The weekly wrap up

This past week has been quite interesting in the Middle East. In Lebanon, a car bomb was detonated in the Asrafiyah area of the city on Friday. The explosion killed eight people including a major security force official, Wissam Hasan. The attack also occurred in a Christian area of the city but this was less important than the primary victim who had close ties to the Sunni Muslim opposition, specifically Rafik Hariri, a Sunni Muslim and former prime minister who was killed in similar circumstances in 2005. The assassination touched off gunfights between Sunni and Shiite/Alawite Muslim gunmen across the country, including in southern Beirut, Tripoli and Sidon. In Iraq, Baghdad has slipped under the radar; however, shooting and bomb attacks on Saturday and today (23 Oct) have left over two dozen people dead. Much of the same you may say, but the government prides itself on its security in the capital and these incidents will undermine popular confidence in the police and the government. The region will also host a number of anniversaries and religious events in the coming days. Today is Liberation Day in Libya. It’s been a year since Libya was officially ‘liberated’ by the rebel NTC but it seems the country’s problems are just beginning with militia’s running riot and assassinations a near daily occurrence. The big event of course will be in Saudi Arabia this Wednesday when the number of Hajj pilgrims will peak at two million. Pilgrims will flood into Mecca, Medina and Mina placing heavy strain on public transport and the security forces. Other areas of interest are Yemen, where the Southern Movement has reportedly agreed to join the National Dialogue meeting scheduled for November, and Syria which remains in the throes of a seemingly endless and bloody civil war.