Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 AMMAN, Jordan-During a heated parliamentary session, one member of Jordan’s parliament, Talal al-Sharif, pulled out an AK-47 rifle and opened fire.  Aiming at a fellow member Qusay Dmisa, intervention from other parliament members prevented any wounds from occurring.

The dispute between al-Sharif and Dmisa arose during a closed parliament session involving budget matters.  Eye witnesses confirmed that al-Sharif left parliament to go to his car to get the gun and upon return was stopped by fellow member, Mariam Al Lozi, causing the three fired bullets to hit the ceiling and wall.

After the shooting, al-Sharif was arrested and is to be detained for the next fifteen days while King Abdullah II decides how to further proceed.  Many members of parliament have called for al-Sharif’s expulsion, but since parliament is sitting in an extraordinary session, the issue cannot be decided without special decree from the king.

Local websites showing video footage of the shooting as caused uproar from citizens and political activists that have spread through Jordan.   Many are expressing their displeasure and calling for “stern measures to be taken against the attacker.”  Others have said that the incident “damages the country’s reputation.”

Al-Sharif is facing charges of attempted murderer, possession of a firearm without a license, and resisting police arrest.  If convicted of the related charges, al-Sharif could be facing up to 15 years in jail.

This is not the first violent altercation that has occurred amongst parliament members while in session.  The 180-member parliament is prominently members of the traditional Bedoin tribes with no particular ideological agenda causing sessions to become disorderly and unruly.

During the summer, one member was overpowered by a fellow colleague when he attempted to pull a gun on another.  In other debates, members have been known to throw shoes or bottles of water during heated debates.

This was the first time that an actual firearm has been fired by a member of parliament.  However, given the members’ track record for outbursts, and their increasing intensity, it is only a matter of time before someone actual does get hurt.

For more information, please see the following: 

Aljazeera-Jordanian MP opens fire in parliament-September 10, 2013

Al Arabiya-Jordanian MP shoots rifle during parliament session-September 10, 2013

Euro News-Mayhem as MP fires AK-47 at colleague in Jordan’s parliament-September 10, 2013

Independent-Jordanian MP opens fire on tribal rival in parliament-September 10, 2013

Sky News-Jordan MP ‘Opens Fire’ On Fellow Politician-September 10, 2013

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – Russia has proposed that Syria turn over all of its chemical weapons to the United Nations for destruction. The plan involves the creation of safe zones within Syria where U.N. chemical weapons experts can gather and destroy Syria’s chemical weapons supply. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon addressed the media regarding the plan.

“I am considering urging the Security Council to demand the immediate transfer of Syria’s chemical weapons and chemical precursor stocks to places inside Syria where they can be safely stored and destroyed,” Ban said.

Ban was optimistic at the suggestion of the plan, but took issue with the lack of action from a Security Council that has been suffering from “embarrassing paralysis”. He added that if Syria is found to have used chemical weapons that it would be an “abominable crime” that demands an international response, but did not elaborate on what exactly that response would entail.

U.N. chemical weapons experts are expected to present their report about an alleged August 21 chemical weapons attack by the Syrian government to the U.N. Chief later this week or next. The attack, reportedly carried out by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad forces, killed one thousand four hundred people, many of whom were children.

The sudden twist in the chemical weapons saga was prompted by a comment by United States Secretary of State John Kerry when he responded to a reporter’s question asking how Syria could avoid U.S. military intervention. Kerry responded by suggesting that a potential strike could be avoided if Syria was to surrender all of its chemical weapons within a week.

Shortly thereafter, Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that he advised Syria that it should place its chemical weapons under international control if it would avert military intervention. Lavrov said that he expected “a quick and, I hope, a positive answer” from Syria.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem issued a statement responding warmly to Russia’s proposal, but refused questions and did not address any specifics of the proposal.

“Syria welcomes the Russian proposal out of concern for the lives of the Syrian people, the security of our country and because it believes in the wisdom of the Russian leadership that seeks to avert American aggression against our people,” said al-Muallem.

Meanwhile, President Obama expressed caution at the plan’s potential, stating that the plan could avert U.S. action “if it’s real”.

“It’s going to have to be followed up on,” he said. “And we don’t want just a stalling or delaying tactic to put off the pressure that we have on there right now.”

For further information, please see:

ABC – Russia, Syria Push for UN Chemical Experts Return –  9 September 2013

Al Jazeera – Syria welcomes proposal on chemical weapons  – 9 September 2013

CNN – Syria chemical arms plan promising ‘if it’s real,’ Obama says – 9 September 2013

Reuters – U.N. floats plan to destroy Syrian chemical weapons stock – 9 September 2013

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – The Egyptian military has announced a full-scale military assault on militant groups in the Sinai Peninsula in response to militant attacks against the Egyptian state.

Since July of this year, militant Islamist groups in Sinai have killed dozens of Egyptian officials in an insurgency sparked frustrations over the military coup that took Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi out of power, and in response to the military government’s treatment of pro-Morsi civilians and Islamist party members, including members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egypt’s judiciary has taken steps to declare an illegal organization returning the democratically elected former president’s party to the status it had under the Mubarak regime.

The military campaign comes in direct response to a failed assassination attempt carried out against an Egyptian government official last week. Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, a militant group based in the Sinai Peninsula whose name translates to “Supporters of Jerusalem”, has claimed responsibility for an attack last Thursday that targeted the Egyptian Interior Minister. The group promised more attacks in retaliation for the military government’s crackdown on Egypt’s Islamists.

The group issued a statement on its website that said, “God allowed us to break the security system of the minister of interior … through a suicide operation committed by one of Egypt’s lions that made the interior butcher see death with his eyes, and what is to come will be worse.”

Last week’s attack was carried out in broad daylight by a suicide bomber who detonated himself in a car next to Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim’s convoy as the minister left his home in Cairo. Two people were killed, including an unrelated passer-by, in the attack and 20 more were injured.

In response to the attack, the Egyptian military deployed several helicopters to the region on Saturday. The Egyptian military helicopters conducted several air strikes in the Sinai targeting the militants.

Israel has expressed support for the military campaign. Amos Gilad, a senior official in Israel’s defence ministry, who called the assault “impressive,” said in a speech that the airstrikes represent Egypt’s first ever serious counter-terrorism campaign in the Sinai region which borders the Jewish state. He said, “For the first time, we see a determined struggle against terrorism in Egypt’s Sinai, unrelated to the interests of Israel.”

Communications were jammed and internet access was blocked in the Sinai region on Monday as the Egyptian military resumed attacks against the militant groups in the region. On Monday, the military attacked the southern Sinai town of Rafah, which is allegedly a militant hideout.

So far, twenty people have been killed, and twenty more have been captured, since the Egyptian military began the operation. Since the operation began, people have begun fleeing villages in the region, heading to coastal villages and attempting to enter the Gaza strip though underground tunnels.

For more information please see:

ABC News – Egyptian Tanks, Helicopters Push Through Sinai – 9 September 2013

Al Jazeera – Egypt Military Strike Rebels In Sinai – 9 September 2013

Al Jazeera – Sinai Group Claims Attack On Egypt Minister – 9 September 2013

The Guardian – Egypt Announces Full-Scale Assault on Sinai Militants – 9 September 2013