The weekend that was

With most Muslims commemorating Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, yesterday and today, one would expect there to be an air of peace and celebration in the Middle East. Unfortunately, this is not the case in 2012. In Yemen, a crazed gunmen killed nine worshippers at a mosque in al-Dhale on Sunday while suspected Islamist militants attacked security forces targets in Aden killing 21 on Saturday and pro-government militia in Mudiya killing on Sunday one. Fighting also continued in Syria, including in the capital, Damascus, while two car bombs detonated and three more bombs, including two IEDs and one car bomb, were defused in Tripoli, Libya. In Lebanon, a spate of kidnappings threatens to unravel the security situation in the restive state. Since last Wednesday dozens of Syrian nationals have been abducted by Lebanese clans and militant groups in response to the kidnapping of Lebanese nationals in Syria. The abductions have led five Gulf States to withdraw their citizens from the country. The upsurge in violence has not made global headlines and continues to fall below the radar of most media. In South Africa, the MENA region rarely gets a mention. While local news is important the media should appreciate that we live in a global village and information pertinent to global affairs, while not immediately relevant to local audiences, should be covered.

MENA region summary

Libya's interim executive authority, the National Transitional Council (NTC), is expected to transfer power to the popularly elected General National Congress (GNC) on 8 August. The GNC will inherit a stabilizing state; however, will continue to be faced by a number of internal political and security challenges, particularly the ongoing violence between opposing ethnic and tribal groupings and a spike in apparent Islamist extremist attacks over the past four months.

Egyptian reaction to the 5 August Jihadist attack on its military forces in Rafah is expected to be strong. Egypt has requested permission from Israel to deploy additional forces to the Sinai to combat the growing Islamist militant threat. Israel is likely to agree to the measure.

Syria's security woes continue. Fighting is impacting on most of the country and the regime is in position to launch a major military assault on Aleppo. In the embattled northern city approximately 20,000 military units are poised to strike against 6-8,000 rebels. Ahead of the planned offensive the UN has withdrawn its workers from the city.

Iraq's political crisis continues as opponents of PM al-Maliki continue to place pressure on him. These political tensions coincide with a spike in al-Qaeda in Iraq attacks that have left hundreds dead this year.

Yemen's political stabilization remained a major success in February; however, the new Hadi-led regime continues to experience obstacles to creating a national dialogue and bringing security to the country. Bombings in urban centres and an al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula / Ansar al-Sharia resurgence in Abyan govenorate threatens to overturn recent security gains.

Bahrain continues to experience ongoing Shiite agitation and protests. Despite a downtick in reported protests low-level unrest and violence continues to affect outlying areas of the country.