Syria, Saudi Arabia and Middle East unrest – live updates

• Syrian tycoon Rami Makhlouf gives up business interests • Saudi women plan protests at driving ban • Special report on the Tunisian revolution six months on 11.57am: There have been several reports of protests taking place in Syria today. The activist group, the Local Coordination Committees of Syria is mapping the reports . Separately we’ve compiled a Google Map of showing videos that activist claim were filmed today. We will try to update it as more videos emerge. Click on each Guardian icon to see the video. _ 11.56am: Huge news if true. The BBC tweets : Yemeni President Saleh will not return home from Saudi Arabia where he is being treated for shrapnel wounds , a Saudi official tells AFP 11.43am: The Bahrain protests map has been updated so you can click on the blue markers to view videos of the demonstrations. Protests purported to have taken place in Karzakkan, Ma’ameer and Barbar last night have also been added to the map. _ 11.40am: The Spanish authorities have detained a close associate of the former Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak. Businessman Hussein Salem is wanted for trial in Egypt on charges of bribing Mubarak and his family and squandering public funds. Salem’s detention was seen as a major step towards unravelling secrets of corruption throughout the reign of Mubarak, and possibly a key to locating and retrieving much of the Mubaraks’ riches, believed to be stashed abroad at a time when the country’s economy is depressed. Some estimate Mubarak’s holdings at tens of billions of dollars. Here’s the full story . 11.33am: Video has emerged purporting to show arrested men being forced to chant in support of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president. The prisoner appear to have been promised water in return for doing this. _ 11.33am: The Associated Press news agency has filed a report on the first day of the women’s driving protest in Saudi Arabia . The agency says one woman took a 45-minute tour through Riyadh with her husband in the passenger seat. Maha al Qahtani said: “I wanted to make a point. I took it directly to the streets of the capital.” There were unconfirmed reports of others driving in Dammam, in the east of the country, and elsewhere. AP says the protests could encourage other pushes for reform for Saudi women, who are not allowed to vote and must obtain permission from a male guardian to travel or take a job. Wajeha al-Huwaider, a Saudi women’s rights activist who posted clips of herself driving on the internet three years ago, said: We want women from today to begin exercising their rights. Today on the roads is just the opening in a long campaign. We will not go back … We’ll keep it up until we get a royal decree removing the ban. AP says the driving ban is the only such country-wide rule in the world. “There is no written Saudi law barring women from driving only fatwas, or religious edicts, by senior clerics following a strict brand of Islam known as Wahhabism. They claim the driving ban protects against the spread of vice and temptation because women drivers would be free to leave home alone and interact with male strangers. The prohibition forces families to hire live-in drivers or rely on male relatives to drive.” Philip Luther of Amnesty International said: Not allowing women behind the wheel in Saudi Arabia is an immense barrier to their freedom of movement, and severely limits their ability to carry out everyday activities as they see fit, such as going to work or the supermarket, or picking up their children from school. 11.24am: The human rights campaign Avaaz has broadcast an appeal to the Syrian army not to fire on protesters. An advert broadcast on a number of international satellite channels widely watched in Syria carries a direct an appeal from a Syrian mother in Deraa. In the advert, which is also being broadcast on radio stations, she says: I am a Syrian mother. I call on every soldier in the Syrian army and each member of the security forces: do you remember how your mother and father taught you to be a good person and loyal son? How your mother made every effort to teach you to respect the elderly, and offer kindness to children and dedication in the defence of those who do not have the ability to defend themselves? I’m here because I appeal to you to be that person today. A man and a soldier and a security officer does not use his weapon against his family and his people, the Syrians. There are those who give orders and force you to use violence against your brothers and sisters, but the decision ultimately is yours. Syrian civilians will not forget the courage you display, and will stand behind you today and in the future, when the sun shines again on all Syrian civilians and military soldiers living in love and freedom. _ 10.56am: The main opposition party in Bahrain , the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, has called for anti-government protests after Friday prayers today to mark the fourth month of the uprising (which actually began on 14 February), reports Press TV , the Iranian-government-controlled news network. All of al-Wefaq’s MPs resigned from parliament in March in protest at the deaths of anti-regime demonstrators. Meanwhile, protests were held overnight in a number of places, according to YouTube footage. The following videos purport to show protests in Sinabis, on the island of Sitra, and in the village of Shahrakan. Sinabis : Sitra : Shahrakan : Here is a map of the locations of those protests: In a significant development this week, the US, a close ally, put Bahrain on its list of human rights abusers , a list that includes Iran, North Korea, Syria and Zimbabwe. Bahrain is an important strategic ally to the US, not least because it is home to the US Navy’s fifth fleet, a relationship that some critics feel has dampened American criticism of the crackdown against protesters in the Gulf state. Bahraini blogger Lamees Dhaif, on a tour of the US with 19 other bloggers from the country, was highly critical of US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, Mondoweiss reports . It quotes Dhaif as saying: We expected that Americans would stand by us. We thought that when five armies came into our country, America would give a definite no no no, this should not happen. We were shocked by Hillary Clinton’s statement. She gave the green light for the people who are crushing us. If Iran was coming to Bahrain, we wouldn’t mind [the Saudi and UAE armies entering Bahrain]. But nobody is there but us. 10.53am: Syrian reaction to news that the tycoon cousin of the president, Rami Makhlouf, would retire from business has been mixed, writes Nidaa Hassan , a pseudonym for a reporter in Damascus. Among others, Maklouf has interests in oil, real estate and owns 40% stake in Syriatel. He has been the subject of protesters’ ire for his dominance of the economy since its liberalisation in 2005. Some are sceptical that Makhlouf is withdrawing from the scene, although he has reportedly sold some of his businesses, including a chain of duty-free shops to a Kuwaiti company last month, and shipped money outside of the country. If he does retire, others suspect other big businessmen with connections to the regime will step in to fill his place as Mr Five or Ten Per Cent, the man with whom businesses hoping to enter the Syrian market have to partner. In recent years Makhlouf has demanded a share in more and more businesses, analysts in Damascus say. Certainly, protesters have rejected the move, seeing it as making no structural change to the regime and coming too late. “It makes no difference to us,” said a 30-year-old office worker in Damascus last night. “At this stage, people want to whole regime to go.” But for fans of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and many of those still deciding which side to support, the move may well be interpreted as signalling changes are being made. Makhlouf has been under US sanctions since 2008 and recently was slapped with EU ones. Further EU sanctions on a number of his companies are expected to be announced. The mere fact that such an announcement has been made is a blow to Makhlouf and the regime, which has been forced to seemingly nudge aside one of the members of its inner circle as protests enter their fourth month. Today, protests are dubbed “The day of Saleh al-Ali” after an Alawite leader who fought against French colonial rule. The name was chosen by activists who are keen to keep sectarian tensions from growing and to convince Alawite members, who have generally stuck with Assad, to join the protests and that they will not face a backlash if the regime falls. 10.51am: Reuters has a report from rebel-held Misrata, Libya , about the police officers and civil servants who have returned to work without pay at the request of the rebels. Just weeks since it was the scene of some of the bloodiest battles of the Libyan war so far, Misrata is dragging itself to its feet thanks to a volunteer workforce and a deep sense of pride in what was once an affluent trading hub … Most public utilities are functioning thanks to employees working without pay, and concerned parents have reopened a number of schools on at least a part-time basis to keep their children occupied. The exodus of mainly sub-Saharan African workers since the conflict began has also had a big impact on farming and construction. The rebels are calling on the west to release billions of dollars held abroad by Muammar Gaddafi so they can pay wages. Meanwhile the UN human rights council has extended the mandate of its expert panel investigating abuses in Libya to the end of the year. 10.35am: My colleague Ian Black, the Guardian’s Middle East editor, sends this Facebook page monitoring protest in Morocco . . 10.34am: Al-Jazeera just had a report from Saudi Arabia on the first day of protests by female drivers ( see 9.38am ). One woman told the channel: If I can drive a car by myself I do not need to have a male relative drive me … [I will not face] a possible problem from a taxi driver or foreign man; this way I can be safe. A Saudi man called for women to be allowed to drive. He said: If my wife could drive I would be relieved of some of the day-to-day responsibility of things such as school runs. Al-Jazeera reported that conservatives in the kingdom had launched an opposing campaign, with a Facebook site calling on activists to beat up any women caught driving. 9.59am: Over on the Defence and security blog , Richard Norton-Taylor discusses Nato’s lack of civilian casualties so far in the Libya conflict. For all sorts of reasons, including political ones — the need to keep as many Arab nations as possible on side — Nato has to limit civilian casualties to an absolute minimum. And it seems to have succeeded. Though the risk increases as the air strikes continue, the number of civilian deaths appears remarkably low given that Nato planes have been involved in more than 3,000 strike sorties, a significant number though only about a third the number over the same period during the 1999 Kosovo war … Many of Nato’s targets in Libya have been hit by more than one bomb. Most of the civilians killed by Nato strikes, including one which killed 13 people , seem to have been the result of “friendly fire” — Nato bombs hitting rebels. As a result, Gaddafi and his spokesmen have not been able convincingly — so far at any rate — to use civilian casualties as a propaganda weapon. 9.44am: New video of a woman driving in Riyadh today claims to be the first Women2Drive clip of the day. There are likely to be more. The date on the mobile phone appears to confirm that it was filmed today. _ 9.38am: It’s still early but there are already a few reports of women taking to the roads in Saudi Arabia, writes Brian Whitaker. In what seems to have been a night-time excursion before the official start, @FouzAbd tweeted: Only mom is driving and I don’t see any other women driving. But ppl r not harassing us at all Drove all the way from our Uni where we celebrated my sister’s graduation till our house. And then went out again and driving in AlSahafa On our way back home and no one harassed us at all. Even thu some men stared at us Meanwhile, Ana3rabeya tweeted : Some Saudi Men are considering going out for a drive while wearing women’s Abayas to confuse the police! It may be difficult to judge the success or otherwise of today’s action, since it’s not intended as a mass demonstration in a single place – more a case individuals asserting their rights here and there. The authorities will probably claim there has been little response. My guess is that they will arrest a few women, but not so many as to imply that there has been large-scale defiance of the rules. The important thing to keep in mind, though, is that this has never been intended as a one-off one-day protest. The idea is that from today women who have international licences will drive whenever they wish to do so. The real measure of success will be how long it takes the authorities to cave in and start issuing Saudi driving licences to women. 9.15am: The Syrian army is reported to have moved into another town in the north-west of the country as opposition activists set out details of today’s protests. The Associated Press news agency reports : Syrian troops backed by tanks and helicopter gunships swept into another north-western city early Friday, just days after laying siege to it, activists said. Syria-based rights activist Mustafa Osso said large numbers of soldiers entered Maaret al-Numan. It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties in the operation. Many of the residents of Maaret al-Numan, a town of 100,000 on the highway linking Damascus with Syria’s largest city, Aleppo, have fled after Syrian forces swept through the north-western province of Idlib last week near the Turkish border. Here’s a map : The opposition group the Local Coordination Committees of Syria said today’s protests will mark three months of an uprising that it says has claimed the lives of 1,600 people. Activists are appealing to the regular army to defect. The LCCS claims: In Deir Azzour and Homs, residents attempted to bring food to the soldiers and to ask that the protests be allowed to continue peacefully. 8.25am: Welcome to Middle East Live on what is set to be yet another key Friday in the Arab spring, six months after Tunisian fruit-seller Mohamed Bouazizi set himself alight, sparking uprisings across the region . Protests are planned today in Syria, Bahrain, and Yemen and women in Saudi Arabia will take on the kingdom’s ban on female driving . The King of Morocco is also expected to unveil reforms to the constitution demanded by pro-democracy activists . Where the Arab spring will end is anyone’s guess , writes the Guardian’s Middle East editor Ian Black, But it is striking how Arab unrest has become a permanent feature of the global landscape. It is unfinished business wherever it is happening. For the moment Syria remains the most volatile country and the key place to watch. The Syria tycoon and opposition hate figure Rami Makhlouf is to give up his business interests , in a move being seen as a sign that the regime is wobbling.       Makhlouf, a cousin of Bashar al-Assad is a key figure in the president’s inner circle and a target of protesters’ anger. They frequently chant slogans against him and in March tried to burn down the headquarters of his telecommunications business. His decision comes as thousands of Syrians are again expected to take part in anti-government protests after Friday prayers. Last month in an infamous interview with the New York Times Makhlouf said the regime would fight to the end . Anthony Shadid, who conducted the interview, outlined the significance of Makhlouf’s apparent removal from power . The move, if true, would suggest that Assad was so concerned about the continuing protests that he would sacrifice a relative to public anger. Diplomats also told Shadid that Assad is preparing to address the nation on Sunday.       Meanwhile, the Syrian writer Robin Yassin-Kassab argues that Turkey could intervene in the crisis to create a safe haven for refugees in the north that could also act as a rebel base . If many more refugees join the 8,500 who have fled to Turkey, [prime minister Recep Tayyip] Erdogan may order a limited occupation of Syrian territory to establish a “safe haven”. That – the regime’s inability to hold a section of the homeland – may prove a tipping point. It could also offer Syria its Benghazi, a base for organised resistance. Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Syria Bashar Al-Assad Tunisia Libya Muammar Gaddafi Bahrain Saudi Arabia US foreign policy Nato Matthew Weaver Paul Owen Haroon Siddique guardian.co.uk

Posted by on June 17, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.