Reversing gains made by rebels in the past several weeks after NATO forces gave air support to Libyan rebels; Gaddafi’s loyalist forces took Sirte, Gaddafi’s hometown, in their continuing advance east, blocking the way of the rebels’ westward push. Rebels were forced back to Bin Jawad, a town which they had taken on Monday, and the fear is that they will continue to lose ground to Gaddafi’s loyalist forces unless further intervention on the part of NATO is forthcoming.
The US President, Barak Obama, addressed the US last night on the subject of Libya, but did not discuss the position on NATO intervention in any other Middle East countries who have turned to violence to persuade their governments to make major changes.
Syrians Take to the Streets
The cabinet of Syria resigned on Tuesday. The move was a concession made by President Bashar al-Assad to appease demonstrators, who have not been satisfied with other concessions offered by the Syrian dictator. There have been anti government uprisings springing up all over Syria for more than a week, and the disbanding of the cabinet is just the latest move to try and bring calm to the tense situation there. It is expected that President Assad will speak to his people soon and declare that the decades-old emergency law will be appealed.
An estimated hundreds of thousands of Assad supporters took to the streets in Damascus on Tuesday demonstrating their loyalty to the President and the present Syrian government, showing the world and fellow citizens that Assad still commands a loyal following among many in Syria.
Protests in Yemen Re-Ignite
Tuesday saw another round of protests in the streets of Yemen after a short period of calm over the weekend as demonstrators waited to see the outcome of power transfer discussions. The failure of the discussions to produce any meaningful agreement led to the renewed protests demanding the removal of President Ali Abdullah Saleh from his office.