By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SANA’A, Yemen-The heavily guarded defenses ministry compound was attacked by a suicide bomber and gunmen yesterday, resulting in the death of 52 doctors and nurses as well as injuring 162 people.

No one has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but a Yemeni expert on Islamist militant affairs stated that it had the characteristics of al Qaeda, who have repeatedly attacked government officials and sites over the past two years.

Abdelrazzaq al-Jamal, a Yemeni analyst who specializes in Islamist militant affairs, stated, “the operation carries the fingerprints of al Qaeda because of the suicide nature of the attack.”

The U.S. military issued its alert status throughout the region after the coordinated strikes on Yemen, an ally and what Washington believes to be the home to the most active branch of al Qaeda.

The area poses a security threat for the international community.  The impoverished Yemen shares a long border with Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, as well as key shipping lanes.

One of the attackers drove a loaded car with explosives through the gate of the ministry’s compound while a gunmen in another vehicle sped in and opened fire on soldiers, doctors, and nurses all working at hospital inside, reported witnesses.

The explosion rippled throughout the city, shaking the active neighborhood of Bab al-Yemen on the edge of the capital.  The area is known for its maze of market stalls and stone towers that are decorated with stained glass windows and ornate plasterwork.

One employee working the area reported that “the explosion was very violent, the whole place shook because of it.”

A defense ministry official reported that the gunmen grabbed a Western doctor and a Filipino nurse into the courtyard of the hospital and shot them in front of local staff.  It was also reported that the attackers killed one of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s relatives, who was visiting a patient in the onsite hospital.

The bloodshed ceased when security forces retook the compound after killing most all of the attackers.

For more information, please see the following:

New York Times-Attack on Yemen’s Defense Headquarters Is Linked to Al Qaeda-06 December 2013

Al Jazeera-Doctors killed in Yemen’s ministry assault-05 December 2013

Reuters-Suicide bomber, gunmen kill 52 at Yemeni defense ministry-05 December 2013

Voice of America-Yemen: Suicide Car Bomb, Assault Kill 52-05 December 2013

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – According to Egypt’s Interior ministry, Egyptian police have arrested dozens of Islamist protesters Friday while dispersing demonstration rallies across the country.

In Cairo, police fired tear gas into crowds in the Mohandiseen neighbourhood, a middle class community in the capital city, in order to disperse demonstrators who gathered outside a mosque after mid-day prayers.

Egyptian authorities have targets Islamist activists and supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi since he was forced from power by the Egyptian military in July. However, attacks on attacks on civilian rights by authorities have not been limited to right leaning Islamist activist.

Egypt’s public prosecutor Ahmed Maher, a leading political activist in Egypt, for trial on Thursday. According to a judicial official his charges will include protesting without government permission. Wael Shibl, the prosecutor, said Maher will also face other charges including allegedly assaulting police and “resisting the authorities”. He will be the first to be charged under a new law of a new law which has been criticized for limiting the right of Egyptian people to protest.

Ahmed Maher is a well-known activists, he is the founder and leader of the April 6 youth group that played a major role in encouraging Egyptian youth to protests against the Mubarak regime in 2011 which eventually led to the fall of the oppressive Hosni Mubarak regime.

Last week, Maher compared the current oppressive climate in Egypt to the political climate in 2008, before the fall of President Mubarak in 2011. He said “when I was hiding and trying to escape the police, and trying to make my wife and family safe”.

Last week, another high-profile activist Alaa Abd El Fattah, was arrested in a violent raid during which his wife claims he was assaulted by police. Abd El Fattah has been targeting by every Egyptian regime since Hosni Mubarak’s brutal regime. Activists claim his arrest, and alleged abuse by police, is evidence that the interim government is being led by the military back into the dark days of the Mubarak regime.

Abd El Fattah’s arrested followed the sentencing of 14 women and young girls to 11 years in prison for participating in pro-Morsi demonstrations. Human rights organizations have accused the government of severely curtailing the right of the people to protest through the use of a legal process that the United Nations has called seriously flawed.”

For further information please see:

Al Jazeera – Dozens of Protesters Arrested In Egypt – 6 December 2013

Reuters – Egyptian Police Fired Tear Gas to End Clashes In Cairo – 6 December 2013

The Guardian – Egypt Charges Three Top Activists over Cairo Protest – 5 December 2013

The Guardian – Egyptian Activist Arrested Amid Government Crackdown on Dissent – 29 November 2013

By Darrin Simmons,
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 TRIPOLI, Lebanon-An outbreak of gunfire caused the death of at least six people and wounded thirty in the northern city of Tripoli.  Of the fatalities, one was a sixteen year boy, and of the thirty wounded, seven were soldiers.

The outburst resulted from a string of sectarian attacks targeting Tripoli’s minority Alawite community which is centered in Jabal Mohsen, a neighborhood that firmly supports President Bashar Assad.

The Lebanese Army moved in early on Saturday to aid in the evacuating a school where students had been trapped due to heavy sniper fire.  Earlier, a number of pupils fled the school premises in fear of the violence.

Shop owners on Syria Street, which separates rival neighborhoods, also fled the scene of the gunfire.  The Army also blocked the highway that linked Tripoli to Akkar due to the sniper fire.

Earlier in the week, a Sunni group that strongly opposes Assad claimed a responsibility for the recent shooting and wound of three Alawites in the city.  Rumors have been spreading throughout the city that similar attacks would continue until the Ali Eid, the head of the pro-Assad Democratic Party, was handed to authorities.

According to an Army statement, they have boosted its security measures in the city and have apprehended on suspect for allegedly shooting a man from Jabal Mohsen.  The Army also is pursuing the gunmen who targeted the wounded Lebanese soldiers.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati stated, “We are seeking to put an end to the ongoing security breaches because we, along with the citizens, look forward to activating the security measures.”

Mikati further stated, “I have spoken to President Michel Sleiman about this and the security agencies and the judiciary have the government’s full political backing in order for them to carry out their duties.”

In light of the government’s lack of presence so far, citizens have resorted to vigilante actions said Hadi Hobeish, the Akkar Future Movement MP.  “Shooting at peoples’ legs is unacceptable but we have to look at the reason as well and it is the historic mistake of those behind the bombings,” said Hobeish.

For more information, please see the following: 

Al Bawaba-Four killed in Syria-fuelled sectarian violence in north Lebanon-30 November 2013

Al Jazeera-Deadly gun battles erupt in Lebanon’s Tripoli-30 November 2013

Al Arabiya-Lebanon: sectarian clashes kill three-30 November 2013

Arab News-Lebanon sectarian strife kills 3-30 November 2013

Daily Star-Syria-linked fighting kills five in Lebanon’s Tripoli-30 November 2013

By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria-A new report has been released, uncovering the overwhelming death count of children in Syria, especially those who have been killed by sniper fire.  Titled Stolen Futures – the Hidden Toll of Child Casualties in Syria, the report examines data from March 2011 to August 2013, in the midst of the Syrian conflict.

Details of the report confirm that during the conflict there have been 11,420 victims aged 17 and under with 389 of them being killed by sniper fire.  Nearly 764 of the victims were executed, and more than 100, including infants, were tortured.

Hana Salam, a co-author of the report, said the method of the child killings was horrifyingly disturbing, stating they were “Bombed in their homes, in their communities, during day-to-day activities such as waiting in bread lines or attending school.  Shot by bullets in crossfire, targeted by snipers, summarily executed, even gassed and tortured.”

Hamit Dardagan, another co-author, stated, “This study shows why explosive weapons should never be used where children live and play, how older children quickly become ttargets ina war and even the youngest suffer its worst abuses.”

“This grim and terrible record also shows why a sustainable peace, not more bombs and bullets, is the only way to guarantee the safety of children.  All conflict parties need to take responsibility for the protection of children, and ultimately find a peaceful solution for the war itself,” Dardagan further said.

In creating the report and drawing official figures, Salam and Dardagan used Syrian databases of casualty reports obtained by the United Nations.  They also looked closely at the age of the victims and the way they were killed and stressed that it might be incomplete due to the difficulties in receiving accurate data during times of conflict.

The report further stated that among the dead, boys outnumbered girls almost two to one.  Boys aged 13 to 17 were the most likely victims of targeted killings. The report concludes saying that the conflict has created a catastrophic effect on Syrian children and all sides must refrain from targeting civilians and buildings such as schools, hospitals, and places of worship.

Aleppo, the Syrian city with the highest child deaths, had 2,223 children killed mainly by bombs or shells in their own neighborhoods.  More than 120 children were killed during a chemical weapons attack in the city of Ghouta on August 21^st.

The United Nations has estimated that more than 100,000 people have been killed during the Syrian Conflict.

For more information, please see the following: 

Global Dispatch-Over 11,000 Children Killed In Syria’s Civil War, Hundreds Targeted By Sniper-25 November 2013

Global Post-11,000 children killed in Syrian conflict, hundreds targeted by snipers, report says-24 November 2013

Huffington Post-11,000 Syrian Children Killed In Bombings, Sniper Fire, Or Executed, Report Finds-24 November 2013

BBC News-Syria conflict: Children ‘targeted by snipers’-23 November 2013