Middle East Update: July

July 2011 - North Africa and Gulf countries have been revolting against oppressive rules since the start of this year. It all started when the people of Tunis banned together to kick out long-time dictactor Zain El Abidine Ben Ali.

Although most protests started with peaceful demonstrations, in most cases the demonstrators suffered violent military attacks coming from their own governments, even when it was obvious they were attempting peaceful protests against very oppressive regimes.

EGYPT

-- The Obama administration is open to dialogue with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt because "it is in the interests of the United States to engage with all parties that are peaceful and committed to nonviolence," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday. However, she said, any such contacts "will continue to emphasize the importance of and support for democratic principles, and especially a commitment to nonviolence, respect for minority rights, and the full inclusion of women in any democracy."

Mahmoud Ghozlan, a spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood, said, "We would welcome the open dialogue, if they are serious and transparent."

-- About 870 people were hurt this week when a planned memorial for people killed in the revolution turned into an angry demonstration against the country's interim military government, the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights said Thursday. Clashes between victims' relatives and security forces began Tuesday afternoon and continued into Wednesday.

Roots of unrest

Complaints about police corruption and abuses were among the top grievances of demonstrators who forced Mubarak from office. Demonstrators also were angry about Mubarak's 30-year rule, the absence of free elections, and economic issues such as high food prices, low wages and high unemployment.

BAHRAIN

The head of an independent commission, assigned by King Hamad bin Is al-Khalifa with investigating charges of human rights abuses during recent government crackdowns on pro-reform protesters, vowed Thursday to carry out a fair, methodical and transparent investigation.

Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni, a law professor and U.N. expert on war crimes, said he had personally chosen the other members of the commission. He promised to follow international standards regardless of politics and said the commission's work should be a starting point for any future changes.

"There are regulations against torture, regardless of what the person tortured has done," he said.

Bassiouni praised the king, calling his acceptance of the commission "unprecedented in the region."

Roots of unrest

Protesters initially took to the streets of Manama to demand reform and the introduction of a constitutional monarchy. But some are now calling for the removal of the royal family, which has led the Persian Gulf state since the 18th century.

LIBYA

Embattled Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is calling for fresh volunteers in a months-long war with rebels attempting to bring about an end to his 42-year rule -- and women of all ages are answering, CNN has learned.

Women from in and around Gadhafi's stronghold of Tripoli have been traveling south to a training facility in Bani Walid to practice with weapons, a common sight in a country where young girls receive military training in school.

It is unclear how many have answered Gadhafi's call or how many had graduated from the program at Bani Walid.

Roots of unrest

Protests in Libya started in February, when demonstrators, fed up with delays, broke into a housing project the government was building and occupied it. They quickly gained strength, and a movement to demand democracy and oust Moammar Gadhafi after more than four decades in power exploded into civil war. NATO began airstrikes in March after a U.N. Security Council mandate to protect civilians.

SYRIA

-- Syrian tanks and helicopters opened fire and killed at least two civilians as the military advanced through a series of villages in the Jabal Zawiya region of Syria's Idlib province. A villager told CNN the attacks had sent residents running for the hills, and Syrian troops and plain-clothed Shabiha militants had blocked escape routes to nearby Turkey. CNN could not independently confirm the man's account.

-- The Turkish prime minister's office released a statement Thursday saying only five Syrian refugees had crossed the border during the prior 24 hours. More than 15,000 Syrian refugees fled to Turkey to escape the government crackdown in recent weeks. Nearly a third of those refugees have voluntarily returned to Syria in recent days, according to the Turkish government.

-- Twenty busloads of what an activist called "government thugs" attacked marchers with batons and knives in Aleppo. The attack caused the demonstrators to disperse, and a number of people were injured, but there was no word of deaths.

-- At the United Nations, Western diplomats exchanged harsh words with the Syrian ambassador in the Security Council, where China and Russia have threatened to veto a pending resolution condemning the violence in Syria on the grounds that they do not want to get involved in Syria's internal affairs.

"This council should send a clear message underlining our collective concern," said Philip Parham, Britain's deputy ambassador to the United Nations. "They have met legitimate demands for reform with brute force."

"I would hope that this esteemed council would focus on the real issues instead of meddling in internal affairs," said Bashar Jaafari, Syria's ambassador to the world body. "Some member states will not cease to use the Security Council as a tool to pass its own policies."

Roots of Unrest

The unrest began in mid-March after teens were arrested for writing anti-government graffiti in Daraa, according to Amnesty International. As the crackdown intensified, demonstrators changed their demands from calls for freedom and an end to abuses by the security forces to calls for the regime's overthrow. On April 19, Syria's Cabinet lifted an emergency law that had been in effect since 1963. But security forces then moved quickly to crack down. Government opponents allege massive human rights abuses.

YEMEN

Government soldiers retook the Wahda Stadium on the outskirts of the southern town of Zinjibar after a day of fighting against suspected al Qaeda militants, security officials there said. The clashes took place in the Abyan Governate in southern Yemen.

At least five soldiers were killed in the clashes since noon Thursday, bringing the total death toll of soldiers to 35, the security officials said, adding that at least seven other soldiers were wounded. The officials said a greater number of militants were killed during the previous seven hours, but would not cite a precise figure.

Fierce clashes erupted there Wednesday when suspected al Qaeda militants attacked security forces who were stationed at the stadium. Hospital officials in Naqeeb Hospital in Abyan said six civilians were killed in the clashes and 17 were wounded.

Roots of unrest