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Inside the Middle East
February 28, 2011
Posted: 803 GMT
Masked Omani protesters jump in front of burning vehicles during a demonstration in Sohar, more than 200 kms (125 miles) northwest of Muscat. Getty Images/AFP.
Masked Omani protesters jump in front of burning vehicles during a demonstration in Sohar, more than 200 kms (125 miles) northwest of Muscat. Getty Images/AFP.

Clashes between protesters and police in the Omani industrial town of Sohar wounded about 10 people Sunday, state media reported Sunday.

At least two protesters were killed, Oman TV editor Asma Rshid told CNN.

"The police shot them because they burned shops and cars in Sohar," Rshid said. Another source said it was rubber bullets that the police fired. A number of police had also reportedly been injured, but numbers were not confirmed.

The protests started Saturday and were ongoing Sunday, said Zamzam al Rashdi, editor-in-chief of the state-run Oman News Agency.

There were about 1,000 protesters in Sohar, calling for more jobs.

The demonstration started peacefully before a couple of groups split off and started attacking a supermarket and a police station, and members from the Shura Council, al Rashdi said.

One of the targeted buildings was the Walli House, where the governor who represents the sultan in Sohar lives, a witness told CNN.

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Filed under: Oman •Protests


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February 27, 2011
Posted: 831 GMT

The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Saturday night to punish Moammar Gadhafi's government in Libya for violence against unarmed civilians, hours after the nation's budding opposition picked a former top official as its interim leader.

The draft resolution includes an arms embargo, asset freeze and travel bans for Gadhafi and several of his family members and associates. It also refers the situation unfolding in Libya to the International Criminal Court.

"This resolution will be a signal (to) put an end to the fascist regime that is still in existence," said Abdurrahman Mohamed Shalgham, Libyan ambassador to the United Nations, who urged action Friday in an emotional appeal. He'd earlier renounced support for Gadhafi, calling him Saturday "a leader who loves nobody but himself."

Military and security forces loyal to Gadhafi have killed more than 1,000 people, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has estimated.

Meanwhile, Libya's deputy amassador to the world body, Ibrahim Dabbashi, indicated Saturday that he and fellow diplomats "support ... in principle" a caretaker administration to lead Libya under the direction of former Justice Minister Mustafa Abdul Jalil. Read more..

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Filed under: Libya


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February 24, 2011
Posted: 1209 GMT
 A young Libyan protester holds a sign with the Arabic writing the tyrant of Libya during an anti-government demonstration in the eastern Libyan town of Derna.
A young Libyan protester holds a sign with the Arabic writing the tyrant of Libya during an anti-government demonstration in the eastern Libyan town of Derna.

The Libyan capital was a ghost town Thursday morning, witnesses said, as anti-government protesters declared victory elsewhere after reportedly seizing control of the third largest city.

Misrata - also spelled as Misurata - is now in the hands of the opposition, who have driven out the mercenaries, according to witnesses and multiple media reports.

Witnesses and multiple reports also said that the town of Az Zintan was under opposition control.

The opposition also controls the second-largest city of Benghazi, where crowds cheered as international journalists drove through the city. The only shooting that could be heard was celebratory gunfire.

"When they saw us arrive, they just exploded with cheers and clapping, people saying "thank you, thank you" in English. Throwing candy and dates inside the car," CNN's Ben Wedeman told "AC360." <a href="The Libyan capital was a ghost town Thursday morning, witnesses said, as anti-government protesters declared victory elsewhere after reportedly seizing control of the third largest city.
Misrata - also spelled as Misurata - is now in the hands of the opposition, who have driven out the mercenaries, according to witnesses and multiple media reports.
Witnesses and multiple reports also said that the town of Az Zintan was under opposition control.
The opposition also controls the second-largest city of Benghazi, where crowds cheered as international journalists drove through the city. The only shooting that could be heard was celebratory gunfire.
"When they saw us arrive, they just exploded with cheers and clapping, people saying "thank you, thank you" in English. Throwing candy and dates inside the car," CNN's Ben Wedeman told "AC360." Read more...

Filed under: General


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February 21, 2011
Posted: 749 GMT
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday criticized Iran's plans to send naval ships through the Suez Canal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday criticized Iran's plans to send naval ships through the Suez Canal.

The Israeli prime minister on Sunday accused Iran of trying to expand its influence in the region by planning to send naval ships through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean.

Egypt has agreed to allow two Iranian warships to cross, in a move that puts the country's new military regime in a prickly position with its Israeli neighbor.

The post-Hosni Mubarak caretaker government gave the green light to the Iranian warships Friday. The move comes in the wake of the Egyptian president's ouster earlier this month.

"Iran is trying to take advantage of the situation," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday at a weekly Cabinet meeting.

Netanyahu said Israel views the crossing of the Iranian ships through the Suez Canal "gravely."
No Iranian warships have crossed the canal as of Sunday, said Ahmed el-Manakhly, transit director of the Suez Canal Authority.

The Iranian state news agency al Alam earlier reported that two Iranian ships had crossed through the canal and are headed to a Syrian port.

The ships are expected to be the first Iranian warships to sail through the Suez since the Islamic republic's 1979 revolution. Egypt's newly empowered military government has said it would honor all its international treaties.

The Suez Canal is a key waterway for international trade. It connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, allowing ships to navigate between Europe and Asia without having to go around Africa.

Millions of barrels of oil move through the Suez every day en route to Europe and North America

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Filed under: Iran •Israel •Netanyahu


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February 20, 2011
Posted: 934 GMT
Kuwaiti riot policemen detain a man during clashes Friday between police and stateless Arab protesters in Jahra City.
Kuwaiti riot policemen detain a man during clashes Friday between police and stateless Arab protesters in Jahra City.

More than 1,000 protesters clashed with security forces in Kuwait on Friday, demanding greater rights for longtime residents who are not citizens of the country.

The crowd - initially 300 people before quickly growing - was attacked with water cannons.
A Kuwaiti government spokesman later claimed that the security forces were trying to protect themselves after the protesters started hurling rocks.

The "security forces on the ground talked to the protestors in a nice and civilized way," said Col. Adil Al-Hashash, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry. Members of the crowd were told "that they should go to the legal channels for their demands rather than protesting."

Al-Hashash said the demonstration was eventually dispersed and that several protesters were arrested and questioned by the security forces.

The protest took place in Al Jahra province north of Kuwait City, Al-Hashash noted.

Kuwait has been wrestling with the question of rights for non-citizen residents for decades. The country is believed to have roughly 100,000 residents who are not citizens.

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Filed under: Kuwait •Protests


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February 17, 2011
Posted: 1022 GMT
Groups of protesters gathered to demonstrate both for and against the government of Moammar Gadhafi on Wednesday.
Groups of protesters gathered to demonstrate both for and against the government of Moammar Gadhafi on Wednesday.

Libyan police clashed with protesters chanting anti-government slogans and demanding the release of a human rights activist early Wednesday, an independent source in the country told CNN.

Up to 200 protesters in the coastal city of Benghazi were supporting human rights activist and lawyer Fathi Terbil, who had been detained earlier, the source said.

Several people were arrested after police confronted the protesters, the source added.

However, a highly placed Libyan source close to the government sought to downplay the reports of unrest. The source asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

"There is nothing serious here," the highly placed source said. "These are just young people fighting each other ... There is no police, no security in Benghazi."

The source characterized the clashes as "street fights" and said they were "not political."
"Libya is not Egypt... This is not an organized revolution," he said.

Meanwhile, demonstrations in support of long-time Libyanleader Moammar Gadhafi took place in several cities Wednesday, including Benghazi, the country's state news agency reported.

CNN's independent source said the government mobilized thousands of people in several Libyan cities early Wednesday, and is conveying the message that while grievances will be addressed, calls for the regime's overthrow will not be tolerated. Read more...

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Filed under: Libya


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February 15, 2011
Posted: 915 GMT
Bahraini protestors run for cover as police fire tear gas in the village of Diraz, northwest of Bahrain, on February 14.
Bahraini protestors run for cover as police fire tear gas in the village of Diraz, northwest of Bahrain, on February 14.

A 27-year-old protester in Bahrain who was shot in the back Monday afternoon has died, the president of a human rights center said Tuesday.
Ali Abdulhadi Mushaima was protesting for human rights in the village of Daih, near Manama, when he was shot, according to Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights. Mushaima died Monday evening.
Lt. Gen. Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, the minister of the interior, "offered condolences and deep sympathy to the family of Ali Abdulhadi Mushaima on Monday," according to a statement on the interior ministry's website.
The minister said a probe would be launched into the case to determine the reasons for the use of a weapon. "He affirmed that if the probe revealed no legally tenable reason behind the use of the arm, then legal steps would be taken to refer the person behind the incident to the criminal court," the statement read.
Protesters who have organized on Facebook, Twitter and with e-mails want political reforms, including a constitutional monarchy.
Bahrain hosts the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet.

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Filed under: Bahrain •Protests


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February 13, 2011
Posted: 837 GMT

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Filed under: Egypt •Protests •Video


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Posted: 815 GMT
Erakat, who presided over several rounds of peace talks with Israel, tendered his resignation on February 12, 2011, AFP/Getty images .
Erakat, who presided over several rounds of peace talks with Israel, tendered his resignation on February 12, 2011, AFP/Getty images .

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat has stepped down from his post, saying he did so because he felt responsible that controversial documents were stolen from his office but not because of how Middle East peace talks have unfolded.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accepted the resignation of Erakat, a longtime face of the Palestinian movement. Mohammed Shtayeh, a senior negotiator and a member of Fatah's central committee, told CNN on Saturday that the move came after an investigating committee determined that documents were leaked and stolen from Erakat's office.
Erakat told CNN on Saturday that he was simply following through on his earlier offer to quit if the Palestinian probe determined as much. But the longtime Palestinian political figure insisted that his decision stemmed only from that fact, and not what was offered in the actual negotiations.
"I'm a person who has devoted his life to building institutions of transparency, accountability and the rule of law," Erakat said, explaining why he felt obliged to step down. "My resignation doesn't have anything to do with the substance of negotiations."
Previously, Erakat had accused TV network Al-Jazeera of taking parts of the controversial documents out of context and, in some cases, blatantly manipulating them. On Saturday, he continued to blast the Qatar-based network. Read more...

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Filed under: Fatah •Palestinians •West Bank


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February 10, 2011
Posted: 903 GMT

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Filed under: Egypt •Social Media •Video


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Welcome to the Inside the Middle East blog where CNN's journalists post news, views and video from across the region. This is also a place where you can start the discussion so please keep your comments coming. We highlight not only current news stories but also anecdotes and issues that don't always make the top of the headlines.

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