the legislative branch, and affirming what came in the National Unity Gathering's last statement that dialogue is a national strategic choice to reach the required and agreed upon solutions, we instruct both the executive and legislative branches to call for a national dialogue for an optimal outcome for the kingdom of Bahrain, and to take all necessary measures to prepare for this comprehensive, serious dialogue – without preconditions to begin early July of this year, in which all people could participate with their vision of the future.
The king also confirmed to journalists that their "freedom is preserved and their rights are safeguarded". Earlier this week I included a link to a Reporters Without Borders article that contained horrific details of the alleged torture of a France 24 journalist in Bahrain for "harming Bahrain's image".
Here's a summary of the main developments so far today:
• Fighting has continued in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, with loud explosions shaking the city. Medical officials say at least 41 people were killed in overnight shelling and street battles between government forces and rival tribal fighters in the capital. The two sides have been battling for control of buildings, including the interior ministry and the state-run television station, according to the New York Times. The Interior Ministry said in a statement that tribesmen had taken over a five-storey building there after clashing with the army.
• Renewed protests are expected in Bahrain after the state of emergency was lifted. The planned demonstrations include a return to Pearl Roundabout, where protesters camped out for over a month before it was overrun by the security services. Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa has opened the door to dialogue with the opposition but eyewitnesses have said the security forces have been out in strength on the streets and the justice ministry warned of severe consequences for any who acted against the nation's "security and unity."
• Syrian dissidents at an opposition conference in Antalya, Turkey, said their main aim is to get the UN security council to pass a resolution referring members of President Assad's regime to the international criminal court. Human Rights Watch has released a report documenting "crimes against humanity" in and around Daraa, where the protests against Assad began and said it was up to the security council to make sure people are held accountable.
A video has been posted on YouTube purporting to be of a protest march in the southern city of Taiz, where Yemeni troops stormed a protest camp overnight on Sunday/Monday, killing at least 20 people and dozens more, according to some reports.
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Some contributors to the comments section have been referring to Khaled Fattah's article for Comment is Free on divisions within Yemen, which is definitely worth reading. Here's an extract:
A glance at Yemen's uprising reveals how it is such a unique specimen in the political aquarium of Arab revolutions. While the Tunisian revolution was ignited in a village and Egypt's in the capital city, the Yemeni social intifada started from everywhere.
Yet it is no coincidence that Yemen's popular revolution was launched from numerous geographical locations. Saleh adopted "management through conflicts" as one of his essential tools of governance. As a result, on the eve of the revolution, the map of Yemen was completely scarred with deep, unresolved violent conflicts: a northern rebellion, a southern separatist movement, militant jihadists, and bloody intertribal disputes. Each of these conflicts created its own geographical zone of political, economic and security grievances. Each created its own orbit of victims and beneficiaries. The Yemeni revolution is a geographical amalgamation of all of these.
Unlike the other Arab countries where popular protests blossomed, the Yemen of Saleh is neither a police state nor a military dictatorship. It has been governed by a complex, overlapping and competitive structure of familial, clanistic and tribal networks that are constantly mirrored in the security apparatus and in the military.
Government troops and opposition tribesmen have been battling for control of key positions in Sana'a, including the Interior Ministry and the state-run television station, the New York Times reports.
At the station's heavily fortified headquarters on a small hill at the edge of the city, government forces fired artillery shells at tribal fighters loyal to the family of Hamid al-Ahmar, the strongest tribal rival of President
Reuters reports that people have heard loud explosions near the Hasaba district in the north of the capital.
A couple of recent tweets from San'a:
i'm sitting in an outdoor cafe having brunch whilst listening to a cacophony of heavy shelling and gunfire. #surreal #yemen #yf
Just heard 2 VERY LOUD explosions in #Sanaa is it still only in #Hasaba ? how many people will have to die before it stops... #Yémen
The Yemeni defence ministry says 14 soldiers were killed in overnight fighting with the tribesmen, while a spokesman for Ahmar said 15 tribesmen have been killed and 31 injured, according to CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom.
Bahrain's leading Shia opposition party says four of its senior leaders have been questioned by prosecutors of a special security court set up under emergency rule, AP reports:
Al Wefaq said in a statement that the four leaders were questioned for five hours Tuesday over their role in anti-government protests that have shaken the Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdom.
Al Wefaq is the most influential party in Bahrain's seven-member Shiite opposition. The party's leader, Ali Salman, was also questioned.
Given that they were questioned a day before the state of emergency was lifted, it sounds very much like an attempt to ward off any further protests.
The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights tweets:
Security forces in various areas to prevent demonstrations (Nuwaidrat, Sitra, Ma'ameer, Budaiya Street and etc. ). #Bahrain #feb14
AP has an update from Sana'a:
Al-Ahmar tribesmen were seen Wednesday morning around the office of the Prosecutor General in Shamlan neighbourhood, west of the capital. They were accompanied by two armoured vehicles from the 1st Armored Division which defected to the opposition two months ago.
There also was fighting for the first time early Wednesday in the Hada neighborhood, a stronghold for Saleh supporters in the south of the capital. The Interior Ministry said in a statement that tribesmen had taken over a five-story building there after clashing with the army.
It reports that on Tuesday, Saleh imposed collective punishment on the Hassaba neighbourhood that contains the family compound of influential opposition tribal leader Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar, by cutting water supplies and electricity.
Mohamed al-Abdullah a Washington-based Syrian activist spoke to me from the opposition conference in Antalya, Turkey.
He said the amnesty offered by President Assad was too "vague" and said his father, who is a political prisoner, had not been freed yet.
On the objectives of the conference, Abduallah said there is no intention to set up a transitional council or government-in-exile but said its primary aim is as follows:
Our main aim now is to refer Syrian officials to the international criminal court in order to hold them accountable for their crimes ...we need UN security council resolution similar to that one issued for Libya. So far out of 15 votes we have nine and we are hoping to put more pressure on Russia to stop them using the veto inside the council ...If we manage to refer them to the international criminal court the regime would have a dead end, there is no more political future for them as they would be wanted for crimes against humanity.
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Activists are trying to stage marches in Shia villages later today, Reuters reports.
Online flyers describe them as "loyalty to the martyrs' blood" and one advertises a return to Pearl Roundabout, where protesters camped out for over a month before it was overrun by the security services.
The brutal death of Hamza al-Khatib, now being seen as a symbol of the Syrian revolution, raises parallels with other people in the Middle East who fell victim to state-sponsored brutality and whose fate rallied protest movements in their respective countries.
The "We are Hamza" Facebook page has more than 65,000 followers.
In 2009, Neda Soltani became the face of the Iranian opposition green movement when she was shot in the chest during a demonstration. Like Hamza, she became known through a YouTube video. Someone filmed the incident on a phone and within minutes it was on YouTube and Facebook. A "We are Neda" page on Facebook has more than 5,000 followers.
The Arab spring famously began when Tunisian fruit seller Mohammed Bouazizi, a poor and desperate young man, harassed by the authorities, set fire to himself in Sidi Bouzid, inspiring a revolution that brought down the country's dictator, which in turn inspired protest movements across the Middle East. One Facebook page in his honour has more than 3,000 followers.
While the protest movement in Egypt was considered inspired by the Tunisian revolution discontent had been simmering for some time and a spark that helped to light the fuse was the death of Khaled Said. The 29-year-old was allegedly beaten to death by two policemen after he posted an online video of local police officers apparently dividing up the spoils of a drug haul. Graphic photos of Said's injuries circulated online and became a rallying cause for activists opposed to Egypt's 29-year-old emergency law. The "We are all Khaled Said" Facebook page has more than 100,000 followers. The page was moderated by Wael Ghonim, who himself became a face of the Egyptian revolution after he was released from detention by the Egyptian police.
The Guardian has video of condemnation by Mark Toner from the US state department of human rights abuses in Syria, including the alleged torture and killing of 13-year-old boy, Hamza al-Khatib:
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Abdulkader Alguneid has been tweeting updates from Taiz where the situation still sounds dire, more than 48 hours after troops razed a protest camp in the city:
#BREAKING #TAIZ is a closed city. All inlets are closed.Even for non protesters #Yemen (Annoying ppl so they lose interest in revolution)
#TAIZ Soldiers and thugs tried to kidnap wounded in Alrawdah Hosp. Resisted by armed villager (Tribesmen).Shooting all night #HRW #AI #UNHR
In a new report, Human Rights Watch has detailed "crimes against humanity" in Daraa, since protests began there on 18 March. It is based on more than 50 interviews with victims and witnesses to abuses.
Victims and witnesses described systematic killings, beatings, torture using electroshock devices, and detention of people seeking medical care.
Among the deadliest incidents documented are:
Some of the deadliest incidents Human Rights Watch documented include:
•An attack on al-Omari mosque, which served as a rallying point for protesters and a makeshift hospital for the wounded protesters, and attacks on ensuing protests from 23 to 25 March, killing more than 30 protesters;
• Attacks on demonstrators during two protests on 8 April, resulting in at least 25 deaths;
• Attacks during a protest and a funeral procession in the town of Izraa on 22 and 23 April, resulting in at least 34 deaths;
• Killings during the blockade of Daraa and neighboring villages beginning on 25 April, and during an effort by residents of neighboring towns to break the siege on 29 April, which left up to 200 dead.
One of the witnesses from the town of Tafas who participated in the 29 April protest said:
There was no warning, no firing in the air. It was simply an ambush. There was gunfire from all sides, from automatic guns. Security forces were positioned in the fields along the road, and on the roofs of the buildings. They were deliberately targeting people. Most injuries were in the head and chest.
Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said:
For more than two months now, Syrian security forces have been killing and torturing their own people with complete impunity. They need to stop - and if they don't, it is the security council's responsibility to make sure that the people responsible face justice.
Yemeni medical officials say at least 41 people were killed in overnight shelling and street battles between government forces and rival tribal fighters in the capital, Sana'a, AP reports:
Witnesses say that in addition to street fighting, Presidential Guard units shelled the headquarters of a brigade responsible for guarding sensitive government institutions. Army officers who have defected to the opposition say the government suspected the brigade commander was about to join the movement to oust President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The medical officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, say the 41 killed Wednesday included fighters from both sides.
Explosions have been heard north of Sana'a, according to Reuters. It says at least 120 have been killed in the clashes between tribal fighters and government troops since they began last week.
Amnesty International has urged the Bahrain authorities not to again use excessive force against protesters, with activists calling for mass anti-government demonstrations across the country to mark the lifting of the state of emergency. Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa director, said:
The Bahraini authorities must not make the same mistakes as in February and March, when largely peaceful protests were violently suppressed by government security forces. As the state of emergency is lifted, the authorities must allow people to peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of expression and association.
Smart also raised concerns about the military trial of 14 prominent opposition - mainly Shia - activists that is set to continue today. They have been charged with alleged crimes in relation to the pro-reform protests that began in February. Smart said:
These defendants are likely to be prisoners of conscience detained simply for exercising their right to peacefully express their political views in public. If so, they must be released immediately and unconditionally.
Good morning. Welcome to Middle East Live.
• A human rights activist says Syrian troops have bombed the southern town of Hirak killing at least eight people over the last two days, including an 11-year-old girl. Hirak is is near the city of Daraa where the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's regime began in mid-March. Mustafa Osso said 11-year-old Malak Munir al-Qaddah who was shot dead by troops late on Tuesday. The news comes after an amnesty by President Bashar al-Assad offered to Syrian prisoners, including those deemed to have committed political crimes, was been rejected by the opposition. Members of the Syrian opposition gathered in Turkey for a conference said it showed weakness on the part of the government and they would settle for nothing less than regime change. The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton said Syria's alleged torture and killing of a 13-year-old boy, Hamza al-Khatib who has become a symbol for the revolution, illustrated that the government was making no effort to institute real reform. Clinton said she hoped Hamza did not die in vain and that Assad's regime ends its brutal crackdown.
• Activists have said there will be renewed anti-government protests in Bahrain today, as the state of emergency is lifted. There have been reports of a pullback of troops and tanks from some parts of the capital, Manama, which has remained under military control since the start of the crackdown on 15 March. Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa said: "We are seeking to fairly balance out the need to maintain law and order with the desire for freedoms."However, in a separate statement, the country's justice ministry warned of severe consequences for any who acted against the nation's "security and unity."
• Shelling in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, reportedly continued throughout the night after a ceasefire between government troops and the tribe led by Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar broke down on Tuesday. Activists in the southern city of Taiz, where troops stormed a protest camp overnight on Sunday/Monday killing at least 20 people and possibly dozens more, said the city had been sealed off by troops who had also tried to take injured people from the hospital.
•Former SAS soldiers and other western employees of private security companies are helping Nato identify targets in the Libyan port city of Misrata, the scene of heavy fighting between Muammar Gaddafi's forces and rebels, well-placed sources have told the Guardian.
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/jun/01/syria-yemen-bahrain-middle-east-unrest
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