The writing was on the wall, and we all refused to see it.
Assad had no intention of going gently into that good night, yet he was given
all the leeway he needed to transform his crisis into a quagmire with regional,
even international implications. Dealing with psychopaths like Assad is never easy, but that’s no excuse
for indifference and inaction, nor is the fact that this tragedy is unfolding in
some far away country. Distances have lost their relevance in our world, it’s
about time our policymaking reflected this reality. Mass murder, ethnic cleansing,
tyranny are no longer local concerns with local implications: they are global
problems with global implications, and world leaders have sat on their hands
for too long in regard to the Syrian crisis, this is unconscionable and inexcusable.
Irrespective of the geopolitics involved, this tragic chapter in our
contemporary history needs to be brought to a proper end, and the criminals involved
need to be held accountable.
Wednesday
January 2, 2013
Today’s
Death Toll: 207, including
6 women and 8 children: 141 in Damascus and suburbs including 47 in Mleiha, 32 in
Mouadamieh and 8 in Deir Al-Asafeer; 17 in Aleppo; 14 in Daraa; 15 in Idlib; 7
in Hama; 5 in Homs; 4 in Deir Ezzor; 2 in Raqqa; and 2 in Sweida. Points of Random Shelling: 257: 14 areas were
subjected to aerial shelling mainly in Damascus Suburbs. Barrel bombing was
confirmed in 5 areas, and Mouadamieh was subjected to cluster bombs.
Thermobaric bombing was documented in one area in Mleiha. 117 locations were
subjected to artillery shelling, 72 locations to mortar shelling, and 68 to
missile attacks. Clashes: The Free Syrian Army (FSA) clashed with regime forces in 125
locations, with the fiercest clashes taking place in Damascus Suburbs and Idlib
Province. In Hama, the FSA was able to control parts of Taftanaz Military
Airport, downed an attack helicopter in Taftanaz, and another in Afas. In
addition, the FSA attacked the military airport in Thaala in Sweida and
repelled regime attempts to storm Basr Al-Harir. The FSA seized control of the
checkpoint in western Nahia in Sheikh Miskeen, and repelled regime attempts to
storm the village of Al-Saan in Homs (LCCs).
News
Special
Reports
Few Syrians interviewed in Aleppo
believe that a brand of Islam like that practiced by Jabhat al-Nusra can
survive in Syria. But any regime that succeeds Assad is likely to be Islamic in
nature, some say. "We want a regime that applies sharia law, but that is
fair and just," says Abu Mohammad, a Free Syrian Army commander in Aleppo
and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. "Many Muslims believe that if we
apply the true Islam, we can use it to get rid of corruption and problems like
bribery," he says.
The
civil war's threat to Damascus The spirit of Syria's capital lies in
its diverse people and exquisite buildings. Both are in great peril
In addition to our shared humanity,
what’s at stake for America is that due to the world’s inaction, the rebel
movement is now contaminated by al-Qaida and other Islamist forces – all of
whom have enthusiastically filled the vacuum that we have chosen to ignore. In
short, we overlook Syria at our own peril. At best, the situation there can now
be deemed a civil war; at worst, a petri dish where extremism will be grown for
a generation.
After almost two years of bloodletting
in Syria, there is little chance that negotiations of the kind UN peace envoy
Lakhdar Brahimi has been urging would end the conflict. More likely, they would
prolong it. And worse, they would perpetuate Bashar al-Assad’s favorite
strategy of fanning fears of rebel sectarianism and extremism to dissuade the
world from intervening against him.
“Given there has
been no let-up in the conflict since the end of November, we can assume that
more than 60,000 people have been killed by the beginning of 2013,” Pillay said.
“The number of casualties is much higher than we expected, and is truly
shocking.” … The analysts noted that 60,000 is likely to be an
underestimate of the actual number of deaths, given that reports containing
insufficient information were excluded from the list, and that a significant
number of killings may not have been documented at all by any of the seven
sources. The recording and collection of accurate and reliable data has grown
increasingly challenging due to the conflict raging in many parts of the
country.
Indeed, the revision does not come as a surprise to me, I have long
said that the official casualty figures fail to give an accurate impression of
the what's really taking place in Syria: most of those believed missing or
detained are probably dead, this is what previous experiences with the regime
tell us. Also, activists on the ground are having a hard time keeping up with
the all the violent developments taking place.
Also, the figures we have do not include regime casualties. Many of the
soldiers fighting for the regime have no choice in the matter: they were lied
to, manipulated and/or coerced, and when some try to defect, they are often
killed on the spot by loyalist officers. In many ways, they are victims as
well.
Personally, I believe that we have long exceeded the 100,000 mark in
terms of casualties. A comparative perspective informs us that official figures
are usually off by a factor of three. We will not know the truth of it all
until the end of the conflict which may not happen anytime soon.
Video Highlights
The Massacre at Mleiha, Damascus Suburbs: a runor was spread
earlier in the day that the local as station finally had some gas. Indeed,
Syrian TV came and covered parts of the distribution process, but as soon as
the TV crew left, an aerial raid took place and the gas station was bombed, killing
around 50 locals.
Rushing to the scene http://youtu.be/tKi-JI20zzI
Pulling bodies from under the rubble http://youtu.be/lxLgWylKQQU
The martyrs http://youtu.be/ikApkegbqQ0
Human remains http://youtu.be/eY8xWPl5BEQ
Nearby residential buildings were also targeted http://youtu.be/LHlhtEZkayc
The nearby communities of Eastern Ghoutah were also targeted: Douma
http://youtu.be/jl7kvN7pTtI , http://youtu.be/tdWWir04D-I Deir
Al-Assafir http://youtu.be/5rM5g6uD3Qg
, http://youtu.be/6KBTou6WcH8 Arbeen
http://youtu.be/PKJ9kq9Ws0A
Several neighborhoods in Damascus City itself were also pounded:
Mazzeh http://youtu.be/mBwbiuA1LLg
To the south, local sift through the rubble in search bodies in the
town of Mouadamiyeh http://youtu.be/fdih2E9jxMw
In Idlib, helicopter gunships took part in shelling the town of Taftanaz
http://youtu.be/e2iFC7o2FCY , http://youtu.be/MCPL7WDMKgo , http://youtu.be/Ys8pxUFvOYw In Binnish,
local rush to pull out the bodies from under the rubble in the aftermath of an
aerial raid http://youtu.be/QCeGOroTWX0
Fighter jets took part in pounding the town of Basr Al-Harir in
Daraa http://youtu.be/4B5n0vnaOPQ
In Homs City, the aftermath of aerial raid on Old Homs, one of the
oldest towns in the world http://youtu.be/i5WXHONBUP0
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