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Yemeni Soldiers Killed In Convoy Ambush

By Ahmad Shihadah
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SA’NA, Yemen – Armed separatists ambushed a military convoy on a road in southern Yemen on Saturday, killing two soldier and wounding four, a security official told Reuters.

“Two security escorts were killed and another four were seriously wounded when they returned fire against the armed attackers,” an official of the Interior Ministry told the Xinhua News agency on condition of anonymity.

According to the official, the accident took place Saturday afternoon in al-Habilain town in the province of Lahj, as the official convoy was traveling from the southern port city Aden to Sanaa.

“The Deputy Prime Minister al-Alami survived unharmed and his convoy managed to continue its way to Sanaa,” said the official, adding “the four injured soldiers were rushed to a hospital in Sanaa.”

“Security forces are chasing the saboteurs,” the security official said. A defense ministry website denied reports that Rashad al-Alimi, deputy prime minister for security affairs, was traveling in the convoy.

Several soldiers, separatist gunmen and bystanders have been killed in the recent months’ escalating tension in the south.

The government, struggling to stabilize a fractious country in which central authority is often weak, faces international pressure to quell domestic conflicts in order to focus on fighting a resurgent al Qaeda.

For More Information, Please see:

Reuters – Militants Kill Yemen Soldier In Convoy Ambush – 15 May 2010

Xinhua – Yemeni Deputy Survives, 2 Escorts Killed In South – 16 May 2010

Al-Jazeera – ‘Deadly Attack’ On Yemeni Convoy – 16 May 2010

Egypt Extends Emergency Law

By Ahmad Shihadah
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – The Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has issued a decree renewing the country’s emergency laws for a further two years.

Parliament approved the law while opponents protested outside amid rows of riot police. The government sought to defuse criticism by emphasizing that the measure would cover only terrorism and drug-related crimes. But critics accused authorities of making cosmetic changes to a 29-year-old system that gives police sweeping discretionary powers against political opponents.

The decision has led to criticism from political opponents and human rights groups, who say the laws stifle political freedom in the country.

“The new law is very ambiguous and can easily be manipulated,” said Hafez abu Seada, secretary-general of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights. “The law still persecutes freedoms like gathering in public, which doesn’t fall under terrorism. We will also still have military tribunals and the government’s right to issue military orders.”

Extension of the emergency law, which was passed in 1981 after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat, comes as the government is under widespread pressure. Public anger is high, protests over low wages and for constitutional revisions are increasing, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei is enlivening the opposition with his new National Front for Change.

President Hosni Mubarak, 82 and in frail health, has yet to strike the right tone or inspire policies to calm the furor. Renewing the emergency law, but narrowing its powers, allows the ruling National Democratic Party to claim support for press freedom and human rights while simultaneously keeping mechanisms in place to combat dissent before this year’s parliamentary elections.

“We do not deny that we still have issues, but we are working to resolve them,” said Moufid Shehab, minister of state for legal and parliamentary affairs, acknowledging violations of civil liberties under the emergency law. “We aspire to one day have an end to emergency law.”

Shehab said the two-year extension, which passed by a wide majority, was needed to counter terrorism. He suggested that cases against bloggers and activists who have been jailed in recent years under the act for crimes unrelated to terrorism may be reviewed. The extension also will prohibit security forces from shutting newspapers and confiscating property. But security forces can still rely on an array of other laws to silence critics.

Shebab said the new emergency law means: “No trial, no indictment unless it’s a terrorist act.”

The government had promised to repeal the emergency law once it passed an anti-terrorism act, which has been bottled up in parliament for years. Emergency law has allowed authorities to detain suspects for long periods without formal charges. It has been used frequently against members of the Muslim Brotherhood and other opponents of the regime, many of whom have been tortured.

The opposition fears the law will be used to crack down on regime opponents ahead of parliamentary elections later this year. Egypt is also to hold presidential elections in 2011.

For more information, please see:

ABC – Egypt Extends Controversial Emergency Law – 12 May 2010

BBC – Egypt Renews Tough Emergency Laws – 12 May 2010

LA Times – Egypt Extends Emergency Rule – 12 May 2010

Heavy Rain In Yemen Kills Seven

By Ahmad Shihadah
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SA’NA, Yemen – At least seven people were killed in a Sa’na shanty town in the worst flooding to hit the Yemeni capital in over a decade, officials said on Thursday.

Witnesses said water streamed down from nearby mountains on Wednesday evening after torrential rain into a low-lying residential area of eastern Sa’na with no drainage system, flooding hundreds of homes.

“A flood suddenly appeared and invaded the houses,” said Jamil Mohamed, a resident of the flooded shanty town.

Of the seven people who died, some drowned and others were killed by falling electricity pylons, officials said. Two more people were hurt and in hospital.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh toured the affected areas of the capital, the defense ministry’s online newspaper said.

Western countries and neighbor Saudi Arabia fear impoverished Yemen, fighting Shi’ite rebels in the north and southern separatism, may turn into a failed state from which al Qaeda could intensify attacks on the region and beyond.

The country shot to the top of Western security concerns after a Yemen-based al Qaeda wing claimed responsibility for a failed bomb attack on a U.S.-bound passenger plane in December.

In the capital, where many streets remained flooded, rescue operations continued and more than 250 people were evacuated from their homes and taken to shelter in schools. More rain was forecast for Thursday but was not expected to be as heavy.

There has been unusually heavy rainfall across the Arabian peninsula this week, with two people killed in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Monday.

In 2008, severe flooding killed approximately 180 people. Aid agencies said 10,000 people were made homeless.

For more information, please see:

Reuters – Seven Die In Worst Floods In Yemen Capital In Decade – 6 May 2010

BBC – Seven Yemenis Die In Heavy Rains – 6 May 2010

Middle East Online – Heavy Rainfall Kills Seven In Yemen – 6 May 2010

Latest Darfur Clashes Bring Heightened Insecurity and Humanitarian Concerns

By Jared Kleinman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KHARTOUM, Sudan— The joint African Union-United Nations mission in Darfur has urged the Government and one of the leading insurgent groups in the western Sudanese region to stop fighting in response to the recent eruption of clashes between the two sides despite a peace process intended to end the conflict.

The latest fighting between Government troops and forces of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) resulted in an unknown number of casualties and displaced people, the mission (known as UNAMID) reported.

The recent clashes have led to displacements in eastern Jebel Marra in South Darfur and North Darfur states, and in western Jebel Marra and the Jebel Moon region in West Darfur state, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in an update on 2 March, stressing that accurate information from the ground was very scarce because of lack of access.

OCHA spokesman Sam Hendricks said media reports about the number of casualties in the recent fighting were unreliable. “There is no way to find about casualties. There is no access to areas affected by the fighting,” he said.

The insecurity caused by these clashes has also prompted humanitarian agencies to suspend activities in some areas.

The rebel Sudan Liberation Army, Abdel Wahid Nour faction (SLA-Nour), which refuses to join peace talks with the Sudanese government until a full cessation of hostilities is implemented, has accused government forces of attacking its positions east of Jebel Marra.

“There were random air attacks on villages,” Al-Sadeq Al-Zein Rokero, an official with SLM-Nour faction, said. “The situation is very tragic. This may be the most violent attack by the Sudanese armed forces.”

Sudan’s army spokesman, Al Sawarmi Khaled, denies that there has been any government military action. “The armed forces are present in the area to preserve order. They did not clash with Abdel Wahid’s forces.”

The US State Department cast doubt on this denial in a statement expressing extreme concern “about reports that Government of Sudan forces are conducting offensive operations against … [SLA-Nour] positions in the Jebel Marra area of Darfur that have reportedly caused significant civilian casualties, displacement, and the evacuation of humanitarian organizations”.

The statement called on both parties “to refrain from further violence and to allow the Joint African Union-UN Mission in Darfur access to Jebel Marra to assess the humanitarian situation and restore stability”.

Estimates indicate that the conflict has resulted in the deaths of some 300,000 people. At least 4.7 million residents of Darfur have been have been affected by the conflict, with a majority of them living as internally displaced persons (IDPs) or as refugees in neighbouring Chad.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Sudan Tribal Clash ‘leaves 26 dead’ – 6 May 2010

UN News – UN Urges Calm in Darfur as Fresh Clashes Erupt Despite Peace Process – 4 May 2010

IRIN – No Access After Darfur Clashes – 3 March 2010

 

Somali Pirates Hijack Yemeni Cargo Ship

By Ahmad Shihadah
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

ADEN, Yemen – Somali pirates have seized a cargo vessel off the coast of Yemen, and are believed to be holding the crew of nine Yemeni sailors, Yemen’s Defense Ministry website said Tuesday.

Citing sources at the Interior Ministry, the website said the pirates took over the ship after it sailed from Mukalla port en route to Aden. It was carrying various products and a crew of 9 Yemeni sailors was onboard. Meanwhile, the sources said that information had surfaced that the ship was seen at Somali Qarta’a port.

“The ship with the license registration name of Al-Asa’a carrying various merchandise along with nine Yemeni sailors on board has been moved by pirates to Karta area in the northern coast of Somalia,” the report added.

The Gulf of Aden, off the northern coast of Somalia, has the highest risk of piracy in the world. Every year about 25,000 ships use the channel south of Yemen between the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.

For more information, please see:

Reuters – Somali Pirates Hijack Yemeni Cargo Ship – 4 May 2010

Saba Net – Somali Pirates Seize Yemeni Ship – 4 May 2010

People’s Daily Online – Yemeni-Owned Commercial Ship Hijacked By Somali Pirates – 4 May 2010