Excerpts: Port Said developments. NKorea threat 'all-out war' rattles China,
Egypt beware of jihadist Sinai attack March 09, 2013
+++Subject: Up to the minute Port Said developments
SOURCE: EGYPT DAILY NEWS 9 Mar.’13:Books
Live Updates: Up-to-the-minute developments in the aftermath of Port Said
verdict
Two police officers get 15 year sentences, but 7 police officers and both
Masry club officials are acquitted in the Port Said killings trial; angry
Ahly fans set fire to buildings in Cairo
Jamie Craggy, Hazel Haddon, Salma Shukrallah, Nada Rashwan, Osman El
Sharnoubi, Bel Trew, Karim Hafez, Saturday 9 Mar 2013
NOTE: Timed most recent item first, decendinding order according to time.
17:50 Speaking after the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) HQ in Cairo was
torched by angry Ahly fans on Saturday[9 Mar.] afternoon, the sporting body’s
chief executive, Sarwat Swelam, has told state news agency MENA:
"The situation is very difficult. The EFA headquarters was totally burned
and president Gamal Alaam will return from abroad to attend today's urgent
meeting."
17:45 A minor fire has broken out at Qasr El-Dobara school inside Qasr
El-Dobara church near the US Embassy, Al-Ahram Arabic reports.
17:40 The protester killed by teargas inhalation near Qasr El-Nil bridge
this afternoon was Fadel Ahmed Abdel-Qader, 36, the emergency services chief
has said.
Fadel was transferred to Qasr El-Eini hospital suffering from breathing
problems and died soon after, Abdel-Qader added.
Fourteen people, including nine suffering from teargas inhalation and four
injured in the fire at the Police Club in Gezira, have been transferred to
the police hospital in Agouza and the Al-Moalmeen hospital in Gezira.
17:30 Ahram Online’s Bel Trew describes the scene outside the Port Said
security directorate as “bizarrely calm” despite initial anger at the
verdict. Only hundreds remain in the area, she adds.
17:25 Rioters have thrown stones and Molotov cocktails at the Semiramis
hotel near Cairo's Tahrir Square, destroying part of the entrance, Al-Ahram
Arabic reports.
17:15 The interior ministry has issued a statement urging people to stay
away from clashes between protesters and police on Qasr El-Nile Bridge,
warning it will respond “strictly” to attacks on security forces in the
area.
The statement also called on political and revolutionary forces to act
responsibly and help bring the violence to an end.
17:10 Hardline Islamist group Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya, and its political arm
the Building and Development Party, have called on Ultras Ahlawy and Port
Said residents to “open a new chapter” and reconcile.
In a statement published on Saturday[9 Mar.] afternoon, the groups also
called for people to respect the judiciary and follow legitimate legal
appeal mechanisms.
17:00 Mohamed El-Kady, deputy chief of El-Sharq Police Station, who is
currently on strike, has condemned the interior ministry in an interview
with Ahram Online’s Bel Trew:
"I don't have an answer for what happened at the stadium on that day [1
February 2012] last year. It was a mess. But do you think we would organise
something that would get officers killed? We want to say that we are not the
Brotherhood’s police, we are the people's police and we're not here just to
protect the regime any more - we learnt our lesson after the resignation of
Hosni Mubarak. The Ministry of Interior is at point zero - it's even worse
than during Mubarak's time. The current ministry is asking us to be violent.
They should know what the consequences of their actions will be - when they
asked us to move the prisoners [last week], which sparked the recent clashes
in Port Said, they should have known the people would respond violently and
we would have to respond in kind."
16:55 Mohamed Sultan, head of Egypt’s emergency medical services, says one
protester has died due to teargas inhalation during clashes between
protesters and police on Qasr El-Nile Bridge.
At least fourteen have been injured in the clashes, Sultan added.
16:30 Ultras Ahlawy, in a statement on its official Facebook page, has
condemned the acquittal of police officers in the trial and warned of
further escalation:
“Today’s acquittals of most of the police ‘dogs’ are a clear sign that the
trial was a sham and the officials we stressed should be convicted were
intentionally found innocent.
“What happened today in Cairo is only the beginning of our rage. Even more
of it will surface if all officials involved in the massacre are not put on
trial. We will not be placated by the sentencing of just two police ‘dogs’.”
16:20: Speaking to Bel Trew in Port Said, Rahid Mohamed Atef, a police
officer, has cast doubt on the guilt of some the convicted men:
"We are against the verdict and the trial because it was chaos after the
Port Said stadium disaster and we didn't know who to arrest - so we arrested
anyone who had been in prison before and people who we were pretty sure
might be behind it. There were hundreds arrested, so there may be people on
trial who are innocent. There is an engineer among the 21 being sentenced to
death, he doesn't look like a killer."
16:10 Ibrahim El-Masry, ex-footballer and supporter of relatives of Port
Said’s martyrs and defendants facing the death sentence, has told Bel Trew:
"I feel like the government is taking us left and right, they have taken the
subject so far away from what we want. They have forgotten our own demands
and the rights of the people who have been killed. They are ignoring us."
16:05 Over in Port Said, Ahram Online’s Bel Trew has interviewed Aly Spice,
founder of Port Said’s Green Eagles Ultras:
"We will focus on big acts of civil disobedience across Port Said, until our
demands are fulfilled," Aly Spice said. "We want a retrial with a fair
judge, justice for those killed in the recent clashes by security forces and
the 21 defendants facing the death penalty not to be executed. We are being
targeted because the address on our IDs is Port Said - it's tantamount to
racism. It is all because President Mohamed Morsi and his government are
bowing to pressure from the Ahly Ultras, as they are widespread across the
country. We were persecuted for three decades under Mubarak, and Morsi is
continuing this."
15:40 Turkish Anadlou news agency has quoted members of Ultras Ahlawy
warning the prosecutor-general that if he does not order the retrial of
acquitted security officials by 7pm on Saturday they will escalate using
“illegitimate methods.”
Anadlou quoted a judicial source dismissing the Ultras' threat and saying
the judiciary would not be responding to each and every statement about the
trial.
15:30 Mourad Ali, a media consultant for the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom
and Justice Party (FJP), stated on his Facebook account: “Those benefiting
from chaos are not the simple workers, or the peasants or the employees
seeking a better living; but it is those who seek to defend their
corruption,” referring to the acts of vandalism that followed the verdict.
“Together we made a revolution to establish a state of law which respects
judicial decisions and provides fair retribution...regardless of whether we
are satisfied with the verdict or not we should respect it and [if
necessary] use legal measures to appeal it.”
He further urged media and politicians not to use the verdict to create
public anger and spread more chaos.
15:15 Also in Port Said, Mohamed El-Araby, a member of the Revolutionary
Socialists, told Osman El Sharnoubi that the verdict was did not surprise
him.
“They had to placate the Ultras, who they know have the ability to disrupt
civil activity, like when they besieged the stock exchange. The government,
therefore, sacrificed Port Said,” he said.
15:00 Retired Port Said resident Awad El-Gueily, speaking to Ahram Online’s
Osman El- Sharnoubi, says the city’s residents are “boiling with rage.”
“We were expecting five to ten year sentences, but the death sentences made
us feel like we were the scapegoats for [the government's] deeds. We want
retribution for those who died amongst us,” he said.
14:55 In Port Said, commander of the second army division Ahmed Wasfy,
speaking from his navy vessel, told onlookers at the ferry port that a ferry
was going to arrive, and urged them to protect it from any possible assault,
reported Ahram Online’s Osman El Sharnoubi. Military police are increasing
in the vicinity of the ferry port.
14:45 Police have blocked all the roads leading to the interior ministry
headquarters in downtown Cairo, which is also surrounded by Central Security
Forces and barbed wire. Security has been also increased around Cairo
Security Directorate.
14:35 The Egyptian health ministry reports that five have been injured as a
result of the fires at the Police Club and the EFA headquarters.
14:30 Hundreds of Ultras are reported to have attacked fire engines trying
to reach the torched buildings of the Police Club and the Egyptian Football
Association, using rocks and Molotov cocktails. Several firemen have been
injured and some trucks’ windows were smashed, reported Ahram’s Arabic
website.
Officials have started to redirect traffic in Zamalek, while police are
intensifying security in the vicinity of the of Shura Council and Cabinet
headquarters, fearing potential attacks.
14:25 There are reports that the Egyptian football league will be suspended;
however, the head of the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) told state
television that a formal decision on suspending the league will only be
taken after an emergency meeting at 6pm, to take place in EFA offices in 6
October City just outside Cairo.
14:00 Spokesman for the Suez Canal Authority Tarek Hassanein told state news
agency MENA that the canal has not been affected by protests and that
shipping traffic is “completely safe,” adding that earlier attempts by
protesters to block ferry passage in Port Said’s Mediterranean seaport did
not affect the canal’s traffic in any way.
13:55 Army spokesperson Ahmed Ali announced on his Facebook page that two
helicopters will be sent to extinguish the fire in Gezira, where the Police
Club and Egyptian Football Association are located.
13:50 Ahram Online’s Karim Hafez reports that hundreds of Ultras are heading
from Ahly Club in Zamalek to the Supreme Court in downtown Cairo, protesting
the verdict. Others refused to join, and some are still discussing how to
escalate their protests.
13:45 A state television reporter who is at the scene says there are
injuries among workers at the Police Club, which they got while trying to
stop assailants from setting the place ablaze. Others are reported to have
suffered from suffocation because of the smoke.
13:35 The management of Ahly football club has given a measured response to
the verdicts.
"The court's verdict was fair for Ahly fans," the Ahly board said in a
statement on the club's official website.
"The club's management has full confidence in Egypt's judiciary and we
support the prosecutor-general's decision to appeal the 28 acquittals."
"We will continue supporting the families of Port Said football victims and
will not give up until we obtain justice for their sons," concluded the
statement.
13:30 Talking to Ahram Online’s Karim Hafez, workers at the Police Club say
the place was torched by what they described as young people wearing red,
the colour of Ahly football club, around 45 minutes after the announcement
of the court verdict.
13:29 State television reports that some protesters in Port Said are
attempting once more to stop the local ferries from running.
13:25 A spokesman for the prosecution, Hassan Yassin, told state news agency
MENA that the prosecutor-general does not intend to file an appeal against
the trial’s acquittals. Yassin said that the prosecution will only do so if,
after studying the details of the verdict, it finds that the verdicts were
inadequate compared to the evidence provided to the court.
13:20 Head of the fire brigade at the interior ministry Abdel-Aziz Tawfiq
tells state television that some people are not allowing fire fighting
trucks to reach the Police Club and the Egyptian Football Association, where
buidlings are currently on fire.
Twelve trucks were prevented from reaching their destinations, according to
Tawfiq, while two reached the Police Club and two the Association building.
13:15 An Ahram Online reporter says that one fire fighting truck is heading
to the Police Club. State television footage shows the Police Club buildings
ablaze.
13:00 As things get tense in Cairo, it seems that the atmosphere in Port
Said might be calming down. Hundreds are again gathered at the governorate
headquarters but the crowd is no longer chanting, reports Ahram Online’s
Osman El Sharnoubi.
12:55 Members of Ultras Ahly briefly blocked Sadat metro station, located in
Tahrir Square, reported state television, but the blockade ended quickly and
the metro is now functioning normally again.
12:50 Head of the railways authority Hussein Zakaria has announced that
trains to and from Port Said will be halted for security reasons.
12:40 The Ultras who were marching into downtown Cairo have turned around
and are going back to the Ahly Club.
12:38 Ahram Online's Karim Hafez reports that members of the Ultras are
running out of the Egyptian Football Association building carrying trophies
that they have taken.
Having ransacked the building the Ultras are going back to the Ahly Club to
await instructions from their capos.
12:35 State television has confirmed that members of the Ultras have stormed
the Police Club and set it on fire.
The Ultras are angry that only two of the police officers were convicted
while seven were acquitted in the case.
The Egyptian Football Association building, adjacent to the Ahly Club was
also ransacked and set on fire, according to Filgoal, a leading Egyptian
sports news website.
12:30 Confusion at Ahly Club. Members of Ultras are asked by their capos to
go back into the club, having just been asked to leave.
12:20 Army tanks are securing the Cabinet headquarters and the Shura Council
in downtown Cairo.
Members of the Ahly Ultras are now marching across 6 October Bridge in
central Cairo, heading downtown, where many key ministries, including the
interior ministry, are located. The march is blocking traffic in one
direction.
12:15 Reuters reportsfrom Port Said that protesters have untied moored
speedboats used to supply shipping on the Suez Canal, apparently hoping the
boats would drift into the waterway and disrupt passing vessels.
Military police recovered five boats and brought them back to shore, but two
were still drifting, one witness told Reuters.
12:10 The Police Club building in Gezira, close to the Ahly Club, is on
fire.
12:05 At the Ahly Club in Cairo, a number of capos, the leaders of the
Ultras groups, are asking the Ultras to leave the training pitch where they
are gathered. A police helicopter is currently hovering above the stadium.
12:00 In Port Said, hundreds of angry protesters are threatening to stop the
ferries that cross from one side of Port Said to the district of Port Fouad,
which is on the other side of the water.
An army officer speaking to protesters in the area gives a friendly warning
that the army’s sixth fleet is position outside Port Said and ready to take
over the city if clashes erupt between citizens and the military.
Navy boats are circulating in the water.
Ahram Online's Osman El Sharnoubi reports that the mood among the protesters
so far is calm, and some are dispersing.
11:50 Head of the Constitution Party and prominent opposition figure Mohamed
ElBaradei makes a sarcastic comment on events on his Twitter account.
"Awaiting details of verdict to know who is the ‘mastermind’ behind the Port
Said massacre and learn the truth about what is happening in Egypt. I hope
it is not the invisible hand that has been haunting us for two years."
11:45 In Port Said, some protesters are attempting to storm the port,
reports Ahram Arabic website.
Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters have started marching from the Port Said
governorate headquarters down Gomhoreya Street, one of the city’s main
streets, chanting against the justice minister and the interior minister.
11:40 Ahly Ultras continue to flow into the Ahly Club Stadium in Cairo.
According to Ultras members, the Ahly administration is meeting to issue a
statement.
11:35 Chants in the crowd outside the Port Said governorate office are
calling for retribution for those killed in recent clashes, reports Osman.
11:32 Hundreds of protesters are starting to gather at the Port Said
governorate headquarters. They are planning to move to the Suez Canal ferry
of Port Fouad close by, says Ahram Online’s Osman El Sharnoubi.
Bel Trew reports that some protesters are discussing whether or not to shut
down the canal.
11:30 A judicial source tells Ahram Arabic website that Egypt’s
prosecutor-general has instructed prosecutors to file an appeal against the
28 acquittals.
11:25 Ahram Online’s Bel Trew reports from Port Said that some cameramen are
being attacked by rioters and having their equipment broken. She says that
people with cameras are being targeted.
11:20 Ahly Ultras are now gathering at the club’s main training field, angry
with the acquittal of the security officials. Families of the slain football
fans present at the club are also very angry, says Ahram Online’s Karim
Hafez.
Everyone is waiting for the decision of the capos, the Ultras leader. There
are occasional anti-police chants as Ultras wait.
In the Ahly Club Stadium in Zamalek, Cairo, Ahly fans are gathering. (Photo:
Karim Hafez)
11:15 We now have a detailed breakdown of the verdict.
The 21 death sentences announced in the 26 January session were confirmed.
Five defendants received life sentences.
Two policemen were convicted; former Port Said security director Essam Samak
and the head of the Port Said water bodies security department, Mohamed
Saad, both received 15 year sentences.
Eight other defendants received 15 year sentences.
Six defendants received 10 year sentences.
Two defendants received 5 year sentences.
One defendant received a one year sentence.
Among the 28 defendants who were acquitted were the seven other police
officers. They include the former head of Port Said police investigation
department Mostafa Razaz, former head of the Central Security Forces in the
Suez Canal area Abdel-Aziz Sami, and former head of Port Said national
security directorate Bahy El-Din Zaghloul. The other four police officers
were all aides of these senior officials.
Also acquitted are the only two officials from Port Said’s Masry club who
were charged, Major General Mohsen Sheta who executive director of Masry
club at the time of the events, and former head of security at the club
Mohamed El-Desouki.
10:50 El-Sayed Hafez, a retired resident of Port Said, tells Ahram Online:
“The verdict is politicised...only two of the police officers were
convicted."
“[President Mohamed] Morsi doesn’t care about Port Said, he just wants to
placate the Ultras,” he said, adding that he doubts any confrontations with
the army will occur.
“Our fight is with the Interior Ministry,” he said.
Police completely withdrew from Port Said on the eve of the verdict on
Friday after days of ongoing bloody clashes.
10:45 Ahly fans gathered in Zamalek are still deciding what their reaction
will be. An Ultras leader known as Abdenyo told confused Ultras, who are
still arguing whether the verdict is sufficient, that the decision as to
what the next step will be will be decided within ten minutes.
The Ultras not satisfied that three security officials were acquitted. They
are also particularly angry that Masry club’s executive manager Mohsen Sheta
has been acquitted.
10:40 Lots of disagreement on Twitter and in the media about the exact
details of some of the sentences, the numbers acquitted etc.
10:35 The Ultras Green Eagles, fans of Port Said’s Masry football club, are
calling for members to gather at Port Said stadium at 12pm, describing the
verdict as politicised and announced to please particular parties.
10:30 Youth activists in Port Said are telling Bel Trew that there will be a
massive strike across the entire city, along with a civil disobedience
campaign, to protest the verdicts.
The city is still calm, but people seem to be reeling from shock. Many are
weeping publically. Some of the young activists Bel is talking to know the
defendants who have been sentenced to death personally.
10:25 Despite an initial moment of celebration, some Ultras Ahlawy are not
satisfied with the verdict, says Ahram Online’s Karim Hafez, and are
insulting those celebrating. They say the 24 acquitted should also have been
given sentences.
Karim reports that celebrations have largely stopped and arguments are
breaking out. The mood has turned tense.
10:22 It seems the total number of defendants acquitted is 24.
10:20 Angry roars in Port Said as the verdict was announced. Ahram Online
reporter Bel Trew describes people in the coastal city as horrified. Some
can be seen holding head in hands, others are crying.
In Port Said, residents react to the verdict (Photo: Bel Trew)
The court has confirmed the previously-issued death sentences for 21 Port
Said residents.
10:18 We're hearing that there were five life sentences announced, not four.
More details on the verdicts.
10:15 Celebratory fireworks and anti-police chants at the fans demonstration
at the Ahly Club.
10:10 The new sentences include four life sentences; ten prison sentences
ranging from 10-15 years; five sentences of ten years; two sentences of five
years; around a dozen have been acquitted of all charges.
10:05 The judge has confirmed the death sentences of the 21 defendants
issued in the previous verdict.
The leading policeman on trial has been given 15 years in prison.
10:00 The judges have arrived in the courtroom to announce the verdict.
9:50 A lawyer speaking to state television from the court says that he
expects that the verdict will not be postponed as many have predicted, but
that the accused will be given different sentences, some including 15 to 20
years. He says, however, that this verdict would still be appealed.
9:45 The area around the Police Academy in the suburb of New Cairo where the
trial is being held is so far calm. Dozens are already inside the hall of
the building. Families of victims were not present as the court had
announced that only the defence and the accused, as well as media personnel
with permits, will be allowed inside.
Nine accused security officials are expected to arrive at the court soon.
The verdict is expected to be announced within minutes.
9:30 Port Said is quiet so far, according to Ahram Online’s Osman El
Sharnoubi. The street cafe where families of the defendants usually gather
is still closed.
The city, however, is full of local and foreign journalists expecting what
could be another bloody day. The coastal city has seen recurrent clashes
between locals and police since the first verdict on 26 January.
Residents complain of injustice, believing the verdict was politicised and
defendants were scapegoated. They say that security forces are the real
perpetrators, as they let the violence escalate at the match last year.
9:00 Hundreds of hardcore fans of Ahly football club, belonging to fan
groups the Ultras Ahlawy and the Red Devils, have already gathered at the
Ahly Club in Cairo's Zamalek awaiting the crucial court ruling that will
determine the fate of defendants in the infamous February 2012 football
massacre case, when over 70 Ahly fans were killed in Port Said after a match
with local side Masry.
An initial court ruling in January sentenced 21 Masry fans to death for
their role in the events. Ultras Ahlawy are eagerly awaiting the second
ruling, which the group hopes will convict the nine security officials among
the 52 remaining defendants.
"We want the police officers to receive at least 20 years, so we can feel
that we got our revenge," Sayyed, an Ultra member, told Ahram Online.
Huge flags with the pictures of the slain fans and a banner that read “72;
we will not forget you” referring to the fans who were killed are displayed
at the protest.
Traffic in Zamalek has been redirected to avoid the vicinity of the club,
which is now full of Ahly supporters.
8:30 Good morning. Ahram Online will now open its live coverage of the day's
events. For more on the background of the protests, please read Ahram
Online's coverage here:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Egypt security forces prepare for expected protests ahead of the second
chapter of the contentious verdict in the ongoing trial of those charged
with complicity in the 2 February 2012 Port Said stadium disaster. The fate
of 52 remaining defendants, which include nine security officials and Port
Said Masry club staff, will be decided Saturday.
More than 70 Ahly football fans were killed in post-match clashes, following
an ill-tempered Egyptian Premier League game between the Cairo-based team
and Port Said's Masry club. The aftermath of the shocking incident pitted
both sets of fans against each other as they sought to pressure authorities
into fulfilling their separate demands.
On 26 January, Port Said criminal court sentenced 21 out of 73 defendants to
death for their involvement in a football riot. The verdict sparked violence
that left over 40 dead in Port Said. Ever since, the city has been
witnessing mass protests and intermittent clashes.
Over the course of the last week, hundreds have been injured and at least
five killed in the restive coastal city when street battles broke out
between anti-government protesters and security forces who had attempted to
move 39 of those facing trial to an unknown location.
In Cairo, Ahly Ultras, for their part, have staged acts of civil
disobedience in the capital and their own protests as they await the outcome
of the potentially explosive court rulings.
+++SOURCE: The Independent via Egypt Daily News 9 Mar.’13:” ‘All-out war’:
now even China is spooked by Pyongyang’s threats”
“Tough UN sanctions draw angry response from Pyongyang as tensions rise in
the area”,Reuters
SUBJECT: N Korea threat ‘all-out war’ rattles China
FULL TEXT:A fragile peace that has existed in the Korean peninsula for
nearly 60 years looked under threat today as North Korea scrapped all
non-aggression pacts with the South and said it was ready for “all-out war”.
In some of the most devastating rhetoric to emanate from the North in
decades, North Korea said it would nullify the armistice signed at the end
of the Korean War in 1953 and terminate its hotline with Seoul. The
blistering reaction to United Nations sanctions punishing Pyongyang for its
third nuclear test last month prompted a rare call from China, the North’s
only ally, for calm.
“China calls on the relevant parties to be calm and exercise restraint and
avoid taking any further action that would cause any further escalations,”
Hua Chunying, of China’s foreign ministry, said today.
While dramatic threats are not unusual from North Korea, today’s actions
come a day after it threatened a pre-emptive nuclear strike against its
enemies.
The seriousness of the standoff was clear as Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un,
touring bases on the Yellow Sea, ordered his military to be ready to strike
“at a moment’s notice”, according to Pyongyang Korean Central News Agency
(KNCA). One picture showed him, in heavy dark coat, grinning along with
several officers on a patrol boat, and another showed him peering through
binoculars toward a nearby South Korean island.
Analysts suggest that North Korean leaders are hoping that grandiose threats
will force the US and South Korea to back off from military exercises and
bring about negotiations that would result in still more concessions.
In that spirit, General Kang Pyo-yong, deputy Defence Minister and probably
the North’s most influential commander, declared the North’s
“intercontinental ballistic missiles and other missiles are on standby” with
miniaturised warheads able to turn Washington “into a sea of fire”. The KNCA
fanned the flames, saying “a nuclear war may break out right now.”
In announcing the end of the “hotline” in the truce village of Panmunjom,
where the Korean War armistice was signed, the KNCA said there was “nothing
to talk to the puppet group of traitors about”.
North Korea last used the hotline 10 days ago when it relayed a message to
the top US commander in the area threatening war if the US went ahead with
annual military exercises that began this week.
A South Korean defence ministry spokesman declared “Kim Jong-un’s regime
will perish from the earth” if the North made good on the threat. The White
House spokesman Jay Carney said “the United States is fully capable of
defending against any North Korean ballistic missile attack.”
A more realistic prospect, however, is that North Korea may attack South
Korean forces in the Yellow Sea or across the demilitarised zone that has
divided North from South Korea since the Korean War. South Korea has vowed
to destroy North Korean bases in case of an attack – a threat, if carried
out, that some analysts fear could precipitate a second Korean War.
North Korean forces staged two attacks against South Korea from the same
bases in 2010, sinking a South Korean navy vessel with a torpedo fired by a
mini-submarine. Then, eight months later, North Korean shore gunners blasted
a South Korean island, killing two marines and two civilian contractors.
A critical question, however, was whether China will really enforce
sanctions against North Korea, which China dominates economically. It has
repeatedly voted in favour of UN sanctions imposed over the nuclear
programme, but enforcement of the measures in China is patchy.
“China is likely to step in only if it means money out of their pockets,”
Bruce Bechtol, an author of two books on North Korea, told South Korea’s
Yonhap news agency. “If banks in China are targeted, and the US and other
countries threaten to pull their funds out if business with the North
Koreans continues, this will force the Chinese to take action.”
+++SOURCE: Saudi Gazette 9 Mar.’113:”Egypt raises state of emergency in
Sinai –MENA”, Reuters
SUBJECT: Egypt beware of Sinai jihadist attack
QUOTE:”Egypt’s Interior Ministry told police in Sinai peninsula to raise
state of emergency’
FULL TEXT:CAIRO —Egypt's Interior Ministry told police in the Sinai
peninsula to raise a state of emergency after obtaining intelligence that
jihadists might attack their forces there, state news agency MENA reported.
Officials have expressed growing worries about security in the desert region
which borders Israel and is home to a number of tourist resorts.
"The Minister of Interior has raised the level of emergency in North and
South Sinai after receiving information that jihadist groups intend to
attack police buildings there," Interior Ministry official General Osama
Ismail said, according to MENA.
In August last year Islamist militant gunmen killed at least 15 Egyptian
policemen in an assault on a police station at the border between Egypt and
Israel, before seizing two military vehicles and attempting to storm the
border.
It was the deadliest incident in Egypt's tense Sinai border region in
decades. Israel has accused Palestinian militants in Gaza of involvement in
militant activity in Sinai, where insecurity has grown since Hosni Mubarak
was toppled in Egypt's 2011 revolution.
President Mohamed Musri has pledged to get a grip on security in Egypt but
struggled to assert control over an entrenched security establishment. Last
week thousands of riot police and conscripts across the country went on
strike over a variety of grievances. — Reuters
==========
Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA
| 
