YEMEN: Attack on prison frees 40 inmates.
Gunmen attacked the main prison in the southern Yemen port city of Mukalla on Wednesday in a coordinated strike that freed at least 40 prisoners, according to security and ruling-party officials.
The attack underscored the country’s worsening security situation and came as State Department envoy Jeffrey Feltman began two days of meetings in the capital, Sana, with Yemen’s vice president and top ruling- party officials. They were to discuss the political crisis, which deepened this month when President Ali Abdullah Saleh was forced to seek medical treatment in Saudi Arabia after an attack on his presidential compound.
Ahmed Sofan, a prominent ruling-party official, said the jailbreak provided “another sign of what happens when a country is collapsing.” He said many of the escaped prisoners were Islamic militants but that it was unclear whether they were members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
A military official in Mukalla, 310 miles east of the southern city of Aden, said about 20 gunmen were involved in the attack, which lasted about 30 minutes and appeared to have been coordinated with the prisoners inside.
SYRIA: Foreign minister condemns new sanctions by Europe.
The Syrian foreign minister on Wednesday denounced new European sanctions aimed at top military and government officials, saying in a televised news conference that they were “targeting the livelihood of the Syrian citizens” and “tantamount to war.” The minister, Walid al-Moallem, spoke the day after the European Union extended sanctions to four Syrian firms linked to the nation’s armed forces and a number of officials believed to be involved in the brutal crackdown against protesters seeking to end the Assad family’s rule.
EGYPT: Members of Muslim Brotherhood start own party.
Several young members from Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood launched a political party rivaling their group’s own Wednesday, exposing cracks in the influential Islamist organization. After years as a banned group and fielding candidates as independents, the Brotherhood has formed its first political party after President Hosni Mubarak was forced to step down in the face of popular protests in February. The defections reflect differences in approach between traditional leaders of the Brotherhood and younger activists.
BAHRAIN: Protests return after 8 activists get life terms.
Bahraini protesters poured back into the streets after a security court sentenced eight Shiite activists to life in prison in the latest blow by the Western-backed kingdom to cripple the biggest Arab Spring opposition movement in the Persian Gulf. The fast and angry reaction to the verdicts — the most significant display of unrest in weeks — underscored the volatility in the island nation after four months of unrest and raised questions about whether any credible pro-reform leaders will heed calls by the Sunni monarchy to open talks next week.
MOROCCO: U.N. leader praises peaceful reform process.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon commended Morocco on Wednesday for conducting a peaceful reform process. U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said Ban welcomes the proposed constitutional reforms announced by King Mohammed VI on Friday. The reforms, to be put to a referendum July 1, would grant additional powers to the prime minister and the parliament and enshrine respect for human rights, gender equality and judicial independence into the constitution.
Denver Post wire services
