Pro-Assad militias describe their operations against the
rebels in Damascus, Homs and elsewhere as “clearing slums,” but considering that
millions of people have been displaced as a result of these operations, the overwhelming
majority of whom are Sunnis, the development is nothing less than a massive
ethnic cleansing effort. Since, for now, an Alawite enclave along the coast has
already been secured, except for regions in north Lattakia, the current drive seems
aimed simply at disrupting rebel activities, irrespective of long-term impact.
The slums have for decades provided shelter to immigrant families from rural
areas searching for jobs and advancement opportunities and emigrant middle
class families from the inner cities driven out by inflationary pressures. By pushing
them out, the “clearing” operations have produced a major humanitarian disaster.
But, judging by increased rebel activities in these areas, the operations have
proven a total failure in terms of military strategy. Still, the madness
continues, coupled with opposition irrelevance and international indifference. So,
who speaks for Aisha
and Rayaan?
Who speaks for the thousands of children that have been killed in this conflict?
Monday November
26, 2012
Today’s
Death Toll: 168, including 6 women and 5
children: 90 in Damascus and suburbs (including 28 who died under torture in
Daraya and 6 in Dahadeel), 35 in Aleppo, 11 in Hama, 10 in Homs, 8 in Daraa, 7
in Idlib, 4 in Quneitra, 2 in Deir Ezzor; and 1 in Raqqah Points of Random Shelling: 248: 75 by mortar,
140 by artillery, 33 by missile, 10by warplanes including three uses of barrel
bombs, and 2 uses of cluster bombs. Clashes:
140. Rebels liberated a police station at the Jordanian-Syrian border, attacked
checkpoints in Quneitra, and repelled multiple regime attempts to storm Daraya
and the cities and towns of Eastern Ghoutah in Damascus (LCC).
News
Syria
opposition names London 'ambassador' Originally from the central city of
Homs, the 62-year-old former teacher set up the SCHR in 1986 and was imprisoned
several times, before moving to London, where he represented the Syrian branch
of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Special
Reports
The United States has kept its hands
in its pockets so far, in part because our diplomats say that the Syrian rebels
have long been too fragmented and disorganized for any hope of real
cooperation. Will a playground full of dead children sway the State Department
to take a more assertive stance? Probably not.
For the regime of President Bashar
al-Assad, the stakes in Damascus are nothing short of retaining control of the
nation itself. "If they lose Damascus, they lose the state," says
Patrick Seale, a British author and Syria expert. Senior security officials
within the Assad regime say partial demolitions of pro-rebel neighborhoods in
and around Damascus are a key element of an ambitious counterinsurgency plan
now unfolding. The plan also involves the expansion of regime-funded militias
known as "Popular Committees" within the capital.
As the conflict between the Syrian
government and opposition fighters continues, kidnapping has become a source of
much needed money in a struggling economy, the BBC's Lina Sinjab in Damascus
reports.
Just 25 miles from Aleppo, which has
been pounded into dust by Bashar al-Assad's air force, the Syrian town of Afrin
is a picture of domestic tranquility. But that's because it's being run by a
relatively unknown player in Syria's civil war: Syrian Kurds.
Syrian rebel officers have formed a
commission to lay the foundations for a future army and liaise with the
political opposition on issues such as arming fighters on the ground, a
spokesman said on Monday.
When Syrian rebels seized the border
post at Ras al-Ayn on Nov. 8, they celebrated the victory and went on to
"liberate" the town, a place where both Arabs and Kurds live on
Syria's northeast border with Turkey. But the Kurdish inhabitants quickly saw
their "liberation" as a disaster. Within days, dozens were dead in
clashes between Kurdish militias and the rebels.
Teen group shows support for Syria
Announcement
The Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI) invites you to its 2012 Forum to be
held on Tuesday, November 27th, at the Newseum's Knight Conference Center,
where Members of Congress, foreign dissidents, and leading policy experts will
discuss “The Price of Greatness: The Next Four Years of U.S. Foreign Policy.” (RSVP
Here).
I am glad to be an adviser in this effort
Students around the
country are getting involved in something global and something powerful. With a
click of a mouse and a bit of green paint, teenagers across the United States
are reaching out, pledging their support and making a difference. Students
around the country are becoming ... Syria. “I Am Syria is a campaign for the
Syrian people, and its purpose is to let them know that we support them and
that they are not alone,” said Abby Cordaro, a sophomore at Immaculata Academy.
“Its main goal is to spread awareness about the conflict in Syria.”
More on the I Am Syrian Campaign can be found on its dedicated website. Educators will find this page in
particular to be of interest and use.
Meanwhile,
no one seems in a position to speak for this little girl. Her name was Rayaan.
Video Highlights
Leaked video shows pro-Assad militias abusing the injured after
they stormed a field hospital for rebels. The go from one injured to another asking
him to tell them where the weapons are hidden threatening to shoot him if he
failed to reply http://youtu.be/p3Bex1oMAHA
This leaked video is from Deir Ezzor City shows part of the “sweep”
operations conducted by pro-Assad militias in the old market http://youtu.be/FgT7qimaWUk
Scenes from the clashes in Deir Ezzor City http://youtu.be/Y5vRksGWbMs , http://youtu.be/VZbRU70jXb0 , http://youtu.be/b4lcUJkz7w4
Rebels attack a checkpoint in Ruknaddine Neighborhood, Damascus
City http://youtu.be/gMnAVukcGDg Sounds
of mortar fire can be heard in the plush Mazzeh Neighborhood http://youtu.be/xxawwjAdDjs , http://youtu.be/TPGZYMLU25U
The shelling of the town of Zabadani continues http://youtu.be/s8GJ5_I_6E8
The pounding of the town of Rastan, Homs Province, continues http://youtu.be/03cPoBiJ3ns , http://youtu.be/gKGJvQfFa3Q
Fighter jets keep pounding neighborhoods and towns in Aleppo: Bab
El-Hawa http://youtu.be/gr2vQv2qp5Y
, http://youtu.be/36M489AwmYk Dar
Azzah http://youtu.be/DSrzhSBUv-M
Elsewhere http://youtu.be/7yaE6NQYuQo
Clashes in Old Aleppo http://youtu.be/xTzhAhT85QQ
, http://youtu.be/AZVB1jTiYog , http://youtu.be/LSrYLDh77To
A local rebel leader calls on “tent officers,” as defectors based in
Antakya are known, to come join him and his comrades in the trenches, “there is
more honor and dignity in it for you.” http://youtu.be/3JCAeY46zso
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