Latest developments in Arab world’s unrest

July 31, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

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By The Associated Press

LIBYA

NATO warplanes bomb three Libyan state TV satellite transmitters in Tripoli, targeting a key propaganda tool that the military alliance says is used by Moammar Gadhafi’s government to incite violence and threaten civilians. Libya’s rebel movement, meanwhile, appears in disarray after the mysterious death of its chief military commander in a killing that some witnesses said was carried out by fellow rebel fighters who suspected him of treason.

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SYRIA

Syrian troops open fire on people throwing stones to stop a convoy from advancing toward an eastern oil hub, killing as many as three people, activists say, as government forces intensified a pre-Ramadan crackdown against protests calling for President Bashar Assad’s ouster. Activists have predicted that demonstrations will escalate during the Islamic holy month, which begins Monday, as both sides try to tip the balance in the more than four-month uprising.

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YEMEN

Government airstrikes in southern Yemen targeting al-Qaida-linked militants accidentally kill 40 pro-government tribesmen, a Yemeni security official and a tribal chief say. The botched airstrikes reflect the deteriorating security situation that has spread across the impoverished, heavily armed country since the popular uprising against longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh began six months ago.

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EGYPT

Hosni Mubarak’s trial on charges he ordered the killing of protesters during Egypt’s uprising will be held at a police academy on Cairo’s outskirts instead of a convention center in the heart of the capital, the head of Cairo’s appeals court says. The change appears to be linked to concerns over security during the ousted leader’s trial.