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Algerian Protests Continue amid Public Dismay

FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators hold flags and banners as they return to the streets to press demands for wholesale democratic change well beyond former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika's resignation in Algiers, Algeria April 19, 2019. REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators hold flags and banners as they return to the streets to press demands for wholesale democratic change well beyond former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika's resignation in Algiers, Algeria April 19, 2019. REUTERS
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Algerian Protests Continue amid Public Dismay

FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators hold flags and banners as they return to the streets to press demands for wholesale democratic change well beyond former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika's resignation in Algiers, Algeria April 19, 2019. REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators hold flags and banners as they return to the streets to press demands for wholesale democratic change well beyond former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika's resignation in Algiers, Algeria April 19, 2019. REUTERS

Whilst a political flurry continues to storm Algeria, thousands of the North African state’s citizens are expected to take to the street in a fresh wave of protests against former regime stalwarts remaining in power.

Demanding the safe transition to civilian rule, Algerians are demanding Army Chief General Gaid Salah allows the setting up of transitional bodies ahead of any election, arguing the existing institutions are too marred by corruption for a legitimate vote to take place.

The army has backed the July 4 presidential polls, which were announced following the resignation of ailing leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika last month in the wake of mass protests.

On May 4 the former president's younger brother, Said Bouteflika, was arrested along with former secret service head General Mohamed Mediene and intelligence chief Athmane Tartag. A former Bouteflika loyalist, Salah played a key role in his downfall by calling for the president's impeachment just hours before he stepped down.

But since, heated conflict between military authorities and protesters has been broiling as the former regime’s elite continue to meddle with governance and public affairs.

There has also been implicit pushback against politicians who encouraged the popular movement. Some are being barred from speaking to youth at universities.

“Professors at the University Mohamed Boudiaf - M'sila had invited me to present a lecture about the situation in the country in the light of mobility. I was supposed to present Thursday. However, I was later informed that the dean refused on the grounds that the library is reserved for a certain activity,” leader of the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP) Ahmed Benbitour told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“I do not want to explain or interpret anything, but the professors considered it a political stance on the dean’s part,” Benbitour added.

Similar attempts at stifling dissent were spotted across the country as local authorities attempted to silence activists involved in the popular movement by limiting their access to speaking platforms.

The well-known sociologist Nasser Jabi and the famous lawyer Mustafa Bushashi, for example, were banned from lecturing at universities for undeclared reasons.

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Arab World

Jordan Arrests Three Suspects in Deadly Church Attack

A Jordanian security officer guards a church (Reuters)
A Jordanian security officer guards a church (Reuters)
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Jordan Arrests Three Suspects in Deadly Church Attack

A Jordanian security officer guards a church (Reuters)
A Jordanian security officer guards a church (Reuters)

Jordanian security forces have arrested three suspects in connection with an attack on a church that killed nine people, state television reported on Monday.

The attack, in which gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church on Friday in the village of Hamoud in Karak governorate, about 120 km (75 miles) southwest of the capital Amman, also wounded 40 others. The shooting lasted several minutes, witnesses ‌said.

Jordan's Public Security ‌Directorate said security forces located the three ‌suspects ⁠early on Monday ⁠hiding in an abandoned house in Karak. The suspects refused to surrender and opened fire on security forces, who returned fire and arrested all three after they were wounded, the directorate said in a statement carried on state media.

No security personnel were injured, and a number of firearms ⁠and ammunition were found in the suspects' ‌possession after their arrest, reported Reuters.

"Terrorism has ‌no place among us," the directorate said, adding that the suspects ‌had met their "just fate".

The Public Security Directorate did not ‌identify the suspects' affiliation or say whether they belonged to any militant group.

Jordanian authorities have said the attack was carried out by "extremist terrorists", but it was too early to determine whether they had ‌links to known groups inside or outside Jordan. There has been no claim of ⁠responsibility.

Interior Minister ⁠Mazen al-Faraya said on Monday authorities were reviewing the circumstances that led young people towards extremism and would hold accountable anyone found to have participated in the attack.

King Abdullah has ordered security forces to respond with an "iron fist" to the rare attack on Jordan's Christian minority.

Such violence is highly unusual in Jordan, a relatively stable state in the Middle East, though authorities say they have foiled several extremist militant plots over the years.

Arab World

Strike on Gaza University Kills Three

Mourners grieve during the funeral of three Palestinians at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on October 25, 2026, after they were killed in an Israeli strike on the Islamic University building. (AFP)
Mourners grieve during the funeral of three Palestinians at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on October 25, 2026, after they were killed in an Israeli strike on the Islamic University building. (AFP)
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Strike on Gaza University Kills Three

Mourners grieve during the funeral of three Palestinians at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on October 25, 2026, after they were killed in an Israeli strike on the Islamic University building. (AFP)
Mourners grieve during the funeral of three Palestinians at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on October 25, 2026, after they were killed in an Israeli strike on the Islamic University building. (AFP)

An Israeli strike on a university in Gaza City killed three people on Sunday, staff and a local hospital said, while the civil defense agency reported five others killed elsewhere in the territory.

Reached for comment on the strike at the Islamic University, the Israeli army said that it was currently under review.

Al Shifa hospital reported receiving three bodies and treating eight people who were wounded in the drone strike, with two sources at the university saying the dead were employees and the injured were students.

The university said the campus and its surroundings had been targeted twice on Sunday, condemning the attacks and mourning those killed in a statement.

Gaza's education ministry likewise condemned the strike, saying: "The global silence regarding attacks on students and universities serves as encouragement for the continuation of these crimes".

"This strike occurs at a time when the higher education sector is facing total annihilation, with 95 percent of the buildings belonging to academic institutions having been damaged as a result of the war," it continued.

"This heinous assault is part of a continuous series of attacks on education; over the past six days, 10 students and educators have been killed by the occupation's fire."

In a statement, the army said it had been "targeting a terrorist from Hamas' military wing".

"Following the identification of uninvolved individuals in the area, the munition was diverted in order to mitigate harm to them. The incident is under review," it said, without specifying whether those killed at the university were hit by accident.

A truce has been in effect in Gaza for over a year, but has failed to completely halt the violence there.

Gaza civil defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said five other people were killed on Sunday, three in strikes around the southern city of Khan Younis, one in central Deir al-Balah and one northwest of Gaza City.

One more person was wounded by Israeli gunfire in Jabalia refugee camp in the north.

Arab World

Commander of Yemeni Coast Guard: Our Duties Are Continuing Normally and Our Morale Is High

Yemeni Coast Guard Commander Major General Khalid al-Qamli. (Saba)
Yemeni Coast Guard Commander Major General Khalid al-Qamli. (Saba)
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Commander of Yemeni Coast Guard: Our Duties Are Continuing Normally and Our Morale Is High

Yemeni Coast Guard Commander Major General Khalid al-Qamli. (Saba)
Yemeni Coast Guard Commander Major General Khalid al-Qamli. (Saba)

Yemeni Coast Guard Commander Major General Khalid al-Qamli stated that three Houthi missiles targeted coast guard positions in the interim capital of Aden, causing infrastructure damage. He stressed that the attack did not halt operations, which continue normally with high morale.

Al-Qamli told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Three Houthi missiles targeted the Yemeni Coast Guard Authority in Aden, resulting in infrastructure damage.”

The Interior Ministry said two missiles struck on Saturday the coast guard headquarters at the ministry’s offices, while a third hit the coast guard building in the Tawahi district.

It noted that the targeting of security and service facilities is an extension of previous assaults on civilian and vital infrastructure in Aden. This includes Aden International Airport, which has been subjected to ballistic missile and drone attacks on multiple occasions.

It added that the relevant authorities are continuing to gather information and evidence to assess the damage and are taking the necessary measures to boost security and protect both infrastructure and citizens.

The Coast Guard in the Gulf of Aden sector performs critical duties that include securing ports and their facilities, monitoring vessel traffic, maritime lanes, and the coastline, alongside escorting vessels when necessary and executing rescue operations.

These responsibilities carry heightened significance amid Yemen's ongoing efforts to bolster port security and streamline coordination among maritime security entities.

To that end, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) convened a workshop in Aden last August, drawing representatives from the Coast Guard, government bodies, and port authorities to address maritime security governance, information sharing, and the protection of port infrastructure.

In Shabwah, Governor Awadh Mohammed bin Al-Wazir praised a "qualitative security achievement" by the Rapid Intervention Forces, which dismantled a 13-member Houthi cell and seized a truck laden with weapons, ammunition, highly explosive improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and various projectiles.

The seized items included sniper rifles, ammunition, IEDs, and various projectiles. Preliminary investigations revealed the shipment was smuggled through a boat and received by members of the cell on the coast of the Radum district ahead of sending it to the Houthis.