Libyan rebels made further advances, taking control of the main roads leading from Tunisia and Algeria to Tripoli, thereby cutting off Muammar Qaddafi’s supply lines.
Several dozen bomb attacks across Iraq on one day killed at least 89 people and unnerved the government ahead of the withdrawal of American troops later this year.
International pressure mounted on Syria, where the regime’s security forces moved the focus of their ongoing crackdown from Hama to Deir ez-Zor, a city farther east. Human rights activists say at least 1,800 civilians have been killed in Syria.
Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, injured during an attack two months ago, left a hospital in Saudi Arabia but remained in Riyadh. He suffered severe burns when his compound in Sana’a was shelled in June.
The leader of Libya’s rebel movement, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, dismissed his cabinet following the killing of his military chief by a faction from his own side. Rebel troops captured the town of Bir Al-Ghanam, 80km south of Tripoli.
The trial of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak started in Cairo. He is charged with corruption and the killing of protesters, but pleaded not guilty. Mr. Mubarak’s sons, Alaa and Gamal, a former interior minister and six officials of the former regime are all on trial at the same time.
Government forces in Syria were reported to have killed at least 100 people since July 31st, mostly in the town of Hama.
Tens of thousands of Islamists, including members of the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists inspired by the puritanical zealotry of early Islam, filled Cairo’s Tahrir Square to call for a state governed by Islamic law.
General Abdel Fatah Younis, a former interior minister in Colonel Qaddafi’s regime who had defected and was commanding Libya’s rebel forces, was assassinated in murky circumstances near Benghazi.
Vigilantes loyal to Egypt’s military leaders attacked pro-democracy demonstrators in Cairo, injuring several hundred. The protesters are discontent with the pace of reform and called for the trial of senior figures. A cabinet committee said that both demands would be met.
Egypt’s military council announced a cabinet reshuffle in response to public protests. Over half of the cabinet ministers were replaced.
Libyan fighters, backed by NATO airstrikes, came close to seizing control of the eastern oil hub of Brega. Opposition leaders were buoyed by their recognition as Libya’s legitimate authority by the United States and others.
Mobs attacked the French and American embassies in Damascus, Syria. The attacks were a response to a visit to Hama by the French and American ambassador to protest against the ongoing government crackdown.
Thousands of Egyptians marched in central Cairo to demonstrate against the slow pace of reform and to demand the removal of the ruling military council. Meanwhile, 700 police officers involved in the killing of protesters during the revolution were sacked.
South Sudan celebrated its independence from Sudan on July 9th. The United Nations admitted the country as its 193rd member.
Two bombs in Taji, north of Baghdad, killed at least 35 people. Violence in Iraq is on the rise, six months before the planned departure of American troops.
Around 98.5% of Moroccan voters approved a new constitution proposed by King Mohammed VI, who faced pro-democracy protests earlier this year.
Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, the former dictator of Tunisia, was again convicted in absentia, this time of illegally possessing drugs and weapons. Ben Ali fleed Tunisia in January and now resides in Saudi Arabia.
The German parliament questioned the sales of 200 tanks to Saudi Arabia because of the country’s poor human rights record and participation in the crackdown on protesters in Bahrain in March.
The International Criminal Court in the Hague issued arrest warrants for Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, his son Saif Al-Islam, and his intelligence chief Abdullah Al-Senussi, on charges of crimes against humanity. Meanwhile rebel forces continued their advance on Tripoli.
Clashes erupted in Cairo’s Tahrir Square between police and people protesting against the slow pace of reform. Egypt’s prosecutor-general said he would form a committee to investigate the violence.
At least 150 opposition figures met in public in Damascus, Syria, to declare their support for the uprising and call on Bashar Assad to end his government’s crackdown. Syria’s army withdrew from Hama, where at least 73 people were killed since clashes erupted in June.
Demonstrations and killings continued in Syria after a speech by president Bashar Assad, who called for a national dialogue and promised reform. Assad said an election would be held in August but with no hint that his ruling Baath party would allow any opposition to compete.
Tunisia’s ousted president, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, and his wife were sentenced in absentia to 35 years for corruption and fined US$ 66m.
Dozens of Al-Qaeda members escaped from a prison in the port city of Mukalla in Yemen.
In Bahrain, eight pro-democracy campaigners, all Shias, were given life sentences for “plotting to overthrow the government”.
A series of bombings in Iraq killed at least 35 people, predominantly in Diwaniya, south of Baghdad. The attacks were presumed to have been carried out by Sunni extremists linked to Al-Qaeda.
Mahmoud Abbas and Khaled Meshal, leaders of respectively Fatah and Hamas, cancelled a meeting at which they were meant to select a prime minister. The news came as a blow to Palestinian hopes of unity.
At least 8,500 Syrians fled to Turkey after government troops entered the town of Jisr al-Shughour near the border. Demonstrations continued to spread across the country. Russian and Chinese governments seemed likely to block a UN Security Council resolution condemning the crackdown.
Five months after being nominated as prime minister of Lebanon, Najib Mikati, a Sunni supported by Hizbullah, at last got parliament to vote him formally into office.
Tunisia’s interim government said that ousted dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali will stand trial in absentia on charges ranging from corruption to drug-trafficking.
A party created by the Muslim Brotherhood agreed it would form a front together with the Wafd, an old liberal secular party that used to cooperate with the previous regime, to compete in Egypt’s general election scheduled for september.