Damascus City is officially the oldest continuously inhabited
city in the world. An assault on Damascus is an assault on history. Indeed, it’s
part of our collective memory and consciousness that is being pounded to the ground
as we watch and throw our hands in the air.
Monday July 23, 2012
Today’s Death toll: 175. The Breakdown: 90 in Damascus and Suburbs, 25
in Daraa, 15 in Aleppo, 15 in Idlib, 10 in Deir Ezzor, 9 in Homs, 7 in Hama, 3
in Lattakia, and 1 in Raqqah.
Cities & Towns Under
Shelling: Harasta, Arbeen,
Moadamiyah, Haran Al-Awameed, Zabadani, Madaya, Eltal, Dmeir, Hameh, Yelda,
Rankous, Qarrah (Damascus Suburbs), Sit Zeinab, Al-Qadam, Modan, Al-Hajar
Al-Aswad, Yarmouk, Kafar Sousseh, Mazzeh, Qaboun, Barzeh (Damascus City), Daraa
City, Khirbet Al-Ghazaleh, Tafas, Bostra Al-Sham, Na’eemah, Mseifrah, Jimreen,
Hraak (Daraa), Rastan, Talbisseh, Houla, Tal Kalakh, Al-Qusayr, Al-Hosn, Al-Ghanto,
Al-Bouaydah, Old Homs (Homs Province), Hreitan, Elbab, Eizaz, Marei, Bayanoun
(Aleppo Province), Haffeh, Jabal Al-Akrad (Lattakia), Deir Ezzor City,
Mouhassan, Albou Kamal (Deir Ezzor Province), Kafar Zeiteh, Hawash, Shahshabo,
Hama City (Hama Province), Jabal Al-Zawiyeh, Maar’at Al-Nouman, Saraqib, Maar
Shoureen (Idlib)
News
Senior
Israeli official: Syria regime 'acting responsibly' about chemical weapons Assad has been moving some of the chemical stockpiles to bases
remote from the fighting or having greater security, the source added.
Mortar
shell from Syria lands near Israeli border In second incident this week, a mortar shell lands close to border
in northern Golan Heights; IDF: It is the result of fighting between Syrian
army and rebels.
Op-Eds & Special
Reports
Will
Syria use chemical weapons against foreigners? The
past week of fighting in Syria has escalated international pressure on
President Bashar al-Assad. Syrian officials now say they won't use their
biological and chemical weapons 'unless Syria faces external aggression.'
As
Syria Teeters, So Do Decades-Old Assumptions About the Middle East The
conflict is testing the brittle bonds of a national identity in states carved
out of old Ottoman provinces at the end of World War I.
Analysis: The myth of
Palestinian neutrality in Syria It is both painfully
ironic and incredibly moving that Yarmouk, built to host ethnically cleansed
Palestinians, has now turned into a safe haven for Syrians fleeing the shelling
on Tadamon and Midan; that UNRWA schools became shelters in the last few days;
and that Palestinian residents of the camp have donated mattresses, meals and
medicine for their wounded Syrian neighbors. These acts of solidarity have been
beacons of inspiration amid the endless cycle of violence and grief that has
descended upon Syria.
Analysis:
Syrian Civil War Enters New Phase The rebels are
winning. But the latest events do not yet herald the beginning of the regime’s
last stand. That moment has not yet arrived. When it does, it may well not take
place in Damascus.
In
Syria conflict, U.S. struggles to fill intelligence gaps With
no CIA operatives on the ground in Syria and only a handful stationed at key
border posts, the agency has been heavily dependent on its counterparts in
Jordan and Turkey and on other regional allies.
Is
Syria’s Bashar Assad Going the Way of Muammar Gaddafi? As
his regime slowly crumbles and options for exile and reconciliation narrow,
Syria's embattled President Bashar Assad looks likely to cling grimly on to
power, no matter the consequences.
The Saga
Not too long ago, the Wall Street Journal published a report
including leaks from the American officials to the effect that Assad has moved
part of his WMD stockpiles from Damascus in the direction of Homs. Today, we
got confirmation from the regime itself that the regime does indeed have WMD
stockpiles and that it would them in case it is attacked by a foreign power. Considering
the fact that the rebels are considered to be foreign agents working for external
powers, the assertion made that WMDs will not be used against the people rang
hollow.
But the whole situation becomes even more Kafkaesque when we
take in consideration that Iraq was invaded for suspicion of having WMDs, and
here we have a neighboring regime openly boasting of its WMD capacity and threatening
to use it. Yet all that President would say about
this is that “the world is watching!” But that’s exactly what the world has
been doing since the beginning of the revolution, and what difference did that
make so far? How exactly did that impact the behavior of Assad ad his militias?
If the world is not planning to act, who gives the damn that it’s watching. After
all, we are not putting on a show for its amusement.
But the plot thickened even more today.
According to Israeli
officials, Assad has moved stockpiles of WMDs to more “secure areas”
for safekeeping. The only secure areas today are located along the coast and in
the coastal mountains where WMDs’ presence could also serve to secure the enclave
for Assad when push comes to shove.
There were reports circulated by Kurdish activists not too
long ago through Facebook claiming that Assad moved some of his stockpiles as
well to the Kurdish-majority town of Qamishly in the northeast. The town has
recently fallen under the control of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD),
the Syrian branch of the PKK. If these reports were true, then Turkey’s worst
enemies might be about to get their hands on stockpiles of chemical weapons. Personally,
however, I seriously doubt that these reports are true. It does not make sense
for Assad to move any WMDs to a region where his control has become tenuous
from day one in the revolution. The logical place for WMDs at this stage is the
coast and the surrounding mountains.
But the move by Bashar Al-Assad may not have come soon
enough, if we are to believe these
sensational claims made by Captain Maher Al-Nouaimai, the official
spokesman of the Free Syrian Army. For in an interview with the Saudi newspaper
Al-Watan, Al-Nouaimi says that the Damascus rebels have recently captured
missiles from a base on Mount Qasayoun that are actually loaded with WMDs. He
also said that the rebels now have 15 helicopter gunships under their disposal
after their original pilots defected and joined the rebels.
It’s difficult to dismiss these reports offhand, since they are
made by the official spokesman for the FSA, but it’s reasonable to demand and
expect proof, perhaps in the form of a video.
Meanwhile, irrespective of whether these reports are true or
false, the regime can now use WMDs and blame it on the rebels.
Video Highlights
A massacre in the Damascene suburb of Daraya
resulting from the continued shelling http://youtu.be/sxKrqpnG2tw
In nearby Moadamiyah, local activists found dead bodies that seem to
have been intentionally set on fire http://youtu.be/-Hh3X_nIVm8
In Al-Hameh, people prepare the victims of another massacre for burial http://youtu.be/sYU4WjOpSVo Another
massacre takes place in Dmeir http://youtu.be/gG1sDh068O4
In Kafar Sousseh, another massacre (July 22) http://youtu.be/2FCM9khKCdk
The pounding of Zabadani continues by night http://youtu.be/LYdfg3SLyjo and during
the day http://youtu.be/kvfX9vTcgYk ,
http://youtu.be/w4JxRfcpxUI
Local activists take control of the political security
apparatus in the Damascene suburb of Harasta http://youtu.be/e_9oGjMIDWE
The nearby suburb of Saqba is being patrolled by
pro-Assad militias in their tanks http://youtu.be/QlWTWcRslW8
, http://youtu.be/2wW0XQVNuPI
In Damascus City, the pounding of the old Cactus
Groves in Mazzeh Bassateen continues http://youtu.be/SrtrRa5sN7U The nearby
neighborhood of Ikhlas was completely destroyed, the building under
construction we can see behind it is the new Iranian Embassy http://youtu.be/NokdFN3fWAU
, http://youtu.be/0VTxvkUoK_w , http://youtu.be/YfWQ-RTvsoU
The pounding of Al-Qadam Neighborhood continues http://youtu.be/KSlUzoqnaeI Scenes of
havoc and destruction from Qaboun http://youtu.be/IjlIHl__1VQ
Tanks and buses belonging to pro-Assad militias patrol the
neighborhood of Naher Eisheh in Damascus City http://youtu.be/apyDUARFtTU , http://youtu.be/NB_iDJerYC4 The
neighborhood was pounded by helicopter gunships a day earlier http://youtu.be/hE1dxML_-D8
An internal interview with Abou Joum’ah, the leader of Al-Tawhid
Brigade in Aleppo Province, whose members are taking part in the battles of
Aleppo city as well. The interview took place on July 18. http://youtu.be/8kPf37O1MnQ Abou Joum’ah
vows to close down the embassies of Iran, Russia and China and to sever all
relations with these countries once Syria is liberated. Other leaders pledge to
liberate Aleppo.
In Aleppo City, pro-Assad militias are busy targeting
and killing activists. This is one from the neighborhood of Marjeh http://youtu.be/ormPw7P1fgw Elsewhere in
Aleppo City, a video leaked by activists from inside the central prison shows
imprisoned activists receiving treatment for wounds received during clashes
with prison authorities http://youtu.be/Ccx_lJ-gQVk
Eight activists were reported dead.
In Sakhour Neighborhood, clashes between FSA units
and pro-Assad militias left two tanks destroyed http://youtu.be/Ig0XI43quZ4 , http://youtu.be/2wW0XQVNuPI One tank was
confiscated http://youtu.be/T7TB9TM6xGE
In Hanano, clashes http://youtu.be/FSalyGIq-sA
, http://youtu.be/537fYojHnVg left one
tank destroyed http://youtu.be/DqbOJtkM8oQ
, http://youtu.be/Wb7uMdHFfAI
Residents stream out of the neighborhood http://youtu.be/aoikwVgvKhE
In Salaheddine Neighborhood, local activists clean
their streets to make up for the interruption of services http://youtu.be/ndHZ5Y6kCuA Elsewhere in
the neighborhood, pro-Assad militias engage in random shooting to terrorize the
residents http://youtu.be/lGFLdikTR5o
In Jabal Al-Akrad, Lattakia, fires from the pounding
carried out by pro-Assad militias keep burning http://youtu.be/1vAWUAh9KaA
In Homs Province, the pounding of Talbisseh continues
http://youtu.be/K7ybLBnn7RI So
does the pounding of Rastan http://youtu.be/OM8NQ7OPGks
The pounding of Old Homs as well http://youtu.be/MbM-zn0nY4c
, http://youtu.be/mDPnonnTFYI , http://youtu.be/WXTEH91s4zg
The pounding of Hawash, Sahel Al-Ghab, Hama Province,
continues http://youtu.be/4RCFcg0DyDg
, http://youtu.be/IsIYPOXU9hY
Daraa City, among other towns
in Daraa Province, continue to be pounded http://youtu.be/YeBvSkuxf8Y
, http://youtu.be/3ZPZs6AcrEk Homes
catch fire http://youtu.be/IfsKAc6GPXw
Nearby Al-Hraak was pounded as well http://youtu.be/-Eeovd1FSqs
, http://youtu.be/hmDufsKHwuE
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