From Homeland Security NewsWire:
Crackdown spreads across Syria
Published 12 May 2011
The Syrian security forces have expanded their campaign against anti-government protesters; the number of civilian killed stands at 780, and the experts told the New York Times that the regimes has so far arrested more than 10,000 people suspected of harboring anti-regime sentiments; Sunni neighborhoods in the city of Homs, Syria's third largest city, have been shelled; the regime continues the tactics of surrounding cities and towns with army unites, and cutting these cities off from power, communication, and the Internet; the Obama administration is edging closer to calling for an end to the long rule of the Assad family; one official said the first step would be to say for the first time that Assad has forfeited his legitimacy to rule, a major policy shift; meanwhile, international pressure has caused Syria to drop its plans to run for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council; Kuwait, which was expected to stand in 2013, will take its place
Syrian beats poster of Bashar Assad with his shoe // Source: sfgate.com
In February 1982, the Syrian intelligence services concluded that the Muslim Brotherhood was about the stage a revolt against the regime. President Hafez al-Assad, the father of the current Syrian president, opted for a scorched-earth policy, and ordered his military to bombard the city without making a distinction between supporters of the Brotherhood and residents of the city. The result: between 10,000 and 40,000 civilian death (the latter figure is cited by Syrian human rights organizations; Syria expert Robert Fisk estimates the number of dead at 17,000).
Basher al Assad has so far proved more restrained than his father, but the reports from Syria are grim. Here is the latest, based on reports by the BBC, Fox News, and the New York Times.
•Tanks have been shelling Syria’s third biggest city, Homs, as security forces continue their crackdown on nationwide anti-government protests. There had been gunfire and explosions in the district of Bab Amr and nearby villages, killing at least nine people and wounding dozens.
•Activists told the BBC that about 500 people had been arrested in Homs since Wednesday, including more than 100 on Tuesday night.
•The New York Times reports that so far the Syrian security forces have arrested about 10,000 people suspected of harboring anti-government sentiments.
•Several towns around the southern city of Deraa were also raided and at least eleven civilians killed.
•Clashes were also reported in Syria’s second-largest city of Aleppo. Witnesses there said security forces used batons to disperse a protest by about 2,000 students at the city’s university campus.
•Thousands of people have reportedly been arrested, and nearly 800 killed in the government crackdown.
•The Syrian government insists it is pursuing “armed terrorist gangs,” and blames them for the deaths of two soldiers on Wednesday. The government says that more than 100 soldiers and policemen were killed in clashes with anti-government protesters.
•At least eleven people were killed when tanks shelled the southern town of al-Harra.
•Troops and tanks move into the nearby town of Jassem overnight. Activists told the AP that three protesters died.
•Activists told Reuters that four civilians were killed by security forces and 300 were detained in Tafas, just north of Deraa.
•The Syrian army continued its operation in the coastal town of Baniyas, where at least 300 people have been arrested since Saturday.
On the political front
•Fox News reports that Obama administration officials said Tuesday the U.S. is edging closer to calling for an end to the long rule of the Assad family. The officials said the first step would be to say for the first time that Assad has forfeited his legitimacy to rule, a major policy shift.
•Two other Obama administration officials said that the United States still did not see a clear or organized opposition or another leader in Syria who could serve to unite the foes of the government of President Basher al-Assad.
•One administration official told the New York Times that some national security officials were hoping that even if Assad stayed in power, he would move away from the alliance with Iran because so many of the Sunni protesters wanted to see an end to that alliance.
•The U.K. Foreign Office described the level of repression as “shocking” and urged the Syrian government to change its behavior
•The European Union already has decided to impose sanctions on thirteen Syrian officials, prohibiting them from traveling anywhere in the 27-nation bloc. The first round of sanctions does not target Assad himself.
•Meanwhile, international pressure has caused Syria to drop its plans to run for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council. Kuwait, which was expected to stand in 2013, will take its place.
The New York Times writes that “the sheer scope of the crackdown — along a crescent that runs from the coast to the border with Jordan — suggests a leadership willing to bring to bear the full force of its feared security forces, as it tries to navigate perhaps the greatest challenge to four decades of rule by the Assad family.”
A Damascus-based analyst told the Times, on the condition of anonymity, that “The only exit the regime is offering right now is to restore the wall of fear and turn Syria into a very backward society through methods which would make it impossible for the regime to open the political system in any meaningful way.”
Crackdown spreads across Syria
Published 12 May 2011
The Syrian security forces have expanded their campaign against anti-government protesters; the number of civilian killed stands at 780, and the experts told the New York Times that the regimes has so far arrested more than 10,000 people suspected of harboring anti-regime sentiments; Sunni neighborhoods in the city of Homs, Syria's third largest city, have been shelled; the regime continues the tactics of surrounding cities and towns with army unites, and cutting these cities off from power, communication, and the Internet; the Obama administration is edging closer to calling for an end to the long rule of the Assad family; one official said the first step would be to say for the first time that Assad has forfeited his legitimacy to rule, a major policy shift; meanwhile, international pressure has caused Syria to drop its plans to run for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council; Kuwait, which was expected to stand in 2013, will take its place
Syrian beats poster of Bashar Assad with his shoe // Source: sfgate.com
In February 1982, the Syrian intelligence services concluded that the Muslim Brotherhood was about the stage a revolt against the regime. President Hafez al-Assad, the father of the current Syrian president, opted for a scorched-earth policy, and ordered his military to bombard the city without making a distinction between supporters of the Brotherhood and residents of the city. The result: between 10,000 and 40,000 civilian death (the latter figure is cited by Syrian human rights organizations; Syria expert Robert Fisk estimates the number of dead at 17,000).
Basher al Assad has so far proved more restrained than his father, but the reports from Syria are grim. Here is the latest, based on reports by the BBC, Fox News, and the New York Times.
•Tanks have been shelling Syria’s third biggest city, Homs, as security forces continue their crackdown on nationwide anti-government protests. There had been gunfire and explosions in the district of Bab Amr and nearby villages, killing at least nine people and wounding dozens.
•Activists told the BBC that about 500 people had been arrested in Homs since Wednesday, including more than 100 on Tuesday night.
•The New York Times reports that so far the Syrian security forces have arrested about 10,000 people suspected of harboring anti-government sentiments.
•Several towns around the southern city of Deraa were also raided and at least eleven civilians killed.
•Clashes were also reported in Syria’s second-largest city of Aleppo. Witnesses there said security forces used batons to disperse a protest by about 2,000 students at the city’s university campus.
•Thousands of people have reportedly been arrested, and nearly 800 killed in the government crackdown.
•The Syrian government insists it is pursuing “armed terrorist gangs,” and blames them for the deaths of two soldiers on Wednesday. The government says that more than 100 soldiers and policemen were killed in clashes with anti-government protesters.
•At least eleven people were killed when tanks shelled the southern town of al-Harra.
•Troops and tanks move into the nearby town of Jassem overnight. Activists told the AP that three protesters died.
•Activists told Reuters that four civilians were killed by security forces and 300 were detained in Tafas, just north of Deraa.
•The Syrian army continued its operation in the coastal town of Baniyas, where at least 300 people have been arrested since Saturday.
On the political front
•Fox News reports that Obama administration officials said Tuesday the U.S. is edging closer to calling for an end to the long rule of the Assad family. The officials said the first step would be to say for the first time that Assad has forfeited his legitimacy to rule, a major policy shift.
•Two other Obama administration officials said that the United States still did not see a clear or organized opposition or another leader in Syria who could serve to unite the foes of the government of President Basher al-Assad.
•One administration official told the New York Times that some national security officials were hoping that even if Assad stayed in power, he would move away from the alliance with Iran because so many of the Sunni protesters wanted to see an end to that alliance.
•The U.K. Foreign Office described the level of repression as “shocking” and urged the Syrian government to change its behavior
•The European Union already has decided to impose sanctions on thirteen Syrian officials, prohibiting them from traveling anywhere in the 27-nation bloc. The first round of sanctions does not target Assad himself.
•Meanwhile, international pressure has caused Syria to drop its plans to run for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council. Kuwait, which was expected to stand in 2013, will take its place.
The New York Times writes that “the sheer scope of the crackdown — along a crescent that runs from the coast to the border with Jordan — suggests a leadership willing to bring to bear the full force of its feared security forces, as it tries to navigate perhaps the greatest challenge to four decades of rule by the Assad family.”
A Damascus-based analyst told the Times, on the condition of anonymity, that “The only exit the regime is offering right now is to restore the wall of fear and turn Syria into a very backward society through methods which would make it impossible for the regime to open the political system in any meaningful way.”
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