Syrian Revolution Digest: Boldly Go, or forever curse the day you didn’t!

Assad is not conceding but escalating. The situation is getting worse and more complex by the hour. But the questions facing the international community remain the same: how and when to intervene? The answers too have not changed: Boldly and now!

Tuesday 20, 2011

Today’s death toll: 182. The Breakdown: 150 fell in Jabal Al-Zawiyeh region of the Idlib Province, 100 were said to be defectors, while the remaining 50 were civilians, 36 of whom fell in the village of Kafar Ouayd, including a local Imam whose body was mutilated post-mortem. Most defectors also fell in the areas between Kafar Ouayd and Fateerah.

Sweep operations by loyalists in the town of Hraak in Deraa/Hauran Province left 6 more dead. 12 more fell in the city of Homs where Assad loyalist used 2 heat-seeking missiles in their attack on Baba Amr Neighborhood.

14 loyalists were killed in an ambush by insurgents in Deraa/Hauran Province which came in retaliation for Monday’s massacre of defectors in Idlib Province.

Earlier in the day, Assad issued a new decree calling for the execution of “those convicted of distributing arms in order to facilitate terrorist activities.” Meanwhile, his troops conducted exercises to test their combat readiness, even as his other troops carried out massacres all over the country to prove it. If the battle is against unarmed civilians and few portly armed defectors, Assad troops remain ready, and willing.

The Arab League appointed the Sudanese general, Muhammad Ahmad Mustafa Al-Dabi, as the head of the monitoring delegation that will pay a visit to Syria to inspect 10 locations over a period of 1 month. Sudan is one of the Arab States that stood by Assad during the current crackdown and voted against the sanctions imposed by the Arab League. Around a 100 monitors will be involved. Reports from Syria indicate that most detainees are now being moved to military camps, which will remain off-limits to monitors.

Monday’s death toll for killed defectors is now estimated at over 120.

Links

Assessing Assad: The Syrian leader isn't crazy. He's just doing whatever it takes to survive.

Bashar al-Assad Is Every Bit His Father's Son: The family that slays together stays together.

Assessing Assad: The Syrian leader isn't crazy. He's just doing whatever it takes to survive.

Quote: “Assad is no exception. Just as he said, it is not his government. He cannot do whatever he wants. He might even be a true reformer, as many in the Western media believed prior to the Arab Spring, or he may be the brute he now appears to be. The truth is, he is doing what he must to maintain the loyalty of those who keep him in power.”

My comment: By the same token, and just as Assad cannot abandon his supporters, we should also dismiss the idea that the military-security complex in Syria can move against him. If there was a chance of that, it would have taken place back in the first 3-5 months of the revolution. But now, all high-ranking members of the complex have been taking active part in orchestrating and implementing the country-wide repression of unarmed protesters, all have blood on their hands now. So who in his right mind would legitimate a move by them? This is an all-out Revolution now. We have to dig deeper than the upper layers to find potential recruits for the anti-Assad camp. None of them will be guiltless of course, but their relative obscurity would help us give them the necessary benefit of the doubt when they claim not to have been heavily involved in the crackdown.

The War in Homs City

Acts of Random Sniping continue courtesy Assad loyalists Khaldiyeh http://youtu.be/TYGS8yQfEAo Baba Amr http://youtu.be/9-5ybQyc95E

These kids in Baba Amr soon come under fire http://youtu.be/nQGOsMD-MSk

Victims of Tuesday’s shelling of Baba Amr Neighborhood in which loyalist troops used heat seeking missiles http://youtu.be/eSQBc5hgh78 , http://youtu.be/jC1VhbfBxQI Demolished homes http://youtu.be/8fb9-DAd264 , http://youtu.be/4iy0AxY6Ua4 , http://youtu.be/Xant4ZBrqSc Digging up the remains of men http://youtu.be/DwLKvqB7uGI , http://youtu.be/KKC6tewBJrc Burying the dead of Baba Amr http://youtu.be/Pl3w6Mh0jtg

In Bab Houd, protesters http://youtu.be/Ze7oGOddKRs come under fire http://youtu.be/YKpyA1zf2l4 In Bab Al-Sibaa as well http://youtu.be/jaSINeTNNYo , http://youtu.be/JUwWuAGypn0 Soon, the loyalists at the gate come storming in http://youtu.be/_ntxLqRRCU8 and people clear the streets http://youtu.be/YoiT0yIXnpI One of the shells used in today’s bombardment http://youtu.be/qlDRl_LUz34

This is why the inhabitants of Khaldiyeh Neighborhood want “safe corridors: so they can cross the streets safely http://youtu.be/W3_hVaboCJI

But in the face of it of all, and despite of it all, people still take to the streets Banner “Our goal is to build a civil state that respects our human rights, we seek neither vengeance nor vendettas, but a state that maintains law and order” http://youtu.be/8fb9-DAd264

In the larger Province, loyalists are still conducting sweep operations: Talbisseh http://youtu.be/mYe9I8Grc-A , http://youtu.be/RyKvkBb6W6w And at night, the town comes under heavy gunfire http://youtu.be/U-6TPla8i-g , http://youtu.be/ang32g3V0Ro

Damascus

Protesters in Midan District were unable to hold the mass funerals they wanted for their fallen comrades due to security blockade of the entire district. Still, the managed to stage a few smaller ones, such this one http://youtu.be/GOKJSLp8gJM for Ayham Al-Samman http://youtu.be/Y7PrTYVJRak and this one for Alaa Toghli http://youtu.be/zZEsaf2rBQw , http://youtu.be/J6xIN4iwGTI , http://youtu.be/qB3VCli-F_A

Part of the security forces laying siege to Midan http://youtu.be/WcJQWTGecSo Protesters running away from tear gas http://youtu.be/eVIdY1k-UME Loyalists brandish their weapons and fire at protesters http://youtu.be/fAElzRdrli8

Still, protesters took to the narrowest streets to show their defiance http://youtu.be/G5kGmrO_QEE , http://youtu.be/jWfq9Db2R6s , http://youtu.be/Gs1nvhJKNoA At occasions they managed to foray into the main streets http://youtu.be/6ui90FcJG94

The Shelling of the town of Zabadani in Rural & Suburban Damascus destroys this car http://youtu.be/3JU62FsLJF0 killing its occupants http://youtu.be/3i6b2Q3UaZI , http://youtu.be/MFX8sko46Is

Idlib

Khan Shaikhoon a martyr http://youtu.be/Z0DKiAAicHw a funeral http://youtu.be/7TSqJ8e25fo , http://youtu.be/a1DXe1m_NPA the car in which the martyr was killed as he drove by a checkpoint http://youtu.be/MW8MpMa2mU0

The inhabitants of Idlib City want FREEDOM http://youtu.be/NCiTPBR0XAo the village of Tal Aoar offers a martyr http://youtu.be/lxXbsbm-2oE The village of Hbeet offers another http://youtu.be/iLRhN5ZknCo The town of Kafrenbel gets pounded http://youtu.be/umSoy3d2ASI But locals are not disheartened, they take to the streets and hoist their colorful banners mocking Assad and the Arab League “With so many killed after singing the Protocol, we miss the respites” http://youtu.be/UzHnWbVxk2I

The locals at Binnish take to the streets despite the fact that their town and surrounding areas came under heavy automatic fire during the day http://youtu.be/KasLwcNAPXc , http://youtu.be/lT2_zbhACZg

In Ariha, locals bury their dead http://youtu.be/9J86pttwKCI and take back to the streets http://youtu.be/LdeLOppg3h4

The aftermath of an attack by defectors affiliated with the Free Syrian Army near the town of Saraqib http://youtu.be/3EF4rHRoLR8

Hama

Hama City: tanks in the streets http://youtu.be/hQeq_tyBnZw checkpoints http://youtu.be/SBEtbnRtRzg Loyalists http://youtu.be/zfz0EC-zwVI and death http://youtu.be/h8ZReLup31s , http://youtu.be/3JA_-K33JuY

Aleppo

Students observing a sit-in on-campus in the University of Aleppo are assaulted by security forces http://youtu.be/MCNobOr5dog Loyalists climb over the gates of the campus in order to attack protesting students http://youtu.be/Sq93j_Ku-Do But in the College of Literature, students stages a big demonstration http://youtu.be/zMblAUxTImQ

Deraa/Hauran

This man from Namar died under torture http://youtu.be/-DMxzMR84Nk But people hold a funeral http://youtu.be/0eZn5p9COKQ and students continue to demonstrate http://youtu.be/-AjPmNGzjfU

In Hraak, hours after a loyalist raid that left 6 dead, people took to the streets http://youtu.be/zagoH9EEKWM One of the martyrs http://youtu.be/YURnqB6Mt8Y Earlier, tanks shot their way through http://youtu.be/q6gAeqFBRkE , http://youtu.be/fARXucRI9PY

Local defectors form another fighting unit http://youtu.be/xRRzg6lW9Nw

Demonstrations