By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East 

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian foreign ministry officials stressed on Monday that they will not use chemical weapons against its own people, emphasizing Damascus’s commitment to UN special envoy Kofi Annan.

In a statement read by spokesman Jihad Makdissi, the chaotic Middle Eastern country said that such weapons stocks are secured and directly monitored by the Syrian Armed Forces and would only be used in cases of external aggression on the country.  He added that “Syria will never use [chemical weapons] against Syrians no matter what.”

“Any chemical or biological weapons will never be used, I repeat, will never be used in the Syrian crisis, no matter what the internal developments in this crisis are,” Makdissi said at a news conference broadcast on Syrian state TV.

Syria has never confirmed its possession of chemical weapons. It is also not a signatory of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which outlaws their production.

Israel and the West are concerned that Syria might use its chemical weapons stock against neighboring Lebanon.  On July 16, the most senior Syrian politician to defect told the BBC that it would not hesitate to use chemical weapons if cornered.  Nawaf Al-Fares, Syria’s former ambassador to Iraq, said unconfirmed reports indicated that such weapons might have already been used.  Despite this claim, Syrian rebels have not reported any use of chemical weapons.

The Arab League has previously called on Syrian President Basher Al-Assad to step down, offering him a “safe exit” from the country.  Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby requested that Assad resign immediately, and offered his family safe passage out of Syria.  Elaraby did not give any further details on his proposal at an Arab League foreign ministers’ meeting in Doha, Qatar, on Monday morning. Syria rejected the offer

“[W]e are sorry that the Arab League has descended to this level concerning a member state of this institution,” said Makdissi.  “This decision only concerns the Syrian people, who are the sole masters of fate of their governments.”

In February, Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki offered Assad asylum if it would end the conflict.  The Syrian leader has not shown any willingness to step down.  In his first public statement since a devastating rebel bombing wiped out his top security officers, Assad told his new army chief of staff last Sunday to “continue that armed forces’ pursuit of terrorists.”

Meanwhile, the British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, and his French counterpart called for a boost in European Union aid to tens of thousands of Syrian refugees.  “We have to step up humanitarian assistance for the people fleeing,” said the Foreign Secretary as French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius added: “We must help neighboring countries.”

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera — Syria Hints at use of Chemical Weapons — 23 July 2012

Al Manar — Syria Chemical Weapons Would be Used Only in Case of Foreign Attack — 23 July 2012

BBC — Syria ‘will not use’ Chemical Weapons on its own People — 23 July 2o12

SANA — Foreign Ministry: Chemical and Biological Weapons are Secured and Would Only be Used in the Case of External Aggression

The Telegraph — William Hague: Syrian Chemical Weapons Threat ‘Unacceptable’ — 23 July 2012

By Mark McMurray
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel — On Monday, a group of forty Palestinians were allowed to see their relatives in Ramon prison in southern Israel.  The visit marks the first time in five years Palestinians have been able to visit family members incarcerated in an Israeli prison.

Before sunrise, the group gathered outside the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza City.  Joined by representatives of the organization, the group boarded a bus to the Erez border crossing with Israel.  The Red Cross, which helped make the trip possible, expressed hope that Monday’s visit marks the beginning of regular trips to Israeli prisons.  Juan Pedro Schaerer, head of the organization in Israel and the Palestinian territories, described the organization’s objective in a statement released on Monday.

“This is a first step and we hope that visits by residents of Gaza will resume in full,” he said.  “We have repeatedly called for the resumption of family visits, which are a lifeline for detainees and their families.  Under international humanitarian law, Israeli authorities have an obligation to allow the detainees to receive family visits.”

Twenty-four inmates met with family members on Monday.  One visitor, Fatima Nashbat, described her emotions prior to seeing her husband for first time in almost six years.

“I haven’t seen my husband or heard his voice or even news of him for years,” she said.  “I don’t know what the meeting will be like, but of course my excitement is indescribable and I can’t wait to see him.”

Sivan Weizman, spokesperson for Israel’s prison services, confirmed that  prison visits are expected to begin on a regular basis.  The next trip is scheduled to occur in two weeks.  Weizman described Monday’s trip as having been completed “without incident.”

In May, Israel agreed to allow prison visits to resume in order to reach a deal to end a mass hunger strike by Palestinian detainees earlier in the year.  Israel had put an end to family visits in 2007, in response to the militant Islamist group Hamas’ rise to power in Gaza.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Palestinians Visit Jailed Relatives in Israel – 16 July 2012

BBC News – First Gaza Families Visit Jailed Relatives in Israel – 16 July 2012

Mail & Guardian – Gaza allows Palestinian prisoners’ families to visit – 16 July 2012

YNet News – Gazans to Visit Palestinian Prisoners Held in Israel – 16 July 2012

By Melike Ince
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SANAA, Yemen – Ten police cadets in Yemen’s capital of Sanaa were killed in a suicide bombing allegedly carried out by a member of al-Qaeda.

On Wednesday, reports came in that the cadets were leaving their academy after class for a weekend with their families when the bomber threw himself into the crowd and detonated the explosives attached to his body.  At least fifteen people were wounded in the attack.  Authorities stated that the bomber died from severe injuries shortly afterwards.  Those who witnessed the aftermath detailed the deadly scene that ambulances rushed to.

“We ran to the place and found dozens of cadets covered in blood. Blood was everywhere. The scene was horrific,” said police official Fadel Ali.

According to security officials, twelve suspects were originally arrested in connection tothe attack.  The government released the attacker’s name as Mohamed Nasher al-Uthy, but later retracted that statement and announced that the body had not yet been officially identified.  The family of the man accused stated that al-Uthy was a driver who routinely drove cadets home and had no affiliation with al-Qaeda.  Opposition parties claim that this “mistake” was done to undermine the new regime by those in the government who maintain loyalty to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.  President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who took office after the uprisings that ended Saleh’s three decade rule, has launched an investigation into the attack.

Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the bombing.  The organization, which is particularly prevalent in the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, has been known to target security forces in the past and has been labeled the global terror movement’s most dangerous group.  In May, another al-Qaeda suicide bomber killed more than ninety people in a military establishment during a rehearsal for a parade.

The weakening of the government’s rule during the Arab Spring uprising allowed the terrorist organization to take certain territories that would later be turned over following US-backed attacks.  The militants have vowed to attack areas all across Yemen in retaliation for the continuing offensive on their strongholds.

For further information, please see:

Yemen Online – Yemen President Launches Investigation into Cadet Attack – 14 July 2012

BBC News – Yemen Attack Deadly Bombing at Sanaa Police Academy – 11 July 2012

Al Jazeera – Deadly Bombing at Yemen Police Academy – 11 July 2012

The Washington Post – Suicide Attack on Yemeni Police Cadets Kills at Least 10; Government Blames Al-Qaeda – 11 July 2012

By Mark McMurray
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

KABUL, Afghanistan— On Wednesday, over one hundred people took to the streets of Kabul to protest the execution of a 22-year-old-woman.

Najiba, the woman executed last month, was accused of adultery in a village in Parwan province, sixty miles north of Kabul.  Caught on tape, the execution has been broadcast by news outlets across the world.  The horrific video shows a woman being shot multiple times while men who gathered to watch the murder cheer.  Protestors and the international community, reacting to the footage, have called for the government of Afghanistan to do more to protect the rights of women.  In response to mounting pressure regarding the incident, government officials blamed the killing on the Taliban.  The group has denied the killing, saying it would have conducted the execution according to proper sharia (Islamic) law.

Wednesday’s march saw protestors make their way from the ministry responsible for women’s affairs to the UN headquarters in Kabul while chanting “We want justice!”  The group, which consisted mainly of women, included mothers with babies and children in school uniforms further demanding “Death to the men who killed our sister!”

Sinkai Karokhail, a member of parliament who marched with the protestors, told AFP, “The execution of the woman by the Taliban was a crime … the government must do everything to bring the culprits to justice.”

With a recent pledge of $16 billion for development from Tokyo donors due to be paid out over the next four years, the news of the execution raises questions about the proper role of aid within Afghanistan.  Wazhma Frogh, a leading women’s rights activist in Afghanistan, said at the protest, “We are grateful for the aid money, but we want it to be used to bring women justice and peace, the Afghan government needs to be held accountable.”

Afghan women are starting to feel more left out of society, as years of war and cautious donors threaten to roll back the gains women have made in the country following the downfall of the Taliban.  Additionally, with foreign troops set to leave by the end of 2014, there is a real concern about the advancement of women’s rights in the country currently ranked as the world’s worst place to be a woman, according to a major global poll last year.

For further information, please see:

Afghanistan Times – Afghans Protest Recent Public Killing of Woman – 11 July 2012

Reuters – Afghan Women Protest for Rights After Public Execution – 11 July 2012

Telegraph – Afghan Women Protest Over Woman’s Public Execution – 11 July 2012

VOA – Afghan Activists Protest Woman’s Public Execution – 11 July 2012