Violence escalates in Syria; Palestinians reconcile; Libyans battle on
Syria: Violence against the protesters escalated this week with
reports of widespread enforced disappearances on Sunday, followed by the
deployment of tanks and heavy armour onto the streets of Deraa and other towns on Monday. By Tuesday rights groups had
reported even more deaths and arrests as troops were sent in to put down protests in Deraa, Douma and Baniyas.
International pressure on Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, began
to mount on Wednesday, with European governments urging Syria to end the
violence. The UN Security Council
failed to agree on a statement condemning the deadly crackdown
on largely peaceful protesters, with Russia, China and Lebanon opposing
the wording of a draft statement distributed by European nations.
Palestinian movements: Fatah, the Palestinian political
organisation, reached an agreement with its rival Hamas on forming an
interim government and fixing a date for a general election.
The deal, which took many officials by surprise, was thrashed out in Egypt and followed a series of secret meetings.
However, Israel did not respond positively, with Binyamin Netanyahu, the
prime minister, saying that Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the
Palestinian Authority and a member of Fatah, could not hope to forge a
peace deal with Israel if he pursued a reconciliation accord with Hamas.
Nabil Abu Rdaineh, a top Abbas aide, said the reconciliation did not
concern Israel: "Netanyahu must choose between a just peace with the
united Palestinian people ... and settlements".
Libya: As
NATO air strikes continued to hit targets in and around Libya's capital Tipoli, pro-democracy forces gained some ground from government troops. On Saturday, some rebel fighters
declared Misurata "free" amid reports that troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi were ordered to withdraw from the besieged western port city.
However,
fighting continued through the week
as heavy shelling prevented ships from docking in Misurata to deliver
humanitarian supplies and evacuate the wounded. By Thursday the rebels
had managed to push Gaddafi's forces from the sea port, but the
battle for control of Misurata's airport continued.
