Askari Kanzu
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What does the future hold for Syria?
What does the future hold for Syria?
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EMT
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Obama signs off on sanctions hitting Syria, Iran
30 April 2011
US President Barack Obama has signed an order imposing sanctions on three top Syrian officials, Syria's intelligence agency and Iran's Revolutionary Guard. The sanctions freeze any assets the groups have in US jurisdictions and bar Americans from business with them.
Mr Obama authorised the penalties in the wake of a bloody crackdown on anti-government dissent that has left some 500 people dead, US officials said.Two relatives of President Bashar al-Assad were targeted by the sanctions.
The sanctions name Syrian intelligence chief Ali Mamluk; Mr Assad's cousin Atif Najib, the former leader of the Political Security Directorate in Deraa Province; and Maher Assad, Mr Assad's brother and commander of the Syrian Army's Fourth Armored Division, which is accused of carrying out the worst atrocities in the southern city of Deraa.
More: BBC News - Syria: Obama signs off on sanctions hitting Syria, Iran
30 April 2011
US President Barack Obama has signed an order imposing sanctions on three top Syrian officials, Syria's intelligence agency and Iran's Revolutionary Guard. The sanctions freeze any assets the groups have in US jurisdictions and bar Americans from business with them.
Mr Obama authorised the penalties in the wake of a bloody crackdown on anti-government dissent that has left some 500 people dead, US officials said.Two relatives of President Bashar al-Assad were targeted by the sanctions.
The sanctions name Syrian intelligence chief Ali Mamluk; Mr Assad's cousin Atif Najib, the former leader of the Political Security Directorate in Deraa Province; and Maher Assad, Mr Assad's brother and commander of the Syrian Army's Fourth Armored Division, which is accused of carrying out the worst atrocities in the southern city of Deraa.
More: BBC News - Syria: Obama signs off on sanctions hitting Syria, Iran
EMT
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'Tanks firing' in Syria protest city of Deraa
1 May 2011
Syrian soldiers and tanks have been firing in the city of Deraa, a centre of protests against President Bashar al-Assad's rule, residents say. They say soldiers have made arrests and fired to keep people indoors. Opposition websites are showing footage purportedly of a soldier who says he deserted after being ordered to fire on unarmed protesters in Damascus.
Activists say nearly 600 people have died in the crackdown on protests, which began in mid-March. At least 66 protesters were reported to have been killed, most of them in Deraa, on Friday. Activists said another six were killed on Saturday when the army seized control of a mosque which had become a centre for anti-government protests in the city.
Deraa has been the focus of government action against the protesters for the last week. Water, electricity and phone lines to the city have been cut. State television said security forces came under attack on Saturday by "armed terrorists" in Deraa and Homs, Syria's third city.
President Assad's government blames militants and "external forces" for the unrest, which it says have left nearly 80 security personnel dead. Foreign journalists are not being allowed into the country, and the exact picture of what is happening remains unclear.
BBC
1 May 2011
Syrian soldiers and tanks have been firing in the city of Deraa, a centre of protests against President Bashar al-Assad's rule, residents say. They say soldiers have made arrests and fired to keep people indoors. Opposition websites are showing footage purportedly of a soldier who says he deserted after being ordered to fire on unarmed protesters in Damascus.
Activists say nearly 600 people have died in the crackdown on protests, which began in mid-March. At least 66 protesters were reported to have been killed, most of them in Deraa, on Friday. Activists said another six were killed on Saturday when the army seized control of a mosque which had become a centre for anti-government protests in the city.
Deraa has been the focus of government action against the protesters for the last week. Water, electricity and phone lines to the city have been cut. State television said security forces came under attack on Saturday by "armed terrorists" in Deraa and Homs, Syria's third city.
President Assad's government blames militants and "external forces" for the unrest, which it says have left nearly 80 security personnel dead. Foreign journalists are not being allowed into the country, and the exact picture of what is happening remains unclear.
BBC
EMT
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How cameras hidden in pens outflanked Syrian regime
Western journalists are currently banned from Syria, but many locals are going to great lengths to show their uprising to the world, and the violent backlash they are encountering.
Syria: the brutal suppression of peaceful protesters. That is what is happening, right? That is the line the UN secretary general has taken and the international media, too. But having watched the Syrian crisis unfold for the last couple of weeks from Beirut, I am not so sure the brutal suppression of peaceful protesters quite captures it.
I should say first of all that the BBC is covering Syria from Lebanon, Reuters is reporting from Jordan and the Associated Press from Cyprus. The Syrian government has thrown out virtually all the foreign correspondents based in Damascus and will not let any new ones in.
It has also set about frightening local journalists - detaining them, calling them in for interviews and so on. In the old days it might have worked. The official news agency, Sana, would have pumped out the government's version and, having nothing else to work with, the international media would have reported it.
Of course, the Syrian government could not control what Western journalists would have said - and no doubt they would challenge the official line - but the government would have determined what the press was talking about and it would have defined the terms of the debate. But this time something new happened. Opposition activists have run an unexpected, brilliantly executed and brave campaign to film the repression and to put it online.
Despite the government attempts to close down local communication networks, pictures showing dreadful violence by security personnel have been posted on the internet - sometimes with more than one angle of the same incident. This did not happen spontaneously.
The cameras, some of them disguised as pens so people could film without being noticed, had to be purchased and distributed, and the same goes for the means to upload the images: satellite phones, foreign SIMD cards and even, I am told, small portable sat dishes.
'Scepticism'
And what story have the pictures told? Time and again it's been the brutal suppression of peaceful protesters. And, after Tunisia, Egypt and Bahrain it has been all too easy to accept this without much pause for thought. But journalists are meant to be sceptical about whatever is put in front of them.
The BBC - and I am sure it is not alone - has put considerable effort into checking the films, to the extent it can: does the weather in the picture match what it was like on that day, in that place? Does someone who has been to Deraa or wherever recognise the buildings? If the cameraman speaks, is the accent right? And so on.
I should perhaps say at this point that having seen countless numbers of these films, many of them showing gross acts of violence, I have no doubt they are genuine, and what is more the people who filmed them have taken great risks to tell the world what has been happening. But I do just wonder about what is not being filmed and what is not uploaded.
The Syrian ambassador at the UN this week said 51 security force personnel had been killed in the previous 10 days. Since then another six have been killed. The official Syrian news agency has published pictures of their funerals. It compares with, according to the opposition, between 200 and 300 civilians killed over the same 10-day period. So, far fewer, but still a considerable number.
In the West we have not heard much, if anything, about those dead 57 security personnel. Of course Sana does not help itself by writing up their stories in almost Soviet language: "We feel proud of our son because the martyr's blood remains the epitome of sacrifice for the sake of the homeland," one father is quoted as saying. A mother says: "The homeland needs its brave sons who are ready to defend it." It is clumsy and crude - but actually how did those soldiers die?
There was a man speaking on the BBC World Service the other night who made a fascinating remark. He said his wife's cousin, a colonel in the Syrian army, was shot dead with eight other soldiers on 10 April as they drove on the main road into Manias. Their car was raked with gunfire.
There is a lively debate about the incident on various blogs and I will spare you the details. But to cut a long story short, the opposition claimed the soldiers were killed by the state for desertion whereas the evidence strongly suggests they were ambushed and killed in cold blood. The government's old-fashioned effort to control the media coverage has been outflanked by a sassy opposition that has shaped what the PR experts would call "the narrative".
And even though they are operating in the free market of cyberspace, they have been remarkably effective. So the brutal suppression of peaceful protests? As the obsequious editor says to the fearsome newspaper magnate in Scoop, Evelyn Waugh's satire on foreign correspondents, "Up to a point Lord Copper".
BBC News - How cameras hidden in pens outflanked Syrian regime
Western journalists are currently banned from Syria, but many locals are going to great lengths to show their uprising to the world, and the violent backlash they are encountering.
Syria: the brutal suppression of peaceful protesters. That is what is happening, right? That is the line the UN secretary general has taken and the international media, too. But having watched the Syrian crisis unfold for the last couple of weeks from Beirut, I am not so sure the brutal suppression of peaceful protesters quite captures it.
I should say first of all that the BBC is covering Syria from Lebanon, Reuters is reporting from Jordan and the Associated Press from Cyprus. The Syrian government has thrown out virtually all the foreign correspondents based in Damascus and will not let any new ones in.
It has also set about frightening local journalists - detaining them, calling them in for interviews and so on. In the old days it might have worked. The official news agency, Sana, would have pumped out the government's version and, having nothing else to work with, the international media would have reported it.
Of course, the Syrian government could not control what Western journalists would have said - and no doubt they would challenge the official line - but the government would have determined what the press was talking about and it would have defined the terms of the debate. But this time something new happened. Opposition activists have run an unexpected, brilliantly executed and brave campaign to film the repression and to put it online.
Despite the government attempts to close down local communication networks, pictures showing dreadful violence by security personnel have been posted on the internet - sometimes with more than one angle of the same incident. This did not happen spontaneously.
The cameras, some of them disguised as pens so people could film without being noticed, had to be purchased and distributed, and the same goes for the means to upload the images: satellite phones, foreign SIMD cards and even, I am told, small portable sat dishes.
'Scepticism'
And what story have the pictures told? Time and again it's been the brutal suppression of peaceful protesters. And, after Tunisia, Egypt and Bahrain it has been all too easy to accept this without much pause for thought. But journalists are meant to be sceptical about whatever is put in front of them.
The BBC - and I am sure it is not alone - has put considerable effort into checking the films, to the extent it can: does the weather in the picture match what it was like on that day, in that place? Does someone who has been to Deraa or wherever recognise the buildings? If the cameraman speaks, is the accent right? And so on.
I should perhaps say at this point that having seen countless numbers of these films, many of them showing gross acts of violence, I have no doubt they are genuine, and what is more the people who filmed them have taken great risks to tell the world what has been happening. But I do just wonder about what is not being filmed and what is not uploaded.
The Syrian ambassador at the UN this week said 51 security force personnel had been killed in the previous 10 days. Since then another six have been killed. The official Syrian news agency has published pictures of their funerals. It compares with, according to the opposition, between 200 and 300 civilians killed over the same 10-day period. So, far fewer, but still a considerable number.
In the West we have not heard much, if anything, about those dead 57 security personnel. Of course Sana does not help itself by writing up their stories in almost Soviet language: "We feel proud of our son because the martyr's blood remains the epitome of sacrifice for the sake of the homeland," one father is quoted as saying. A mother says: "The homeland needs its brave sons who are ready to defend it." It is clumsy and crude - but actually how did those soldiers die?
There was a man speaking on the BBC World Service the other night who made a fascinating remark. He said his wife's cousin, a colonel in the Syrian army, was shot dead with eight other soldiers on 10 April as they drove on the main road into Manias. Their car was raked with gunfire.
There is a lively debate about the incident on various blogs and I will spare you the details. But to cut a long story short, the opposition claimed the soldiers were killed by the state for desertion whereas the evidence strongly suggests they were ambushed and killed in cold blood. The government's old-fashioned effort to control the media coverage has been outflanked by a sassy opposition that has shaped what the PR experts would call "the narrative".
And even though they are operating in the free market of cyberspace, they have been remarkably effective. So the brutal suppression of peaceful protests? As the obsequious editor says to the fearsome newspaper magnate in Scoop, Evelyn Waugh's satire on foreign correspondents, "Up to a point Lord Copper".
BBC News - How cameras hidden in pens outflanked Syrian regime
EMT
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Homs and Hama protesters killed, say activist
At least 13 people have been killed in anti-government protests in Syrian cities, human rights activists say. At least six people were killed in Homs, campaigners say, with deaths also reported in Hama. A prominent dissident was reportedly arrested in Damascus. President Bashar al-Assad's government has said it is taking decisive action against terrorists and criminals.
More than 500 people are thought to have been killed since mid-March as the security forces try to quash dissent. In a statement on Friday, the US said it strongly condemned the Syrian government's use of violence and mass arrests. "We again salute the courage of Syrian protestors for insisting on their right to express themselves and we regret the loss of life on all sides," the White House said.
The European Union is to impose travel bans and asset freezes on at least 13 senior Syrian figures for their part in the violent crackdown, which has also seen at least 2,500 people arrested. The sanctions will come into force later this month after being formally adopted by heads of government.
The move was welcomed by the US which said the Syrian government's "deplorable" actions warranted a "strong international response". Meanwhile, the UN said Syria had agreed to allow its humanitarian teams into the country. Troops and tanks have withdrawn from the southern city of Deraa, where a human rights group says troops carried out a 10-day "massacre".
Stones and bullets
Protesters had vowed to make Friday a "day of defiance". Thousands of people clashed with security forces outside a mosque in central Damascus after Friday prayers. Reliable sources also told the BBC there were protests in Darbasiya, Amouda and Zabadani, as well as in towns near Deraa, a city not far from the border with Jordan which has been a focus of the unrest.
Demonstrations were also reported in the Damascus suburb of Saqba, the town of Tal, north of the capital, and the coastal town of Baniyas. In Tal, witnesses told Reuters news agency that security forces had fired at protesters. Activists said at least six people were killed during a demonstration in Homs, Syria's third city and scene of a bloody crackdown last month, and at least one in Hama. However, some reports put the death toll in Hama as high as 15.
"Five bodies were picked up in the Bab al-Sibaa area [of Homs]. There are scores of injured protesters," one told the Reuters news agency. Ten Syrian soldiers and policemen were killed in Homs by "terrorist" groups, said a military spokesman quoted by the state news agency, Sana. None of these reports can be verified independently, as foreign journalists are not allowed into Syria.
Prominent dissident Riyad Sayf - who has spent years in prison since President Bashar al-Assad came to power - was also arrested, activists said. Earlier, troops - including tanks - were deployed in a number of cities and towns in anticipation of renewed protests. Numerous checkpoints were set up in Damascus and elsewhere, witnesses say. A heavy troop presence was reported in Homs, nearby Rastan, and Baniyas. Hundreds of families were said to be fleeing Baniyas, fearing the city - like Deraa - could come under siege. "It looks like they are preparing to attack the town, like they did in Deraa," one activist told the AFP news agency by telephone from the town.
'Indiscriminate killings'
Across Syria, protesters have been calling for greater political rights and personal freedoms. Some are calling for the downfall of the regime. The unrest in Syria poses the most serious challenge to Mr Assad since he succeeded his father, Hafez, in 2000. Foreign journalists are not allowed to enter the country, so it is difficult to verify the reports of deaths.
But one doctor, who planned to join those demonstrating, said the "indiscriminate killings and inhumane arrests have generated total disgust among the average Syrian". "Soldiers with rifles no longer deter people. The propaganda that this regime is the only guarantor of stability no longer washes," he was quoted as telling the Reuters news agency.
A Red Cross team has arrived in Deraa carrying medical supplies and humanitarian aid. The head of the Damascus office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Deraa "is a priority for us, because it is the city that has been hardest hit by the ongoing violence".
BBC News - Syria: Homs and Hama protesters killed, say activists
At least 13 people have been killed in anti-government protests in Syrian cities, human rights activists say. At least six people were killed in Homs, campaigners say, with deaths also reported in Hama. A prominent dissident was reportedly arrested in Damascus. President Bashar al-Assad's government has said it is taking decisive action against terrorists and criminals.
More than 500 people are thought to have been killed since mid-March as the security forces try to quash dissent. In a statement on Friday, the US said it strongly condemned the Syrian government's use of violence and mass arrests. "We again salute the courage of Syrian protestors for insisting on their right to express themselves and we regret the loss of life on all sides," the White House said.
The European Union is to impose travel bans and asset freezes on at least 13 senior Syrian figures for their part in the violent crackdown, which has also seen at least 2,500 people arrested. The sanctions will come into force later this month after being formally adopted by heads of government.
The move was welcomed by the US which said the Syrian government's "deplorable" actions warranted a "strong international response". Meanwhile, the UN said Syria had agreed to allow its humanitarian teams into the country. Troops and tanks have withdrawn from the southern city of Deraa, where a human rights group says troops carried out a 10-day "massacre".
Stones and bullets
Protesters had vowed to make Friday a "day of defiance". Thousands of people clashed with security forces outside a mosque in central Damascus after Friday prayers. Reliable sources also told the BBC there were protests in Darbasiya, Amouda and Zabadani, as well as in towns near Deraa, a city not far from the border with Jordan which has been a focus of the unrest.
Demonstrations were also reported in the Damascus suburb of Saqba, the town of Tal, north of the capital, and the coastal town of Baniyas. In Tal, witnesses told Reuters news agency that security forces had fired at protesters. Activists said at least six people were killed during a demonstration in Homs, Syria's third city and scene of a bloody crackdown last month, and at least one in Hama. However, some reports put the death toll in Hama as high as 15.
"Five bodies were picked up in the Bab al-Sibaa area [of Homs]. There are scores of injured protesters," one told the Reuters news agency. Ten Syrian soldiers and policemen were killed in Homs by "terrorist" groups, said a military spokesman quoted by the state news agency, Sana. None of these reports can be verified independently, as foreign journalists are not allowed into Syria.
Prominent dissident Riyad Sayf - who has spent years in prison since President Bashar al-Assad came to power - was also arrested, activists said. Earlier, troops - including tanks - were deployed in a number of cities and towns in anticipation of renewed protests. Numerous checkpoints were set up in Damascus and elsewhere, witnesses say. A heavy troop presence was reported in Homs, nearby Rastan, and Baniyas. Hundreds of families were said to be fleeing Baniyas, fearing the city - like Deraa - could come under siege. "It looks like they are preparing to attack the town, like they did in Deraa," one activist told the AFP news agency by telephone from the town.
'Indiscriminate killings'
Across Syria, protesters have been calling for greater political rights and personal freedoms. Some are calling for the downfall of the regime. The unrest in Syria poses the most serious challenge to Mr Assad since he succeeded his father, Hafez, in 2000. Foreign journalists are not allowed to enter the country, so it is difficult to verify the reports of deaths.
But one doctor, who planned to join those demonstrating, said the "indiscriminate killings and inhumane arrests have generated total disgust among the average Syrian". "Soldiers with rifles no longer deter people. The propaganda that this regime is the only guarantor of stability no longer washes," he was quoted as telling the Reuters news agency.
A Red Cross team has arrived in Deraa carrying medical supplies and humanitarian aid. The head of the Damascus office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Deraa "is a priority for us, because it is the city that has been hardest hit by the ongoing violence".
BBC News - Syria: Homs and Hama protesters killed, say activists
EMT
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Protesters 'shot dead' by Syrian forces
At least three people are reported killed in the southern Syrian town of Dael after security forces opened fire to disperse a demonstration, according to activists. The three men were gunned down as they stood on rooftops chanting "Allahu Akbar" or "God is greatest", the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP news agency.
The killings came with further demonstrations expected on Friday after midday prayers, with pro-democracy advocates reaching out to the army to join their 10-week uprising that has been met with a fierce military crackdown. As prayers ended, demonstrations were reported to be taking place in Idlib, in the country's north west, in Deir al-Zur in the north east, and in Qamishli, Amouda and Ras al Ain in the Kurdish areas in Syria's north.
At the demonstration in Deir al-Zur, security forces fired live ammunition at protesters demanding the "overthrow of the regim", the Reuters news agency reported, citing witnesses. The fresh violence comes after human rights group Amnesty International accused Syrian security forces of deliberately killing hundreds of demonstrators in the city of Deraa.
Al Jazeera has obtained exclusive video that activists say shows the funeral of a 13-year-old boy in Deraa. Activists say he was arrested on April 29 while protesting with family and friends. He was not seen again until Wednesday, when his body was returned to the village. The Syrian government's deadly crackdown has killed more than 1,000 people over the past two months, according to local co-ordination committees in Syria, which help organise the protests against the country's president, Bashar al-Assad.
The harsh crackdown has triggered international outrage and US and European sanctions, including an EU assets freeze and a visa ban on Assad and nine members of his regime.
G8 'appalled by deaths'
Group of Eight [G8] leaders attending a summit in France on Friday said they were "appalled" at the killing of peaceful protesters in Syria, and are considering "further measures" against the country. "We are appalled by the deaths of many peaceful protesters as a result of the sweeping use of violence in Syria as well as by repeated and serious violations of human rights," the leaders said in the communique on Friday.
But the statement refrained from an explicit proposal, contained in earlier drafts of the document obtained by the Associated Press, to act against Damascus in the UN Security Council. "Should the Syrian authorities not heed this call, we will consider further measures. We are convinced that only by implementing meaningful reforms will a democratic Syria be able to play a positive role in the region," it said. The shift in language to a vaguer threat of "further measures" may reflect reluctance from Russia, which has a veto in the Security Council.
Both Russia and China have been reluctant to support any UN resolution condemning Syria. Russia has in the past accused NATO of going beyond their brief on the UN resolution in Libya. More than 220 civil society organizations from across the Arab world appealed to the Security Council this week to adopt a resolution demanding an immediate end to the use of lethal force against protesters in Syria.
Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey's foreign minister, meanwhile, called on Thursday for Syria to institute reform "shock therapy" in order to restore stability to the country. He said President al-Assad must implement a package of economic, security, judicial and political reforms.
Protesters 'shot dead' by Syrian forces - Middle East - Al Jazeera English
At least three people are reported killed in the southern Syrian town of Dael after security forces opened fire to disperse a demonstration, according to activists. The three men were gunned down as they stood on rooftops chanting "Allahu Akbar" or "God is greatest", the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP news agency.
The killings came with further demonstrations expected on Friday after midday prayers, with pro-democracy advocates reaching out to the army to join their 10-week uprising that has been met with a fierce military crackdown. As prayers ended, demonstrations were reported to be taking place in Idlib, in the country's north west, in Deir al-Zur in the north east, and in Qamishli, Amouda and Ras al Ain in the Kurdish areas in Syria's north.
At the demonstration in Deir al-Zur, security forces fired live ammunition at protesters demanding the "overthrow of the regim", the Reuters news agency reported, citing witnesses. The fresh violence comes after human rights group Amnesty International accused Syrian security forces of deliberately killing hundreds of demonstrators in the city of Deraa.
Al Jazeera has obtained exclusive video that activists say shows the funeral of a 13-year-old boy in Deraa. Activists say he was arrested on April 29 while protesting with family and friends. He was not seen again until Wednesday, when his body was returned to the village. The Syrian government's deadly crackdown has killed more than 1,000 people over the past two months, according to local co-ordination committees in Syria, which help organise the protests against the country's president, Bashar al-Assad.
The harsh crackdown has triggered international outrage and US and European sanctions, including an EU assets freeze and a visa ban on Assad and nine members of his regime.
G8 'appalled by deaths'
Group of Eight [G8] leaders attending a summit in France on Friday said they were "appalled" at the killing of peaceful protesters in Syria, and are considering "further measures" against the country. "We are appalled by the deaths of many peaceful protesters as a result of the sweeping use of violence in Syria as well as by repeated and serious violations of human rights," the leaders said in the communique on Friday.
But the statement refrained from an explicit proposal, contained in earlier drafts of the document obtained by the Associated Press, to act against Damascus in the UN Security Council. "Should the Syrian authorities not heed this call, we will consider further measures. We are convinced that only by implementing meaningful reforms will a democratic Syria be able to play a positive role in the region," it said. The shift in language to a vaguer threat of "further measures" may reflect reluctance from Russia, which has a veto in the Security Council.
Both Russia and China have been reluctant to support any UN resolution condemning Syria. Russia has in the past accused NATO of going beyond their brief on the UN resolution in Libya. More than 220 civil society organizations from across the Arab world appealed to the Security Council this week to adopt a resolution demanding an immediate end to the use of lethal force against protesters in Syria.
Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey's foreign minister, meanwhile, called on Thursday for Syria to institute reform "shock therapy" in order to restore stability to the country. He said President al-Assad must implement a package of economic, security, judicial and political reforms.
Protesters 'shot dead' by Syrian forces - Middle East - Al Jazeera English
EMT
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More news from Berze: Construction workers from the state-owned Military Construction Company have used sticks and stones to attack a group of around 300 protestors the suburb north-east of Damascus, two eyewitnesses have told Al Jazeera. The workers, all civilians, had arrived in the area in some dozen different public buses, he said. Riot police fired teargas at the demonstrators and the eyewitness said he heard heavy gunfire at the scene but could not yet verify any casualties. "This is not the first time tax payer's money has been used against civilian protesters," said the second eyewitness in Berze to Al Jazeera. "They are beaten by a government calling itself reformist. This is daylight robbery: We pay them to beat us."
Al Jezeera
Al Jezeera
EMT
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This video, uploaded to the Shaam News Network YouTube page about seven minutes ago, purports to show an anti-government demonstration in Latakiya. Posters carried by protesters bear today's date, declaring it an 'expiry date' for Bashar al-Assad's rule.
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EMT
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A demonstration by around 400 people in Rukin Adeen, a Kurdish majority suburb to the north-east of the capital, has been broken up by pro-regime thugs and security personnel beating protesters with iron pipes and electric sticks, also known as cattle rods, and firing teargas at them, an eyewitness told Al Jazeera. The demonstration took place outside the Said Basha mosque after prayers and protesters chanted for freedom and solidarity with Syrian cities under siege. Last Friday was the first reported pro-democracy protests in Rukin Adeen which were broken up by force and arrests made. Internet, landlines and mobile networks have been cut in Damascus' suburbs since yesterday morning, activists tell Al-Jazeera.
AshaDii
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EMT with all these developments and Bashar al Asaad futile efforts what do you expect will happen in the near future?? Or should i say do you think if he resign from power it will help calm things down??? For his early decision of removing Syria under Emergency laws don't seem to have had any effect.
EMT
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Asha D I think the best option is for him to leave. I can't see the Syrian people going back. His early decision of removing emergency laws simply sent a message to his opponent that with a little more pressure he can actually go. Still early to make a right conclusion though. Will have to wait and see.
EMT
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Attack on central town of Rastan 'kills 15"
Syrian government troops have heavily bombarded Rastan, near Homs, in the centre of the country, killing at least 15 people, activists say. More than 50 people have been killed in Rastan since a military operation there started at the weekend, reports say. The offensive comes despite an amnesty offer by President Bashar al-Assad's government and the release of hundreds of detainees. The initiatives have been dismissed by Syrian opposition groups.
The opposition groups, which are meeting in Antalya in neighbouring Turkey, say the Syrian government's concessions have come too late, correspondents say. The groups are working on what they hope will be a roadmap for peaceful transition. The Local Co-ordinating Committee, which helps to organise and document the country's protests, gave the names of the people it said were killed in Rastan in the latest artillery and tank bombardments. The committee said the offensive had hit at least two mosques and a bakery, as well as houses that collapsed, killing entire families. Eyewitnesses told BBC Arabic that army and security forces are not able to take control the town, even though it has been surrounded by tanks over the past few days.
Detainees released
Following the announcement on Tuesday of a conditional amnesty, hundreds of detainees have been released. More seem to be on the way, although it is not clear if the authorities intend to free all the 10,000 or more people they are believed to have detained in the past 10 weeks and the thousands already in jail before that, says the BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut.
The authorities have announced the formation of a high-level commission to oversee a proposed national dialogue aimed at stabilising the situation. More than 1,000 people have been killed in Syria since an uprising against President Assad began in March, activists say. Reports from Syria are hard to verify independently, as foreign journalists are not allowed into the country.
BBC News - Syria: Attack on central town of Rastan 'kills 15'
Syrian government troops have heavily bombarded Rastan, near Homs, in the centre of the country, killing at least 15 people, activists say. More than 50 people have been killed in Rastan since a military operation there started at the weekend, reports say. The offensive comes despite an amnesty offer by President Bashar al-Assad's government and the release of hundreds of detainees. The initiatives have been dismissed by Syrian opposition groups.
The opposition groups, which are meeting in Antalya in neighbouring Turkey, say the Syrian government's concessions have come too late, correspondents say. The groups are working on what they hope will be a roadmap for peaceful transition. The Local Co-ordinating Committee, which helps to organise and document the country's protests, gave the names of the people it said were killed in Rastan in the latest artillery and tank bombardments. The committee said the offensive had hit at least two mosques and a bakery, as well as houses that collapsed, killing entire families. Eyewitnesses told BBC Arabic that army and security forces are not able to take control the town, even though it has been surrounded by tanks over the past few days.
Detainees released
Following the announcement on Tuesday of a conditional amnesty, hundreds of detainees have been released. More seem to be on the way, although it is not clear if the authorities intend to free all the 10,000 or more people they are believed to have detained in the past 10 weeks and the thousands already in jail before that, says the BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut.
The authorities have announced the formation of a high-level commission to oversee a proposed national dialogue aimed at stabilising the situation. More than 1,000 people have been killed in Syria since an uprising against President Assad began in March, activists say. Reports from Syria are hard to verify independently, as foreign journalists are not allowed into the country.
BBC News - Syria: Attack on central town of Rastan 'kills 15'
EMT
Platinum Member
- Jan 13, 2010
- 14,477
- 15,356
- Thread starter
- #36
Saturday, August 27, 2011 - 19:29 GMT+3 - Syria (Reuters) - Syria's Interior Ministry warned inhabitants of Damascus on Saturday not to demonstrate "for their safety," after some of the most intense protests in the capital since the start of the six-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's rule.
"The Interior Ministry calls on the brother citizens not to respond to social Internet sites to participate in rallies or assemble in public squares in Damascus. This is for their safety," a statement by the ministry published on official media said.
"The Interior Ministry calls on the brother citizens not to respond to social Internet sites to participate in rallies or assemble in public squares in Damascus. This is for their safety," a statement by the ministry published on official media said.
Azimio Jipya
JF-Expert Member
- Nov 27, 2007
- 3,363
- 1,135
Oh you couldnt tell this untill it happens ...!
Who could have guessed this potentials of SYRIANS DETERMINATIONS .... they dont know what is going back once all is already in the foward motion ... God I love this!!
Who could have guessed this potentials of SYRIANS DETERMINATIONS .... they dont know what is going back once all is already in the foward motion ... God I love this!!
Azimio Jipya
JF-Expert Member
- Nov 27, 2007
- 3,363
- 1,135
Surely and given the present stage of developement ... there is no way Syria will be the same again... !!
and whatever the situation ...I dont see in any way Bashar Al Asaad extending his usuall staying as Syrians Prez! ... It wiil never ever work!!!
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