A look at the latest developments in political unrest across the Middle East on Monday:
LIBYA
Rebels move on Brega, a vital oil port that has changed hands several times during the conflict with ruler Moammar Gadhafi’s forces. Italy recognizes the rebels as Libya’s government, and Gadhafi sends an envoy to Greece, Malta and Turkey, possibly looking for a diplomatic way to end the crisis.
YEMEN
At least 12 demonstrators are killed in the southern city of Taiz when security forces open fire, some from rooftops. Some protesters are shot to death and others are trampled as the crowd scatters in panic. President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in power for 32 years, rejects demands to resign as the West looks for a peaceful transition to replace Saleh, a U.S. ally in the struggle against al-Qaida.
BAHRAIN
Iran and the Saudi Arabia-led Gulf Cooperation Council spar over unrest in Bahrain. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denounces the GCC presence of 1,500 soldiers in Bahrain, and the GCC condemned what it called Iran’s attempt to aggravate sectarian tension there. Demonstrators, let by majority Shiite Muslims, have been pressing for an end to a 200-year-old Sunni dynasty in Bahrain, home of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet.
SYRIA
A new governor is sworn in to rule the troubled Daraa province, center of anti-government protests in which at least 80 people have been killed. Replacing the governor is one of the gestures by President Bashar Assad aimed at defusing the protests.
EGYPT
A grandniece of assassinated President Anwar Sadat is kidnapped and held for $840,000 ransom. She is released after the ransom is paid. Police recover some of the money. The incident underlines a wave of lawlessness since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak’s regime, when police were pulled from the streets.
