With more tanks and more troops deployed in more communities, towns and suburbs throughout Syria, it should clear that the Assads are at war with the majority of Syrians.
Friday August 5, 2011
Al-Arabiya website reports that a committee affiliated with UNHCR will be publishing in the coming days a 20-page reports detailing involvement of Hezbollah and Iranian elements in the killing of Syrian army troops and officers who refused to follow shoot-on-sight orders. This will be the first such independent confirmation of involvement by Hezbollah and Iran in the current crackdown against pro-democracy protesters in Syria. The report is in part based on eyewitness accounts by defectors in Turkish refugee camps.
Eyewitnesses report that 20 babies died in their incubators in Al-Horani Hospital after Assad security forces cut off electricity to the hospital and refused to supply gas for the generators. Food supplies all over the city are running short, and due to power failure, food in storage units, including baby formulas, have spoiled. Entire neighborhoods have been deserted and leveled due to shelling. The death toll is currently estimated at 4-500. Security forces have reportedly been using nail bombs, outlawed internationally, and known to have killed 4 people today. Sound bombs are also being used to terrify inhabitants. People on motorcycles are targeted. Aassi Square has been completely occupied by 500 army forces from the 7th Division who shoot any civilian who tries to speak to them, as some have tried. Security forces also forbade people from attending Frida prayers, threatening to level any minaret that issues the call to prayer and any mosque that holds them.
At least 18 protesters have been killed by Assad security forces in protests that broke out all over Syria (death toll does not include Hama City). Most deaths happened in suburbs and neighborhoods in Damascus as the protest movement gains more strength there.
Links
… a Swiss radio journalist, Gaëtan Vannay, spent ten days in the city, managing to escape during the military onslaught sometime early this week. He reported that before the tanks and troops moved in, the city was calm, calling government claims that the city had been overtaken by violent chaos “pure propaganda.”
Hama was remarkably peaceful after security forces withdrew in June. Violence only erupted when the government, fearing the momentum the city might provide the uprising, began its ferocious assault on Sunday. Although government officials insist protesters were armed, not a single weapon was seen in the streets on a recent visit, an account confirmed by diplomats in their trips there. Barricades were set up, but only to block the return of the military and security forces.
Even as UNICEF squanders charitable donations on programs designed to prop up the government in Damascus, the Iranians are making their own investment in the longevity of the Assad regime.
Inhabitants in Deir al-Zor, however, affirmed by telephone that a tribal meeting was held this week and said members of the local People's Committees, one of the main anti-Assad activist groups, had been preparing them for a possible army onslaught. They said city was tense and people were stocking up food, water and bread in preparation for the assault.
Security forces have shot dead at least 14 people as thousands of Syrians rallied in the streets against President Bashar al-Assad on the first Friday of Ramadan to support the protest hub of Hama, activists say. Seven people were killed in Irbin, two in Damir, and one in Maadamiya, all near Damascus, and three in Homs," Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP by telephone on Friday.
Now that there is some progress from Washington, more can be done that still falls well short of going to war. The White House that likes to talk about “smart power” should lay some on…
Facing unprecedented opposition from the streets and growing isolation on the international front, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad can still rely on his family. The Assad clan, which comes from the minority Alawi community (around 12% of the Syrian population), has been at the helm of the country since 1970. Bashar took over from his father Hafez al-Assad, who died in 2000, but his leadership relies on the unflinching support of his next-of-kin.
No one foresaw that this mountain sect would one day produce the rulers of Syria. But the crimes of the Assads can no more be blamed on its teachings than those of Saddam Hussein on Sunni Islam.
The Austria Press Agency reported Friday that printing company OeBS — a subsidiary of the country's central bank — said it had a contract with Syria from 2008 to deliver lira bank notes.
Yet, as the documents show, both administrations chose not to sanction much of his inner circle until the Arab Spring spread this year to Syria. The Obama administration and European allies haven't yet declared Assad an illegitimate leader who must go, as they did with Libya's Gadhafi.
WASHINGTON — The United States has urged US citizens to depart Syria "immediately," and noted that the Damascus government has placed "severe" constraints on the travel of US diplomats in the country.
The major battle might be taking place in Hama City, but major parts of Homs and Damascus are fast becoming war zones as well for all intents and purposes. Day Five of Ramadan came and went, and it is now clear: the Assads are at war with the majority of the Syrian people, with aliens from outer space, with the shadows in their minds and the demons in their souls. The only thing we can do to manage this situation is fight back, peacefully, to the end. And it will be sweet in spite of their machinations.
Hama City: the massacres continue to unfold http://youtu.be/hnNgYq0pJxU , http://youtu.be/zhObCNXwVU8
Homs / Deir Baalbah: worshippers get targeted by snipers even as they stay inside a mosque, one is clearly wounded http://youtu.be/P4t-5F4YukI as tanks move into the town http://youtu.be/oPCuRTE8UNs . Still, thousands take to the streets after Night Prayer calling for toppling the regime http://youtu.be/iQAlTNe18rk . Khaldiyeh http://youtu.be/TrwQbukyHxc , later in the day, tanks shell their way into the neighborhood http://youtu.be/v5AG1fgdXxM , http://youtu.be/925i_CeuI2s In the evening, and after Night Prayers, protester come out again http://youtu.be/llnOTGKuk4g , then the shelling resumes http://youtu.be/S_WPlpka6X8 , http://youtu.be/2GbB91IctYM . Al-Bayadah http://youtu.be/7O7xS7cARsU , earlier in the day http://youtu.be/PCnBKCF1kiY , http://youtu.be/u1JE2KYszAI , http://youtu.be/eBGafJp5jc8 , http://youtu.be/jPzLow0C4ew . Abbas Mosque: worshippers unable to leave as they get pinned by snipers http://youtu.be/qaMu8O-YEuI . Bab Al-Sibaa: protesters play a dangerous game of defiance with snipers http://youtu.be/KchxBqs6O8g Unsurprisingly, someone got hurt http://youtu.be/lgFkYTC92g4 Earlier in the day, the protests went peacefully http://youtu.be/OiZdWiqZL2Q , http://youtu.be/IRCjIDgNwG0 , http://youtu.be/ioZ_vACh4s4 . Homs / Al-Mreijeh Neighborhood: a Tank patrols the narrow streets of the neighborhood like something out of War of the Worlds, which is probably close to describing the ethos of this conflict http://youtu.be/mNjaugMMF8Y , http://youtu.be/nseoNtWGPLg . Bab Amr: neighborhood comes under fire at night http://youtu.be/s5Bbe9gXzNs .
Protesters in Moadamiyeh face to pro-Assad militias http://youtu.be/q2zcvt455ug , security forces patrol the streets http://youtu.be/9xm8fFHcfxs . In Arbeen, protesters confront army troops “we are not infiltrators, we are peaceful” and “long live the army,” still, as we can hear at the end of clip, the shooting begins http://youtu.be/TyrReTRmS28 , http://youtu.be/QMiqqloga2M . Security officers roam the streets of Arbeen http://youtu.be/4aS053KaXVg , http://youtu.be/mEZu8K63hh0 , Rescuing the wounded http://youtu.be/8GWxuckIOtc A martyr http://youtu.be/8EW7PBAXcQM . More maneuvering between security forces and protesters in Arbeen and Zamalka http://youtu.be/SGYa67zF-JM . In Daraya, security officers and militias shoot at protesters http://youtu.be/E_fxF5Cxer4 , http://youtu.be/Ig4m7WgBUds . Dmeir: protesters come under intense gunfire leaving few fatalities http://youtu.be/i9juj5_fYYU . Douma: Night protesters come under intensive fire http://youtu.be/Q4nsPoZlenY Noontime protesters came under fire as well http://youtu.be/oy_ucEmMOWc , http://youtu.be/mpImcweLlHc , http://youtu.be/3X1DkpUjPRc http://youtu.be/ifhOFN66OxY , Pro-Assad militias in action in Douma http://youtu.be/O31Q5K_h67Q , http://youtu.be/nvxVXlroYDU , http://youtu.be/PTZ5Djyiruw , More shooting http://youtu.be/h29uTJfO1W4 A seriously wounded protester http://youtu.be/hzgNUVYZGE4 . Before the gunfire http://youtu.be/1BXhsnEr2PQ , http://youtu.be/slUfTHHkIf4 Mourners come under fire in Douma http://youtu.be/pHGp0zLE9m8 , http://youtu.be/b8YEqEGmLDo . Harasta Noontime http://youtu.be/bIJ1PUuAYpQ , http://youtu.be/_s4xqHrpQYw . At night, protesters come under fire http://youtu.be/UoJ9EHqU5m4 , http://youtu.be/UoJ9EHqU5m4 .
Defections continues in the ranks of army and security forces http://youtu.be/_bsAQiVdsPg , http://youtu.be/dJhNPZrsqcE , http://youtu.be/LF1-eJrk5dA
Homs
Al-Qousour http://youtu.be/Eaj5bWnH314
Al-Holeh Noon-time http://youtu.be/Yh5W1VKh-fM
Ghanto http://youtu.be/2NDbrjrlo7E
Bab Al-Dreib http://youtu.be/QvIEeRnu8b4
Soultaniyeh http://youtu.be/bW77yfe0iNo
Insha’aat http://youtu.be/Z204HzBkoMo
Rastan: thousands take to the streets http://youtu.be/6Y6Eaacwies , http://youtu.be/fZItZzeV8b0 A recently uploaded clip shows the shelling the city underwent during the last military incursion http://youtu.be/rys04XdGHic
Palmyra http://youtu.be/zgIDFtoUH9A
Brazil Street: http://youtu.be/xO5JSJ_Bexg (because of the hesitant stand by Brazil in the UNSC, protesters are seriously considering renaming the street after one of their martyrs)
Teer M’allah http://youtu.be/LXPI1YpwBVI
Damascus
Zabadani: despite the siege, people come out in droves after Night Prayers http://youtu.be/ANhLODed_7g
In Madaya, and despite the siege, people take to the streets after noon prayers http://youtu.be/7ihdVlyMHMg
Al-Qalamoun / Al-Qarrah http://youtu.be/PaoZohFHkSA , http://youtu.be/Z0qZ5UbbTpQ
Midan: thousands take to the streets after Night Prayers http://youtu.be/OsMkAsBOjOw , several hundreds attended a demonstration earlier in the day http://youtu.be/Mv3wVOsJ7v4 , http://youtu.be/2pMXEAVoe2s , http://youtu.be/s8oYL4mIyic
Saqba: thousands take part in this noon-time protest http://youtu.be/KoqMvxgu1f0
Rifai Mosque http://youtu.be/KBu9CJjDX6A
Moadamiyeh: the kidnapping of Ahmad Jaber who was later returned dead http://youtu.be/LAhjwQ4lC6s
Al-Qadam http://youtu.be/J1U9gLndBqI
Al-Tall http://youtu.be/saW32EDUzJ8
Lattakia
Al-Ramel: Noontime, protesters take to the streets chanting “the people want to execute the President” http://youtu.be/O3S_5LOxIP4 , http://youtu.be/j51VSJvAl2c
Taabiyat Mosque http://youtu.be/fqqz5wPKfPo
Al-Bazar Mosque is surrounded by security http://youtu.be/MGv2Z33CyPo
Deir Ezzor
Deir Ezzor City: Noon-time http://youtu.be/hmynzUrPH1o , http://youtu.be/rd6eSC3zvso , http://youtu.be/hmynzUrPH1o , http://youtu.be/YJwB0SgwvoE After Night Prayers http://youtu.be/x2-eSPAQ1Vk , http://youtu.be/lbuhsSJyKs8 . But in the nearby Jourah Neighborhood, tanks fill the streets http://youtu.be/5-KIT3JcWYs .
Mayadeen Noon-time http://youtu.be/3bRBB2RkfhE and because it is too hot for some http://youtu.be/tyTxzhEERg8 . In the evening http://youtu.be/M5fp2tZVZ_w
Qouriyeh Noontime http://youtu.be/nReO0W2ylwk
Aleppo
Sakhour: despite their small numbers, protesters come under fire http://youtu.be/QYeRZFurSBk
Hauran
Kafar Shams http://youtu.be/6xN5tUFj5vQ
Khirbet Ghazali http://youtu.be/Yz0pXlt1MnA
Basr Al-Harir http://youtu.be/pj_h28-jnP4
Al-Hraak http://youtu.be/SN4qgE4MyO8
Deraa City: security forces fill the streets at night http://youtu.be/hHlsKJWCR44 . Leaked video from Deraa shows Assad Death Squads celebrating their “conquest” and shouting “We sacrifice our blood and soul for you, Bashar” http://youtu.be/_mM1sMwFMRU
Al-Mseifrah http://youtu.be/QWzkrGCB7-Y
Sanamein http://youtu.be/rxt1vnWWPXE
Idlib
Ma’arrat Al-Nouman http://youtu.be/Vx8wgDHXac4
Idlib City: noontime http://youtu.be/L-AsCQ2wjxo , http://youtu.be/VmtpBygXlM4
Binnish http://youtu.be/zGzc1kvn0A0
Kafar Nabbol: protesters come under fire http://youtu.be/eHiYOnpmZcc for shouting “the people want to execute the President” http://youtu.be/9TDbN80rJvQ Tanks in the city http://youtu.be/PwRvOsAvmvA A wounded protester http://youtu.be/XYYxBrcO7xQ
Jabal Al-Zawiyeh / Kafar Ouaydeh http://youtu.be/l8XeN6NKFpk , http://youtu.be/4psNKteBY84
Baniyas: security forces patrol the city http://youtu.be/GCByen5-wk8 but in the nearby village of Baydah, protesters held a brief demonstrations http://youtu.be/-EKkyjmiXiw
Al-Qamishly: Noontime http://youtu.be/nXKqGGqApH0
Amoudeh http://youtu.be/45Ib3srTteE
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