SYRIA: Troops storm rebel areas near capital; 62 reported killed across country.
In dozens of tanks and armored vehicles, troops stormed rebellious areas near the capital Sunday, shelling neighborhoods that have fallen under the control of army dissidents and clashing with fighters. At least 62 people were killed in violence nationwide, activists and residents said.
The wide-scale offensive near the capital suggested the regime is worried that military defectors could close in on Damascus, which has remained relatively quiet while most other cities descended into chaos after the uprising began last March.
The bloodshed added urgency to Arab and Western diplomatic efforts to end the 10-month conflict. The United Nations says at least 5,400 people have died in 10 months of violence.
The United Nations is holding talks on a new resolution on Syria, and soon it will discuss an Arab League peace plan aimed at ending the crisis. But the initiatives face two major obstacles: Damascus’ rejection of an Arab plan that it says impinges on its sovereignty, and Russia’s willingness to use its U.N. Security Council veto to protect Syria from sanctions.
EGYPT: U.S. Embassy shelters Americans amid fears of crackdown.
The American Embassy in Cairo took the highly unusual step Sunday of sheltering U.S. citizens employed by nongovernmental organizations amid fears that they could be detained as part of a crackdown on pro-democracy groups, according to U.S. officials and a former NGO official.
The move comes a week after Sam LaHood, the country director of the International Republican Institute, was barred from boarding an international flight in Cairo. LaHood is the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. Several other NGO workers later learned that they are barred from leaving.
Moving the Americans into the diplomatic compound appeared to mark a dramatic worsening in Washington’s relationship with Cairo, which has been strained over the past year as the country’s ruling generals have sought to portray foreigners as agents of instability.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s military rulers have asked a panel of advisers for suggestions about handing over power to civilians earlier than the scheduled deadline at the end of June, state news media reported Sunday. Whether the request signals an intention was unclear. It follows a week of protests demanding an immediate handover, and the request may be an attempt to help calm the unrest.
LIBYA: Judicial police begin taking over prisons after reports of torture.
Judicial police have started taking control of makeshift prisons after human-rights organizations complained of rampant torture of inmates, the deputy justice minister said Sunday.
Khalifa Ashour said uniformed police have been dispatched to some prisons where former rebels have been holding people accused of being loyalists of deposed ruler Moammar Gadhafi.
YEMEN: Troops loyal to regime reportedly crush mutiny.
A military official said units loyal to embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh have crushed a mutiny by Republican Guard troops in the capital demanding the ouster of their commander.
The official said an unspecified number of people were wounded when loyalist Guard units crushed the mutiny by the force’s 4th Brigade outside Sana on Sunday.
Yemen is preparing for presidential elections Feb. 21, but many fear that Saleh will try to keep his allies in power.
Saleh is in the United States seeking medical treatment.
Denver Post wire services
