By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SANAA, Yemen– A number of Yemen’s most influential clerics issued a decree on Sunday calling supporters of a ban on child brides to be apostates.  It is believed that the religious decree will deeply hurt efforts to salvage legislation that would make it illegal for individuals under the age of 17 to marry.

Currently in Yemen, the practice of having child brides is quite prevalent, due in large part to the country’s extreme poverty.  In many cases, it is tough for families to pass up on child bride prices which can easily run into the hundreds of dollars.

Last year, the Social Affairs Ministry of Yemen published a report saying that more than a quarter of Yemen’s females marry before age 15.  In February of 2009, a new law set the minimum age for marriage at 17, but it was repealed and sent back to the legislature for review after a number of lawmakers called the bill un-Islamic.  A final decision on the legislation is believed to be forthcoming next month.

One of the clerics behind the decree is Sheik Abdul-Majid al-Zindani, one of Yemen’s most influential clerics and one whom the United States has said is a spiritual mentor of Osama bin Laden.  Yet, since Yemen is currently in a fragile situation as a nation, many government officials are reluctant to challenge al-Zindani and other influential clerics for fear of losing power.

The clerics organized a protest against the legislation on Sunday by a group of women.  One of the protestors, a woman in a black veil and face robes, carried a sign that read “Yes to the Islamic rights of women.”  Another woman at the protest said “I was married at 15 and have many children now.  And I will marry my daughter at the same age if I decide she is ready for it.”

Child brides has been a contentious debate in Yemen starting three years when an 8 year old girl in Yemen courageously went by herself to a courtroom and demanded that the judge dissolve her marriage to a man in his 30’s.  The judge ultimately annulled the marriage and since that time legislators have been looking for ways to curb the practice of child brides.

For more information, please see:

Hurriyet Daily News- Yemeni Protestors Support Proposed Child Marriage Ban– 24 March 2010

The Washington Post- Top Yemeni Clerics Oppose Ban on Child Brides– 22 March 2010

The Straits Times- Women Oppose Child Marriage Ban– 21 March 2010

By Bobby Rajabi

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On March 21, the Iraqi election commission rejected calls from the country’s prime minister and president for a recount of the votes cast in the March 7 general election. The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) announced that for a full manual recount to take place, there must be evidence of serious electoral fraud. Supporters of current Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki are threatening to loosen ties with Baghdad if their demands for a recount are not met.

Faraj al-Haidari, the chief of the IHEC, explained the commission’s decision. He said that “they are asking for a manual recount, that is like asking for a re-run of the entire election. If they don’t accept that we are running the best election software in the world then how are they going to believe pen and paper.”

Haidari also explained that if Maliki and his supporters believe that there were some errors or have doubts, they are able to ask for recounts of particular regions. The commission, however, is unwilling to recount all of Iraq.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is pushing strongly for a recount of all votes cast in the election. Maliki claims that a recount is necessary to “preserve political stability and to avoid a deterioration of security and a return of violence which has quelled after much effort and loss of blood.” The Iraqi Prime Minister contends that a manual recount will help ensure the legitimacy of the country’s government.

The Iraqi Prime Minister has a supporter in the country’s president. Iraqi President Jalal Talbani has endorsed Maliki’s call for a recount. Talbani released a statement on his website saying that it was his duty “to preserve the constitution and to ensure justice and absolute transparency.” Talbani then demanded that the IHEC recount the ballots from the general election in order to “preclude any doubt and misunderstanding” in the results.

IHEC is reporting that with over ninety percent of the vote counted, Maliki’s State of Law alliance trails former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi’s Iraqiya political bloc. Maliki’s alliance does stand to gain more representation in a future parliament as seats are allocated based on the outcome of the votes in each province.

For more information, please see:

Los Angeles Times – Bid for Iraq Vote Recount Intensifies – 23 March 2010

Al Jazeera – Poll Body Reject Iraq Recount Call – 22 March 2010

BBC – Iraq Election Commission Rejects Calls for Vote Recount – 21 March 2010

By Ahmad Shihadah
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

CAIRO, Egypt – The U.S. Navy is warning of possible al Qaeda attacks against ships off the coast of Yemen, where an offshoot of the terrorist network has established a significant base of operations over the past year.

Yemen became a focus of deep international concern in December when Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the failed attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner, showing the group based in an impoverished and unstable corner of the Middle East had global reach.

“Information suggests that al Qaeda remains interested in maritime attacks in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden along the coast of Yemen,” said an advisory from the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence.

The warning said such attacks could be similar to the 2000 strike against the Navy destroyer USS Cole in Yemen’s Aden harbor that killed 17 American sailors. The attackers used a small boat laden with explosives to blow a hole in the side of the ship.

“Other more sophisticated methods of attack could include missiles or projectiles,” said the advisory, which was dated March 10. In particular, ships are at greatest risk while in or near ports or at anchor, it said.

Yemen, whose location at the southern rim of the Arabian Peninsula places it near one of the world’s busiest shipping corridors, is a long-standing base of support for al Qaeda.

Besides an al Qaeda threat, ships transiting the area have been beset by Somali pirates who have seized control of vessels ranging from fishing trawlers to oil supertankers in search of ransoms in the millions of dollars.

For more information, please see:

AP – US Navy Warns Al-Qaeda Threatens Ships Off Yemen – 23 March 2010

Otago Daily Times – US Warns Of Al-Qaeda Threat To Ships Off Yemen – 23 March 2010

Reuters – U.S. Warns Ships Off Yemen Of Possible Al-Qaeda – 23 March 2010

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

THE NEGEV, Israel – Multiple Qassam rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip and into Southern Israel during the past week. On March 19, a rocket fired by Palestinian militants killed a foreign migrant worker, reportedly a man from Thailand working on a farm, and the first casualty in Israel by rocket fire since the massive fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip during the winter of 2008-2009. Eighty-eight Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in the same period because of Israeli military operations and border clashes, according to the United Nations.

The rocket attacks are not, however, from Hamas, the ruling political party in Gaza. Since the end of the fighting in January 2009, Hamas has observed a de facto cease-fire with Israel. Rather, the rockets have been launched by some of the many disparate extremist militant groups in the Gaza Strip who have criticized Hamas for what they believe is its increasingly moderate stance toward Israel.

“These types of attacks from other groups in Gaza…anger Hamas, because Hamas wants to show the entire world they are in control here,” said Haidar Eid, a Gaza-based political analyst. “Hamas wants to govern and rebuild, but it’s not giving an alternative to the other groups who want to continue to fight Israel.”

Israel responded to the rocket attacks with airstrikes, attacking what Israel has characterized as a militant smuggling tunnel used to bring weapons into the Gaza Strip from Egypt. The airstrikes also targeted a workshop in Gaza City and an open field, according to Palestinian security officials and eyewitnesses.

Since Israel began its blockade on the Gaza Strip, Palestinians in Gaza have built a network of tunnels, used to bring in weapons as well as much-needed humanitarian supplies. During a recent trip to the Gaza Strip, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon condemned the blockade, saying it has caused “unnecessary suffering.”

As Israel ramped up military operations on the Gaza border, an Israeli soldier was killed on March 22, reportedly as a result of friendly fire.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Israel Raid Strikes Gaza Tunnel – 22 March 2010

Ma’an News Agency – Israeli Soldier Killed on Gaza Border – 22 March 2010

Ha’aretz – Gaza Rocket Fired at South Israel, Days After Deadly Strike – 21 March 2010

Christian Science Monitor – Hamas Fails to Rein in Rocket Attacks, Prompting Israel Strike – 19 March 2010

BBC News – Rocket Fire From Gaza Kills Man in Southern Israel – 18 March 2010

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SANAA, Yemen– The United States is warning ships sailing off the coast of Yemen that al Qaeda is planning attacks similar to that of the USS Cole in 2000 that killed 17 U.S. sailors.

The Office of Naval Intelligence posted the warning in order to promote security for shipping companies and other vessels.  According to the warning, the exact method of a planned attack is not known but it “may be similar in nature to the attacks against the USS Cole in October 2000 and the M/V Limburg in October 2002, where a small to mid-size boat laden with explosives was detonated.”

The warning further noted that “Although the time and location of such an attack are unknown, ships in the Red Sea, Bab-al-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden along the coast of Yemen are at the greatest risk of becoming targets of such an attack.”

The Naval Intelligence posting comes in an area that has been one of the most active for Somali based pirate attacks in recent months.  According to a number of government anti-piracy reports, there have been 23 pirate attacks or suspected pirate incidents against ships in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Bab-al-Mandeb Strait, and western Indian Ocean over the past two months.

Furthermore, an increased al Qaeda presence in Yemen and Somalia as of late has contributed to the growing piracy problem.  Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the Yemen based affiliate of Osama Bin Laden’s terrorist network, announced in late December that it was calling on Muslims to wage a “mast media campaign of gathering information on U.S. Navy ships, their crews, how they are serviced by other nations, and data on possible nuclear weapons on board.”

The Yemen based statement said that al Qaeda had targeted the Navy in the past by bombing the Cole and that “every American naval vessel in the seas and oceans: aircraft carriers, submarines, and all of its war machines within range of al Qaeda will be destroyed.”

As one counterterrorism official explained “Extremists on the Arabian Peninsula continue to look to maritime interests as possible terrorist targets.”

For more information, please see:

CNN- U.S. Intelligence: Al Qaeda May Target Ships off Yemen– 22 March 2010

Reuters- U.S. Warns Ships off Yemen of Possible Al Qaeda Attack– 22 March 2010

The Washington Times- Navy Warns Ships About Al Qaeda Risk Near Yemen– 22 March 2010