Observers might still have doubts, but the protesters have long shed theirs: the people want to topple the regime.
To all those who believe the protest movement in Syria to be a localized phenomenon, yes it’s indeed local to each and every community, city and town across Syria.
To all those who continue to expect an Egyptian or even a Yemeni scenario to unfold, let’s remember that we are dealing here with the most repressive police state in the region, each one of the thousands of protesters taking to the streets is seriously not expecting it to return home that day.
To all those who think this is contained and small-scale, you’re wrong. With over a 1,000 deaths and 8,000 arrests in less than 8 weeks, this is mass murder in slow-motion.
To all those who still think that Bashar Al-Assad is a reformer, you MUST be BLIND! This ophthalmologist can’t restore your sight.
Damascus: 3,000 protesters demonstrated in the besieged Saqba suburb despite over 350 arrests made on the previous night. In Midan District in downtown Damascus, protesters streaming out of the Hassan Mosque were attacked by 2,000 security officers in civvies, but they kept shouting “the people want to topple the regime.” Once they were dispersed, the security officers staged a pro-Assad demonstration for the benefit of Syrian TV. Many Damascene suburbs took part in today’s protests; the so-called Poverty Belt around the city continues to be infected with the Freedom Bug.
Qamishly: 5,000 people took part in demonstration that raised slogans in support of the people of Deraa and national unity. Over 3,000 people took part in another demonstration in Amudeh (20 KM West of Qamishly) and 1,000 more in Derbassiyeh (50 KM west). Both are towns where Kurds make up most of the population.
Deir Ezzor: 5,000 protesters, men and women, took part in a demonstration followed by a sit-in at the Osman Mosque. The protest started small untilo security forces opened fire and killed four young activists, which infuriated the local residents, and encouraged more people to join. Seeing this, security forces shied from clashing with protesters who carried a sit-in at the Osman Mosque. After a long internal discussion, the protesters decided to abandon plans for establishing a permanent sit-in in the Mosque fearing a scenario similar to what took place in Deraa and Homs, settling on conducting daily protests until “the regime is toppled.”
Homs: over 10,000 people took part in today’s protests, despite the tanks and security barricades that were thrown all over the main squares and intersections. The protests ended when security forces began shooting at the crowds, leaving over 16 dead. A similar scenario played out in Hama. But in Homs, the story got complicated by reports of defections in the army and skirmishes between army officers and security forces, leading to a brief of exchange of artillery fire. The details are not clear yet. But a video below does show an apartments that was apparently damaged by a shell.
Banyas: the city was stormed overnight and most of its Sunni neighborhoods were besieged. There are sporadic reports of killings and lootings by security officers, but details are hard to come by at this stage.
Protesters carry banners appealing to the Syrian army to join them, as they chant: “the people want to topple the regime”. Many banners are in English. Protesters are attempting to communicate their message directly to the international community.
Homs / Bab Al-Sibaa: Banners in English, and protesters chant: “No more forever Bashar Al-Assad”
Homs / Bab Dreib: “the people want to topple the regime” “Leave, leave”
“Bye, Bye Bashar, have a nice awakening”
Homs / Bab Dreib: Sniper in action. Activist asks: so, armed gang member can actually climb to the rooftop of a public building?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rskmr49XY7c&feature=uploademail
Homs / Bab Amr: despite siege by tanks, “the people want to topple the regime… leave, leave, one hand, one hand.” Activist asks: are all those people infiltrators? Where are the gangs? Where are the infiltrators?
Homs: army snipers on the rooftops.
Homs / Khaldiyyeh: “the people want to topple the regime”
Homs / Deir Baalba
Homs / Bab Amr: protesters carry signs saying thanks Erdogan while shouting “the people want to topple the regime”
Homs: martyr
Homs / Rastan: despite the siege and the crackdown, resident still came out and shouted “the people want to topple the regime” and “he who kills his own people is a traitor”
Homs: “Maher, you cretin”
Damascus / Midan: protesters come out of the Hassan Mosque running to outmaneuver the security officers gathered outside, as they chant “the people want to topple the regime.”
Inside the Mosque: “he who kills his own people is a traitor… the people want to topple the regime”
Damascus / Midan: “we will march to heaven, millions of martyrs”
Damascus / Salhiyyeh: another traditional Damascene neighborhood catches the freedom bug. “God, Syria, Freedom and nothing more.”
Damascus / Darayyah: “the Syrian people will not be humiliated”
“The people want to topple the regime”
Damascus / Saqba: Banner “Muslims and Christians, we don’t want sectarianism” Chants: “Shame on you for killing your people Bashar” “We have no more fear of you, Bashar. We have no more fear of you Maher” “God is greater than the oppressor”
Damascus / Douma: “We are not Brotherhood members, nor Salafis, we’re sick of lies and forgeries.”
Amudeh
“He who kills his own people is a traitor”
Derbassiyeh
Qamishly
Raqqah / Tabaqah: the first anti-regime demonstration help in support of Deraa. Chant: “We take death over humiliation”
Idlib: “the people want to topple the regime”
Idlib / Kafar Nabol: “we take death over humiliation”
Idlib / Sirmeen: “the people want tom topple the regime”
Idlib / Bansh: “the people want to topple the regime”
Talkalakh: “the people want to topple the regime”
Hama: “leave, leave” “the people want to topple the regime” Banner in English: Game Over!
Hama: protesters dispersed with tear gas, water cannons, and live ammunitions.
Hama: protesters come under fire.
Hama: the death of a protester
Hama / Kafar Zeta: “We take death over humiliation”
Hama / Al-Salamiyyeh: “the people want freedom and noting more”
Deraa / Nawa: “God is Greater than the oppressor”
Deraa / Jassem: “lift the siege on Deraa”
Deraa / Al-Hara
Aleppo / Al-Bab: “the people want to topple the regime”
Deraa / Ankhel: “the people want to topple the regime” “Long live Syria, Down with Assad”
Deraa / Sanamein: “the people want to topple the regime”
Deraa / Kafar Shams: “Long live Syria, Down with Bashar Al-Assad” “the people want to topple the regime”
Lattakia: despite the small size of the crowd and the heavy security presence, security still shot opne protester dead, and injured many others.
Mouarrat Al-Nouman: “the people want to topple the regime”
Jisr Ashoughour: Banner: “What the regime did in 1982 is proof of what it is doing now.”
Friday May 6, 2011
30 protesters were killed, including 16 in Homs, 6 in Hama, 4 in Deir Ezzor, 1 in Lattakia, 2 in Jableh and 1 from an unspecified location. Riad Seif, former head of the Damascus Declaration Council was arrested during prayer at Al-Hassan Mosque in Damascus. Another prominent detainee is Mouadh Al-Khateeb, a young and well-respected Damascene Imam. Tanks were deployed in Homs. Still, Syrian activists consider today’s large and widespread protests to be a sign of the futility of the violent crackdown orchestrated by the Assad regime. The demonstrations come following a week of violent crackdown that led to the arrest of over 3,000 people, and the death of 500 protesters most of whom from Deraa City. In many protests, people are now carrying banners in English in an attempt to communicate directly with the international community. On the darker side, the city of Baniyas was raided overnight. Details are still coming out now. Reuters reports the latest.
To all those who believe the protest movement in Syria to be a localized phenomenon, yes it’s indeed local to each and every community, city and town across Syria.
To all those who continue to expect an Egyptian or even a Yemeni scenario to unfold, let’s remember that we are dealing here with the most repressive police state in the region, each one of the thousands of protesters taking to the streets is seriously not expecting it to return home that day.
To all those who think this is contained and small-scale, you’re wrong. With over a 1,000 deaths and 8,000 arrests in less than 8 weeks, this is mass murder in slow-motion.
To all those who still think that Bashar Al-Assad is a reformer, you MUST be BLIND! This ophthalmologist can’t restore your sight.
Damascus: 3,000 protesters demonstrated in the besieged Saqba suburb despite over 350 arrests made on the previous night. In Midan District in downtown Damascus, protesters streaming out of the Hassan Mosque were attacked by 2,000 security officers in civvies, but they kept shouting “the people want to topple the regime.” Once they were dispersed, the security officers staged a pro-Assad demonstration for the benefit of Syrian TV. Many Damascene suburbs took part in today’s protests; the so-called Poverty Belt around the city continues to be infected with the Freedom Bug.
Qamishly: 5,000 people took part in demonstration that raised slogans in support of the people of Deraa and national unity. Over 3,000 people took part in another demonstration in Amudeh (20 KM West of Qamishly) and 1,000 more in Derbassiyeh (50 KM west). Both are towns where Kurds make up most of the population.
Deir Ezzor: 5,000 protesters, men and women, took part in a demonstration followed by a sit-in at the Osman Mosque. The protest started small untilo security forces opened fire and killed four young activists, which infuriated the local residents, and encouraged more people to join. Seeing this, security forces shied from clashing with protesters who carried a sit-in at the Osman Mosque. After a long internal discussion, the protesters decided to abandon plans for establishing a permanent sit-in in the Mosque fearing a scenario similar to what took place in Deraa and Homs, settling on conducting daily protests until “the regime is toppled.”
Homs: over 10,000 people took part in today’s protests, despite the tanks and security barricades that were thrown all over the main squares and intersections. The protests ended when security forces began shooting at the crowds, leaving over 16 dead. A similar scenario played out in Hama. But in Homs, the story got complicated by reports of defections in the army and skirmishes between army officers and security forces, leading to a brief of exchange of artillery fire. The details are not clear yet. But a video below does show an apartments that was apparently damaged by a shell.
Banyas: the city was stormed overnight and most of its Sunni neighborhoods were besieged. There are sporadic reports of killings and lootings by security officers, but details are hard to come by at this stage.
Protesters carry banners appealing to the Syrian army to join them, as they chant: “the people want to topple the regime”. Many banners are in English. Protesters are attempting to communicate their message directly to the international community.
Homs / Bab Al-Sibaa: “the people want to topple the regime”
Homs / Bab Al-Sibaa: Banners in English, and protesters chant: “No more forever Bashar Al-Assad”
Homs / Bab Dreib: “the people want to topple the regime” “Leave, leave”
“Bye, Bye Bashar, have a nice awakening”
Homs / Bab Dreib: Sniper in action. Activist asks: so, armed gang member can actually climb to the rooftop of a public building?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rskmr49XY7c&feature=uploademail
Homs / Bab Amr: despite siege by tanks, “the people want to topple the regime… leave, leave, one hand, one hand.” Activist asks: are all those people infiltrators? Where are the gangs? Where are the infiltrators?
Homs / Al-Hamidiyyeh: protest in the mostly Christian suburb, the activist filming, that local residents are taking part in the protest.
Homs: army snipers on the rooftops.
Homs / Khaldiyyeh: “the people want to topple the regime”
Protesters under fire by security keep chanting “the people want to topple the regime”
Homs / Deir Baalba
Homs / Bab Amr: protesters carry signs saying thanks Erdogan while shouting “the people want to topple the regime”
Protesters under fire by security keep chanting “the people want to topple the regime”
An apartment that eyewitnesses claim were hit during an exchange between army officers and security forces.
Homs: martyr
Homs / Rastan: despite the siege and the crackdown, resident still came out and shouted “the people want to topple the regime” and “he who kills his own people is a traitor”
Homs: “Maher, you cretin”
Damascus / Midan: “we want to live free”
Damascus / Midan: protesters come out of the Hassan Mosque running to outmaneuver the security officers gathered outside, as they chant “the people want to topple the regime.”
Inside the Mosque: “he who kills his own people is a traitor… the people want to topple the regime”
Damascus / Midan: “we will march to heaven, millions of martyrs”
Damascus / Salhiyyeh: another traditional Damascene neighborhood catches the freedom bug. “God, Syria, Freedom and nothing more.”
Damascus / Darayyah: “the Syrian people will not be humiliated”
“The people want to topple the regime”
Damascus / Qadam: “the people want tom topple the regime”
Damascus / Saqba: Banner “Muslims and Christians, we don’t want sectarianism” Chants: “Shame on you for killing your people Bashar” “We have no more fear of you, Bashar. We have no more fear of you Maher” “God is greater than the oppressor”
Damascus / Douma: “We are not Brotherhood members, nor Salafis, we’re sick of lies and forgeries.”
Damascus / Jairood: “Release all detainees”
“What are you afraid of?”
Amudeh
“He who kills his own people is a traitor”
Derbassiyeh
Qamishly
Raqqah / Tabaqah: the first anti-regime demonstration help in support of Deraa. Chant: “We take death over humiliation”
Idlib: “the people want to topple the regime”
Idlib / Kafar Nabol: “we take death over humiliation”
Idlib / Sirmeen: “the people want tom topple the regime”
Idlib / Bansh: “the people want to topple the regime”
Talkalakh: “the people want to topple the regime”
Hama: “leave, leave” “the people want to topple the regime” Banner in English: Game Over!
Hama: protesters dispersed with tear gas, water cannons, and live ammunitions.
Hama: protesters come under fire.
Hama: the death of a protester
Hama: the activist taking the video shows the protesters throwing stones at the security officers outside the local Immigration and naturalization Building, while the officers are busy raiding it. He says: now they’ll loot and burn it and tomorrow they will say, the protesters did it and that’s why we needed to use violence. This might sound incredible to some, but this is exactly the kind of staging that the Assads had excelled at since the 1970s onward.
Hama / Kafar Zeta: “We take death over humiliation”
Hama / Al-Salamiyyeh: “the people want freedom and noting more”
Deraa / Nawa: “God is Greater than the oppressor”
Deraa / Jassem: “lift the siege on Deraa”
Deraa / Al-Hara
Aleppo / Al-Bab: “the people want to topple the regime”
Deraa / Ankhel: “the people want to topple the regime” “Long live Syria, Down with Assad”
“We don’t like you, so let us and take your Party with you”
Deraa / Sanamein: “the people want to topple the regime”
Deraa / Kafar Shams: “Long live Syria, Down with Bashar Al-Assad” “the people want to topple the regime”
Lattakia: despite the small size of the crowd and the heavy security presence, security still shot opne protester dead, and injured many others.
Injured protester
Mouarrat Al-Nouman: “the people want to topple the regime”
Jisr Ashoughour: Banner: “What the regime did in 1982 is proof of what it is doing now.”
Alboukamal: “He who kills his own people is a traitor” “the people want to topple the regime”
you are a distant lighthouse guiding many of us in these stormy dark seas. Keep it up! Thank You
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your hard work and dedication!
ReplyDeleteAs one who 40 years ago exactly this month left Syria and vowed never to set foot on Syrian soil again until the gangsters have left, I am heartened by the courage of the Syrian people and equally outraged at the regime's response after all the rhetoric of reform they were throwing into the world's eyes. One can only hope, almost against hope, that right triumphs in the end.
I do have a question you might help me with, though. Thإس ever growing multitude of opposition groups and their armies of intellectuals and their tv stations and websites...where do they all get their funding from? I even read in one of your interviews that you offered to help find/secure funds for dissidents wanting to organize. Where is all the money coming from, and surely it can't be without strings attached?
مع تحياتي واحترامي
غيث