Official shot dead

THE DEPUTY governor of Saudi Arabia's northern Jouf province, Hamad Bin Abdel Rahman Al-Wardi, was shot dead on Monday by an unidentified gunman, a Saudi Interior Ministry official said.

The Ministry official told the state-run Saudi Press Agency that Al-Wardi was driving to work when his car was riddled with gunfire early in the morning. Saudi authorities have initiated an investigation into the shooting and will announce the findings as soon as possible. A Saudi man was arrested for the assassination shortly afterwards but authorities did not reveal his motive.

However, the fact that this shooting came shortly after the September shooting of a judge in the same province that was linked to alcohol smugglers raised speculations that Al-Wardi was shot by the same group.

Reports in the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper referred to Al-Wardi's active role in arresting a large score of smugglers in a short time.

Syria redeploys

SYRIA will redeploy some of its troops from Lebanon starting from Wednesday as part of the 1989 Taif agreement which helped end Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, a Lebanese presidential statement said on Tuesday.

It did not mention withdrawal, but a Lebanese army source said that about 4,000 troops would leave Lebanon, where an estimated 20,000 Syrian troops have been based. Syria sent its soldiers into neighbouring Lebanon during the civil war.

"A joint delegation of the Lebanese and Syrian armies have briefed (Lebanese) President Emile Lahoud at noon today, on new arrangements made by the two countries' military commands to start implementing a new phase of Syrian troops redeployment in a number of Lebanese regions," a presidential statement said.

Officials said the redeployment would start from Wednesday in the north of the country, particularly the Batroun area, and would last about five days.

Jet swoop

ISRAELI jets swooped over south Lebanon on Monday, breaking the sound barrier over the coastal city of Tyre. The United Nations said earlier this month it was concerned over an increase in flights by Israeli warplanes and warned that it could escalate into a more serious conflict.

Prior to the UN warning, Israeli overflights were among the most frequent since Hizbullah helped expel Israel from south Lebanon in 2000 after a 22-year occupation.

Since the pullout, Israeli jets have often roared over towns across Lebanon, shaking windows in shops and homes and drawing retaliatory fire from Hizbullah guerrillas and the Lebanese army.

The United Nations views both the overflights and the retaliatory fire as violations of the terms of Israel's pullout.

Third wave

THE ISRAELI government on Sunday authorised the immigration of another 20,000 Ethiopians of Jewish origin, the third major wave from the African country, according to Interior Ministry spokeswoman, Tova Ellinson.

Before they have arrived, the new immigrants' case is already shrouded in controversy.

The main concern in Israel is that as famine looms again over the Horn of Africa, this third batch will find an Israel also going through one of its worst crises ever, with the nearly 29-month-old Intifada taking its toll on both the economy and public tolerance.

There were no immediate indications as to where the Ethiopians would live, but some reports have hinted they could be herded straight to the occupied Palestinian territories, to bolster Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's active settlement policies.

Many settlers have left their homes because of the rising violence, while the Israeli right sees the settlements as strategically important to maintain a presence in the Palestinian territories.

Ocalan meeting

EUROPEAN anti-torture officials on Monday met with Abdullah Ocalan, ending more than 11 weeks of isolation for the Kurdish rebel leader, the Anatolia news agency reported.

Dozens of Kurds have started hunger strikes across Europe after Turkish authorities, citing bad weather conditions, barred Ocalan's lawyers from visiting the prison island of Imrali since the end of November. Ocalan's rebels threatened last week to put an end to their four-year cease-fire also demanding an end to his isolation.

Anatolia said the delegation from the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture were brought by helicopter to Imrali, where Ocalan is the sole inmate, and held talks with the rebel leader.

One of Ocalan's lawyers, Dogan Erbas, said he hoped Monday's visit meant that the lawyers would be given access to the island soon.

"This obstruction is illegal and a violation of human rights," Erbas said. "There are thousands, tens of thousands, even millions of people who are concerned about him. [Turkish authorities] should be more sensitive about this issue."

POWs released

THE UNITED States on Friday welcomed the release of Moroccan prisoners of war by the Polisario Front and called for the release of the more than 1,000 POWs still in captivity.

"The United States welcomes the 10 February release by the Polisario Front of 100 Moroccan prisoners of war," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.

"The Polisario has an obligation under international humanitarian law to release unconditionally all remaining Moroccan prisoners captured during the Western Sahara conflict," he said in a statement.

"We call on the Polisario to release the remaining 1160 Moroccan prisoners without delay, all of which have been held for more than a decade after the cessation of hostilities in Western Sahara, and in most instances for more than 20 years," Boucher added. The Moroccan soldiers will be repatriated with the help of the Spanish Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 20 - 26 February 2003 (Issue No. 626)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/626/re2.htm