Massive car bombs in Baghdad

Two massive car bombs near government buildings in Baghdad and 700 casualties later, have left local residents asking questions about the ability of the local police to provide adequate security to civilians. The attacks occurred during peak hour traffic in the early morning of Sunday morning (the equivalent of Monday in Western nations) and left a swathe of destruction in the immediate blast zone destroying vehicles, buildings and water pipes. When Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki arrived later in the day with the media's video cameras central Baghdad was painted red with the blood of its victims and the rubble of the earlier attack remained strewn around the streets in a Stalingradish type fresco. The attacks were timed to coincide with the meeting of a number of senior leaders in the country who were set to meet to iron out disputes surrounding the January election. It is highly likely that Sunni extremists (read al-Qaeda) used this opportunity to send a clear message to the political parties that they will do everything in their power to ensure that the poll is delayed and or does not proceed. If this were to happen it is possible that sectarian violence may well again resume in a country that is battling to recover from nearly eight years of continuous conflict.

 

Video of the attack (Al-Jazeera)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laAcKdMp-cw

The Saudis finally get involved

Mecasr received word that Saudi border troops and Shiite rebels in northern Yemen came to blows along the shared border yesterday. The news is not surprising as tensions between the predominantly Sunni Saud and Shiite rebel group, the Believing Youth, are at an all time low following allegations that Saudi Arabia is funding the Yemeni government's war effort against the rebels. Details of the attack aren't clear; however, from what we have been able to stitch together it seems that the Saudis were constructing a border fence in the area and that locals objected to it saying it would hurt their commercial activities. In fact the Saudis are publicly planning to build hundreds of kilometers of fencing along their border with Iraq and Yemen shortly and this may be the start of that construction period, sped up because of the recent outbreak in hostilities in Yemen (the Yemen government launched Operations Scorched Earth on 11 August). The violence yesterday left dozens of casualties according to PressTV the Shiite Iranian media website. News from the Yemenis and Saudis is scant and we are unlikely to get any further clarity from them any time soon so concerned are they with their image in the West regarding human rights. Mecasr expect that more such incidents may be reported (or occur and go unreported) in the short term while the battle for supremacy in northern Yemen goes on. Rebel elements are unlikely to directly target Saudi officials because they are already fully stretched against the Yemeni Army - we can expect a few cross border potshots, however.

ICG report on Iraq

The International Crisis Group have just released a very good report on the situation in Iraq's embattled northern Ninawa governorate. Anyone interested in knowing more about the conflict should definitely check it out:

 

"[Ninawa provides fertile ground for the Sunni insurgency which is]...fuelled by the governorate’s strong Arabist, military and (Sunni) religious tradition and propelled by growing anti-Kurdish and anti-Shiite resentment. Groups taking up arms against U.S. troops and Kurdish fighters exploited the long, often unguarded Syrian border and a history of cross-border trade, while finding ready recruits among former officers, Baathists and an increasingly destitute youth to impose their rule over predominantly Sunni Arab areas. From 2003 to 2008, Ninewa appeared caught between Kurdish dominance and Sunni insurgents."

 

The full report is available here http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6318&l=1