If the
curse of Gulf States is that they have oil, the curse of Syria is that she does
not. No one seems to give a damn about mass massacres in a country that has no
oil.
Wednesday September 14, 2011
After 28 killed on
Tuesday, pro-Assad militias kill 9 today as the crackdown continues --- Today’s
crackdown included raids on border towns with Turkey, including Jabal
Al-Zawiyeh region in Idlib Province, and Sahel Al-Ghab region in Hama Province,
where many of the defected soldiers are hiding, and on the Damascene suburbs of
Madaya, Zabadani and Bukain near the borders with Lebanon, as well as the
suburb of Harasta. Hundreds of locals were arrested and moved to parts unknown ---
The death toll from Wednesday includes a 7-year old boy killed during killing a
barrage in Jisr Ashoughour in Idlib Province, and an 8-year old boy from the
Damascene suburb of Douma who was tortured to death ---
Capture of Hussain Harmoush more a blow to Erdogan
than the defectors
Syrian
TV ran an advertisement earlier for an interview to be aired on Thursday with
Hussain Harmoush, the leader of the Free Officers Movement, who disappeared
from a refugee camp in Turkey on August 29 http://youtu.be/jGO-qBS3rU8
From the clip, it’s clear that Harmoush, and Syrian propagandists, will be
blaming the revolution on the works of external agents and that he will speak
of his contacts with Syrian opposition figures and movements during his stint
in a refugee camp in Turkey, including former VP Abdul Haleem Khaddam, uncle of
Bashar Al-Assad, Rifa’at Al-Assad, members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the
Antalya Group, etc. Looking at the brief clip, Mr. Harmoush seemed to be in a
far better shape when he lived in the refugee camp, a not too surprising
observation.
But
how did Lt. Col. Harmoush end up captured by Assad’s loyalists? This is what all
want to find out, including one Syrian dissident who managed to get close to PM
Erdogan’s convoy in Cairo earlier in the day.
But
after contacting several eyewitnesses from Idlib Province, again, it seems that
placing the blame on Turkey may not fair. For, Harmoush, according to
these witnesses, was captured in the same military raid that left his brother
dead on September 9 in Ibleen in Idlib Province. He was neither kidnapped by
Assad agents nor surrendered by Turkish authorities, as the rumor mill has it.
I
have referred to these reports before, also on the basis of reports from
eyewitness in the Idlib province, but the intensity of the rumors concerning
Turkish duplicity circulated in opposition circles, coupled with the dismissive
attitude of Turkish officials vis-à-vis repeated inquiries by members of the
opposition, allowed the rumors to gain more currency and to appear more
believable. If indeed Turkish officials are not to blame for this development, whether
in the active sense (surrendering Harmoush) or the negative sense (failing to
protect him), then they need to be careful about the public impressions they
are creating in opposition circles, and of the Assads’ duplicity in stoking the
fires of suspicion. Whether they like it or not, Turkish officials are caught
up in this crisis, and they need to learn how to manage it more efficiently
than they have already.
Be
that as it may, and even while giving more credence to the reports claiming
that Harmoush was captured inside Syria, because of how this incident has been
perceived by so many Syrians, it constitutes a blow to Mr. Erdogan’s standing,
and his advisors now have to rebuild trust with the Syrian opposition, if they
indeed care. Allowing the UN and other international organizations greater
access to and greater role in managing the refugee camps might help curb these
rumors. Allowing easier access to journalists and foreign dignitaries will also
help. Limited access creates perfect grounds for spreading malicious rumors.
On
the other hand, the development is unlikely to affect the organizational
capacity of the defectors, due to their decentralized operational philosophy,
and might even facilitate the integration of the Free Officers Movement and the
Free Syrian Army under the leadership of Colonel Riayd Al-Asaad, also based in
Turkey, provided nothing untoward happens to him.
Bakkour calls for international protection
For
his part Hama’s defecting Attorney General, Adnan Bakkour, believed to be still
on the run somewhere in the country, deliver this little clip in which he
demands international protection for the unarmed civilians http://youtu.be/2FNosGiW2Yc
New leaked videos reveal protester’s
bravery and army brutality
This clip shows a couple of security officers as
they beat a teenage protester from the town of Ankhel in the
Deraa/Hauran Province and try to force him to bow before a picture of Bashar
Al-Assad. Instead, the young protester spits on the poster http://youtu.be/-araofSe2vs It is highly unlikely
that the young man was allowed to live for longer after that.
In this clip from the Damascene suburb of Douma,
pro-Assad militias are making sure that a person they wounded is dead by standing
on top of him and using him for target practice http://youtu.be/ES9tjZU0oyU But the
lucky fellows here in Douma were only beaten senseless http://youtu.be/fSg2wnFcQfY
And here is a group of pro-Assad militias terrorizing
the inhabitants of the town of Talbisseh in Homs Province, in a
development reminiscent of what had taken place in Baniyas in the early weeks
of the revolution http://youtu.be/M7w7eJLpagk
This clip shows detainees being held in the
military security headquarters in the city of Jableh
http://youtu.be/bewIQxvi4Bc
According to eyewitnesses, the detainees can left like this for days and weeks,
with little nutrition offered and limited access to facilities.
Protesters in Kafar Nabboudeh in Hama
Province come under fire, leaving one dead http://youtu.be/S3NTQyfpp5s
HOMS
Homs City – Daytime
Bodies found in 60 Street http://youtu.be/Mk__YyioqIA Baba Amr
funeral for Frouq Taha Al-Jouri http://youtu.be/-Qx9p-XZPPg
Wa’er an all women protest in which the Russian flag was burnt http://youtu.be/w_VuXpHG5us
Homs City – Nighttime
Baba Amr http://youtu.be/jaexPM_06II
, http://youtu.be/JVsDtDpOZKI Bayadeh
http://youtu.be/EqX_malG930 Khladiyeh
http://youtu.be/xSqQbW_PMDw , http://youtu.be/WosnojieMVg Ghoutah
http://youtu.be/9BjZzHOs7N8 Insha’aat
http://youtu.be/WlcQ6_VXpOE Qarabees
http://youtu.be/xTqqjH_begk Qoussour
http://youtu.be/_jieEPhHz_I Karm
Al-Shami http://youtu.be/F0EZvLQwNHM
Bab Dreib http://youtu.be/tBFYhw-aFTk
Homs Province
Talbisseh http://youtu.be/ds4rXtwIunY
, http://youtu.be/DYwVTm34N4Y Rastan
remnants of shells used against the city yesterday http://youtu.be/3Vk7u1m1oXs Deir
Baalbah http://youtu.be/XjYev-Hb8l8
Tadmor/Palmyra http://youtu.be/TZiPJh3LAfw
Qseir http://youtu.be/DDmZRKKyGZY
Houleh http://youtu.be/vHzVONOgWeo
, http://youtu.be/sDc4v9X2_Cw , http://youtu.be/Y_xzaKJDoVo
IDLIB
Daytime
Troops and tanks enter the village of Abdita
in Jabal Al-Zawiyeh http://youtu.be/DYh9wPJnOuk
where the home of Colonel Riyad Al-Asaad, leader of the Free Syrian
Army, was ransacked http://youtu.be/mqa9I7jz-wo
Binnish like many protest communities, the town is facing severe fuel
shortage http://youtu.be/FEEhr35PRMc Bassamis
(Sept 12) http://youtu.be/HaJPo4OfyYs
Nighttime
Idlib City http://youtu.be/2IyNlAendRE
, http://youtu.be/ThKeMxxgYno Kafar
Takhreem http://youtu.be/1RorzSuxTpA
, http://youtu.be/fhMlwByK9mU Binnish
http://youtu.be/7we--c6PSxc Jabal Al-Zawiyeh – Zardana http://youtu.be/Bp8kyRmZqQM Kafroumah
http://youtu.be/FWycB2Bh8-s Hzano
http://youtu.be/wh7_qq7jkws
DAMASCUS
Daytime
The storming of Zabadani http://youtu.be/TGs9Ot6jJwA A civilian airplane
flies out of Mazzeh Military Airport, considered by many to be operated
as a mini Auschwitz at this stage with several recent reports talking of mass
liquidation of defected soldiers and nonviolence activists http://youtu.be/UO2R2hV16RM Kisweh choppers
overfly the suburb http://youtu.be/NH9aB3hII30
In Douma, young protesters, mostly teenagers,
taunt pro-Assad militias by shouting anti-Assad slogans http://youtu.be/QSGqKidDOzg , http://youtu.be/dM4n3N4M-jQ Midan -
Zahirah http://youtu.be/8o9x0cmTx9Y
Midan - Zein Al-Abdeen Mosque http://youtu.be/cLYXYWn2URs
Zamalka http://youtu.be/Vads0dEOUN8
Assaly http://youtu.be/s8B7AyQKAQ8
Nighttime
Thousands take to the streets in Douma http://youtu.be/b8QeY2mqojs , http://youtu.be/0dl61er90Qw Kisweh
http://youtu.be/rOtn64BxSxI Dmeir
http://youtu.be/Ug0Unu88Q7U , http://youtu.be/_9Vu7uvICN0 Kafar
Sousseh http://youtu.be/4_vO02TdaHk
Hamouriyeh http://youtu.be/iINRhU6ARMY
Midan - Zahirah http://youtu.be/y3ah31_2pzU
Barzeh http://youtu.be/WOeVJQYUrgw
Sayyidah Zainab http://youtu.be/Kn2YGl9nwnc
DERAA/HAURAN
Daytime
Hraak locals celebrate the release of local figure
Riyad Al-Salamat http://youtu.be/MJOMTcYr8vg
, http://youtu.be/M_wljttWPPM
Nighttime
Basr Al-Harir http://youtu.be/bsY-w2p0bTU
, http://youtu.be/FefHCsml1B4 Kafar
Shams http://youtu.be/Idvwj4eYC3o
Hraak http://youtu.be/b1O1JulroKM
Nasseeb http://youtu.be/mYTlCX8nP1Q
Sanamein http://youtu.be/sKP33uEt6OA
Namar http://youtu.be/odH1DoBTv08
Deraa City http://youtu.be/yTcFE-P1PuE
ALEPPO
Andan http://youtu.be/5xDUGeP6eLs
, http://youtu.be/TfRBnOE-vZs Eizaz
http://youtu.be/Gj3IyiA-9FI In Marei
people celebrate the release of some detainees http://youtu.be/VeC3yef_TWM Elbaab
a daytime funeral http://youtu.be/hWKwieHEW1k
, http://youtu.be/dGBIrRREpwQ
ELSEWHERE
Hama –Ellatamneh http://youtu.be/jG4cbdtYa-g Taybat
Al-Imam http://youtu.be/fgdO_h5VHFs
Mork loved ones saying goodbye to a local martyr http://youtu.be/L5pkkbzQ2vY Hama City
- Stadium South http://youtu.be/nk9XhwnMnIw
Madeeq http://youtu.be/zKzG-Wk6-Dw
Kafar Nabboudeh a martyr (Sept. 13) http://youtu.be/IsTgyJPwW4k
Deir Ezzor – Deir Ezzor City – Hassan Taha
Street http://youtu.be/ESQEZAULL8w , http://youtu.be/aczluGXXRjA
Turkey – Refugee Camps http://youtu.be/Z0NmHEL5_yQ , http://youtu.be/j48uC5KD3ks
Tartous – Burning the Russian flag http://youtu.be/zT-0kECUHos
Lattakia – Jableh http://youtu.be/tsYcr9Siiyw
Baniyas the local female activists demand international
protection http://youtu.be/E2Mo5ECsrtI
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