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.

Moammar Qaddafi's regime has lost vast swathes of Libya's east to insurrectionists, it became clear Feb. 23. Opponents of Qaddafi appear firmly in control of Libya's coastal east, from the Egyptian border through to the cities of Tobruk and Benghazi, with government soldiers switching sides to join the uprising. Fighting has been reported near the capital, Tripoli.

The Libyan UN Mission—breaking with the regime of Moammar Qaddafi—requested an emergency meeting of the Security Council about the situation in Libya Feb. 21, urging the world body to install a no-fly zone over the country to prevent the regime from using warplanes and helicopters to bomb its own population. Deputy Permanent Representative Ibrahim Dabbashi said Libyans had to be protected from "genocide." After meeting once the following day, the Council took no action but said it would meet again soon. (Afrol News, Radio Australia, Feb. 22)

Thousands of protesters filled Tahrir Square in the center of the northern Iraqi city of Sulaimaniyah on Feb. 22, in an ongoing campaign against the two entrenched political parties that have divided power in the Kurdish autonomous region (KDP and PUK). Three young protesters have been killed and more than 100 wounded in Sulaimaniyah since the campaign began last week. Demonstrators carried banners reading, "Don't Forget Hosni Mubarak," referring to the Egyptian president who was overthrown after massive protests on Cairo's Tahrir Square. In a bid to prevent further violence, several demonstrators wore white shirts inscribed with the words, "Wall of Peace," and stood between the bulk of the protesters and security forces.

Protesters, apparently joined by members of the security forces, seized control over several eastern Libyan cities and towns Feb. 21, including Benghazi, al-Bayda and Durna. The cities were the scene of fierce fighting over the weekend, with protesters forming militias, evidently with the aid of defecting members of the security forces. The regime is reportedly resorting to "mercenaries" from African countries to beat back the militias. Fighting has now spread to the capital, Tripoli, where helicopters and warplanes are reportedly firing from the air on protesters. State TV headquarters, the Interior Ministry building and the offices of the "People's Committees" that are the pillar of the regime were torched by the Tripoli protesters. The whereabouts of strongman Moammar Qaddafi are not known.

From MichaelMoore.com, Feb. 20:

'We Stand With You as You Stood With Us':
Statement to Workers of Wisconsin by Kamal Abbas of Egypt's Centre for Trade Unions and Workers Services

About Kamal Abbas and the Centre for Trade Unions and Workers Services:
Kamal Abbas is General Coordinator of the CTUWS, an umbrella advocacy organization for independent unions in Egypt. The CTUWS, which was awarded the 1999 French Republic's Human Rights Prize, suffered repeated harassment and attack by the Mubarak regime, and played a leading role in its overthrow. Abbas, who witnessed friends killed by the regime during the 1989 Helwan steel strike and was himself arrested and threatened numerous times, has received extensive international recognition for his union and civil society leadership.