N’Djamena, Chad
President a shoo-in: Chadian President Idriss Déby Itno was virtually guaranteed a first-round win in his bid for re-election this week, as all his main rivals boycotted the vote. Déby has been in power since ousting dictator Hissène Habré in a 1990 coup. He was elected democratically twice, then amended the constitution so he could stay in power for a third and now potentially a fourth five-year term. Opposition leaders said that his Patriotic Salvation Movement stole the parliamentary elections held in February and that they saw no chance for a free vote this week. Despite sitting atop oil, uranium, and gold deposits, Chad is one of the world’s poorest countries.
Sanaa, Yemen
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President to go: Yemen’s unpopular President Ali Abdullah Saleh has agreed to step down within a month in exchange for immunity for himself, his family, and his top aides. The deal, negotiated by a group of Gulf states, was accepted by Yemen’s opposition parties—but not by the thousands of protesters camped out in downtown Sanaa, who want to see justice for the 120 protesters killed in Saleh’s crackdown over the past month. “Saleh has committed crimes against the people, and we have the right to prosecute him,” Hassan Loghman, a protest organizer, told The Christian Science Monitor. “This is not anyone else’s decision to make.” The young protesters say they will accept only Saleh’s immediate resignation, because they don’t believe he will actually leave once the pressure is off.
Kandahar, Afghanistan
Taliban bust out: Nearly 500 Taliban prisoners escaped from Kandahar’s Sarposa prison this week through a 1,000-foot tunnel that Taliban militants had dug from a nearby safe house. The militants are thought to have spent months digging and hauling away many tons of earth in a massive operation just a mile from the Afghan National Police headquarters. The breakout raised suspicions that local government authorities were inept or scared into collusion with the Taliban, who have stepped up assassinations of their opponents over the past year. The Taliban claimed that 106 commanders were among those sprung. “This can have a significant impact on violence,” said analyst Felix Kuehn. “Each commander, even if they’re small-time commanders, will be able to go back to their communities, to their villages, to their social networks, and mobilize others.”
Kunar, Afghanistan
Al Qaida commander killed: The No. 2 leader of al Qaida has been killed in Afghanistan by NATO forces, NATO confirmed this week. Saudi national Abdul Ghani, also known as Abu Hafs al-Najdi, was the terrorist group’s main financial coordinator, in charge of moving money between Afghanistan and Pakistan. He also masterminded assassinations, kidnappings, and attacks on U.S. officials in Kunar province. “Abdul Ghani was able to streamline control of assets and provide considerably more funding to insurgent fighters,” NATO forces said in a statement. “This led to increased funds to provide weapons, explosives, and equipment to multiple insurgent attack cells.”
Islamabad, Pakistan
ISI called terrorists: Pakistan’s government was furious this week after WikiLeaks documents revealed that the U.S. had classified the Pakistani intelligence agency as a supporter of terrorism. The Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, or ISI, was listed as an “associated force” that provides support to al Qaida or the Taliban. Other associated forces included Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran’s intelligence services. The ISI has long been suspected of maintaining ties to the al Qaida–allied Haqqani network, a group it supported during the struggle against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s. “The ISI is being wrongfully defamed internationally,” said Interior Minister Rehman Malik. “The ISI is a patriotic organization which has a huge role in combating terrorism.”
Preah Vihear, Cambodia
Fighting Thailand: More than 20,000 Cambodian civilians fled this week as Thai and Cambodian troops fought running skirmishes and lobbed shells across their disputed and poorly demarcated border. At least 13 soldiers were killed in the clashes, the second border conflict between the two countries this year. In February, 10 soldiers were killed near Preah Vihear, an 11th-century Hindu temple claimed by both countries but awarded to Cambodia by an international court in 1962. In 2008, UNESCO accorded the site World Heritage status, and Cambodia began making plans to build tourist facilities there, further annoying Thailand. This week’s fighting started at the ruins of two other temples, 90 miles away, and soon spread to Preah Vihear. Each side blamed the other for starting the shelling, while prospects for cease-fire talks looked dim.
Fukushima, Japan
More evacuations: Radiation readings at the Fukushima nuclear power plant rose this week to the highest level since the March earthquake and tsunami knocked out cooling systems. The spike in radiation may make it impossible for TEPCO, the Japanese utility, to flood the containment vessel of reactor No. 1 with more water to cover exposed fuel. “TEPCO must figure out the source of high radiation,” said Hironobu Unesaki, a nuclear engineering professor at Kyoto University. “If it’s from contaminated water leaking from inside the reactor, TEPCO’s so-called water tomb may be jeopardized, because flooding the containment vessel will result in more radiation in the building.” The government has now advised residents of five towns just outside the 12-mile mandatory evacuation zone to move away because of the threat of long-term radiation exposure.
