Syrian Revolution Digest: Shoot ‘Em Up!

Summary executions keep taking place on a daily basis claiming dozens of victims throughout Syria. Yet, the most macabre thing in this regard is world silence.

Friday September 7, 2012

Today’s Death toll: 140. The Breakdown: the toll includes 5 women and 15 children. 44 reported in Damascus and suburbs, 30 in Aleppo, 22 in Deir Ezzor, 19 in Homs, 10 in Idlib, 6 in Lattakia, 5 in Daraa, 2 from Banyas and 2 in Hama. (LCC)

308 demonstrations were reported across the country. (LCC)

News

State TV reports 6 dead in Damascus 'terrorist' blast

UN nearly doubles humanitarian appeal for Syria

Syria rebels say they killed leader of extremist group that kidnapped 2 journalists

Canada breaks relations with Iran over Syria, support for terror

US senators urge tougher stand on Syria, Iran

Op-Eds & Special Reports

Palestinians on the Road to Damascus

From a purely Palestinian perspective, it could be argued that Palestinians have always had even more reason to rise up against the Assad regime than their Syrian counterparts. The regime oppressed them in the name of Arab unity and defense of their cause. Between the ardently apolitical UNRWA and overwhelmingly authoritarian regime, camps could offer no political refuge for Palestinians. This led to a complete standstill in meaningful political activism inside a community that has a long tradition of organizing and one that faces existential dilemmas daily.

INSIGHT-Minority militias stir fears of sectarian war in Damascus

* Minorities form vigilante groups in Damascus

* Residents say groups are backed by security forces

* City's sectarian frontiers fuel fears of civil war

Despite obstacles, aid groups say Syria refugee exodus growing

* Refugee exodus has already exceeded U.N. estimates

* Escape routes from Syria fraught with difficulty/danger

* Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Lebanon host over 246,000

Heart-rending choices in Syrian warzone hospital

When they mop out the building's tiny reception area, the blood runs in small, dirty streams into the gutters. This is a hospital trying to get by day-to-day while lacking the most basic in supplies. It has itself been hit by shelling: two separate attacks have left its right side punctured with gaping holes in what was once the maternity ward.

Daraya massacre leaves a ghost town still counting its dead

One of the first journalists to enter the Damascus suburb after the slaughter finds a desperate search for lost relatives

Inside Syria’s Fracturing Rebellion

As the rebels’ battle to wrest power from the regime grinds on and militias on both sides proliferate, they must decide whether to stick with a common aim or allow the situation to evolve into a struggle among its multiplying parts. These choices, in no small part, will determine the fate of the Syrian revolution. It is a cause for which over 20,000 have died and many more yet will perish; in which leaders will fall and others will be made.

The Gang That Can't Shoot Straight

The Syrian National Council has failed to galvanize international support for the rebellion -- and it has only itself to blame.

Syria funeral is focus of Kurdish anger

A bombing in Aleppo that killed a woman, two of her children and their young cousin triggers outrage among Kurds at a village funeral and throughout the region.

Turkey facing questions on Syria policy

With its calls for an international haven for refugees in Syria going nowhere, Turkey is rushing to shelter an influx of about 80,000 Syrians. In the east, Kurdish militants who Turkey alleges are aided by Syria are intensifying deadly attacks. And in this Alawite-heavy border region, a rest and resupply hub for the mainly Sunni Syrian rebels, worries are growing that Syria’s sectarian strife might infect Turkey.

Life and death in Aleppo (PHOTOS) On this morning, the men were relaxed and joking around as they cleaned their area from a tank attack the day before. That time, they had been prepared and the tank had fired too short. This time, the assault came with little warning. Surviving Aleppo (VIDEO) Against all odds, a toddler survives a bomb attack that killed his entire family in Aleppo, Syria. Many more have not been so lucky.

Video Highlights

The sounds of bombardments of restive suburbs and neighborhoods can be heard at dawn all the way from central Damascus http://youtu.be/GwgOjZ73o2Y In the nearby suburb of Qatana, the bombardment leaves many building on fire http://youtu.be/rwOGgwsS1Vk , http://youtu.be/pMLcVIm0_ws In Harasta, a massacre was perpetrated involving summary executions of activists http://youtu.be/8xm_PHTGD0E Washing the dead in Deir Assafir http://youtu.be/W0_MGWe5NKs

This is what pro-Assad militias are doing in Aleppo City: victims of summary executions in Al-Akramiyah Neighborhood http://youtu.be/vPGDFLHv5AQ Obviously, the victims were lined against the wall and shot. The massacre reportedly took place on September 5, but was discovered only now after rebels retook the neighborhood. Meanwhile, other neighborhoods are still being pounded by MIGs: Al-Sha’ar http://youtu.be/4MHm4MKUHpk Snipers are also active: Salaheddine http://youtu.be/6EDTUwtjA5c

But for all the pounding and the killing, hundreds of rallies took place all over the country. This is a sample: