Sectarian split grows on eve of new Syria talks
On 1 January Saudi Arabia put to death Sheikh Nimr Al-Nimr, a Shia cleric and leader of reformist opposition. 46 other prisoners were killed on the same day. Saudi Arabia carried out a total of 157 death sentences in 2015, putting it third in the world behind Iran (more than 289 judicial killings in 2014) and China (figures secret, but Amnesty’s last estimate was 1718-plus in 2008). Saudi authorities said that most of the 46 were Al Qaeda or other Sunni dissidents. But some were Shia. The executions have further sharpened Shia-Sunni polarisation in the whole region. Iran may now pull out of...