Globalist Fueled Revolutions Around the World; Governments Are Using Military Force Against the People

Anger Flares at Egypt Army for Brutal Protest Raid

April 9, 2011

AP – Thousands of demonstrators barricaded themselves in Cairo's central square with burned-out troop carriers and barbed wire Saturday and demanded the removal of the military council ruling Egypt, infuriated after soldiers stormed their protest camp overnight, killing at least one person and injuring 71 others.

In a sign the confrontation could escalate, the military warned Saturday evening that it will clear Tahrir Square of protesters "with all force and decisiveness" for life to get back to normal.

The warning could presage a repeat of the scene before dawn, when hundreds of soldiers, including a highly trained parachute unit, swarmed into Tahrir Square, firing in the air and beating protesters with clubs and shocking some with electrical batons. Troops dragged away protesters, while others staggered away bleeding from beatings and gunshot wounds. Witnesses reported two killed, though the Health Ministry insisted there was only one death.

"It was like a horror movie," said Mohammed Yehia, an activist and university student from the Nile Delta who was among the protesters.

The confrontation marks a dangerous juncture in Egypt's three months of upheaval.

When longtime president Hosni Mubarak was ousted on Feb. 11 after 18 days of mass demonstrations against his authoritarian rule, protesters hugged and kissed soldiers on tanks in Tahrir Square, praising them for protecting their "revolution." Most welcomed the handover of power to the Armed Forces' Supreme Council, a body of top generals headed by Defense Minister Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi.

In the weeks since, tensions have rised. Protest leaders have been critical of the military council's handling of the post-Mubarak transition and the public has been angered by its failure to prosecute the former president. But both sides also worked to stay on good terms.

The overnight clashes resembled the ugliest moments of the 18-day protest movement against Mubarak — with authorities cracking down violently and protesters chanting for the leader's removal. The violence only fed accusations among some protesters that the military — especially Tantawi, a longtime Mubarak loyalist — was only trying to preserve the ousted president's regime.

Soldiers detained 42 youth protesters including a British and a German national in the raid, said human rights lawyer Mohammed al-Ansari, and they now face military tribunals for violating military bans on gatherings.The military said that eight others with military uniform were arrested, in reference to the dissenting army officers who joined the Friday protest.

The protest movement appeared deeply divided over how to react. Some demanded protesters push ahead with the confrontation with the military, while others warned a conflict with the army — Egypt's most powerful institution — would be disastrous for the movement, saying some form of coexistence must be found.

Democracy advocate Mohammed ElBaradei, whose supporters were among those who organized the wave of anti-Mubarak protests, said in a Twitter message that "dialogue is the only alternative." He said "confidence between the people and army" must be preserved "for the sake of the nation."

Egypt's largest Islamic group, the Muslim Brotherhood, also warned against any attempt to cause divisions between the people and the army, calling them "one hand."

Anger flared at a press conference held at Cairo's Journalist Syndicate, where representatives of various political parties and movements tried and failed to produce a joint statement on the night's events.

Amr Hamzawy, co-founder of a new liberal political party, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, called for all sides to exercise "extreme measures of restraint," warning of "organized" attempts to cause conflicts with the military.

But Khaled Abdel-Hamid, a member of the coalition of youth activists that organized the anti-Mubarak campaign, denounced a series of incidents of excessive use of force by the military against protesters.

"Now there is blood between the people and the armed forces. This happened three times, why are they not prosecuting those responsible for it," Abdel-Hamid said, sparking shouting matches among some defending the military and others demanding the "killers" be put on trial.

Back in Tahrir Square, several thousand protesters, some armed with sticks and other makeshift weapons, vowed not to leave until Tantawi resigns.

Black smoke rose as protesters set fire to three vehicles in the square, including two troop carriers. The square was filled with shattered glass, stones, and debris in a scene reminiscent of the anti-Mubarak protests. 11. The glass storefront of a KFC on the square was also smashed — only weeks after it was repaired from damage during the earlier unrest.

"We are staging a sit-in until the field marshal is prosecuted," said Anas Esmat, a 22-year-old university student, as protesters dragged debris and barbed wire to seal off streets.

"Tantawi is Mubarak and Mubarak is Tantawi," some chanted.

The military's heavy crackdown appeared prompted in part by the presence in Tahrir of around 25 army officers who joined the protesters and were denouncing the military's leadership, saying Mubarak was continuing to rule through Tantawi and the other generals. In a public statement Saturday, one of the officers demanded the dissolving of the Supreme Council, its replacement by a presidential council and the prosecution of those behind the killing of protesters.

The military blamed the turmoil on "thugs" who violated the country's 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. curfew.

In a press conference, military council member Gen. Adel Amara depicted the protesters as outlaws who had attacked the army. He said protesters were carrying Molotov cocktails and two automatic weapons and that they attacked army vehicles. He suggested that the dissident army officers in the protest camp were actually prisoners, saying the protesters tied up "people in military uniforms" to exchange for detained protesters. He confirmed that one protester was killed, with a bullet in the face, but said it was not clear who shot him.

"The armed forces are a line that cannot be crossed," he said. "The protesters kept on occupying Tahrir Square, hindering citizens' business, which shows they don't belong to the honorable Jan. 25 youth," referring to the protest movement that ousted Mubarak.

The pre-dawn raid came after tens of thousands of Egyptians massed in Tahrir Square on Friday in one of the biggest rallies in weeks, demanding the military prosecute Mubarak and his family for corruption that permeated his nearly 29-year regime.

At around 3 a.m. on Saturday, hundreds of soldiers backed by armored vehicles swept into the square, firing heavy barrages into the air with automatic weapons and pounding transparent shields to intimidate protesters camped out in the center. The troops waded into the tent camp, where protesters had formed a human cordon to protect the dissident army officers.

Yehia, the university student activist, described how a friend of his ripped off his shirt and stood between protesters and the soldiers, chanting "peaceful, peaceful" until soldiers beat him with clubs and electric batons, leaving him covered in bruises. Soldiers kicked and beat another man who had fallen to the ground, he said.

Ali Mustafa, a car mechanic who was guarding the "free soldiers" tent, said he saw an attacking soldier stab one of the officers to death with his bayonet. He pointed to a section of pavement stained with blood under a small pile of garbage and food remains. Witnesses reported that two of the 25 officers were arrested by the soldiers but others escaped.

Another protester was shot dead, said Ahmed Gamal, who said he helped carry away the body. The deaths could not be confirmed.

The Health Ministry issued a statement saying only one person was killed and 71 wounded, some of them with gunshot wounds, including three in critical condition.

Witnesses said the troops beat protesters with batons, fists and kicks and dragged protesters away and threw them into police trucks. Near the famed Egyptian Museum, which overlooks the square, protesters trying to flee were blocked by soldiers, who hit them and knocked them down.

Anger at the military has grown amid reports of military abuse against detained protesters — including a blogger who campagined against army abuse and was arrested and tortured by the military in past weeks.

The failure to prosecute Mubarak and his family has stoked the most anger, touted by some as a sign that Tantawi and the other generals are protecting the former president. Prosecutors have put on trial or started investigations against a string of former senior figures from Mubarak's regime on allegations of corruption, exploiting their positions to amass personal fortunes and other crimes.

Since his ouster, Mubarak and his family have been under house arrest at a presidential palace in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, their assets frozen.

In a new gesture, the council late Saturday announced a shake-up of some provincial governors and that all offices of the former ruling party were ordered seized.

Libyan Rebels Face Military Surge on Key Outpost

April 9, 2011

AP – Government soldiers and rebel gunmen battled in the streets of a key front-line city Saturday after the Libyan military used shelling and guerrilla-style tactics to open its most serious push into opposition territory since international airstrikes began. NATO airstrikes, meanwhile, hammered at Gadhafi's ammunition stockpiles and armored forces, destroying 17 tanks.

At least eight people were killed in the fighting over Ajdabiya, a hospital official said.

Recapturing the city would give the Libyan military a staging ground to attack the rebels' main stronghold, Benghazi, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) farther east along the coastal highway. Moammar Gadhafi's forces were approaching Benghazi when they were driven back by the international air campaign launched last month to protect civilians and ground Gadhafi's aircraft.

For the rebels, losing the city would effectively bottle them into a coastal strip of eastern Libya and allow government forces to more tightly squeeze the few opposition pockets in the rest of the country, including the besieged western port of Misrata, where heavy clashes continued Saturday for a second day.

NATO airstrikes hit armored vehicles firing on civilians near both Misrata and Ajdabiya, said Canadian Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard, who commands the Libya operation.

Speaking in Naples, Italy, where the alliance's operational center is located, Bouchard said Saturday that NATO jets also had struck ammunition stockpiles east of Tripoli that were being used to resupply forces involved in the shelling of Misrata and other population centers.

A NATO official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of regulations said warplanes had destroyed 17 tanks and damaged nine more. The official also said NATO jets enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya intercepted a rebel Mig-23 fighter that had taken off from Benghazi and forced it back to the airport. No shots were fired, the official said.

International envoys opened fresh initiatives for a peace deal. The African Union said it planned to send a team to Libya on Sunday to begin meetings with the government and rebel leaders.

In the capital Tripoli, meanwhile, Gadhafi made his first public appearance in weeks with a visit to a school. Children jumped on desks and gave fist-pumping chants:

"The people want Moammar the leader!"

Wearing large black sunglasses and a brown turban and robe, Gadhafi made no public comments, according to the account on state TV. Gadhafi has remained mostly in hiding since the airstrikes began, preferring to communicate by telephone to government-run television.

The battle for Ajdabiya showed how Gadhafi's forces are adapting their strategies amid NATO airstrikes seeking to cripple the Libyan military.

Small and mobile units — less vulnerable to airstrikes than tanks and other armor — first ambushed a rebel convoy probing the lines outside the city. Government gunners then began shelling Ajdabiya from desert positions and later ferried soldiers into the streets using civilian vehicles in attempts to foil NATO pilots.

A possible NATO airstrike, kicking up a huge mushroom cloud, temporarily halted the shelling. NATO officials did not immediately confirm an attack.

A helicopter gunship — possibly a rebel aircraft coming from the direction of Benghazi — passed over the city during the fighting.

By nightfall, heavy gunfire was heard from apparent block-to-block combat inside the city, which had about 150,000 residents before many fled for safer areas.

A resident leaving the city, Abdul Fatah, said gun battles raged along the city's main street. A rebel fighter, Salah Ali, said Gadhafi's forces were "spreading out inside Ajdabiya" with weapons including heavy machine guns and grenade launchers.

The supervisor at Ajdabiya hospital, Mohammed Idris, said at least eight rebels were killed and nine people were injured, including two civilians.

The rebels have maintained control of much of the eastern half of Libya since early in the uprising, while Gadhafi has clung to much of the west. Gadhafi has been putting out feelers for a cease-fire but he refuses to step down as rebels demand.

The NATO-led airstrikes, authorized by a U.N. resolution, have neutralized Gadhafi's air force and pummeled his ground forces, but the opposition remains outnumbered and outgunned. The alliance has been defending itself against rebel complaints that its attacks are too slow and imprecise.

In Misrata, rebels and government troops have battled since Friday for control of a key roadway linking the port — a lifeline for opposition fighters and trapped civilians. A doctor who spoke to The Associated Press by phone said at least seven people had been killed.

The doctor spoke on condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisals. The accounts could not be independently verified because Libyan authorities have blocked journalists from conducting their own reporting in the city.

For a second consecutive day, international journalists were taken on a government-supervised trip to the outskirts of Misrata. In a farming area south of the city, pro-Gadhafi forces manned positions with pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns. Tents and sniper nests were hidden in trees and brush.

Also in Misrata, the Red Cross said a relief ship reached the port. A Turkish ship also docked in Misrata to bring home Egyptians stranded in Libya's third-largest city, said Egypt's deputy foreign minister, Mohammed Abdel-Hakam. A second Turkish ship was expected Sunday.

Syrian Forces Fire at Mourners after Mass Funeral

April 9, 2011

Reuters – Syrian security forces opened fire on mourners near a mosque in the flashpoint city of Deraa after a mass funeral for pro-democracy protesters, two witnesses said on Saturday.

Security forces used live ammunition and tear gas to disperse thousands of people who were chanting freedom slogans after assembling near the old Omari mosque in the old quarter of the city, near the border with Jordan, the witnesses said.

Dozens of people have been killed in a wave of protests across Syria against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.

A Syrian rights group said at least 37 people had been killed in protests across the country on Friday.

"Syrian security committed (in Deraa) what could be called a crime against humanity," the National Organization for Human Rights said in a statement. "It fired indiscriminately on protesters and killed and wounded tens of them."

State television for its part said armed groups had killed 19 policemen and wounded 75 in the city. The Interior Ministry warned it would not tolerate breaches of the law and would deal with "armed groups," state news agency SANA said.

WOUNDED YOUTHS

A witness in Deraa said he had seen at least four youths wounded by snipers being taken by protesters to a nearby clinic.

Residents say people avoid taking many of the wounded to state-run hospitals for fear the injured will be arrested by plain clothes security personnel stationed in hospitals.

Popular demonstrations calling for greater freedom, inspired by Arab uprisings that began in Tunisia and Egypt, have shaken Syria. Assad has responded with a mixture of force against protesters, gestures toward political reform and concessions to conservative Muslims, including closing Syria's only casino.

In the early hours of Saturday, security forces used live ammunition to disperse hundreds of people in Latakia, causing scores of injuries and possible deaths, residents said.

One witness said he had seen water trucks washing blood off the streets near Takhasussieh School in the Sleibeh district.

"You can't go two steps on the street without risking arrest," a resident said. "It's difficult to know if there were deaths, but we heard heavy AK-47 fire."

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton condemned the violence, urging Syria to implement "meaningful political reforms."

A key demand of the protesters is the repeal of emergency laws. Assad has ordered a committee to study replacing it with anti-terrorism legislation, but critics say it will probably grant the state many of the same powers.

NATIONWIDE PROTESTS

On Friday, rallies swept Syria from Latakia in the west to Albu Kamal on the east, as demonstrations entered a fourth week. But on Saturday, most cities were calm.

The National Organization for Human Rights said 30 people had been killed on Friday in Deraa, the epicentre of protests, three in the central city of Homs and four others in the Damascus suburbs of Harasta and Douma.

The Baath party took power in a coup in 1963, banning all opposition and imposing an emergency law that is still in force.

Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem told ambassadors in Damascus that "subversive elements infiltrated the protesters and opened fire on the police and the protesters to drag the country into violence and cause chaos."

Assad, a member of the Alawite sect, which accounts for 10 percent of Syria's population, has said the protests are serving a foreign conspiracy to sow sectarian strife.

The Interior Ministry accused "plotters pushed by known foreign sides" of firing at protesters to create a rift between people and police.

"(They) have infiltrated the ranks of the demonstrators to sow discord between the citizens and the security forces. There is no more room for leniency or tolerance in enforcing law ...

"We will not allow sabotage .... and damage to national unity," the ministry said.

"Syrian authorities, in order to preserve the security of the country, citizens and the governmental and services establishments, will confront these people and those behind them according to the law."