Defected Syrian Officer Abducted and Handed Over to Syrian Regime
Al 'Arabiya has reported that the highest ranking officer in the Syrian Army to defect, Lieutenant Colonel Hussein Harmoush, along with two other dissident officers were abducted by Turkish intelligence agents and smuggled back across the border into Syria, ...
Analysis: Foreign Aid Funds Technology to Protect Protesters
Writing in the Los Angeles Times, Doyle McManus argues that as "Congress is getting ready to make deep cuts in federal spending, including foreign aid, one program it ought to spare" is the State Department's funding of Internet and ...
Syria: Dissidents Meet Outside Damascus
After 44 people were killed on Friday after morning prayers in anti-government protests, 200 dissidents met outside Damascus to unite key opposition figures. The meeting comes two days after Syrian opposition figures formed the Syrian National Council (SNC) to ...
Jordan: Protests Reveal Rift over Palestinian Issue
The protests planned via Facebook for Thursday evening outside the Israeli embassy, which prompted the early departure of the Israeli diplomatic mission in Amman, drew a turnout of 200 mostly young protesters. The discussion of the Palestinian bid for ...
POMED Notes: “Tweeting the Arab Revolution”
On Thursday, the Project on Middle East Political Science held a discussion with Sultan al-Qassemi, a columnist based in the U.A.E., well-known for his tracking of the events of the Arab Spring via Twitter, to explore the powers and pitfalls of social media during revolution. Marc Lynch, Director of the Middle East Studies Program at the Elliott School of International Affairs and author of the blog "Abu Aardvark," introduced al-Qassemi. ...
Bahraini Cleric: Protesters Treated as “Enemies of State”
At the funeral of a demonstrator who reportedly suffocated in a cloud of tear gas, Sheik Isa Qassim, a senior cleric in Bahrain, stated that "the regime has designated the section of society asking for rights as enemies ...
Egypt: Emergency Law No Answer to Instability
In wake of the Egyptian military council's response to the attacks on the Israeli Embassy on September 9th, Human Rights First reported that the renewal of emergency law runs counter to the Egyptian people's demands. "This harsh crackdown that has ...
Yemen: Widespread Demonstrations Protest Saleh’s Announcement
"Hundreds of thousands" of Yemeni protesters took to the streets throughout the country chanting "No deal. No maneuvering. The president should leave." The demonstrations came as a response to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's Monday announcement that he had
Syria: UN Puts Death Toll at 2,600; Russia Rejects More Sanctions
The United Nations Human Rights Council stated that the death toll in Syria since the March uprising now stands at 2,600. The Human Rights Council has repeatedly called on Mr. Assad to end the crackdown, but the latest increase in ...
US Condemns Syria Over Killing of Rights Activist
State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland issued a press release stating that the "United States condemns in the strongest possible terms the killing of Syrian human rights activist Ghiyath Mattar while in the custody of Syrian Security Forces." Mr. Matter ...
Syria: Assad “Agrees” on Reform
Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are to have "agreed" on steps aimed at ending months of violence in Syria."We have reached agreement on steps to carry out the reforms," al-Arabi said after the talks. ...
“Egypt cracks down after Israeli Embassy attack”
After the Israeli embassy in Cairo was attacked on Friday, the military led transitional government said it would impose a renewed emergency law, allowing extra-judicial detentions. Osama Heikal, Egyptian minister of media, said in a statement after a an emergency meeting ...
Washington Post Editorial: Bahrain Needs U.S. Attention Now
An editorial in the Washington Post stated that Bahrain needs the U.S.'s attention now more than ever. "While the popular uprisings in Libya, Syria and Yemen have dominated the news in recent months, far less attention has been ...
Yemen: Protests Erupt Throughout Country
According to eyewitnesses and opposition supporters, hundreds of thousands of Yemenis flooded the streets of Sanaa and nearly every province on Friday in the ongoing campaign to oust President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Meanwhile, the government said “millions” of the ...
Iran: Ahmadinejad Urges Assad to End Violence
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad adjured Bashar al-Assad to end his violent response to Syrian unrest and open talks with the opposition. Ahmadinejad stated "a military solution is never the right solution," and added that "other countries in the ...