DUBAI, 27 May 2007 (IRIN) - CONTENTS:

IRAQ: Domestic violence against children on the rise Muhanned Sulaiman, Iraq "My tongue was cut off to stop me talking" IRAQ: Aid organisations reaffirm secular, humanitarian principles IRAQ: Bureaucracy, security situation to blame for poor distribution of medical supplies Nafisa Ridwan, Iraq - "Mine is a dirty and miserable life" IRAQ: Sunni extremists threaten to kill Christian converts in north ISRAEL-OPT: Residents of Sderot flee Palestinian rocket barrage Yael Levi, 34: 'I don't sleep at night because I am afraid for my children"' LEBANON: Yousef Abu Radi, Lebanon "On the way to the hospital I realised that my mother had died" LEBANON: Thousands flee fighting as army accused of shelling relief convoy LEBANON: Bombardment may spark Palestinian uprising, warn analysts LEBANON: Crisis deepens as relief still not reaching Palestinians besieged by fighting LEBANON: Emergency workers struggle to evacuate injured as fighting in Palestinian camp rages LEBANON: Palestinians face siege after 11 Lebanese soldiers killed OPT: Humanitarian work resumes in Gaza as factional fighting ends Maryam Al Muqayyed, 60: 'The wheel of life has completely stopped' YEMEN: Journalists concerned about censorship of news websites YEMEN: Country on alert as locust swarms increase

IRAQ: Domestic violence against children on the rise

Mental health specialists say there has been an increase in domestic violence against children largely a result of the violence that has gripped Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003. They say the violence has affected people's behaviour.

"We have observed that there has been an increase in the number of cases of aggression against children in Iraq and the main perpetrators of this aggression are the children's own parents. Their aggressive behaviour is seriously affecting the daily life of thousands of innocent children," said Ala'a al-Sahaddi, vice-president of the Iraq Psychologists Association (IPA).

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72350

Muhanned Sulaiman, Iraq "My tongue was cut off to stop me talking"

Thirty-eight-year-old Muhanned Sulaiman, says he cannot forget the day insurgents cut off most of his tongue after he decided to stop working for them. With a wife and two children to support, he was scared, but he had grown tired of the daily grind of a dangerous occupation and wanted to find an alternative job to support his family.

He spoke with IRIN using hand signs and by writing on a piece of paper with the help of his wife, Hanan. He kept on sobbing during the interview as he recollected how terrible his days as an insurgent were, and how difficult it was for doctors to stop his bleeding.

http://www.irinnews.org/HOVReport.aspx?ReportId=72320

IRAQ: Aid organisations reaffirm secular, humanitarian principles

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have reaffirmed their professional, secular and humanitarian principles after accusations they were "missionaries in disguise". The accusations were that Christian missionaries in Kurdistan have been using aid to entice young Muslims to convert to Christianity.

"We aren't forcing people to convert to Christianity. Our duty is to assist Iraqis who desperately need assistance. In the course of our work, sometimes we find people who want to know more about Christ and his beliefs and if they decide to convert, it isn't because we are forcing them or promising them money," said Eduardo Marotto, spokesperson for the Christ's Peace Organisation, a missionary Christian organisation which provides aid in Iraq.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72323

IRAQ: Bureaucracy, security situation to blame for poor distribution of medical supplies

The centralized distribution of medicines in Iraq has meant hospitals have not been able to stock sufficient quantities, some doctors and analysts say.

At present, every drug entering Iraq has to be tested by Kimadia, the government department responsible for quality control of medicines. All drugs go through the same procedure, regardless of their origin, or even if they have already been tested by the World Health Organization (WHO).

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72282

Nafisa Ridwan, Iraq - "Mine is a dirty and miserable life"

Nineteen-year-old Nafisa Ridwan says she was forced to work as a sex worker to feed her younger brothers after her father died in an attack in the capital, Baghdad. With her mother seriously sick with a heart condition and without anyone to look after the family, she had to resort to prostitution after failing to find other work.

She gets enough money to feed herself, her mother and three younger brothers, and is able to buy medicine for her mother.

http://www.irinnews.org/HOVReport.aspx?ReportId=72262

IRAQ: Sunni extremists threaten to kill Christian converts in north

A Sunni extremist group - al-Qaeda in Iraq - has threatened to kill Muslim youths in the northern city of Sulaimaniyah should they convert to Christianity or Zoroastrianism.

"We are hunting those who have converted to Christianity or Zoroastrianism as we consider them renegades and God's punishment must be implemented by killing them," said a statement posted on the al-Farouk website on 22 April and signed by al-Qaeda in Iraq.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72266

ISRAEL-OPT: Residents of Sderot flee Palestinian rocket barrage

Thousands of Israelis have been evacuated from the town of Sderot near the Gaza Strip after a barrage of Qassam rocket fire from Palestinian militants.

"We are afraid. This morning at 7am a Qassam landed three metres from my kitchen, where I was. There was a whistling sound then a huge boom. I fainted. The government has to help us," said 17-year-old schoolgirl Yamit Da'an as she boarded one of 10 buses taking terrified families from the town on Thursday.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72236

Yael Levi, 34: 'I don't sleep at night because I am afraid for my children"'

Yael Levi, 34, a resident of Sderot in Israel, narrates her suffering because of recent attacks from the Gaza Strip: "I'm very sad and very afraid because of the Qassam rocket attacks from Gaza. I feel very lonely in Sderot because the city is not protecting us. Our children are afraid - they are crying and saying they want to leave.

"Last night we didn't have any electricity because the rockets landed behind our home at 11pm and knocked out the supply. They made a sound that was so loud and forceful we thought the house had been hit.

http://www.irinnews.org/HOVReport.aspx?ReportId=72238

LEBANON: Yousef Abu Radi, Lebanon "On the way to the hospital I realised that my mother had died"

Yousef Abu Radi, 12, was hit by shrapnel when a civilian bus fleeing Nahr al-Bared, a Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon, came under fire on Wednesday afternoon. Dozens of civilians have been killed in five days of fighting between the Lebanese army and Fatah al-Islam, a radical Islamist group based in the camp. At least 50 soldiers and militants have also been killed.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72359

LEBANON: Thousands flee fighting as army accused of shelling relief convoy

At least 10,000 Palestinians from Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in northern Lebanon have fled to neighbouring Beddawi camp following a lull in fighting between the Lebanese army and Islamist militants, according to an official in one of the schools over-run with an influx of displaced people.

"We estimate 10,000 people have entered Beddawi camp since late afternoon yesterday [Tuesday]," Nadar Abdel Ghani, head teacher at Kawkab School in Beddawi camp, told IRIN.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72337

LEBANON: Bombardment may spark Palestinian uprising, warn analysts

Lebanon's government is framing its fight against Islamist extremists based in a Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon as an existential fight between freedom and terrorism.

Economy Minister Sami Haddad told CNN on Monday night his army was battling "international terrorists" from the Sunni militant group Fatah al-Islam and that there was no friction between Sunnis and Shias in Lebanon.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72291

LEBANON: Crisis deepens as relief still not reaching Palestinians besieged by fighting

A shaky ceasefire has failed to alleviate the worsening humanitarian crisis inside Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon, where over 40,000 civilians remained trapped as fighting between the Lebanese army and Islamic militants entered its third day.

Though the army appeared to have eased its artillery and tank bombardment of positions suspected to be held by radical Sunni fighters from Fatah al-Islam, key relief organisations remained unable to access the camp to deliver aid to those in need.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72294

LEBANON: Emergency workers struggle to evacuate injured as fighting in Palestinian camp rages

Emergency aid workers have been fired upon as they struggle to evacuate injured and dead Palestinians from Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in north Lebanon as fighting between the Lebanese Army and militants from Fatah al-Islam continued into a second day.

Saeed Taweyee, an emergency relief coordinator with the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRC), told IRIN that on Sunday his ambulance was fired on twice as it entered Nahr al-Bared, where Islamist militants have been battling army troops in the worst internal violence to hit Lebanon since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72276

LEBANON: Palestinians face siege after 11 Lebanese soldiers killed

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in refugee camps across Lebanon could face an economic crisis, warned analysts, after 11 Lebanese Army soldiers were killed in heavy clashes with Islamist militants based in Nahr al-Bared camp near the northern city of Tripoli. (See Nahr al-Bared slideshow)

In what observers say is the worst fighting to hit Tripoli in two decades, army tanks opened fire on positions inside Nahr al-Bared camp held by militants from Fatah Islam, a Sunni al-Qaeda-styled group. The group's presence spurred the army to close public access to the camp earlier this year, devastating local incomes.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72259

OPT: Humanitarian work resumes in Gaza as factional fighting ends

As Israeli operations against suspected Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip increase and internal violence wanes, some humanitarian organisations are resuming work in the troubled enclave which remains closed off from the rest of the world.

The Rafah Crossing, the only crossing to destinations outside Israel, has been closed for over a week. The other crossings lead to Israel, and most Palestinians from Gaza, barring exceptional humanitarian cases, are not able to obtain the requisite permits.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72329

Maryam Al Muqayyed, 60: 'The wheel of life has completely stopped'

Maryam Al Muqayyed, 60, a resident of the Gaza Strip in the occupied Palestinian Territories, is one of thousands of Palestinians caught up in intense infighting over recent days. She recounts how the conflict has completely disrupted her life:

"The wheel of life has completely stopped in places where clashes have erupted. Shops are closed and streets are empty except for the armed men who took up positions at junctions and in main streets. All the shops are closed and no one dares go into the streets

http://www.irinnews.org/HOVReport.aspx?ReportId=72234

YEMEN: Journalists concerned about censorship of news websites

The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate (YJS) says it is worried about censorship of news websites in the wake of clashes in the northern province of Sa'ada between government forces and Shia rebels.

The country's Ministry of Telecommunications has blocked two news websites that it said failed to follow instructions, YJS Secretary-General Marwan Dammaj told IRIN. "The Ministry of Information has issued instructions to journalists and editors not to cover the war in Sa'ada in a way that runs counter to the official media's reporting," Dammaj said.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72302

YEMEN: Country on alert as locust swarms increase

Yemen's Desert Locusts Control Centre (DLCC) has declared a state of emergency after swarms of locusts descended on three provinces in the south. There are fears that, if not controlled, the locusts could head for agricultural land in mountainous areas and threaten food production, as they often thrive in areas planted with grains, such as millet and sorghum.

Separate swarms of locusts have descended on some 150 square kilometers of the southeastern provinces of Hadhramaut, Shabwa and al-Mahrah, according to the DLCC.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72257

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