Several Benghazis are unfolding in Syria at this stage in Hama, Deir Ezzor, Idlib, Deraa and several Damascene suburbs. World leaders had ample warning, yet all seem to be caught unawares somehow, and the best they could do is feel “appalled.”
Sunday July 31, 2011
Current figures put the death toll at: 200 dead in Hama City, 40 in Deir Ezzor, 16 in Deraa City, 16 in Idlib. Figures are being continuously revised upward as the crackdown is ongoing, and many wounded end up dying.
Links
The current crackdown throughout Syria is not a simple act of desperation, but a calculated move on part of the Assads that reflects an internal consensus within the upper ranks of key divisions in the army and all security chiefs, and that takes advantage of following factors:
1) the failure of the U.S. and France to obtain a UNSC resolution,
2) the existing consensus in NATO not to interfere in Syria, with or without such a resolution,
3) the inability of the U.S. and France to publicly call on Assad to leave,
4) Turkish PM Erdogan’s post-election silence and his current preoccupation of Turkey with its own internal problems with the army, and
5) attempting to avoid through maximized use of violence the scenario everyone expected to unfold in Ramadan and which will have included mass protests in Damascus and most likely Aleppo as well.
Moreover, the current development was not exactly unexpected, Syrian dissidents have warned repeatedly since the beginning of the Revolution that, unless the international community took a strong stand on the tragic developments in the country, the specter of multiple massacres unfolding simultaneously in different part of Syria could easily become a reality overnight. Yet, no one seems to have developed any contingency plans for dealing with the situation. Now we can all watch multiple foretold massacres unfold, feeling like President Obama, appalled.
This is the kind of reaction that is bound to leave many protesters feeling betrayed, and many will not believe the long-simmering rumor that a deal has been made to keep Assad in power.
Still, the impotence and incompetence of world leaders aside, protesters are unlikely to cower down in the corner or go back home. Death is better than humiliation. Ramadan will not be stopped.
Hama City / July 31:
Snipers and shooting protesters in the head using explosive bullets continues to be one of Assad Death Squads favorite tactics (extremely gruesome) http://youtu.be/ok50v9KGDsM, http://youtu.be/ANSL2sswejI.
Snipers posted on top of the Baath University in Hama http://youtu.be/Y2_x7KnQ7vk, http://youtu.be/DJ27OGv1Zco.
The Massacre at Sibahee Neighborhood http://youtu.be/fHEXP7Dmivw
Protesters pleading with a sniper not to fire at them, saying that they are his brothers and that they mean him no harm, but he does http://youtu.be/PAOYTS_N1fI.
Some defectors and their tanks at the entrance of the city: http://youtu.be/BoJMUtCaY-s, http://youtu.be/TyOeeuAWviQ. A clarification: when soldiers defect they leave their tanks and weapons behind. The protests are still a nonviolent affair. Protester try to encourage more defections by chanting “the people and the army are one” http://youtu.be/fAFCixeFqLQ.
http://youtu.be/Bi0Pey5aKaM (troops shooting at protesters in the distance)
http://youtu.be/8k2ksE6Qhe4 (Tanks firing) http://youtu.be/x7QykUvBobc
http://youtu.be/FlZ9_vphbK0 (Tanks entering Sauran Suburb)
Many of the dead, like this one, cannot be identified, because they come from nearby communities, and they are not carrying their ID cards http://youtu.be/Ym831qqOFQE
Indiscriminant shelling of residential neighborhoods http://youtu.be/FBiW2JiijcQ, http://youtu.be/MTFovUiJhYk, http://youtu.be/ClVLQ0GJAJU, http://youtu.be/NamI2QH_AFc, http://youtu.be/beXZVizlv6k, http://youtu.be/R956oxjst-w, http://youtu.be/Ik7Z_lIIKEk.
Buildings caught fire as shelling continues http://youtu.be/H68S0F_G7hk, http://youtu.be/_HVQ2mYI6hk, http://youtu.be/onMLCbEz7so.
According to the cameraman, this is a scene from a battle between loyalists and defectors http://youtu.be/HdrHJ6td6Vc.
Tanks roam the streets http://youtu.be/a81d7DNiSw0, http://youtu.be/SnCDAIi2RV0.
Protesters come under fire in Kazo Neighborhood http://youtu.be/V_8PP33WVmE.
The first few martyrs http://youtu.be/4-jqd13KjxY.
Protesters pulling bodies of the fallen and wounded from the streets http://youtu.be/Y8FvvcCeNK4, http://youtu.be/r7ye1QAye7M, http://youtu.be/R1lXSKY-pP4.
Casualties of Assad’s reforms http://youtu.be/OdovteL4S4Y, http://youtu.be/CwX4WFL0iUs, http://youtu.be/S9k7faLMwNA, http://youtu.be/3GKpO_QGrvY, http://youtu.be/R4Q_oERK9uQ, http://youtu.be/CM-72xHV97A, http://youtu.be/0eCL7soQUR0.
Targeting the cameramen http://youtu.be/0vxxKkhwiWs, http://youtu.be/0pxZoAMPtQ4.
Army tanks invade Al-Hraak in Deraa Province http://youtu.be/zLgk98sEYPM. People take to the streets shouting “Death is Better than Humiliation” despite coming udner fire http://youtu.be/NrONtpNQFkA.
Army tanks invade Jabal Al-Zawiyeh region in Idlib Province http://youtu.be/0krtHa8AzFg, http://youtu.be/QXUIklCLGaM.
Tanks pass through the city of Raqqah on their way to Deir Ezzor http://youtu.be/PcMW5Qrqxtg.
Protesters come under fire in Idblib’s Ma’aarrat Al-Nouman http://youtu.be/qdT0yrJvdJU.
Layal, the baby martyr from Al-Hraak City in Deraa/Hauran Province: http://youtu.be/VwjMWVI8T2I
A tank in the Damascene neighborhood of Moaddamiyeh http://youtu.be/3JRo5xH9Z28.
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