IPS correspondents bring you independent perspectives on what is happening in Iran, Iraq and across the Middle East.

IRAQ: Sahwa Forces Challenge Government, and Win
Ahmed Ali and Dahr Jamail
BAQUBA – The conflict between Sahwa forces and the Iraqi government in Diyala has resulted in more power for the Sahwa.
The Sahwa, referred to as Awakening Groups by the U.S. military, were formed to battle al-Qaeda. Members are paid 300 dollars a month by occupation forces, and now number over 80,000 across Iraq. The Sunni-dominated groups form a counterweight to the government security apparatus, which has long been known to comprise primarily Shia militiamen.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41462

Sunni Insurgents Exploit U.S.-Sponsored Militias
Analysis by Gareth Porter
WASHINGTON – For months, U.S. President George W. Bush and Gen. David Petraeus have been touting the programme of recruiting tens of thousands of Sunnis into U.S.-financed “Awakening Councils” as a master stroke of Iraq strategy which has weakened al Qaeda in Iraq and helps reduce sectarian conflict through “bottom up reconciliation”.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41436

GAZA: Nowhere To Run To
Mohammed Omer
JABALYIA – An ambulance races through Jabalyia refugee camp to pick up the critically injured ? and the body parts strewn across the street. A normal day’s job these days.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41459

Israel Kills Some More Children
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41424

*****
AFGHANISTAN: Unable To Cope With Returning Refugees
Anand Gopal
KABUL – The rate of return of refugees to Afghanistan from neighbouring countries is causing tremendous stress to the Afghan government and society, government officials here say.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41450

=======================================
LEBANON – Two-part series by Mona Alami
=======================================
Peace Brings No Joy to Children
BEIRUT – Over the years, Lebanese children have faced war and bombings enough to make violence a staple in their lives. With the situation becoming increasingly volatile as Lebanese factions are gripped by a lasting and deadly discord, this vulnerable population is left at greater risk.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41448

Children Get to Work Early
BEIRUT – Walid is a wide-eyed boy of 10. His frail figure, of the kind common in such poverty-stricken areas, seems smaller than for a child his age. His hands are covered in dirt and paint. Here, in Ard Jalloul (the land of Jalloul), located in the populous Tarik Jdideh neighbourhood of Beirut, he works as a painter from 8am to 6pm for seven dollars a day.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41449

*****
Turkey ‘Slowing Down’ On Its Way to EU
David Cronin
BRUSSELS – Although talks on Turkey’s bid to join the European Union opened more than two years ago, the EU official overseeing those negotiations said this week that there has been a “slowdown” in the rate of progress being made by Ankara in respecting political liberties.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41447

*****
MIDEAST: Missile Goes Down a Union’s Throat
Mohammed Omer
GAZA CITY – Two F-16 missiles were all it took to bring down the five-storey headquarters of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41445

*****
UN Security Council Passes New Sanctions on Iran
Erkan Kaptan
UNITED NATIONS – After several weeks of closed door negotiations, the 15-member U.N. Security Council decided Monday to impose a third set of sanctions on Iran to pressure Tehran to halt its ongoing nuclear power programme.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41441

*****
IRAQ: ‘Not Our Country To Return To’
Maki al-Nazzal and Dahr Jamail
DAMASCUS – More Iraqis continue to flee their country than the numbers returning, despite official claims to the contrary.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41430

*****
Iran Nuke Laptop Data Came from Terror Group
Gareth Porter
WASHINGTON – The Bush administration has long pushed the “laptop documents” — 1,000 pages of technical documents supposedly from a stolen Iranian laptop — as hard evidence of Iranian intentions to build a nuclear weapon. Now charges based on those documents pose the only remaining obstacles to the International Atomic Energy Agency declaring that Iran has resolved all unanswered questions about its nuclear programme.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41416

*****
IRAQ: Occupation Strangles Farmers
Ahmed Ali and Dahr Jamail
BAQUBA – New plant diseases, attacks by occupation forces and escalating fuel prices are strangling farmers in Diyala province. Prior to the U.S.-led invasion of March 2003, farmers here struggled with plant diseases they believed were caused by bombs dropped during the U.S.-led war against Iraq in 1991.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41414

*****
U.S. Vets Break Silence on War Crimes
Aaron Glantz
SAN FRANCISCO – U.S. veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are planning to descend on Washington from Mar. 13-16 to testify about war crimes they committed or personally witnessed in those countries.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41398

Embattled Veterans Official Resigns Post
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41423

*****
LEBANON: No One Helps the Fisherman
Rebecca Murray
TYRE – On the afternoon of his grandfather’s funeral, Ismael waded out to the sea rocks near the old Tyre lighthouse and looked out over the choppy water. He greeted his friends passing by in a fluka --- a small, handcrafted wooden fishing vessel — and lit the dynamite fuse in his hand.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41392

For more IPS reporting on the Middle East – www.ipsnews.net/middle.asp

Iraq: Beyond the Green Zone – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/iraq/index.asp

Iran: The Parthian Shot – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/iran/index.asp

Holy Land/Unholy War – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/israel_palestina/index.asp

Afghan Divide – www.ipsnews.net/afghanistan/index.asp

View From the U.S.: Bush at War – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/warII/index.asp

Inter Press Service News Agency (IPS), the world’s leading provider of information on global issues, is backed by a network of journalists in more than 100 countries. Its clients include more than 3,000 media organisations and tens of thousands of civil society groups, academics, and other users.

IPS focuses its news coverage on the events and global processes affecting the economic, social and political development of peoples and nations.

Visit Inter Press Service at www.ipsnews.net