Fighting in Libya spread to western towns near Tripoli Feb. 25, as cities in the east organized interim governments, raising the old flag from before Moammar Qaddafi came to power in 1969. Dueling rallies were held in Benghazi, where thousands celebrated their liberation from Qaddafi's regime, and in Tripoli, where the dictator himself appeared at the capital's Green Square. Qaddafi called on his partisans to "defend Libya," pledging, "If needs be, we will open all the arsenals." Before the Tripoli pro-regime rally, security forces fired on protesters, leaving several dead. Oblivious to the deadly repression that preceded his address, the strongman appealed to Libya's youth to "dance and sing, Moammar Qaddafi is with you."

Israeli forces fired rubber-coated bullets at protesters in the West Bank city of Hebron Feb. 25, leaving at least nine people injured. Four international activists and two Palestinians were detained, organizers said. The military said that only one person was arrested. The demonstration, which called for the reopening of one of the city's main streets, came on the anniversary of the 1994 massacre of 29 Palestinians in Hebron by a Jewish extremist.

Protests were held in towns and cities across Iraq Feb. 25, with marchers filling Baghdad's Tahrir Square in a national "day of rage." In Mosul, three were killed when security forces fired on the crowd. Four were also killed in clashes between protesters and security forces in Haweija, a town north of Kirkuk. (AlJazeera, DPA, Feb. 25)

Tens of thousands took to the streets Feb. 25 in Tunisia, Jordan, Yemen and Bahrain to demand political reforms. In Yemen's capital, Sana'a, and the southern port of Aden, thousands marched to demand that President Ali Abdullah Saleh step down. Daily clashes have killed 15 people and wounded scores in Yemen this month. In Tunis, protesters demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi's transitional government in the biggest march since last month's ouster of president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. In Bahrain's capital, Manama, the anti-regime campaign entered its 12th day with a rally to honor seven victims of a deadly police crackdown last week. Thousands also rallied in Jordan's capital, Amman, urging greater political freedoms, and to denounce violence in which eight were injured at a rally last week. (RFE/RL, Feb. 25)

At least 24 people were wounded when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives in a busy market in Spin Boldak, a town in Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar, Feb. 24. The attack is the latest in a string of suicide blasts to hit Afghanistan. More than 100 people have died in such attacks in the last three weeks. (RFE/RL, Feb. 24) The offensive comes as Steve Coll in the New Yorker of Feb. 28 asserts that the US has entered into exploratory talks with the Taliban. But the Taliban has reportedly set NATO withdrawal as a prerequisite for negotiations, and the US demands a breaking of ties with al-Qaeda. (The News, Pakistan, Feb. 23)

The opposition in Pakistan is expressing outrage over revelations that a US citizen held by the authorities in connection with a shooting incident last month is a security contractor for the CIA. Raymond Davis was taken into custody following the shooting deaths Jan. 27 of two Pakistanis in Lahore. Davis claimed he acted in self-defense during an armed robbery attempt. The US government said Davis was an embassy employee, and should be immediately released on the grounds of diplomatic immunity. Now Washington officials have confirmed reports in the New York Times that Davis was part of a CIA operation tracking the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group. He is also said to have worked for security firm Xe/Blackwater.

Government troops in the Comoros killed or repelled white mercenaries who tried to seize control of part of the Indian Ocean archipelago nation Feb. 22. The apparent coup attempt was launched in the island of Moheli in the early hours by about 20 French-speaking soldiers wearing balaclavas who took over government buildings and cut telephone lines. The troops were reported to have distributed leaflets written in English, linking President Azaly Assoumani to Osama bin Laden.

Senegal cut diplomatic ties with Iran Feb. 22, accusing Tehran of arming separatist rebels in its restive southern Casamance region, where 16 soldiers have been killed this year. A cache of weapons concealed as building material intercepted in Nigeria in October was determined to be one of several Iranian shipments passing through Gambia and destined for the Casamance guerillas. "Senegal is outraged to see that Iranian bullets caused the death of Senegalese soldiers," said the statement announcing the breaking of ties.