By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Middle East

Manama, Bahraini–Bahraini officials have accused rebels opposed to the Gulf State regime of receiving training, including explosives training, from members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. According to the regime officials these rebels have received this training in order to carry out terror attacks inside of Bahrain.

Osama al-Oufi, Bahrain’s Chief Prosecutor, reported in a statement that the nation’s intelligence service has reported that “Bahraini Ahmed Mahfuz Moussawi, currently living in Iran, had planned terrorist bombing operations targeting institutions and places vital to the sovereignty and security of the kingdom.”

According to al-Oufi he is also accused of “jeopardising the safety and security of the kingdom, injuring persons, terrorising citizens and residents, disturbing public peace, spreading chaos, and preventing government institutions and authorities from performing their functions.”

According to the Prosecution investigations revealed that the main suspect in this case had attempted to arrange a meeting in Iraq in order to coordinate the smuggling of shipments of explosives and weapons. Al-Oufi said “Based on the findings of the investigations, the public prosecution issued an arrest and search warrant against the accused and search their homes and properties, to seize any weapons and explosives found in their possession, and any items related to their criminal activities. Surveillance of the movements of the terrorist group led to the arrest of two of its members who were on a boat receiving weapons, munitions and explosives to be smuggled from a boat at sea into the country. Three other accused group members were also arrested.”

Al-Oufi stated that five people have been arrested who have “admitted joining a group to carry out terrorist attacks” he added that these suspects have also admitted to traveling to Iran in order to receive “training in Revolutionary Guards camps and then received sums of money.”

The Gulf state is currently led by elite members of the minority Sunni population. However, since members of the Shia majority led an uprising against the state, calling for democratic reforms, members of the majority Shia opposition have continued to call for reforms. Since 2011 the Bahraini state has accused Iran, a Shia regime, of being behind the opposition movement.

Confessions given to Bahraini police officials have been under fire in recent years. Widespread and excessive force, including confessions under duress and torture, was detailed in a report by an international human rights commission led by Cherif Bassiouni. The Bahraini regime has claimed it is taking steps to address these concerns. However, human rights activists claim these abuses continue in the Gulf State.

For More Information Please See:

Al Jazeera – Bahrain Accuses Iran of Training Rebels – 3 January 2014

Gulf News – Bahrain Suspects ‘Trained at Iran Camps’ – 2 January 2014

Reuters – Bahrain Says Probing Torture Claims by Men Jailed in Bombs Case – 31 December 2013

Reuters – Analysis: Bahrain Impasse Risks More Instability in 2014 – 31 December 2013

By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East 

BEIRUT, Lebanon-A suspected car bomb has caused a massive explosion at a Hezbollah stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut.  The explosion occurred in the Haret Hrek district during rush hour.

Images of the explosion appeared on Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV show depicting firefighters putting out multiple cars on fire.  The footage also showed one building with its façade blown off and also damage to several other neighboring buildings.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry has reported that at least five people were killed and as many as twenty wounded from the blast.

“Suddenly, the whole area went bright and we started running away.  I saw two bodies on the street, one of a woman and another of a man on a motorcycle was totally deformed,” reported Ali Oliek, an accountant who works in a nearby office.

Authorities brought in bomb sniffing dogs, and at one point announced that there was the possibility of another bomb in the vicinity, sending crowd members into frenzy.  Hezbollah security agents and Lebanese troop worked together to block off the area to keep out the angry crowds surrounding the blast sight.

“There are a large number of people trying to get to the explosion site but security forces are trying to keep people away.  They fear there might be another bomb, another attack,” reported Rula Amin, an Aljazeera reported located in Beirut.

“This is the heart of the Hezbollah stronghold and it’s considered a safe zone but not anymore.  It seems like the bomb is not big but this area is very crowded and there are a lot of people on the streets at this time of the day.  Security in that area is usually very tight, so to be able to put that car bomb there is a major violation,” continued Amin

This attack is one of several that have occurred in Beirut over the last few months, including one last week.  In November, twenty five people were killed by a suicide bombing at the Iranian embassy in southern Beirut.  Explosions have also occurred in other nearby Hezbollah districts in Sunni Mosques in the northern city of Tripoli.

“This is a big battle against terrorism, it targets everyone.  It doesn’t matter where they are from.  The perpetrators are trying to incite violence among the Lebanese people,” stated Ali Hassan Khalil, the Lebanese health minister.

Tensions between sectarian groups in Lebanon have increased due to the civil war in neighboring Syria.

For more information, please see the following: 

Al Jazeera-Deadly explosion hits Lebanese capital-2 January 2014

Deutsche Welle-Deadly explosion hits Hezbollah stronghold in southern Beirut-2 January 2014

Sky News-Deadly Blast Rocks Lebanese Capital Beirut-2 January 2014

USA Today-Deadly blast hits south Beirut neighborhood-2 January 2014

By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 CAIRO, Egypt-One student was killed, four injured, and numerous others were arrested during a protest supporting the Muslim Brotherhood clashed with Egyptian police at Al-Azhar University, located in Cairo.

The Egyptian security forces used teargas and water cannons in dispersing students and supporters of the ousted Morsi.  The student activist was killed after being hit in the face with a birdshot.

The protesters were staged outside of university buildings attempting to prevent students from entering to take their exams.  Protesters threw rocks at the police and set tires on fire to counter tear gas attacks.

Two college buildings caught fire during the violence.  State TV broadcast footage revealed black smoke billowing from the faculty of commerce building as well as setting the agriculture facility building on fire.

Police arrested 101 students for possession of makeshift weapons that included petrol bombs, reported one state news agency.  Eventually, calm had been restored and scheduled exams proceeded after the morning clashes subsided.

The Brotherhood condemned what it called a “violent crackdown on student protests”, saying in a statement that the deployment of security forces on university campuses was an attempt by the government to “silence any voice opposition.”

Protesters gathered at the university following a harsh court verdict on Wednesday against a group of young female protestors.  The verdict implemented a new law criminalizing protests held without police permits with violators facing fines and prison sentences.

Prosecutors have ordered the continued detention of seven Al-Azhar students that the arrested during the protest.  The students are the first to be ordered detained by prosecutors on allegations of belonging to a terrorist group since the Brotherhood’s formal listing on December 25^th.

The widespread crackdown against the pro-Morsi movement was enacted following the overthrow of veteran leader Hosni Mubarak in 2011 increasing tension in Egypt which has experienced one of the worst internal strife in modern history.

On Thursday, General Mohammed Ibrahim, the interior minister, stated “security forces will confront any violation and will face with all decisiveness any attempt to cut roads, block public facilities, hinder citizens’ movement or obstruct their interests.”

The protesters later left the campus and marched down a main road, further instigating confrontation with the police.

For more information, please see the following: 

Al Jazeera-Egyptian students clash with security forces-28 December 2013

Euro News-One student dead reported dead in Egypt university clashes-28 December 2013

The Guardian-Egyptian student killed as security forces clash with protesters in Cairo-28 December 2013

Reuters-One killed as Islamist students and police clash in Cairo-28 December 2013

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Middle East

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Mohamed Chatah, Lebanon’s former Finance Minister and six others were killed in an attack on Friday in central Beirut. The bombing struck close to the government headquarters and parliament in the capita. Initial medical reports indicated that more than 71 people. The blast was reportedly so powerful it blew out the windows of nearby buildings. The shared glass insured dozens of people.

Mohamed Chatah is believed to have been the target of the attack, which was carried out as his convoy was passing through the area.

Chatah was well known as a critic of the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, whom he accused of meddling in his countries domestic affairs. Hezbollah, the leading political organization in Lebanon supports the Assad regime and has sent fighters to help al-Assad’s forces in the Syrian civil war. In his last blog post Chatah wrote that “A united and peaceful Syria ruled by Assad is simply not possible anymore. It has been like that for some time.” He continued saying that “the status quo ante cannot be restored. Iran and Hezbollah realize this more than anyone else.”

In a Tweet posted less than an hour before his death Chatah accused the Hezbollah of trying to take control of the country. The Tweet read “Hezbollah is pressing hard to be granted similar powers in security and foreign policy matters that Syria exercised in Lebanon for 15 years.”

On Friday, Saad Hariri and his March 14 allies issued statements implying that the Syrian government or its ally Hezbollah was responsible for the attack. Hariri’s “March 14 coalition” is a pro-Western, political alliance dominated by Sunni Muslims.

Taking its name for the day in 2005 when thousands of people gathered in Beirut a month after the assassination of Hariri’s father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, demanding an end to what they viewed as a Syrian occupation of Lebanon.

The Assad regime has so far denied any involvement in the attack. Syria’s Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi, in remarks published by state news agency SANA said “these wrong and arbitrary accusations are made in a context of political hatred.”

Chatah’s killing occurred three weeks before the start of a trial of five Hezbollah members indicted for a 2005 bombing that killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Saad’s father, and 21 other people. The trial is set to open in The Hague in January.

Hezbollah, denies any role in the 2005 assassination and has refused to cooperate with the court, which it claims is politically motivated.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his March 14 coalition have accused Hezbollah, a major Shia political organization in Lebanon, of, of involvement in Chatah’s death. Hariri said “As far as we are concerned the suspects … are those who are fleeing international justice and refusing to represent themselves before the international tribunal”

For more information please see

Al Jazeera – Beirut Car Bombing Kills Top Politician – 27 December 2013

CNN International – Lebanon’s Mohamad Chatah — U.S. Friend, Hezbollah Foe — Killed In Blast – 27 December 2013

The New York Times – Bomb in Beirut Kills Politician, a Critic Of Syria And Hezbollah – 27 December 2013

Reuters – Lebanon’s Hariri Points to Hezbollah over Beirut Killing – 27 December 2013

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Middle East

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – A rare winter storm has brought rain and snow to the Middle East creating stunning images of a winter wonderland in the Holy Land and across the Middle East from Egypt to Syria. However, the storm System has also brought devastating flooding and freezing temperatures to the region, leaving hundreds without heat or power.

On Thursday poorly built homes in Northern Gaza collapsed as a result of freezing rain and sleet from the powerful storm system, several residents began seeking refuge in local schools. The United Nations has called the most severally effected regions “a disaster area” and more than 5,000 people have been evacuated from flood-damaged homes in the region.

In a statement on Saturday the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA), which is reasonable for the administration of refugee camps in the Palestine territory, said “Large swathes of northern Gaza are a disaster area with water as far as the eye can see.

The freezing weather, coupled with fuel shortages and the fact that many Palestinian do not live in quality homes with adequate heading systems, many Palestinian have been forced to use fires to heat their homes, which creates a risk of deadly house fires. A government spokesman said that a 22-year-old Palestinian man died as a result of smoke inhalation on Saturday which he suffered after lighting a fire to heat his home.

The Gaza Health Ministry reported 100 other people had been injured as a result of the flooding after the rising waters damaged poorly built homes along the coastal territory. Among the injured were people who had been hit by debris falling from inundated buildings. Several people were also injured as a result of car accidents on flooded roadways.

Chris Gunness, a spokesperson for the UNRWA spokesman, said areas near a refugee camp in northern Gaza “have become a massive lake with two-meter-high waters engulfing homes and stranding thousands.”

Israel has responded to the crises by opening a main crossing with Gaza on Friday in order to allow fuel supplies and four water pumps into the territory to help victims of flood damage and to help end blackouts, which have lasted longer than 21 hours.

Gaza is home to 1.8 million people, governed by Hamas. The region has already endured blackouts caused by fuel shortages, often lasting for 12 hours of blackouts daily since Gaza’s only power plant was switched off last month due to a fuel shortage resulting from tunnels connecting the region to Egypt being shut down.

The enclave lies on the coast, sparing it the snow that has fallen across other parts of the region, but heavy rains felled trees and damaged nearly 200 homes.

Fayez al-Yazghi, a shop owner in Gaza described the crises as “the worst weather we’ve had in 20 years. There’s no electricity, fuel and cooking gas. Many homes are flooded and destroyed” he went on to say the region is in “need urgent intervention from the whole world to save our lives.”

For more information please see:

The Guardian – Gaza Receives First Fuel Shipment in Weeks after Winter Storm – 15 December 2013

ABC News – Gaza Strip Receives Fuel After Storm Batters It – 14 December 2013

The New York Times – Gaza, Vexed By Floods, Gets Fuel and Power – 15 December 2013

Scientific American – More Than 5,000 Evacuated From Gaza “Disaster Area” Floods – 14 December 2013

Al Jazeera – Icy Floods Force Gaza Residents from Homes – 13 December 2013