An overview of the unrest in Libya and Syria

May 13, 2011

(CNN) — Libya

A ship arrived Thursday night in Benghazi from Misrata, carrying at least 108 refugees, including 25 with war wounds, according to a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The status of Misrata was in question Thursday, with representatives of the opposition Transitional National Council and rebels in the city giving different accounts of who controlled the strategic town.

A government spokesman said at least three people were killed Thursday when four rockets struck Moammar Gadhafi’s compound in Tripoli, the capital city. NATO warplanes and missiles have been pounding Gadhafi’s forces since March, as Gadhafi’s troops try to quash a nearly 3-month-old revolt.

Key Player

Moammar Gadhafi, 69, has ruled Libya since a military coup in 1969.

Roots of the Conflict

Protests in Libya started in February when demonstrators, fed up with delays, broke into a housing project the government was building and occupied it. Gadhafi’s government responded with a $24 billion fund for housing and development. A month later, more demonstrations were sparked when police detained relatives of those killed in an alleged 1996 massacre at Abu Salim prison, according to Human Rights Watch. High unemployment and demands for freedom have also fueled the protests.

Syria:

Syria weathered more anti-government ferment over the past day as the embattled regime girded for another round of nationwide protests Friday.

Security forces rounded up a leading voice for human rights Thursday, hours after a rally erupted at Aleppo University, in the heart of Syria’s second-largest city. The government has been cracking down on protests over the past two months in Daraa, Homs, Banias and other cities.

Protesters plan another round of demonstrations Friday, with rallies expected across the country after Muslim prayers.

In Banias, troops backed by Syrian security forces carried out arbitrary mass arrests in several neighborhoods Thursday, a witness said. Heavy gunfire could be heard as authorities went from building to building, rounding up men and searching homes, the witness told CNN, which has not been allowed entry into the country.

The regime has blamed armed groups for the violence and has reported the deaths of security personnel. Demonstrators have blamed the killings on the government.

Roots of unrest:

The unrest began in March after teens were arrested for writing anti-government graffiti in Daraa. As the crackdown intensified, demonstrators changed their demands from calls for “freedom” and “dignity” and an end to abuses by the security forces to calls for the regime’s overthrow.

On April 19, Syria’s Cabinet lifted the emergency law, which had been in effect since 1963. But security forces then moved quickly to crack down. Government opponents allege massive human rights abuses.

Key Player

Bashar al-Assad, a 45-year-old ophthalmologist, has ruled the country for 11 years since running unopposed in a election to replace his deceased father, Hafez al-Assad. The elder Assad had ruled the country for nearly 30 years.

Filed under: LIBYA, MIDDLE EAST REVOLUTION Tagged: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/05/12/mideast.africa.unrest/, http://www.colonel6.com/An-overview-of-the-unrest-in-Libya-and-Syria.html

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