What does the future hold for Syria?

[EMT]

At least 23 protesters have been killed during anti-government rallies in the southern Syrian city of Deraa today. There are also unconfirmed reports of deaths in Homs, Duma and Harasta, as protests swept the country. The deaths occurred after Friday prayers when security forces opened fire with rubber-coated bullets and live rounds to disperse stone-throwing protesters.

In the east, thousands of ethnic Kurds also demonstrated for reform despite the Syrian president's offer this week to ease rules which bar many Kurds from citizenship. Separate protests erupted in the western port city of Latakia, Tartus, Baniyas, Homs, near the Lebanese border, in Edlibin the northwest of the country and in other cities.

Gunfire was also heard in Harasta, a suburb of the capital, Damascus, where three people were said to have been killed. Another two protesters were killed in Homs, according to unconfirmed reports. The official SANA news agency said 19 members of the security forces were killed and 75 were wounded by "armed groups" in Daraa. "According to an interior ministry source, there were 19 martyrs among the police and security forces and 75 wounded by armed groups which used live ammunition in Daraa," the agency said.

Al Jazeera's Rula Amin, reporting on Friday from Douma, another Damascus suburb, said there were no security forces visible in the area. But "it's a new situation in Syria", she said. "We saw thousands of people taking to the streets after Friday prayers, from all walks of life: young and old, professionals and not professionals, educated, not educated, there were some Islamists, some nationalists. At least 10 people were killed last Friday in Douma, seen as another focal point of protests where demonstrators have set up a vigil outside the mosque.

Protesters killed in Syrian town - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

 

[EMT]

Syria has been under emergency law since the Baath Party, took power in 1963 and banned all opposition.

March 16 - Security forces break up a silent gathering in Marjeh square in Damascus of about 150 protesters who hold up pictures of imprisoned relatives and friends. The next day human rights group Amnesty International condemns the violent crackdown by security forces. Witnesses told the rights group at least 30 people were arrested.

March 18 - Security forces kill three protesters in Daraa, residents of the southern town say. The demonstrators were taking part in a peaceful protest demanding political freedoms and an end to corruption in Syria. The protest was triggered by the arrest of teenagers writing anti-government graffiti on walls. Smaller protests take place in the central city of Homs and the coastal town of Banyas.

March 20 - Crowds set fire to the headquarters of the ruling Baath Party in Daraa, residents say. "No, no to emergency law. We are a people infatuated with freedom!" marchers chant.

March 21 - In Daraa, hundreds of black-uniformed security forces line the streets but do not confront thousands of mourners marching at the funeral of a protester killed in Daraa.

March 22 - Hundreds of people march in Daraa and Nawa demanding freedom. It is the fifth straight day of demonstrations challenging the government.

March 23 - Syrian forces kill six people in an attack on protesters in the Omari mosque complex in Daraa, and later open fire on hundreds of youths marching in solidarity. An official statement says later that President Bashar al-Assad has sacked Faisal Kalthoum as governor of Daraa.

March 24 - Al-Assad orders the formation of a committee to raise living standards and study scrapping the emergency law in place in Syria for the last 48 years, his adviser says.

March 25 - At least 200 people march in Damascus and there are reports of at least 23 deaths around the country, including for the first time in Damascus. In Daraa, thousands march in funerals for some of the dead, chanting "Freedom". Witnesses say protesters haul down a statue of al-Assad's father, late president Hafez al-Assad, before security forces open fire from buildings. Amnesty International, the UK-based rights monitor, says at least 55 people have been killed in Daraa in the last week. Hundreds of people chant "freedom" in Hama, where in 1982 thousands of people were killed by Syrian security forces in a crackdown on Islamists.

March 26 - In an attempt to placate protesters, al-Assad frees 260 prisoners, and 16 more the next day. Twelve people are killed in protests in the town of Latakia. Al-Assad deploys the army there the next day.

March 27 - The army beefs up its presence in Daraa, focal point of bloody protests across the country.

March 28 - Armed forces fire into the air to disperse a pro-democracy protest in Daraa as the crowd chant "We want dignity and freedom" and "No to emergency laws". Amnesty International cites unconfirmed reports as saying 37 more people had been killed since March 25 in protests in Damascus, Latakia, Daraa and elsewhere.

March 29 - Al-Assad appoints Naji al-Otari, head of the government that resigned, as the new caretaker prime minister. Thousands of Syrians hold pro-government rallies after two weeks of pro-democracy protests in which at least 60 people have died.

March 30 - Al-Assad delivers a speech for the first time since the protests began. He blames foreign conspirators for the unrest but declines to elaborate on major reforms.

March 31 - The president orders an investigation into protest deaths in Daraa and Latakia. The state news agency SANA says a panel will study and prepare "legislation including protecting the nation's security and the citizen's dignity and fighting terrorism, paving the way for lifting the emergency law". It says the committee will complete its work by April 25. SANA says al-Assad has also formed a panel to "solve the problem of the 1962 census" in the eastern region of Hassake. Following the controversial census, about 150,000 Kurds living in Syria were denied nationality.

April 1 - Four people are killed after government forces use live fire against protesters in the Damascus suburb of Douma.

April 8 - Security forces kill at least 27 demonstrators in Daraa amid fresh protests against al-Assad's rule, hospital sources and witnesses tell Al Jazeera.

Ajazeera

 

[EMT]

Deaths reported in Syrian protests

At least five people are reported dead amid fresh protests near the restive Syrian city of Homs, but the identities of those killed remains unclear. Government sources told Al Jazeera that two policemen were killed in the town of Talbiseh on Sunday while other reports claimed protesters had been killed. Our correspondent Cal Perry, in Damascus, reported that more than a dozen people had been wounded in what officials said was a "co-ordinated attack from both rooftop sniper fire and fire from the ground".

He said it was unclear who was behind the firing. Officials blamed "foreign elements" while protesters said it was security forces dressed in civilian clothes. "The situation is incredibly chaotic", he said. The official news agency SANA reported that one policeman was killed in Talbiseh when "a group of armed criminals opened fire" on security personnel. It said a military unit "returned fire" and killed three members of the armed groups and wounded 15.

Online activists told Al Jazeera that two civilians had been killed and many injured in Talbiseh. They said security forces opened fire as mourners gathered for a funeral for a person killed in protests a day earlier. Many people were arrested, they said. They also said five protesters, including a 14-year-old boy, were killed when security forces and "government thugs" broke up a rally in Homs, using live ammunition. Officials said "unknown assailants" were shooting from vehicles at people on the streets in Homs. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the differing accounts.

Protesters beaten

Earlier on Sunday, about 300 anti-government protesters took to the streets in the southern city of Suweida. Witnesses said they were attacked and badly beaten by government supporters. Mazen Darwish, an activist in Damascus, said two people had been injured and taken to hospital. "Protesters were sitting in the square, chanting slogans for political freedom," he told Al Jazeera. "After a few minutes, people in civilian clothes attacked them."

There were also reports of demonstrations in Aleppo, Syria's second biggest city, in the coastal city of Baniyas, and in Homs. Suhair Atassi, a rights activist, said on Twitter that 400-500 people were protesting in Aleppo, chanting slogans for national unity. In the town of Hirak, outside the southern city of Daraa, thousands of mourners at the funeral of a soldier reportedly chanted slogans calling on the president to step down, Reuters news agency reported.

A relative of the 20-year-old soldier said his family was told he was accidentally electrocuted at his military unit near Damascus but mourners believed he had been tortured by security forces. Sunday's demonstration came a day after Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, said the country's decades-long emergency laws would be lifted within a week and also promised a number of other reforms.

Activists had called for protests across Syria on Sunday, which is Syria's Independence Day, commemorating the departure of the last French soldiers 65 years ago and Syria's proclamation of independence. The Damascus Declaration, an opposition umbrella group, called for peaceful protests in all Syrian cities and abroad to "bolster Syria's popular uprising and ensure its continuity".

'Blood of martyrs'

In a statement posted on its website, the Damascus Declaration said the government was responsible for killing and wounding hundreds of Syrians who have been calling for their legitimate rights in the past month. "The regime alone stands fully responsible for the blood of martyrs and all that will happen next in the country,'' the statement said. Other activists also called for protests through social network sites.

Assad promised on Saturday to end the emergency law, which had been a key demand of the protests which began one month ago. But the president coupled his concession with a stern warning that further unrest will be considered sabotage. George Jabbour, a former member of the Syrian parliament who was an adviser to Assad's father, the former president Hafez al-Assad, said he thought the proposed reforms should be enough to quell anti-government demonstrations. "It was greeted with, I suppose, satisfaction, by most people, maybe all. I'm glad he [said in his speech] that the lifting of emergency law will strengthen rather than weaken the security of Syria," he told Al Jazeera.

But our correspondent said what is more likely to keep protesters from the streets is gangs of armed pro-Assad protesters. "The security forces by and large have been replaced by pro-Assad individuals who carry various instruments of destruction - pipes, sticks, at times AK47s," he said. "On Friday, when I drove through a section of Damascus, there were a variety of individuals, two dozens perhaps, standing in the streets with pipes, and it was clear they were doing that to send a message - if you're going to protest, you're taking the risk to run into these forces and being beaten up."

Relatives' release urged

Within hours of Assad's speech on Saturday, about 2,000 protesters staged a sit-in in the suburb of Douma, demanding the release of relatives arrested on Friday during a major day of nationwide protests, activists said. The official SANA news agency also reported around 2,000 people demonstrated in the southern protest hub of Daraa late on Saturday, chanting slogans for "freedom" and the lifting of emergency laws.

The laws - in force since 1963 - restricts public gatherings and movement, authorises the interrogation of any individual and the monitoring of private communications and imposes media censorship. Assad has said armed gangs and a "foreign conspiracy" were behind the unrest, not true reform-seekers. SANA said on Sunday that security forces seized a large quantity of weapons hidden in a lorry coming from Iraq. It reported that the weapons were confiscated at the Tanaf crossing on the Syrian-Iraqi border. It said the shipment included machine-guns, automatic rifles, night vision goggles and grenade launchers.

Aljazeera

 

[Nonda]

U.S. secretly backed Syrian opposition


U.S. secretly backed Syrian opposition: report | Reuters

U.S. says not trying to undermine Syrian government


U.S. says not trying to undermine Syrian government | Reuters

 

[EMT]

Syria unrest: 'Bloodiest day' as troops fire on rallies

Protesters in Syria report 60 people killed by security forces - the highest death toll in five weeks of unrest against President Bashar al-Assad. Demonstrators were shot when they gathered following Friday prayers, a day after the country's decades-long state of emergency was lifted. Many deaths reportedly occurred in a village near Deraa in the south, and in a suburb of the capital, Damascus. At least 260 people are said to have died since unrest began last month.

Protesters - said to number tens of thousands across the country - chanted for the overthrow of the regime, Reuters news agency reports. Video images coming out of Syria show footage of many confrontations where live ammunition was used. President Assad's lifting of the emergency had been seen as a concession to the protesters. In their first joint statement since the protests broke out, activists co-ordinating the mass demonstrations demanded the establishment of a democratic political system.

Political unrest in Syria developed after revolts elsewhere in the Arab world, which saw the downfall of the Tunisian and Egyptian presidents and an ongoing civil war in Libya. UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was "extremely concerned" by reports of deaths and casualties across Syria and urged restraint on the country's authorities. "Political reforms should be brought forward and implemented without delay," he said. "The Emergency Law should be lifted in practice, not just in word."

'Rain of bullets'

The state news agency Sana said only that security forces had used tear gas and water cannon "to prevent clashes between protesters and citizens and protect public property", and "some" people had been injured. Deaths were reported by opposition activists and witnesses in Ezra, a village near the flash-point southern town of Deraa, and the Douma suburb of Damascus, as well as the Damascus district of Barzeh, the city of Homs and other areas of the country.

In Ezra, shooting began when protesters marched to the village mayor's office, and one of the dead is said to be a boy of 11. "Bullets started flying over our heads like heavy rain," a witness was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency. A witness in Douma told Reuters he had helped carry three people with bullet wounds to their legs. One resident in Homs, a city of 700,000 people in the west, told the BBC she had heard shooting and believed three separate protests were under way in the city. "The security forces are just dispersing the protesters using live bullets," said the resident, who did not wish to be named.

In Hama, a city in central Syria similar in size to Homs, security forces are said to have also opened fire on a crowd of protesters. International news organisations are largely refused entry to Syria at the moment, limiting the scope of the information they can gather about events there.

The demands issued by the "Syrian local organising committees" include:

• 
  An end to torture, killings, arrests and violence against demonstrators
  Three days of state-sanctioned mourning for deaths so far
  An independent investigation into the deaths of protesters and judicial proceedings in the light of evidence revealed
  Release of all political prisoners
  Reform of Syria's constitution, including a two-term presidential limit

'Armed insurrection'

Before the latest violence, the government insisted it was heeding protesters' demands and President Assad was pushing through a programme of reforms. Thursday's concessions included abolishing state security courts and allowing peaceful protests but other laws give the government wide-ranging powers to detain activists and suppress dissent. The new law requires Syrians to seek permission from the interior ministry for demonstrations. Some lawyers have said this continues to restrict the freedom of assembly in the same way as the emergency law.

President Assad said last week there would be no more "excuse" for demonstrations once the state of emergency had been lifted. Damascus has also accused Islamist militants, or Salafists, of waging an "armed insurrection" in Homs and Baniyas. Overall, the unrest poses the gravest threat to President Assad's rule since he succeeded his father Hafez 11 years ago.

BBC News - Syria unrest: 'Bloodiest day' as troops fire on rallies

 

[Askari Kanzu]

President Bashar al-Assad is committing a grievous mistake!

 

[Michelle]

Democracy!

 

[Michelle]

President Bashar al-Assad is committing a grievous mistake!

put yourself in his shoes and share with us what you will have done differently.....thanks in advance!:redfaces:

 

[Askari Kanzu]

Protesters were telling soldiers "You're our brothers" when soldiers started shooting at them, #Izraa Apr 22nd



A video shows a huge protest that took place in #Douma on Apr 22nd & people chanting against the regime

 

[Askari Kanzu]

put yourself in his shoes and share with us what you will have done differently.....thanks in advance!:redfaces:

I don't need to, as I have no ambition of becoming a president or engaging myself in politics. BTW, I am not here to lend my support to murderers!

 

[Michelle]

I don't need to, as I have no ambition of becoming a president or engaging myself in politics. BTW, I am not here to lend my support to murderers!

and who is talking of presidential/political ambitions here? I simply asked you to put yourself in their shoes since you are so good in pointing out mistakes ,i thought you could have an alternative to what those you call murderes are doing....:nerd:

 

[Askari Kanzu]

and who is talking of presidential/political ambitions here? I simply asked you to put yourself in their shoes since you are so good in pointing out mistakes ,i thought you could have an alternative to what those you call murderes are doing....:nerd:

What is your problem?

 

[Askari Kanzu]

'Nine killed' at Syria funeral processions
Last Modified: 23 Apr 2011 12:27

Four people have been killed in the Syrian town of Douma, a witness told Al Jazeera, after security forces on the ground and snipers on rooftops opened fire on a crowd of thousands of mourners gathered to bury protesters killed on Friday.

Army and security personnel also shot at mourners at a funeral procession in the southern town of Izraa. Eyewitnesses told Al Jazeera that five people had been killed there, four of them after having been shot in the chest. Several others were wounded.

The eyewitness in Douma said that the gunfire erupted during the processions on Saturday, in the largest of the towns that surround Damascus to the northeast. Eight people were killed and at least 25 injured in Douma when security forces fired upon pro-democracy protesters on Friday.

Snipers on Saturday had taken up positions on the top of a Baath Party building in the vicinity of the privately-run Hamdan Hospital, where residents had overnight formed a human shield around the main gate, in order to prevent security forces from arresting those who were injured and being treated inside.

Tens of thousands of mourners gathered across the country on Saturday to attend funeral processions for the more than 75 people who were killed during the deadliest day of protests in the country since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad first began five weeks ago.

In protest of the violence, two Syrian politicians have resigned from parliament

- Al Jazeera

 

[kilimasera]

Wanadiplomasia katika makao makuu ya Umoja wa Mataifa wanadadisi mswada unaolaani ghasia zinazoendelea nchini Syria.

Mswada huo uliopendekezwa na Uingereza, Ufaransa, Ujerumani na Ureno unataka serikali ikomeshe mashambulio dhidi ya raia.

Wanachama hao pia wanaunga mkono Katibu Mkuu Ban Ki Moon, ambaye amependekeza uchunguzi ufanyike kuhusu mauaji ya mamia ya waandamanaji wiki chache zilizopita.

Nchi zilizopendekeza mswada huo, zinamatumaini kuwa wanachama wa baraza la usalama watakubaliana kwa haraka kuhusu mswada huo na kuupitisha katika mkutano wao hii leo.

Baraza hilo limekuwa kimya kuhusu hali tete ilioko katika nchi za kiarabu ila tuu Libya. Wiki iliopita wanachama walishindwa kukubaliana kuhusu mzozo unaoendelea nchini Yemen.

Nayo serikali ya Marekani huenda ikaiwekea Syria vikwazo kama ishara kuwa inakerwa na hatua za serikali hiyo dhidi ya raia wanaoandamana.

Vikwazo hivyo huenda vikawalenga vigogo wa serikali na hata kuharamisha biashara kati ya Syria na Marekani.

Serikali ya Rais Obama imelaumiwa sana kwa jinsi ilivyoshughulikia mzozo unaoendelea Syria ikilinganishwa na hatua za serikali yake nchini Libya.

BBC Swahili - Habari - UN yakerwa na mauaji nchini Syria

 

[Alwaz]

Leo US imeshawaelekeza raia wake waondoke nchini Syria.Ukiona hivyo azimio la UN kuhusu NO TANK MOVING RESOLUTION liko njiani kupitishwa.
Dawa ni Bashar kutokufanya kosa kama la Gadhafi,asiruhusu raia yoyote wa us,france na,Italy UK kuondoka.Hawa wawe human shield yake.Jamaa hawana kheri na hawafanyiki vyema.
Pambana nao tu wao wenyewe au kupitia wafuasi wao kwa jina la rebels au pro democracy activists.

 

[EMT]

Leo US imeshawaelekeza raia wake waondoke nchini Syria.Ukiona hivyo azimio la UN kuhusu NO TANK MOVING RESOLUTION liko njiani kupitishwa.
Dawa ni Bashar kutokufanya kosa kama la Gadhafi,asiruhusu raia yoyote wa us,france na,Italy UK kuondoka.Hawa wawe human shield yake.Jamaa hawana kheri na hawafanyiki vyema.
Pambana nao tu wao wenyewe au kupitia wafuasi wao kwa jina la rebels au pro democracy activists.

Atawazuiaje hao raia wasiondoke?

 

[EMT]

Damascus and Deraa protesters face crackdown

29 April 2011 Last updated at 17:28

Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of the Syrian capital of Damascus and around the country. Witnesses said troops opened fire on demonstrators in the city of Deraa, where the unrest began in mid-March, reportedly killing 15 people. The security forces swamped the streets of Damascus and tear gas was fired as prayers ended, according to reports.

Rallies were reported in Homs, in the north at Qamishli and in the coastal towns of Latakia and Baniyas. Witnesses said troops opened fire on villagers marching on Deraa, which has been under military blockade since Monday. Fifteen bullet-riddled bodies of civilians had been received at a hospital near the city, a medical source told Reuters news agency.

'Soldiers killed'

Syrian state media said meanwhile that four soldiers had been killed and two others captured in a "terrorist" attack on their post in Deraa on Friday. That report cannot be verified either. Activists and human rights groups say the recent crackdown on anti-government dissent has left some 500 people dead.

There has been growing international criticism of the response to protests against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. At an emergency meeting on Friday in Geneva, the 47-nation UN Human Rights Council condemned the Syrian authorities. It adopted a revised US-led resolution denouncing "the use of lethal violence against peaceful protesters", by 26 votes to nine with seven abstentions.

EU officials are meeting in Brussels on Friday to discuss sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad's regime. As has become typical during months of protests in a number of Middle East countries, Friday was billed as a "day of rage" in Syria. Tear gas was fired at protesters in the old Midan area of Damascus, as demonstrations also flared in the suburbs of the city.

A BBC reporter in the capital, who cannot be named for security reasons, said a crowd gathered to shout anti-regime slogans after prayers at the city's Great Mosque. An imam called for calm and the men dispersed. Our correspondent later saw unidentified men wielding wooden sticks in the main square and police stopping vehicles to check passengers' identities.

There were also protests in the Kurdish city of Qamishli in Syria's north, and in the coastal towns of Latakia and Baniyas, which have seen regular marches in recent weeks. There are reports of two deaths in Latakia - the heartland of the ruling elite - after security forces opened fire there.

But the impression was the government was trying to avoid major bloodshed as the UN rights body held its meeting. Ahead of the protests, a notice on the Facebook page Syrian Revolution 2011 called for a "Friday of Anger". "To the youths of the revolution, tomorrow we will be in all the places, in all the streets," it said. "We will gather at the besieged towns, including with our brothers in Deraa."

Protests were backed this week by the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist organisation crushed by President Assad's father in the 1980s and banned ever since. "Chant with one voice for freedom and dignity," said the statement, thought to be the first direct appeal by the group. "Do not allow the tyrant to enslave you."

'Corpse clubbed'

In Deraa, at least 50 people are reported to have been shot dead in recent days. Some bodies are still in the streets as snipers are said to be targeting anyone who tries to retrieve the dead. Unverifiable video footage posted on the internet showed security forces clubbing a dead body in the street before dragging it away. Witnesses said water, communications and power had been cut off.

A military crackdown was launched in Deraa on Monday, with security forces backed by tanks forcing their way into the centre of the city. There are unconfirmed reports of divisions within the security forces and of soldiers refusing orders to fire on protesters. On Wednesday, 200 members of Syria's ruling Baath party resigned after issuing an angry public statement denouncing the repression. The resignations - mostly from around Deraa - follow those of 30 Baath officials from the coastal city of Baniyas, north-west of Damascus.

BBC

 

[Alwaz]

Atawazuiaje hao raia wasiondoke?

Kama mimi ni Bashar nawazuia raia wote wa nchi hizo kuondoka.Baada ya hapo nawachukua vikundi vidogo vidogo na kuwawekea kambi ndani ya kambi za jeshi.Ili niwatoe nalazimisha kutokupitishwa azimio lolote na UN kuhusu nchi yangu ya Syria.
Gaddafi alifanya kosa hilo ndio maana vituo vyake vya jeshi na hata ikulu vikapigwa.Kwa sasa ametia akili baada kuishika Misurata anataka ikiwa ni misaada basi yote ipitie ardhini na chini ya uangalizi wa jeshi lake.Anajua zile meli zinazokuja bandari ya Misurata zinaleta kila kitu kufanikisha vita dhidi yake.
Meli inayokuja kinyume na agizo hilo akiipiga kombora mimi nitashangilia.

 

[EMT]

Kama mimi ni Bashar nawazui raia wote wa nchi hizo kuondoka.Baada ya hapo nawachukua vikundi vidogo vidogo na kuwawekea kambi ndani ya kambi za jeshi.Ili niwatoe nalazimisha kutokupitishwa azimio lolote na UN kuhusu nchi yangu ya Syria.
Gaddafi alifanya kosa hilo ndio maana vituo vyake vya jeshi na hata ikulu vikapigwa.Kwa sasa ametia akili baada kuishika Misurata anataka ikiwa ni misaada basi yote ipitie ardhini na chini ya uangalizi wa jeshi lake.Anajua zile meli zinazokuja bandari ya Misurata zinaleta kila kitu kufanikisha vita dhidi yake.
Meli inayokuja kinyume na agizo hilo akiipiga kombora mimi nitashangilia.

Kwa grounds zipi?

 

[Alwaz]

Kwa grounds zipi?

GROUNDS ni kwamba ni halali kwa Syria kupambana na raiia zake waliochochewa na nchi za nje lengo la mbali likiwa ni kukatisha mahusiano ya Syria na HizbuLlaah ili Israel isiwe na adui tena aliyewahi kupigana naye kwa mafanikio makubwa.