Anti-government protests inspired by popular revolts that toppled rulers in Tunisia and Egypt are gaining pace around the Middle East and North Africa despite political and economic concessions by nervous governments.
Clashes were reported in tightly controlled oil producer Libya, sandwiched between Egypt and Tunisia, while new protests erupted in Bahrain, Yemen, Iraq and Iran Wednesday. Three Iraqis and two Yemenis were killed and dozens wounded Wednesday in the demonstrations in Iraq and Yemen.
Hundreds of opponents of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, in power since 1969, clashed with police and government supporters in the eastern city of Benghazi overnight, a witness and local media said.
Reports from the port city, 1,000 kilometers east of the capital Tripoli, said protesters armed with stones and Molotov cocktails set fire to vehicles and fought with police, in a rare outbreak of unrest in the country.
The riot in Libya’s second city was sparked by the arrest of human-rights activist Fethi Tarbel, who has worked to free political prisoners, Quryna newspaper said.
Video clips posted on the Internet showed protesters carrying signs and chanting: “Down, down to corruption and to the corrupt.” Activists using Facebook and Twitter have called for nationwide demonstrations Thursday.
In a possible concession to the protesters, Libya will free 110 members of the banned organization the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group from Tripoli’s notorious Abu Salim prison Wednesday, another human-rights activist said.
In Yemen, the embattled president, who has been in power for more than 30 years, flooded the ancient capital of Sanaa with security forces to try to stamp out demonstrations that began nearly a week ago. They turned deadly Wednesday in the southern port of Aden, with two people killed in clashes with police. At least 800 anti-government protesters marched in the capital. The police fired in the air and blocked thousands of students at Sanaa University from joining thousands of other protesters.
In southern Iraq, three people were killed and dozens wounded Wednesday as protesters demanding better basic services fought with police and set government buildings on fire.
Around 2,000 people took to the streets in the city of Kut, throwing bricks and stones at Iraqi security forces. Some voiced direct anger at Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
“Down, down Maliki’s government. Down, down with corruption. Down, down thieves,” shouted 36-year-old teacher Ali Abdulla, who led a group of protesters and was bleeding from his head after clashing with police.
Wednesday’s demonstrations, which started as protests against poor services, soon turned into direct calls for the removal of provincial government officials in Kut.
In Bahrain, protesters poured into the capital, Manama, for a third successive day to mourn a demonstrator killed in clashes with security forces Tuesday. The Foreign Ministry said those suspected of blame for the deaths of the two protesters had been arrested, “steps which make clear that the Kingdom of Bahrain does not condone the use of excessive force at any time.”
Protesters demanding a change of government have turned a landmark square in Manama into their base camp, which was swollen with tens of thousands of people by nightfall Wednesday. Their next important move takes a page directly from the Egypt unrest: calling for a major march after Friday prayers to re-energize its followers.
An emergency Parliament meeting was called for Thursday while the main Shiite opposition group Wefaq demanded a new constitution.
“We’re not looking for a religious state. We’re looking for a civilian democracy … in which people are the source of power, and to do that we need a new constitution,” the group’s general secretary Sheikh Ali Salman told a news conference.
In Iran, supporters and opponents of the regime clashed in Tehran during a funeral procession for a student shot at an anti-government rally two days ago, state broadcaster IRIB reported. Both sides claimed Sanee Zhaleh was a martyr to their cause and blamed the other for his death.
Monday’s rallies in Tehran and several other Iranian cities were the first staged by the Green pro-democracy movement since security forces crushed huge protests in the months after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed 2009 re-election.
Opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi hailed Monday’s rally as a “glorious” event by a “magnificent movement.” Reformist websites estimated that 1,500 people had been arrested.
Mehdi Karroubi, the other main opposition leader, said Monday’s rally had been turned violent by “individuals whose role and affiliation with specific institutions is evident to all.” Both Mousavi and Karroubi are under de facto house arrest.
In Algeria, Prime Minister Minister Ahmad Ouyahia said Wednesday the government would lift a state of emergency in force for the past 19 years before the end of the month. By - The Daily Star :: Lebanon News
Clashes were reported in tightly controlled oil producer Libya, sandwiched between Egypt and Tunisia, while new protests erupted in Bahrain, Yemen, Iraq and Iran Wednesday. Three Iraqis and two Yemenis were killed and dozens wounded Wednesday in the demonstrations in Iraq and Yemen.
Hundreds of opponents of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, in power since 1969, clashed with police and government supporters in the eastern city of Benghazi overnight, a witness and local media said.
Reports from the port city, 1,000 kilometers east of the capital Tripoli, said protesters armed with stones and Molotov cocktails set fire to vehicles and fought with police, in a rare outbreak of unrest in the country.
The riot in Libya’s second city was sparked by the arrest of human-rights activist Fethi Tarbel, who has worked to free political prisoners, Quryna newspaper said.
Video clips posted on the Internet showed protesters carrying signs and chanting: “Down, down to corruption and to the corrupt.” Activists using Facebook and Twitter have called for nationwide demonstrations Thursday.
In a possible concession to the protesters, Libya will free 110 members of the banned organization the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group from Tripoli’s notorious Abu Salim prison Wednesday, another human-rights activist said.
In Yemen, the embattled president, who has been in power for more than 30 years, flooded the ancient capital of Sanaa with security forces to try to stamp out demonstrations that began nearly a week ago. They turned deadly Wednesday in the southern port of Aden, with two people killed in clashes with police. At least 800 anti-government protesters marched in the capital. The police fired in the air and blocked thousands of students at Sanaa University from joining thousands of other protesters.
In southern Iraq, three people were killed and dozens wounded Wednesday as protesters demanding better basic services fought with police and set government buildings on fire.
Around 2,000 people took to the streets in the city of Kut, throwing bricks and stones at Iraqi security forces. Some voiced direct anger at Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
“Down, down Maliki’s government. Down, down with corruption. Down, down thieves,” shouted 36-year-old teacher Ali Abdulla, who led a group of protesters and was bleeding from his head after clashing with police.
Wednesday’s demonstrations, which started as protests against poor services, soon turned into direct calls for the removal of provincial government officials in Kut.
In Bahrain, protesters poured into the capital, Manama, for a third successive day to mourn a demonstrator killed in clashes with security forces Tuesday. The Foreign Ministry said those suspected of blame for the deaths of the two protesters had been arrested, “steps which make clear that the Kingdom of Bahrain does not condone the use of excessive force at any time.”
Protesters demanding a change of government have turned a landmark square in Manama into their base camp, which was swollen with tens of thousands of people by nightfall Wednesday. Their next important move takes a page directly from the Egypt unrest: calling for a major march after Friday prayers to re-energize its followers.
An emergency Parliament meeting was called for Thursday while the main Shiite opposition group Wefaq demanded a new constitution.
“We’re not looking for a religious state. We’re looking for a civilian democracy … in which people are the source of power, and to do that we need a new constitution,” the group’s general secretary Sheikh Ali Salman told a news conference.
In Iran, supporters and opponents of the regime clashed in Tehran during a funeral procession for a student shot at an anti-government rally two days ago, state broadcaster IRIB reported. Both sides claimed Sanee Zhaleh was a martyr to their cause and blamed the other for his death.
Monday’s rallies in Tehran and several other Iranian cities were the first staged by the Green pro-democracy movement since security forces crushed huge protests in the months after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed 2009 re-election.
Opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi hailed Monday’s rally as a “glorious” event by a “magnificent movement.” Reformist websites estimated that 1,500 people had been arrested.
Mehdi Karroubi, the other main opposition leader, said Monday’s rally had been turned violent by “individuals whose role and affiliation with specific institutions is evident to all.” Both Mousavi and Karroubi are under de facto house arrest.
In Algeria, Prime Minister Minister Ahmad Ouyahia said Wednesday the government would lift a state of emergency in force for the past 19 years before the end of the month. By - The Daily Star :: Lebanon News
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