Round-up: Today in Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Syria and Yemen

yemen protests
Round-up: Today in Bahrain, Egypt Libya, Syria and Yemen

As the so-called “Arab Spring” protests continue across the Middle East and North Africa, Sinead O’Carroll, has a round-up of what has happened so far today.

In Libya, Muammar Gaddafi’s oil chief Shokri Ghanem has defected and travelled to Italy. The head of Libya’s National Oil Corp said today he was ready to leave the regime but was not quite prepared to join the rebels yet.

He said the “unbearable” violence led him to quit his job. He told reporters in Rome today that he had witnessed “daily spilling of blood”.

He is one of the most senior officials to defect from Gaddafi. The strongest statement he made was that he supported the “Libyan youth fighting for a constitutional state”.

Oil production in Libya is grounding to a halt, Ghanem told the news briefing, which was organised by the Libyan ambassador in Rome.

Meanwhile, Secretary General Anders Rasmussen announced that NATO has extended its mission in Libya for another 90 days.

http://www.businessandleadership.com/leadership/item/30443-nato-extends-libya-mission/

Gaddafi has made it clear that he will not step down, ending any hopes of a political resolution to the conflict. Rebels have said his resignation is their minimum requirement to sit down to talks or commit to a ceasefire.

Libya’s government has claimed that NATO strikes have killed 718 civilians and injured over 4,000 since the Western powers began their operations in March.

Witnesses have reported that the first anti-government protest in Tripoli since February took place on Monday.

In Syria, an amnesty offer from President Bashar al-Assad has been rejected by opposition members, who called it a token concession.

Al-Assad said he would offer a pardon on all crimes committed before May 31 but this was “rejected and revoked” by Ammar Abdulhamid, a Syrian pro-democracy activist.

Anti-government opposition is working to become a more organised alternative to the current 11-year-old regime.

A gathering of activists took place today in Turkey, which included exiled opposition leaders and members. They closed ranks and forged a plan for a “new, democratic Syria”, according to Al Jazeera.

They said their main aim was to get the UN Security Council to pass a resolution referring members of the regime to the International Criminal Court.

The US continued its harder line with its one-time ally al-Assad with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton telling the government it was ignoring the pleas of the people.

Meanwhile, violence has continued across the country. Activists said the town of al-Rastan in Homs province is still under siege. At least 25 people were shot dead yesterday.

Egypt has shown no signs of letting up when it comes to its former autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak.

The former president is to appear in court with his two sons, Alaa and Gamal to face charges of abuse of power, wasting public funds and killing protestors.

If found guilty of “pre-mediated killing”, Mubarak could face the death penalty. His court date has been set for August 3.

At least 41 people were killed overnight in the city of Sana’a in Yemen, where fighting has continued throughout the day.

Heavy explosions are being reported and witnesses have said street battles between government forces and rival tribal fighters are ongoing.

Kuwait has said it tried to broker a deal for President Ali Abdullah Saleh exit but was unsuccessful.

There have been three separate fights in Yemen this week – explosions and street fighting between the government and tribes in the capital, the battle between Al Qaeda and security forces in Zinjibar on the coast and, finally, the raid on peaceful protestors by Saleh’s troops in Taiz.

Protests have picked up once more in Bahrain and, today, police were accused of shooting at peaceful demonstrators.

Earlier today, troops and tanks withdrew from the streets of Manama after the kingdom’s authorities lifted martial law in an effort to calm the political atmosphere.

Sinead O’Carroll