By Ahmad Shihadah
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East Desk

SA’NA, Yemen – Up to 19 people are believed to have died following the collapse of three buildings in Taiz, Yemen’s second-largest city. The buildings collapsed following an explosion in a dynamite warehouse under one of them.

At least nine bodies were pulled from the rubble on Tuesday and rescue workers were looking for 10 more believed buried and feared dead. Fifteen people were also reported injured and taken to hospitals.
Initial findings gave no indication the explosion was anything other than an accident, an official said. The explosives were stored in the basement of a four-storey building that was reduced to rubble in the residential al-Masbah area of Taiz
The officials say the basement was used by an arms dealer to store dynamite and other explosives. They say the blast was so strong the building, which had six apartments, totally crumbled. “The explosion tore apart three buildings,” Mohammad Saeed, a witness said by phone. “Many people are still under the wreckage.”

The officials say rescue operations are still continuing and that 15 people were injured in the blast. Two nearby buildings were damaged and have been evacuated.

In the past two years a secessionist movement has grown in the south, demanding that the two countries separate again. An al-Qaeda offshoot has also established a base in the country. The government in Sa’na has recently signed a peace deal with a third rebel group in the north of the country, called the Houthis.

In the past week, the government has turned its attention to the southern secessionist movement and cracked down on demonstrations and arrested supporters.

For More Information, Please See:

Al-Jazeera – Deaths in Yemen Building Collapse – 2 March 2010

AP – Officials: 8 Killed in Building Collapse in Yemen – 2 March 2010

BBC News – Yemen Explosion Causes Building Collapse Killing 10 – 2 March 2010

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates– Dubai police chief Dahi Khalfan Tamim said on Monday that people traveling to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who are suspected of having Israeli citizenship will not be allowed to enter the country regardless of what passport they hold.

Tamim said the country will “deny entry to anyone suspected of having Israeli citizenship.”  Previously, police allowed Israelis who hold dual citizenship to enter the UAE using their other passport, but Tamim’s comments suggested that the police would now deny entry to anyone who has Israeli citizenship.

According to Tamim, the police will have to develop skills to identify a person to be Israeli by physical features and the way he or she speaks.

The ban comes after the killing of a senior Hamas operative in Dubai.  Dubai police have said they are virtually certain that the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, was behind the assassination.  Al-Mabhouh, a senior commander of Hamas’ military wing, was found dead in his hotel room on January 20.  Tamim said authorities have identified close to thirty suspects that they believe were part of the hit squad that traveled to Dubai on fake identities to carry out the assassination.

Tamim claimed that the Mossad was insulting Dubai.   He told reporters that “the Mossad shouldn’t come to us.  We haven’t done anything to Israel.”

Despite the claim of responsibility, Israel is still refusing to confirm or deny that it was behind the assassination despite the fact that the identities on many of the passports used by the named suspects are of Israeli citizens who hold dual nationality.  All of the Israelis in question have denied Mossad links, instead claiming that their identities were stolen.

An Israeli diplomatic source said that Dubai’s decision to ban Israelis is a serious blow to long-standing efforts at building up strong relations with countries in the Gulf region.

For more information, please see:

Irish Times- Dubai Places Ban on Israelis after Hamas Killing– 2 March 2010

Sydney Morning Herald- Dubai Bans Israelis on Any Passport From Entry– 2 March 2010

Voice of America- Dubai Police Ban Suspected Israelis from UAE– 1 March 2010

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

VIENNA, Austria – On March 1 the new chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’s atomic watchdog, accused Iran of failing to cooperate with the the UN’s investigation into their nuclear activity. Yukiya Amano explained the Islamic Republic’s lack of cooperation during the opening address of an IAEA board of governors meeting. The comments come a day after Iran’s Supreme Leader attacked the agency’s independence.Amano told the board of governors that the IAEA “continues to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran, but (they) cannot confirm that all nuclear activities because Iran has not provided the agency with the necessary cooperation.” The IAEA chief explained that “necessary cooperation” includes implementation of the resolutions that the IAEA’s board of governors and the UN Security Council have put forth.

Additionally, the Amano’s comments also meant that the IAEA expects to be able to conduct snap inspections and have Iran notify the agency of any plans to build nuclear plants in advance. The IAEA also expects “clarification of issues related to possible military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear program.  Amano has expressed concern that the Islamic Republic maybe working on a nuclear warhead and confirmed that the county has started enriching uranium to higher levels.

Amano’s criticism of Iran comes a day after the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, accused the IAEA of being influenced by the United States and lacking independence. Khamenei told Iranian diplomats that “the IAEA should not bow to pressure from America and some other countries because such unilateral actions will harm the reputation of the IAEA and the United Nations.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister rejected the IAEA chief’s claims about the country’s nuclear program. Manouchehr Mottak told journalists that the country has “full co-operated with the agency.” Mottak also insisted that the “this co-operation will continue.” The increased pressure from the IAEA suggests possible new sanctions against Iran. Diplomats suggest that Iran’s refusal to sign up to a nuclear deal has frustrated other countries in the UN.

For more information, please see:

AFP – IAEA Chief Accuses Iran of Non-Cooperation – 1 March 2010

BBC – Iran ‘Not Co-Operating’ Says New IAEA Chief – 1 March 2010

Los Angeles Times – Iran Relations With IAEA Turn Contentions – 1 March 2010

Wall Street Journal – New Momentum for Iran Sanctions – 1 March 2010