Syria: more killings; attack on Damascas mosque

Sunday has seen a fresh wave of violence across the country. Activists are saying that in the northwestern province of Idlib, Syrian security forces have shot dead two people and wounded nine others. Two Syrians died of their critical wounds on Sunday in Homs and Daraa provinces, and a third was found dead in Harasta, near Damascus, after snipers opened fire on him. Security forces pursuing a deadly crackdown against President Bashar Assad’s critics stormed villages, raiding houses and making arrests. Villages were targeted in the eastern Deir ez-Zour province. One man had been reportedly shot overnight in the Damascus suburb of Saqba. (Al Jazeera)

al-Rifai mosque

Activists are claiming that early Saturday morning, Syrian security forces stormed the al-Rifai mosque in the Kafar Susseh district of Damascas. During this incursion, the imam, Osama al-Rifai, who is in his 80s, is said to have been beaten up and had to be subsequently hospitalized. Reports are saying the forces killed one demonstrator, injured 10 others and arrested about 150 people. Witnesses claimed that the government forces subsequently ransacked the mosque.

Iran

In a somewhat bizarre turnabout, Iran, a long time supporter of Syria, has called upon the country to heed the people’s “legitimate demands”. These remarks by Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi were the first statement from Iran about the protests since the five-month-old uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began. Salehi went on to warn of the regional dangers if the crisis in Syria was not solved peacefully adding that a power vacuum in Syria would have unprecedented repercussions among its neighbours.

The Arab League

An emergency meeting of The Arab League held in Cairo on Saturday saw the organisation issuing a statement calling for an end to the bloodshed in Syria and saying the people’s right to see political and social reforms should be respected. Expressing grave concern about the violence in Syria that has left thousands of casualties, the group is sending its secretary-general, Nabil Elaraby, to Damascus to seek a solution. All this comes only one day after Iran issued a statement calling upon Syria to listen to the people.

However, media outlets on Sunday are saying that the Syrian government rejects the statement from the League.

Lost Confidence

Al Jazeera wrote that Turkish President Abdullah Gul said his country had “lost confidence” in the Syrian leadership.

“We are really very sad,” he told the Anatolian news agency. “Incidents are said to be ‘finished’ and then another 17 people are dead. How many will it be today? Clearly we have reached a point where anything would be too little too late. We have lost our confidence.”

Civil war?

Haaretz.Com published an article on August 28, 2011 entitled “Syrian opposition decides to take up arms against Assad regime” in which it talks about protesters arming themselves against the regime. If peaceful protest isn’t working, it may be time to try armed protest. However the next obvious question is whether or not civil war may be coming to Syria.

The United Nations is reporting that over 2,200 people have been killed across Syria since the uprising started in mid-March.

Uploaded by AlJazeeraEnglish on Aug 28, 2011

More deaths reported in Syria

Activists say that five people have been killed by security forces in Syria. The regional governments have also issued their strongest condemnation yet of the government’s violence against protesters. The Arab League foreign ministers met in Egypt and gave this warning to President Bashar Al Assad: “The council stresses the importance of ending bloodshed and to resort to reason before it’s too late.” Al Jazeera’s Nisreen el-Shamayleh provides the latest news from Ramtha, along the Jordan-Syrian border.

Uploaded by AlJazeeraEnglish on Aug 27, 2011

Security forces ‘storm’ Syria mosque

Activists say one person has been killed in Kafarsouseh, Damascus, as security forces fired on protesters and besieged a mosque. Al Jazeera’s Nisreen el-Shamayleh reports from the Jordanian side of the Jordan-Syria border.

References

Wikipedia: 2011 Syrian uprising

The 2011 Syrian uprising is an ongoing internal conflict occurring in Syria. Protests started in 26 January 2011, and escalated to an uprising by 15 March 2011. The uprising is influenced by concurrent protests in the region, and has been described as “unprecedented.” The demands of protesters include for President Bashar al-Assad to step down, for the ruling Baath Party to allow other political parties, to end extrajudicial killings and torture, equal rights for Syria’s ethnic and religious groups, and broad political freedoms, such as freedom of press, speech and assembly.

Wikipedia: Timeline of the 2011 Syrian uprising (January–April)

The following is a timeline of the 2011 Syrian uprising from January to April, beginning with the start of protests on 26 January 2011 and including the protests’ escalation into a civil uprising on 15 March. For a timeline of more recent events, see Timeline of the 2011 Syrian uprising (May–August).

Wikipedia: Timeline of the 2011 Syrian uprising (May–August)

28 August

London-based daily As-Sharq al-Awsat reported that Mohammad Rahhal, the leader of the LCC’s Revolutionary Council, said the council had concluded that “what we are being subjected to today is a global conspiracy that can only be faced by an armed uprising”. He said the council was now working to distribute weapons to protesters in order to combat the regime’s security crackdown. He criticised the international response to the Syrian uprising, saying, “Confronting this monster [the Syrian regime] now requires arms, especially after it has become clear to everyone that the world only supports the Syrian uprising through speeches.” He predicted the protest movement “will turn violent very soon”. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported five protesters were killed, including two who succumbed to mortal injuries from the previous day, and at least nine more were wounded. Residents of Qadam claimed a firefight between soldiers and army defectors who joined protesters took place in the Damascus suburb, though it was unclear if anyone was hurt or killed in the shooting. The Movement of Free Officers claimed “large defections” from Syrian security forces to the side of the protesters in Harasta, another Damascus suburb, and said a colonel in the Syrian Air Force who was involved in the secret police had been shot in the head in Saqba. The statement claimed shabiha and loyalist troops were pursuing the defectors into central Damascus. On the diplomatic front, the Arab League said it would send Secretary-General Naril Elaraby on a mission to Damascus in an “urgent” effort to end the crisis, while the Syrian government rejected the Arab League’s statement.

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