16 Jan 2017 - NPWJ News Digest on Middle East and North Africa Democracy

Articles

Bahrain city hall set ablaze, gunfire heard after executions
by The Washington Post, 16 Jan 2017

 Bahrain says a city hall was set ablaze during a night of clashes between police and protesters following the execution of three men convicted of a deadly bombing targeting police. Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said Monday the blaze at the Northern City Hall appeared intentional. It said firefighters were able to contain it. Hundreds protested Sunday over the three Shiite men put to death by firing squad over the 2014 bombing that killed two Bahraini policemen and an Emirati officer. Opponents of Bahrain’s Sunni-ruled kingdom saw the men’s charges as politically motivated and alleged the men were tortured. Some youth threw gasoline bombs and clashed with police into the night Sunday. Police fired tear gas and birdshot.

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Sinai residents accuse state of extrajudicial killings
By Al Jazeera, 16 Jan 2017

Egyptians in El Arish, a city in the north of the Sinai Peninsula, are accusing the government of the extra-judicial killing of 10 youths by security forces. The Egyptian interior ministry, which heads the security forces, said on Friday that members of an armed group opened fire at the security personnel as they approached their hideout in an abandoned house. It also described those killed as "terrorists". However, residents of El Arish said six of those named by the ministry had been detained months ago by Egyptian authorities. On Saturday, the residents held a meeting and demanded a judicial trial of anyone who took part in the alleged killings as well as the release of youths detained without charge. The residents labelled Egypt's interior minister "an enemy of the state" and demanded resignations of parliamentarians from their region.
 

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Israel, Palestinians warned against solo steps harmful to peace
By Reuters, 16 Jan 2017

Some 70 countries reaffirmed on Sunday that only a two-state solution could resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and warned against any unilateral steps by either side that could prejudge negotiations. The final communique of a one-day international Middle East peace conference in Paris shied away from explicitly criticizing plans by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to move the U.S Embassy to Jerusalem, although diplomats said the wording sent a "subliminal" message. Trump has pledged to pursue more pro-Israeli policies and to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, all but enshrining the city as Israel's capital despite international objections. Countries including key European and Arab states as well as the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council were in Paris for the conference, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected as "futile". Neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians were represented. However, just five days before Trump is sworn in, the meeting was seen as a platform for countries to send a strong signal to the incoming American president that a two-state solution to the conflict could not be compromised on and that unilateral decisions could exacerbate tensions on the ground.

 

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Iraq special forces sweep Mosul University for remaining militants
By Middle East Monitor, 15 Jan 2017

Iraqi special forces swept the campus of Mosul University on Sunday to clear it of any remaining Islamic State militants after taking full control of the area, a spokesman said. Counter-terrorism service (CTS) troops drove the jihadists back inside the strategically located university complex and seized clusters of buildings including colleges on Saturday, an important gain towards retaking the entire eastern half of the city. “The university is completely liberated and forces are sweeping the complex for any hiding militants,” CTS spokesman Sabah al-Numan told Reuters by phone. “Most buildings are booby-trapped so we’re being cautious.” “We’re not stopping,” he added, saying the CTS was working to push into areas next to the university. Parts of the sprawling campus overlook neighbouring districts in eastern Mosul, making it a crucial gain for taking remaining IS-held areas along the Tigris river, an Iraqi commander said this week. Iraqi forces, backed by air cover from a US-led coalition, say they are close to recapturing the entire eastern bank of the river, bringing them in full control of eastern Mosul, and thus half of IS’s last major Iraq stronghold.
 

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