SYRIA: U.S. ridicules president’s crackdown.
Syrian soldiers rolled into flash-point cities in tanks and set up sand barriers topped with machine guns Thursday, as President Bashar Assad’s deadly crackdown on dissent pulled the country deeper into international isolation.
On the eve of another round of large protests, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton slammed the government’s assault on demonstrators and said the violence showed Assad is weak, though she stopped short of saying he must quit.
“Treating one’s own people in this way is in fact a sign of remarkable weakness,” she said during a trip to Greenland.
Protests organizers were calling for more demonstrations today despite military operations and arrest raids meant to pre-empt the rallies. A Western diplomat said 2,000 people have been detained over the past two weeks, with a total of about 8,000 since the Syrian government launched its crackdown.
YEMEN: Police clashes with protesters continue across nation.
Yemeni police attempting to disperse thousands of anti-government demonstrators in two cities Thursday killed two and wounded at least 47, some by gunfire, according to witnesses. In one of the cities, protesters overran a government building.
Gunmen fired at protesters in the central city of Bayda from the roof of a building belonging to the ruling party, killing two people and injuring seven, activist Ghazi al-Amiri said. Later, protesters set fire to the building.
In the southern city of Taiz, police fired live ammunition and rubber bullets to disperse demonstrators there, injuring 40 people, said field doctor Sadeq al-Shujah.
EGYPT: Mubarak’s wife questioned about wealth.
Egypt’s government says deposed President Hosni Mubarak and his wife have been questioned over suspicions they illegally amassed vast wealth. Mubarak has been questioned several times, but this would be the first time his wife, Suzanne, faced interrogation.
A report by a financial oversight body said that Mubarak and his family had numerous bank accounts in foreign and local currencies, luxury apartments and palaces, and valuable land holdings. Some estimate his fortune in the tens of billions of dollars. Mubarak denies the allegations.
BAHRAIN: One protester sentenced to 15 years; Saudi forces to stay.
Saudi- led forces sent to Bahrain to help crush anti-government demonstrations will remain even after emergency rule is lifted next month, the head of the kingdom’s military said in a move that is likely to deepen regional tensions with Iran.
And Bahrain’s crackdown on opposition continued Thursday when a special security court sentenced a protester to 15 years in prison. Twenty-one others had their cases continued by the court, which has ordered executions in some previous cases.
Shiite power Iran has condemned the 1,500-strong Gulf Arab force in Bahrain as an “occupation” by Sunni states against Bahrain’s Shiite majority, which has faced waves of arrests and deadly crackdowns after beginning protests for greater rights three months ago.
Denver Post wire services
