International
Egyptians Protest Against Sisi’s Rule
Published
3 years agoon

- Protests against President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi have broken out across the country for the second weekend in a row.
- Since protests began last weekend, close to 2,000 arrests have been made.
- Protests were inspired by an Egyptian businessman and former military contractor who has accused el-Sisi and his military of corruption in viral social media posts and has called for action.
- Security measures have been increased, however, President el-Sisi told reporters there is “no reasons for concern.”
Protests Break Out
Protests against Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi have broken out for the second weekend in a row in major cities across the country.
Protestors want el-Sisi, who came to power in a 2013 coup, to step down. Close to 2,000 Egyptians across several cities have been arrested as a result of last week’s protests, marking the largest wave of mass arrests since el-Sisi came to power.
Break out of new anti-#Sisi protests in Qena town, Upper #Egypt. pic.twitter.com/KS9m8PV3F5
— Ali Özkök (@Ozkok_A) September 27, 2019
Security in the capital city, Cairo, has heightened since last week’s demonstrations. Security officials have blocked roads leading to Tahrir Square, where protests were expected to unfold. Metro stations in the area have also been shut down. Some Egyptians have also reported having blocked or limited access to news sites and social platforms that would contain protest information. Despite these new measures, el Sisi told reporters on Friday that there are “no reasons for concern.”
Protesters instead headed to the Warraq area after afternoon prayers. Reports say chants like “No matter how, we’ll bring Sisi down” echoed through the crowds. Other cities with protests of their own include Qena, Luxor, and Qaus.
Meanwhile, counter-protests in favor of the president have also broken out in the country.
As a heavy security presence engulfs Cairo, pro-Sissi supporters are rallying now in the Nasr City enclave. Carrying Egyptian flags and Sissi portraits, the crowd is chanting “Long Live Egypt” pic.twitter.com/E8tBcYSHuG
— Sudarsan Raghavan (@raghavanWaPo) September 27, 2019
Why Are People Protesting?
Anti-Sisi protests were inspired by Mohamed Ali, an Egyptian businessman and former military contractor carrying out a self-imposed exile in Spain. On social media, he called for a “people’s revolution” to oust the president. He has been posting videos accusing both the president and his military of corruption.
Ali alleges that the military has improperly used state funds, and claims that the government owes him money. According to BBC, he fled to Spain to avoid possible pushback from Egyptian authorities.
Responses to Protests
International organizations have taken a stand against the arrests of demonstrators. Human Rights Watch called a release of all citizens who were detained for exercising their right to protest. Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East and North Africa director for the Human Rights Watch said this crackdown shows that the government is afraid of the people’s power.
“The government’s mass arrests and internet restrictions seem intended to scare Egyptians away from protesting and to leave them in the dark about what’s happening in the country,” she said. “The nationwide crackdown on protests suggests that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is terrified of Egyptians’ criticisms.”
Amnesty International called on world leaders to stop el-Sisi and his government from mistreating demonstrators.
“The world must not stand silently by as President al-Sisi tramples all over Egyptians’ rights to peaceful protest and freedom of expression,” Amnesty International’s North Africa Campaigns Director, Najia Bounaim said.
“These protests came as a shock because the authorities thought they had permanently intimidated protesters through the heavy-handed tactics of the past six years including arbitrary arrests and the use of excessive force, including lethal force,” Bounaim added. “The fact that protesters risked their lives and liberty to protest against President al-Sisi’s rule suggests his ruthless tactics have garnered frustration and anger.”
Egypt’s Attorney General, Hamada El-Sawy, said that investigations were being conducted regarding the arrests. He said over one thousand people were interviewed.
According to El-Sawy, protesters hit the streets over things like economic frustrations and “deception by pages created on social networking sites.” He also said that those wishing to protest in the future must follow the legal procedure of giving advance warning to authorities.
“The Public Prosecution called on citizens wishing to exercise their right to express their opinion by demonstrating legal procedures by notifying the concerned authorities, determining the number of participants in the demonstrations and their reasons and abiding by their time and spatial limits so as not to cause demonstrations in blocking public roads, disrupting public transport, closing shops or intimidating citizens,” he wrote.
See what others are saying: (Al Jazeera) (BBC) (The Guardian)
International
Russia Takes Over 900 Azovstal Fighters Prisoner as Mariupol Surrenders
Published
8 hours agoon
May 18, 2022By
Chris Tolve
Ukraine said the soldiers successfully completed their mission, but the fall of Mariupol represents a strategic win for Putin.
Azovstal Waves the White Flag
Russia’s foreign ministry announced on Wednesday that it had captured 959 Ukrainians from the Azovstal steelworks, where besieged soldiers have maintained the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol for weeks.
A ministry spokesperson said in a statement that 51 were being treated for injuries, and the rest were sent to a former prison colony in the town of Olenivka in a Russian-controlled area of Donetsk.
The defense ministry released videos of what it claimed were Ukrainian fighters receiving care at a hospital in the Russian-controlled town of Novoazovsk. In one, a soldier tells the camera he is being treated “normally” and that he is not being psychologically pressured, though it is unclear whether he is speaking freely.
It was unclear if any Ukrainians remained in Azovstal, but Denis Pushilin, the head of the self-proclaimed republic of Donetsk, said in a statement Wednesday that the “commanders of the highest level” were still hiding in the plant.
Previously, estimates put the number of soldiers inside Azovstal around 1,000.
Ukraine officially gave up Mariupol on Monday, when the first Azovstal fighters began surrendering.
Reuters filmed dozens of wounded Ukrainians being driven away in buses marked with the Russian pro-war “Z” symbol.
Ukraine’s deputy defense minister said in a Tuesday statement that the Ukrainian prisoners would be swapped in an exchange for captured Russians. But numerous Russian officials have signaled that the Ukrainian soldiers should be tried.
Mariupol Falls into Russian Hands
After nearly three months of bombardment that left Mariupol in ruins, Russia’s combat mission in the city has ended.
The sprawling complex of underground tunnels, caverns, and bunkers beneath Azovstal provided a defensible position for the Ukrainians there, and they came to represent the country’s resolve in the face of Russian aggression for many spectators.
Earlier this month, women, children, and the elderly were evacuated from the plant.
The definitive capture of Mariupol, a strategic port city, is a loss for Ukraine and a boon for Russia, which can now establish a land bridge between Crimea and parts of Eastern Ukraine controlled by Russian separatists. The development could also free up Russian troops around Mariupol to advance on the East, while additional reinforcements near Kharkiv descend from the north, potentially cutting off Ukrainian forces from the rest of the country.
The Ukrainian military has framed events in Mariupol as at least a partial success, arguing that the defenders of Azovstal completed their mission by tying down Russian troops and resources in the city and giving Ukrainians elsewhere more breathing room.
It claimed that doing so prevented Russia from rapidly capturing the city of Zaporizhzhia further to the west.
See what others are saying: (The Guardian) (BBC) (BBC)
International
Convoy of Up to 1,000 Vehicles Evacuates Refugees From Mariupol as Russian War Effort Stalls
Published
2 days agoon
May 16, 2022By
Chris Tolve
Russia may have lost a third of its ground invasion force since the war began, according to British military intelligence.
Hundreds Make It Out Alive
A convoy of between 500 and 1,000 vehicles evacuating refugees from the southern port city of Mariupol arrived safely in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia on Saturday.
People have been trickling out of Mariupol for over two months, but the recent evacuation was the single biggest out of the city thus far. Russian troops, who control most of the city, did not allow the convoy to leave for days, but eventually, they relented.
The convoy first traveled to Berbyansky some 80 kilometers to the west, then stopped at other settlements before driving 200 kilometers northwest to Zaporizhzhia. Many refugees told reporters they took “secret detours” to avoid Russian checkpoints and feared every moment of the journey.
Nikolai Pavlov, a 74-year-old retiree, told Reuters he had lived in a basement for a month after his apartment was destroyed.
“We barely made it,” he said. “There were lots of elderly people among us… the trip was devastating. But it was worth it.”
63-year-old Iryna Petrenko also said she had stayed in Mariupol initially to take care of her 92-year-old mother, who subsequently died.
“We buried her next to her house, because there was nowhere to bury anyone,” she said.
Putin’s Plans Go Poorly
In Mariupol, Ukrainian fighters continue to hold the Azovstal steelworks, the only part of the city still under Ukrainian control.
On Sunday, a video emerged appearing to show a hail of projectiles bursting into white, brightly burning munitions over the factory.
The pro-Russian separatist who posted it on Telegram wrote, “If you didn’t know what it is and for what purpose – you could say that it’s even beautiful.”
Turkey is trying to negotiate an evacuation of wounded Ukrainians from the factory, but neither Russia nor Ukraine have agreed to any plan.
After nearly three months of war, Mariupol has been left in ruins, with thousands of civilians reportedly dead.
“In less than 3 month, Mariupol, one of Ukraine’s fastest developing & comfortable cities, was reduced into a heap of charred ruins smelling death, with thousands of people standing in long breadlines and selling their properties out to buy some food. Less than three months,” Illia Ponomarenko, a reporter for The Kyiv Independent, tweeted.
In less than 3 month, Mariupol, one of Ukraine’s fastest developing & comfortable cities, was reduced into a heap of charred ruins smelling death, with thousands of people standing in long breadlines and selling their properties out to buy some food.
— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) May 15, 2022
Less than 3 months.
On Sunday, the United Kingdom’s defense ministry estimated that Russia has likely lost a third of its ground invasion forces since the war began.
Moscow is believed to have deployed as many as 150,000 troops in Ukraine.
The ministry added that Russian forces in Eastern Ukraine have “lost momentum” and are “significantly behind schedule.” Moreover, it said Russia failed to achieve substantial territorial gains over the last month while sustaining “consistently high levels of attrition.”
“Under the current conditions, Russia is unlikely to dramatically accelerate its rate of advance over the next 30 days,” the ministry concluded.
Sweden also signaled on Sunday that it will join Finland in applying for NATO membership.
See what others are saying: (The Daily Beast) (U.S. News and World Report) (The Hill)
International
Israel Moves to Build Over 4,000 West Bank Settlements as Palestinian Homes Demolished
Published
6 days agoon
May 12, 2022By
Chris Tolve
The Israeli military is proceeding with a plan to evict at least 1,000 Palestinians from the West Bank.
Settlers Get Ready to Move in
On Thursday, a military planning body in the Israeli-occupied West Bank approved the construction of 4,427 housing units, according to the watchdog group Peace Now.
“The State of Israel took another stumble toward the abyss and further deepened the occupation,” Hagit Ofran, an expert at Peace Now, said via the Associated Press.
The plan is the largest advancement of settlement projects since President Joe Biden took office in the United States.
The U.S. opposes settlement expansion and said as much when the plan was first announced last week, but critics say Washington has done little to pressure Israel to stop.
In a statement, U.N. Mideast envoy Tor Wennesland called the settlements a “major obstacle to peace.”
“Continued settlement expansion further entrenches the occupation, encroaches upon Palestinian land and natural resources, and hampers the free movement of the Palestinian population,” he said.
In October, Israel approved some 3,000 settlement homes despite a U.S. rebuke. There are currently over 130 Israeli settlements in the West Bank harboring almost 500,000 settlers, in addition to the nearly three million Palestinians living in the territory.
Palestinians Pushed Off Their Land
On Wednesday, the same day Israeli soldiers allegedly shot and killed Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, the military demolished at least 18 buildings in the West Bank, including 12 residential ones.
Israel’s supreme court has also ruled that eight Palestinian hamlets can be expelled, potentially leaving at least 1,000 Palestinians homeless.
The area targeted is known as the Masafer Yatta, and its residents say they have been herding animals and practicing traditional desert agriculture there for decades, long before Israel took over the West Bank in 1967. Israel, however, claims there were no permanent structures there before the military designated it a firing zone in the 1980s
“What’s happening now is ethnic cleansing,” Sami Huraini, an activist and a resident of the area, told the Associated Press. “The people are staying on their land and have already started to rebuild.”
See what others are saying: (Associated Press) (Peace Now) (Associated Press)

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