“Let those who have a conscience look and see what’s happening to
us in Syria” http://youtu.be/_KkWJv1B1CA
“What have we done to deserve this?” http://youtu.be/1lqV78slqLg
Sunday 05, 2012
Today’s death toll: 71. The Breakdown: 43
civilians and 28 loyalist troops.
23, including 3 children and 2 women, were killed in the continued
pounding of Homs City, especially the neighborhoods of Baba Amr, Karm Al-Shami, Bab Dreib, Bab
Al-Sibaa and Inshaa’at, and the nearby towns of Houleh and Rastan.
Horrific scenes continue to pour out of Baba Amr “These are children not
terrorists” http://youtu.be/WBmk_DV-XSc
3 were killed in the suburb of Daraya in
Damascus, a teenager and a woman as victims of random shooting by loyalist and
a young man who died of wounds received on Saturday.
4 were killed in Idlib Province, including a 12 year-old girl from
the village of Mastoumah and a young man from the village of Bsamis who was
returned dead to his family having been imprisoned by loyalist security forces
a few days earlier.
4 protesters were killed in the Deraa/Hauran Province.
Clashes near the village of Al-Barrah in Idlib Province, left 14 loyalist
troops dead, including 3 officers. 19 Loyalist soldiers were captured by
rebels.
In the town of Zabadani in Rural Damascus,
3 loyalist officers were killed in clashes with rebels protecting the town from
invasion. Meanwhile, the pounding of Zabadani and the neighboring town of Madaya
the town continues.
The pounding of the historic town of Tadmor (Palmyra) has been
escalated with over 500 mortar rounds and anti-airplane missies used in the
operations so far.
Meanwhile, and in a typical fashion, Syrian opposition groups responded
to the massacres by issuing more statements and forming new groups and councils
that decried divisiveness. Today, the highest ranking officer to defect to
Turkey, Major General Mustafa Ahmad Al-Sheikh, announced the formation of the
High Syrian Council for the Liberation of Syria. Two days ago, a group of 70
Syrians announced the formation of the National Current for Change, which
sprung up of the Antalya Conference for Change the first opposition coalition
to be launched after the beginning of the Revolution. For its part, the Syrian
National Council, continued its practice of issuing stentorian pronouncements
celebrating its various successes in reaching out to the international
community while simultaneously decrying the violence perpetrated by the Assads.
News
Op-Eds
& Special Reports
The story on the
ground in Homs in particular is this: loyalists cannot stand up to local rebels
in direct combat, they are always pushed out to the outskirts of rebellious
communities after each assault, and they are in fact losing ground. But from
their position on the outskirts they can continue to inflect damage on rebels
by indiscriminately pounding their strongholds with artillery and mortar fire.
That’s what’s happening in Old Homs, and that’s what’s
happening in the town of Rastan, among other restive
communities.
Should rebels lay
their hands on more sophisticated weaponry, the entire momentum of the current
conflict will shift to their side. Liberated town will become truly liberated
and protected, and the Assad and their loyalists will be forced to be truly on
the defensive for once. It’s only when this situation is created on the ground
that the world can push for a negotiated settlement. By that time, the Assads
will have been sufficiently weakened within their own camp as well for other likely
leaders to emerge and influence the decision-making process.
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