SYRIA: Violence surges between security forces, protesters.
Fierce clashes broke out between security forces and army defectors in several parts of Syria on Sunday, activists said, as opposition supporters launched a general strike to press President Bashar Assad to step down.
Pressure has been mounting on Assad’s regime as the death toll from months of unrest continues to rise. The United Nations says more than 4,000 people have been killed since March. Some Syrians are now fighting back, including bands of defectors calling themselves the Free Syrian Army.
As many as 23 people were killed Sunday as government forces clashed with armed insurgents and protesters in a number of provinces, according to the Local Coordination Committees, a network of opposition activists.
FRANCE: Official suspects Syria in Lebanon bombing.
France’s foreign minister says he suspects that Syria was behind a bombing that wounded five French troops in Lebanon. A Lebanese bystander was also hurt in Friday’s attack on a vehicle carrying the U.N. peacekeepers.
Alain Juppe told RFI radio Sunday that France had “strong reason to think that this attack comes from there.” He said France believes Hezbollah was involved but has no proof.
YEMEN: Demonstrations draw massive crowds.
Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis demonstrated Sunday in the capital, Sana, and other cities to demand President Ali Abdullah Saleh face trial for his regime’s deadly crackdown on months of protests.
After months of pressure, Saleh signed a deal last month to step down as president, and new presidential elections are set for Feb. 21.
The deal has failed to end the protests.
LIBYA: U.S. helps disable, dispose of weapons after civil war.
Amid concerns following Libya’s eight-month civil war about the massive amount of weapons and munitions that have gone missing, a team of U.S. weapons experts on Sunday disposed of about 1,300 pounds of ordnance deep in the sand just outside Tripoli.
“Our goal is to help the Libyan people to secure these loose arms,” said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Andrew Shapiro, who was on hand to watch along with the U.S. ambassador.
He said that since September, American experts have disabled about 5,000 shoulder-fired missile launchers.
Denver Post wire services
