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The following are highlights of major Arab events that took place in 2008.

Major events that occurred in the Arab world in 2008 By Majda Al-Awadhi KUWAIT, Dec 28 (KUNA) -- The Arab world saw several major political, social, and economic events during 2008, the highlight of which was the Palestinian crisis and the Middle East peace negotiations.
This year also saw political developments in Lebanon, a military coup in Mauritania, and the Arab Summit in Syria.
The following are some of the major events that occurred in the Arab world this year: Palestine ========.
-- Jan 17: Israel imposes a siege on Gaza Strip, and thousands of Palestinian protestors storm into Egypt through the joint borders.
-- Feb 27: Israel wages a week-long assault on Gaza in response to the firing of Palestinian missions from the Strip at the Jewish state. The assault claims the lives of 130 people, mostly women and children.
-- Feb 28: 19 people are killed in Israeli air raids.
-- March 1: Israel wages the "Hot Summer" military operation on Gaza in which 63 Palestinians are killed.
-- March 2: The UN Security Council condemns escalating Israeli violence in Gaza and calls on it to honor international laws and conventions.
-- March 23: Yemen announces that the two mainstream Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, have signed an agreement for the commencement of dialogue.
-- May 21: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas inaugurates an investment conference aimed at boosting private ventures in the Palestinian territories.
-- June 19: A truce is reached between Israel and Hamas, with Egyptian mediation.
-- Sept 20: France and the Palestinian Authority sign an agreement for supporting the Palestinian judicial system.
-- Nov 10: Egypt calls Fatah and Hamas to the negotiation table, but the meeting is cancelled after Hamas protests political arrests made by Fatah.
-- Nov 5: Israel consolidates its siege on Gaza, and the shortage in fuel leads to a blackout, while humanitarian organizations warn of an imminent catastrophe in light of lack of food and medicine in the Strip.
-- Nov 26: The UN calls on donor states to provide USD 462 million for humanitarian assistance to Palestinians.
Lebanon ======.
-- May 21: Lebanese political factions agree to end the 18-month political standoff, following five days of meetings with Qatari mediation. They agree to General Michel Suleiman as president, and the formation of a national unity government.
-- May 25: Michel Suleiman is elected president.
-- Aug 12: The parliament endorses the new government formed by Fuad Siniora.
-- Aug 14: Lebanon and Syria hold their first joint summit since 2005, and agree on exchanging diplomatic representation for the first time in 60 years.
Sudan ====.
-- Jan 28: Brussels agrees to send a European force to Chad and Central Africa to protect 450,000 Sudanese refugees who fled from Darfur.
-- March 14: Chad and Sudan sign an agreement to completely resolve all conflicts between the two sides.
-- May 10: Rebels of the Justice and Equality Movement wage an attack on Darfur, killing 220 people, thereby prompting Sudan to sever relations with Chad the next day.
-- June 9: The Sudanese government signs an agreement with southern rebels for ending the conflict between the two sides.
-- July 14: General Prosecutor of the International Court of Justice issues an arrest warrant against the Sudanese president.
-- Aug 1: The UN Security Council votes for extending the mission of the joint UN-AU peacekeepers in Darfur for another year.
-- Nov 12: The Sudanese president announces an immediate ceasefire in Darfur.

 Somalia ======.
-- Feb 20: The US places the Somali Islamic Youth Movement on its list of terrorist organizations.
-- April 19: Bloody fighting breaks out in Mogadishu between Somali forces supported by Ethiopian troops and Islamic rebels, leaving eight dead.
-- June 2: UN Security Council issues a resolution allowing countries to cooperate with the interim Somali government to counter piracy in Somali waters.
-- June 9: The Somali government and the opposition coalition sign an agreement to stop all military activities in Djibouti, ending a 17-year civil war.
-- July 7: UNDP mission head Osman Ali Ahmad is killed in an attack targeting humanitarian workers.
-- Aug 20: UN Security Council extends the AU force mission in Somalia for six months.
-- Sept 25: Pirates hijack a Ukrainian cargo ship carrying tanks and weapons and hold 20 crew members hostage, demanding a ransom of USD eight million.
-- Sept 27: A Greek ship is hijacked off the Somali coast.
-- Oct 1: Four ships are attacked by pirates, but are able to avoid hijacking.
-- Oct 26: The interim Somali government and the opposition sign in Djibouti an agreement for the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces from Somali territories and enforcing a ceasefire.
-- Nov 8: Pirates hijack a Yemeni cargo ship.
-- Nov 10: The EU approves the first maritime operation in its history, to counter piracy in Somali waters.
-- Nov 15: Pirates hijack a Saudi oil tanker carrying two million barrels of crude oil, demanding a USD 25 million ransom.
-- Nov 17: AU peacekeeping forces deploy to Mogadishu.
-- Nov 20: UN Security Council issues a resolution imposing sanctions on any Somali party working to hinder peace efforts.
-- Nov 24: Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa proposes the establishment of an Arab naval force to counter piracy in Somali waters.
-- Dec 14: An Indian navy ship arrests 23 pirates in the Gulf of Aden, among them 12 Somalis and 11 Yemenis.
Mauritania =========.
-- May 7: Mauritania's Prime Minister Zain Ould Zaidan resigns.
-- May 12: Newly-appointed Prime Minister Yahiya Ould Ahmad Al-Waqef forms a new government in which Islamists are included for the first time.
-- Aug 4: 48 MPs representing the ruling party resign to form a new party, thereby weakening the influence of the president.
-- Aug 6: A military coup topples Mauritanian President Sidi Ould Sheikh Abdullahi.
-- Sept 1: Interim government is formed.
-- Oct 20: The EU gives the military leadership until November 20 to reinstate constitutional rule and release the toppled president.
-- Nov 12: The toppled president is placed under house arrest in Nouakchott.
-- Dec 12: Toppled president released from house arrest.
Arab foreign affairs ===================.
-- Jan 6: Arab foreign ministers hold in Cairo an extraordinary meeting called for by Egypt and Saudi Arabia to discuss resolving the political crisis in Lebanon and developments in the Palestinian territories.
-- March 15: Arab foreign ministers hold their 129th meeting in Cairo, and express commitment to just peace in the Middle East as a strategic option.
-- May 11: Arab foreign ministers hold an emergency meeting to discuss state of affairs in Lebanon and Sudan.
-- Sept 8: Arab foreign ministers hold their 130th meeting, and discuss Lebanon, Palestine, and Iraq, as well as 32 topics related to joint political, economic, social and security action.
-- Nov 26: Arab foreign ministers hold an emergency meeting over the Israeli siege imposed on Gaza Strip.
Summits ======.
-- March 13-14: The 11th Islamic Summit is held in Dakar, Senegal. The Dakar Declaration underscores the importance of dialogue between Muslims and Christians, and denounces all forms of extremism.
-- March 29-30: The 20th Arab Summit is held in Damascus, Syria. Its final communique calls for resolving the Lebanese crisis and calls on political factions to elect a president and then form a national unity government.
It also expresses commitment to the Arab peace initiative, and calls for launching conciliation talks between the two Palestinian mainstream factions, Fatah and Hamas.
Moreover, it emphasizes the importance of security for Iraq and national conciliation among factions. It also calls on Arab states to reestablish diplomatic representation in Baghdad.(end) maa.ema