Bloodshed and lies, anarchy and lawlessness are about the only thing Bashar Al-Assad & Co. have up their sleeves these days! Their bag of trick is empty. But the show must go on, proceeding at a deliberate pace to its logical conclusion.
Monday August 1, 2011
More fatalities and casualties reported in Hama, Deir Ezzor, Deraa and Damascus...
Links
Ford's departure, prior to yesterday's deadly attacks on protestors, comes as violence in Syria has worsened and as the United States and its allies prepare to step up the pressure on the Assad regime this week. Ford is also scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill later this week, and one official said he is expected to return to Syria next week.
"Riad had booked to do crucial tests in Germany. After their luggage was checked and the two were sitting at the boarding gate a security officer came with a black plastic bag he said they found in Riad's luggage," the friend said. "Pelican (Seif's wife) realized it was a charade to prevent Riad from traveling."
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton condemned Syria's crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, a day after one of the bloodiest since the uprising against Assad's authoritarian rule began in mid-March.
Following the hour-long closed-door meeting, several diplomats said that after months of deadlock over Syria in the council, the fresh violence appeared to be pushing the divided members toward some form of reaction. But envoys disagreed over whether the 15-nation body should adopt the Western-backed draft resolution or negotiate a less binding statement.
Rami Nakhle says activists have "burned their return boots" — an Arabic saying that means there is no going back. If they stop now, he explains, the secret police will round up every activist inside Syria.
The Assad regime lost its legitimacy months ago, starting with the detention of youngsters in Daraa in March, a grotesque incident of repression that ignited the weekly protests against the Assad regime.
Syrians of all stripes are beginning to understand that everyone is a victim of this regime and that the real conspiracy is that of the Assads themselves. Sunni leaders must act now to prevent the revolt from descending into civil war by assuring minorities that they will not face reprisals in a new Syria. This could bring Alawites into the opposition’s ranks and seal the regime’s demise.
“Why do you think having an atrocity filmed in broad daylight and exhibited to the world would stop a dictator like Assad from committing one?”
No Syrian official will be too worried by William Hague's call yesterday for stronger international pressure or by the tighter sanctions on the regime the EU announced.
The regime's opponents insist that they will not be intimidated and these actions will only swell their ranks. Worryingly, the mood among a small but significant number of the protesters is changing. There is growing impatience.
But while one or two prominent lawmakers have suggested military force be on the table, others have urged the administration to do everything short of that to pressure Assad to step down. Though the administration has pushed new sanctions against the regime and condemned its behavior, officials and analysts say the United States can certainly do more.
After fleeing with his family from Syria in fear of his life, a former officer in Bashar al-Assad’s military tells of manipulation and brutality in the ongoing crackdown.
Rights activist says the international response to violence in Syria is merely "symbolic" and "rife with hypocrisy".
On the First Day of Ramadan, our True Dictator gave to us: a large-scale killing spree!
In addition to continuing bloodshed in Hama City, Deir Ezzor and Albou Kamal, security officers and Assad death squads opened fire as well on protesters in the Damascene suburbs of Al-Qadam and Kisweh, Daraya and Mouaddamiyeh, and continued to, lay siege to dozens, of suburbs, towns and communities across the country.
Whose will shall prevail at the end, Assad’s or the protesters’, remains an open question. But, I think protesters should realize by now that they are on their own. The international community will do nothing beyond offering condemnations and symbolic moves. Assad supporters, on the other hand, understand much fully the strategic implications of the situation, and offer more than mere symbolic gestures to their troubled allies. In fact, had it not been for their financial, technical and logistical support, the Assads would have been in a far worse position.
The Syrian people are not just fighting against the Assads, they are taking on the rulers of Iran, Hezbollah and a myriad of cowardly Arab rulers, while the world is watching. The interesting thing is: they might still emerge victorious. All depends on their ability to keep it peaceful, even as army defectors clash with loyalists, and some individual acts of vendetta take place. The calm that Hama witnessed before the onslaught of loyalists and thugs stands a great testimony to who the protesters are, what they want, and what they can achieve, when they’re in control.
Syria / Whereabouts Unknown: People have been making claims and counterclaims about this video, but in reality no one knows for sure the identity of people responsible for this atrocity, or the actual time and place involved. This is the kind of nightmare the Assads are dragging us into. While Assad loyalists would gladly blame protesters for these crimes, developments on the ground have amply shown by now that such occurrences are closely linked to the presence and activities of Assad security forces and loyalist militias. Whenever the protesters are in control, peace, security, and that added bonus that is freedom tend to rule the day. Regardless of who is behind this crime, then, the general breakdown of law and order in the country rest squarely on the shoulders of the Assads who their thugs-on-the ground, and their incendiary state-sponsored propaganda had done their best to get us to this point.
Hama City / Aug 1: morgues fill up with corpses of unidentified martyrs http://youtu.be/KWTzjvgGjLY
Deir Ezzor City / Aug 1: Loyalist tanks forced to flee after being attacked by defectors
http://youtu.be/7KwLEl7plDE , a local informant “confesses” that security officers have armed pro-Assad militias throughout the city http://youtu.be/TYsO7ya3tuc , despite the ongoing military siege and clashes between loyalists and defectors, members of Baggarah tribe demonstrate at night in support of their arrested leader nawaf Al-Basheer http://youtu.be/HA8IARQHF7k , local residents hold a vigil after Nights Prayers http://youtu.be/gdS1Jk7xeoU
Damascus / Sheikh Sariya Al-Rifai / Aug 1: Sariya is one of the well-known sheikhs in Damascus. In this sermon delivered on the morning of August 1, he warns “the leadership” that their tactics will drag the country into a violent internal showdown. http://youtu.be/dGwRjt2J7V4
Damascus / Midan / Aug 1: thousands take to the streets of the Midan District again after Night Prayers http://youtu.be/1VlNeFs6wRw , http://youtu.be/AOQsmvjEYoM , http://youtu.be/cVif3lDHXew
Hauran / Da’el / Aug 1: security forces open fire on protesters after Night Prayers http://youtu.be/Kk1mdk3wxyg
Hama
Hama City: sounds of shelling and gunfire in the morning http://youtu.be/JLmBwB0dcGc , the same goes through the night after the end of fasting http://youtu.be/EmXVckQhorQ . http://youtu.be/V7iJwnGk3F8 , http://youtu.be/Wouj21tFIPQ , http://youtu.be/g1JqmtLeBzE , Demonstrations after the night prayers and in spite the ongoing military crackdown http://youtu.be/zv2AZUjHH8E , http://youtu.be/cOQqyNsFa5Y . Children pray in the streets because, it’s unsafe to go to the mosques http://youtu.be/K3YdQCu0Ntc . Local parks transformed into makeshift cemeteries for the fallen martyrs http://youtu.be/rv3TCooWzI8 . Unknown martyr http://youtu.be/K7G9kME3_RA , another martyr http://youtu.be/YdZCqLepNkw . The local Military Security headquarters was not spared the shelling http://youtu.be/L_3iO18Rblg . The minaret of a historic mosque is also not spared http://youtu.be/t4WpI-kTKCs . Hama City / July 29: some protesters were carrying a banner endorsing the Antalya Conference as their sole representative in the international scene just two days before the current crackdown http://youtu.be/tBKRvwwKp80
Taybat Al-Imam: residents of this town show up in numbers to support Hama http://youtu.be/OyCTR8mRGUQ
Salamiyyah http://youtu.be/CNciL2Uy1eQ
Kafar Nabboudeh: thousands take to the streets after Night Prayers to show solidarity with the provincial capital http://youtu.be/QPcD8nMEy0o
Ma’arrat Masreen http://youtu.be/kKQFiR4PGeo
Karnaz http://youtu.be/QDM4X3LxbXA
Kafar Nabbol http://youtu.be/u59-zqXgXfU
Damascus
Artouz: a kidnaping of local resident from his car by security officer leaves his car smeared with blood, and his brains splattered on the ground http://youtu.be/SdhxD859MjI. In the morning, thousands had taken to the streets in support of Hama http://youtu.be/soL0cluNd7Q
Madaya Valley: Tanks and troops on the move through the Madaya Valley http://youtu.be/Xmahm-jtYPg , http://youtu.be/czF7P3tVrW0 , http://youtu.be/4Sr-P_Scp5c. 22 tanks in all ended up entering the city of Zabadani overlooking the valley where troops established barricades throughout the city http://youtu.be/bwV9krg-eew , http://youtu.be/a7GOei9oG7I . Meanwhile, the neighboring city of Madaya observed a general strike http://youtu.be/vROK3xka7fI , http://youtu.be/3aDm9aD73Zk , then held a vigil http://youtu.be/WfQjKpYuBno
Douma: thousands take part in a vigil after the Night Prayers http://youtu.be/R-s95O26uMk
Kisweh: a funeral for an activist http://youtu.be/4VfZ14uIjTI . Protests after Night Prayers http://youtu.be/nwCAX0HG7bk , http://youtu.be/xuh0nXJnWog ,
Daraya: a demonstration after the Noon Prayers http://youtu.be/XiKkU9niUq0 . At night, protesters take to the street again http://youtu.be/vAJvVkFAkuM, but they come under fire http://youtu.be/RvJuYdD22p8 .
Moaddamiya: a small group of protesters insist on being heard after the Dawn Prayers, despite the military siege of the suburb http://youtu.be/7oXAopN08Pg , for security is all over the place in this protest hotspot and are doing their best to keep the anger alive http://youtu.be/a1sEXmxtd7g by carrying our periodic raids and abusing the local population http://youtu.be/k8faJaySLvA.
Al-Tall http://youtu.be/v3oloPD9w7E
Arbeen http://youtu.be/p28oqvWjtEE
Harasta http://youtu.be/IhNcOvWLoRs
Mazzeh Basateen http://youtu.be/h1IBsP20k4w
Homs
Bab Houd http://youtu.be/naK9DgFOxdQ
Al-Khaldiyyeh http://youtu.be/5quRlRkKIN0 , http://youtu.be/Y_hy9fLL7iU
Bab Dreib http://youtu.be/r0teTMNzJKo
Rastan: this local activist was assassinated in his car by an Assad loyalist http://youtu.be/HP3pucQFeRQ , the funeral http://youtu.be/CPKBws5JzzQ
Talbisseh http://youtu.be/Wc_fOVIL97Y
Many bazars in Homs observe a call for general strike http://youtu.be/XBgyEQ5B_KU
Al-Wa’er http://youtu.be/Qq0xn1B_qvA
Al-Dablan http://youtu.be/RoDAzUOicBM
Idlib
Saraqib: a truck catches fire after it is hit by a tank shell http://youtu.be/-7UnOsSJvAo
Ma’arrat Al-Nouman: thousands take to the streets after Night Prayers http://youtu.be/lacvaWNler0 , http://youtu.be/3gGRnnCrBRw , http://youtu.be/eMqWQUWtoh8
Binnish: the city observes a call for a general strike http://youtu.be/wT90_yBUqZ4
Military reinforcement passing through http://youtu.be/d5Uq-3_6uxA
Sermeen: a funeral for a local activist http://youtu.be/JqvRkugkBHY
Jabal Al-Zawiyeh http://youtu.be/kQuSb76Wqvc
Deir Ezzor
Al-Qouriyeh http://youtu.be/sO4li0GLc-k , http://youtu.be/oGHr_jyqR94
Deir Ezzor City: a night-time demonstration despite the ongoing military crackdown http://youtu.be/0pYcSg06Xns
Deraa / Hauran
Khirbet Ghazali: funeral http://youtu.be/hWfLsE1tEF0 vigil http://youtu.be/f3l1qTcEGJU , demonstration http://youtu.be/kpC9nZCPafs
Nahteh http://youtu.be/ZQA-oJ5emnQ
Lattakia
Al-Ramel Neighborhood: thousands take to the streets after Noon Prayers http://youtu.be/jFCwy1BxjNU , then after Night Prayers http://youtu.be/mAUJMrCQ6wg , http://youtu.be/Oncbjx9-w6E , http://youtu.be/9KUi3007kd4
Sleibeh Neighborhood: protesters come under fire after Night Prayers http://youtu.be/HE9vYLc4TU4 , http://youtu.be/du0OkoGG3Rc
Gunfire also heard in parts of Lattakia http://youtu.be/6VAA_m5HCLU
Aleppo
New Aleppo / Omar Bin Al-Khattab Mosque: http://youtu.be/N9gQW0r1Z9M
Aleppo city / Al-Ghoufran Mosque http://youtu.be/NdETDWWFDtM
Elsewhere
Al-Raqqah Province / Tabaqa City: http://youtu.be/YvjWYXSE2oM
Al-Hassakeh Province / Amoudeh http://youtu.be/rDFV1quGPrw
Maybe time for a bounty on Assad's head...
ReplyDeleteYou guys need to understand what us Zionist Jews have known for DECADES...
Assad is a KILLER and will murder anyone in his way...
So deal with it....
Democracy and respect for human rights? Great words, but you cant use them on mini-hitlers