UN confirms Syrian nightmare and Mubarak fears death plot in prison

A United Nations declaration that Syria has entered a “civil war” is leading the headlines of Arab media Wednesday as violence in the war-torn country continues to escalate.

“Aleppo is besieged; the UN: Syria is in civil war,” reads the headline of Saudi-owned daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat, which displays a photo of a bombed-out bridge in Homs from which a Syrian revolutionary flag hangs.

London-based daily Al-Hayat reports, based on a new UN report, that approximately 1,200 children have been killed in Syria since anti-government protests began in the country last March. The UN reported on Tuesday that children are being used as human shields by the Syrian army.

Al-Hayat columnist George Samaan writes that the sharp escalation in violence will force the superpowers to decide on the question of Syria in the near future.

“We are approaching the finish line: either an international breakthrough that will impose a temporary resolution or transitional period, or slipping toward what everyone fears, that is, an open civil war which will overflow into neighboring countries and the entire region,” writes Samaan.

The Syrian economy has taken a dramatic turn for the worse, Saudi-owned news site Elaph reports. The Syrian currency has depreciated, poverty has increased and buying power has plummeted. According to the site, high customs fees placed on raw materials have significantly slowed production.

‘We are approaching the finish line: either an international breakthrough that will impose a temporary resolution or transitional period, or slipping toward what everyone fears, that is, an open civil war’

“In Homs, today is no different than yesterday, aside from the extent of damage,” declares a reporter for Qatar-based news channel Al-Jazeera Wednesday, narrating footage of heavy bombardment of residential areas. “Some hoped that placing Bashar Assad and his thugs on the UN blacklist would deter him from further killing. But gruesome footage emerging from the hinterland of Aleppo shattered these hopes.”

Egyptian parliament elects constitutional assembly

Despite the protests of liberal politicians in Egypt, the parliament elected Tuesday a 100-member constitutional assembly. According to “Egyptian sources” quoted by A-Sharq Al-Awsat, the assembly is dominated by Islamists.

According to Al-Hayat, liberal parliamentarians are threatening to appeal the makeup of the new assembly in court, as they did for the previous defunct assembly.

A-Sharq Al-Awsat columnist Abd Al-Rahman Rashed comments on a statement by Hosni Mubarak’s lawyer saying that the deposed Egyptian president fears being killed while in prison.

“Which fool would want to kill a man who was as good as dead even before the revolution began?” asks Rashed. “I believe Mubarak’s biggest crimes are not those for which he is being tried now. His worst fault is the fact that he was a foolish leader lacking the leadership skills needed for a country as big and important as Egypt.”

Gamal Mubarak, the son of the deposed president — still incarcerated on charges of profiteering — told his father-in-law that the level of medical care has deteriorated in prison and the deposed president believes there is a conspiracy to kill him.

‘Mubarak’s biggest crimes are not those for which he is being tried now. His worst fault is the fact that he was a foolish leader lacking in leadership skills’

Ahmad Shafiq, a former Mubarak-era prime minister and current presidential candidate told the Dubai-based news channel Al-Arabiya that he is not opposed to normal relations between Egypt and Iran. In an interview with the channel, Shafiq said Iran and Egypt could be friends as long as Iran did not spread the Shiite doctrine in Egypt, a staunchly Sunni country. Fears of Shiite proselytizing have proliferated among religious circles in Egypt recently.

Yemen and its woes

The continuing struggle by Yemen’s faltering army to combat al-Qaeda in the country features high on Arab news Wednesday. According to al-Hayat, the United States has recruited hundreds of Yemeni tribesmen to infiltrate Al-Qaeda. But US drone strikes against al-Qaeda targets in the country threaten to further weaken the Yemeni military, the daily reports.

“Following every attack by an American drone against al-Qaeda leaders… the [Yemeni] army is embarrassed. The Americans are extremely secretive regarding the timing and location of their attacks. Nothing forces Washington to coordinate with Yemeni authorities on military operations in the troubled country wavering on the verge of total chaos,” reads the reports.

‘Following every attack by an American drone against Al-Qaeda leaders… the [Yemeni] army is embarrassed’

Meanwhile, A-Sharq Al-Awsat interviews the Yemeni chief of staff who says the army has succeeded in banishing al-Qaeda from the Abyan province, its most significant stronghold. The army took control of the provincial capital Zinjibar and the city of Ja’ar, driving out the ultra-Islamic organization, the general said. As they left, al-Qaeda operatives distributed pamphlets apologizing to the residents for controlling the city but explaining they ruled them “under divine law,” the daily reports.