60 people were killed and hundreds of homes burned in western Myanmar as sectarian violence raged over five days between Rohingya Muslims and Buddhists. It was the worst unrest since June, when more than 80 people were killed and 75,000 displaced in Rakhine State.
Iran completed the installation of uranium enrichment centrifuges in its Fordow plant, which is built inside a mountain to resist air attacks. Iran’s supreme leader Khamenei blamed the US and Israel for the civil war in Syria.
A Libyan suspected of involvement in the attack on the US embassy in Libya was killed during a raid by Egyptian security forces in Cairo. Four other Egyptians were detained. The suspects were thought to have links to al Qaeda.
Air and rocket attacks between Israel and Hamas subsided after an Egyptian-mediated truce was reached. Six Palestinians were killed and five Israelis wounded in two days of fighting.
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Militants launched 60 rockets from Gaza into Israel, hitting several houses and wounding three civilians. Israel responded with airstrikes against the rocket-launching squads, killing four militants, three of whom were members of Hamas. The fighting followed a lull in attacks during the visit to Gaza of the Emir of Qatar earlier in the week.
Salafists in bid to break Hamas’s grip on Gaza
UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi announced an agreement for a four-day ceasefire during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. The Assad regime has agreed to the ceasefire, while rebels groups said they would cease fire provided the government forces stop shooting first.
After a week of fighting, government forces took control of the last pro-Qaddafi stronghold of Bani Walid. More than 100 wanted persons, including former members of Khamis Qaddafi’s 32nd brigade, were captured.
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Syria rebels pessimistic on mediator’s ceasefire plan
Jordan seeks to curb flow of fighters to Syria
Rebels attempted to capture a military base near a strategic highway connecting Damascus with Aleppo. Twenty people were killed in Aleppo when government forces shelled a neighborhood bakery.
The government banned public gatherings. The ban followed clashes between riot police and Islamist demonstrators who oppose changes to electoral laws.
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For the first time, a head of state visited Hamas-ruled Gaza. The Emir of Qatar called for Palestinian unity and pledged $400 million in aid.
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Israeli air strikes killed two Palestinian militants in northern Gaza. The militants had been firing mortar shells at an Israeli tank.
The Lebanese army launched security operations to open roads and clear gunmen from the streets. The army is trying to suppress violence sparked by the assassination of a prominent intelligence chief. At least seven people were killed in Beirut and Tripoli overnight. The army urged political leaders to show caution.
Protests erupted after the funeral of slain intel chief General Hassan. Mourners stormed the office of Prime Minister Mikati, who is perceived to be too close to the Syrian regime. Opposition groups called for Mikati to resign.
Palestinian elections held in in the West Bank largely reelected the Fatah Party to local councils. Turnout was low.
A bomb exploded next to a police station in a Christian quarter of Damascus, killing 13 people. The state news agency said the blast was caused by an explosive placed under a car by an “armed terrorist group.”
A huge car bomb in central Beirut killed a prominent anti-Syrian intelligence chief. Is Syria responsible?
Israeli troops boarded a ship that tried to break through Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip. The pro-Palestinian activists aboard did not resist. The ship was diverted to an Israeli port.
CIA seeks to expand drone fleet, officials say
A huge car bomb exploded in central Beirut, killing eight people and injuring 78. Wissam al Hassan, chief of the information branch of Lebanon’s internal security service, was killed. Hassan had led the investigation that implicated Syria and Hezbollah in the assassination of a former prime minister of Lebanon.