Crisis in Syrië #9 Bloedbad?

quote:

'President Assad is de duivel die we kennen'

Uit beduchtheid voor 'the devil you don't know' ontziet de wereld andermaal een Syrische president Assad.

Wie nog dacht dat de Syrische president Bashar al-Assad een minder hardvochtig heerser is dan zijn vader Hafez, die weet nu beter. Zondagochtend liet hij het leger de stad Hama binnentrekken, waarbij de tanks voluit vuurden. Het resultaat: minstens vijftig doden, honderden gewonden.

Er schuilt een tragische symboliek in het feit dat juist in Hama alle geweldsregisters werden opengetrokken. De naam van deze stad is voor altijd verbonden met de massaslachting die Assad senior er in 1982 liet aanrichten om een soennitische opstand de kop in te drukken. Berichten over wat er was gebeurd, drongen destijds pas geleidelijk door tot de buitenwereld, die er nauwelijks consequenties aan verbond: Assad was een belangrijke speler in het Midden-Oosten, hij was 'the devil you know'.

Dankzij de moderne communicatiemiddelen kunnen de gebeurtenissen in Syrië niet meer zo vergaand aan het oog worden onttrokken als vroeger. Maar de geslotenheid van het land maakt het nog steeds moeilijk precies te achterhalen wat er gaande is. En tot op zekere hoogte is Assad jr. net als zijn vader 'the devil you know': er is gebrekkig zicht op wat er allemaal gist onder de etnische en religieuze lappendeken die Syrië is.

Vandaar dat ook nu het internationale protest tegen het gewelddadig optreden van het bewind-Assad aan de behoedzame kant is gebleven. Maar Syrië is nu vier maanden in de greep van het geweld, het dodental ligt al boven de 1.500, niets wijst erop dat de oppositie zich het zwijgen laat opleggen, noch dat het bewind een ander antwoord heeft dan brute repressie. Het wordt steeds onzinniger om Assad nog te ontzien uit angst voor 'the devil you don't know'.

quote:

Key events in Syria's protest movement:
Nov 12 - The Arab League gives Syria three days to end its violent crackdown on anti-government protesters and implement an Arab peace deal or face suspension from the regional body.

Nov 9 - Syrian protesters pelt four opposition leaders with eggs outside Arab League headquarters in Cairo, preventing them from entering the building for talks. The protesters were apparently against the men agreeing to a dialogue with the government.

The UN says country runs risk of Libyan-style civil war as troops desert to back protesters.

Nov 8 - The UN said "more than 60" people had died in the central city of Homs since the announcement of the Arab League ceasefire plan.

Nov 2 - The Syrian government accepts several measures suggested by the Arab League aimed at halting the violence in the country, including the removal of tanks and armoured vehicles from the streets, the release of prisoners, and allowing the Arab League and media access to report on the situation.

Nov 1 - NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen rules out the possibility of military intervention in Syria.

More at http://www.aljazeera.com/(...)111113440490791.html

quote:

Syrian embassies in London and Cairo attacked over Homs massacre

Cairo embassy is trashed, while police in London detain five people and missions are targeted in other countries

Five people have been arrested during a demonstration at the Syrian embassy in London, Scotland Yard said. There have been further demonstrations at Syrian missions in other countries over the massacre of civilians in Homs.

In Cairo, Egypt, enraged Syrians again stormed their country's embassy, smashing furniture and equipment and setting fire to parts of the building.

The gate of the embassy in central Cairo was broken and furniture and computers were smashed on the second floor of the building, said a witness. Parts of the first floor were burned, he said.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at a police station a few streets from the embassy to demand the release of six Syrians who they said were detained during the protest at the mission.

In Kuwait, witnesses said demonstrators stormed into the Syrian embassy compound, breaking windows, tearing down the Syrian flag and hoisting the colours of the opposition movement.

About 150 demonstrators descended on the London embassy in Belgrave Square.

A Metropolitan police spokesman said a number of people were arrested for public order offences after the demonstration broke out at 2am. Windows were reportedly smashed at the building as the protest broke out.

Rallies also broke out at Syria's embassies in Germany, Spain, Sweden and the US, according to reports.

One protester in London told the BBC: "We don't know what message the Syrian regime is giving out with this massacre today – given the UN security council vote ... we don't really understand what they're doing. But we must stop the bloodshed in Syria."

Ronan McNern, a supporter of the Occupy London movement, attended the London protest.

"The protesters are being held on the other side of the road from the embassy," he said.

"There are 150 people surrounded by a ring of about 60 police officers, who are carrying truncheons. There are also about 12 police vans.

"It seems all right at the moment.

"The protesters are keeping their spirits up by singing, dancing and playing drums, and they seem to be free to leave the ring. Some of them are waving Syrian flags."

Paint appeared to have been thrown on a door of the embassy, he said.

The United Nations security council is meeting on Saturday to take up a much-negotiated resolution backing an Arab League peace plan for Syria.
At least 5,500 people have died in the country since pro-democracy campaigners took to the streets last year protesting against President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

The movement at the UN came as activists said Syrian forces used tanks and machine guns to kill at least 200 people and wound hundreds in Homs, in what appeared to be the bloodiest episode since the uprising began.

quote:

Frankrijk wil VN-resolutie over Syrië en voert druk op Rusland op

Frankrijk heeft de druk op Rusland om het geweld in Syrië te veroordelen stevig opgevoerd vandaag. Frankrijk waarschuwde dat landen die de resolutie in de VN-veiligheidsraad tegen het regime van Bashar Assad blokkeren mede verantwoordelijk zijn voor de dodelijke onrusten in dat land.

Frankrijk reageert hiermee op de stelling van de Russische minister van Buitenlandse Zaken, Sergei Lavrov, dat de VN-resolutie zodanig moet worden aangepast dat er geen schijn meer bestaat van partijdigheid.

Rusland blokkeert al tijden een resolutie in de VN-veiligheidsraad die het geweld in Syrië en het regime van dictator Assad veroordeeld. Het enorme bloedbad van afgelopen nacht, waarbij zeker 200 mensen omkwamen, heeft de roep om een veroordelende VN-resolutie opnieuw versterkt.

De Russische minister Lavrov heeft vandaag gezegd dat hij volgende week een ontmoeting hebben met de Syrische machthebbers. Dat gaat Europa en de Verenigde Staten niet snel genoeg.

Rusland is al sinds het tijdperk van de Sovjet-Unie een trouwe bondgenoot van Syrië, eerst van vader Hafez Al-Assad en nu van zijn zoon, die Hafez in het jaar 2000 opvolgde.

Aan dit artikel wordt nog gewerkt.

quote:

Tunesië zet ambassadeur Syrië uit om geweld Homs

Tunesië heeft besloten de ambassadeur van Syrië het land uit te zetten vanwege de 'bloedige slachtpartij' in de Syrische stad Homs. Dat heeft een overheidsmedewerker die anoniem wil blijven vandaag gezegd. Hij zei dat Tunesië het regime van de Syrische president Bashar Assad niet langer erkent.

Bij aanvallen van het Syrische leger op Homs werden gisteren meer dan tweehonderd mensen gedood.

Ambassades bestormd
In Londen, Caïro en Koeweit hebben Syriërs vandaag hun ambassades bestormd omdat ook zij woedend zijn over de aanvallen op Homs.

In Londen werden zes mannen gearresteerd nadat ze de Syrische ambassade in de Britse hoofdstad waren binnengedrongen. Zeker honderdvijftig mensen hadden zich gisternacht voor de ambassade verzameld.

In Caïro staken demonstranten een deel van de Syrische ambassade in brand en in Koeweit raakten beveiligers gewond toen demonstranten het pand bestormden. De betogers vernielden de ramen van de ambassade en hesen de vlag van de Syrische oppositie.

Gisteren werd de Syrische ambassade in Berlijn al bestormd. De binnendringers vernielden meubilair en spoten met verf leuzen op de gevel. Ze werden na hun vertrek uit de ambassade korte tijd ingesloten.

quote:

Syria releases London bombings ‘mastermind’ in a retaliatory move against the West

The man accused of planning the London 7/7 bombings in 2005 has been freed from a Syrian jail by the embattled regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Abu Musab al-Suri had been held in Syria, his country of birth, for six years after being captured by the CIA under its controversial extraordinary rendition program, The Telegraph reported on Sunday.

But his release is now said to have come as a warning to Western allies, the United States and Britain, about the consequences of turning their backs on the Syrian regime.

Syria faces mounting international condemnation, including from the United Kingdom, over its government’s crackdown on anti-regime dissent which has resulted in the death of more than 6,000 people since protests began in mid-March.

A United Nations Security Council resolution on the Syrian crisis, which demanded a halt to the bloody crackdown, was backed by the UK and the U.S., among other Western and Arab powers on Saturday.

Suri’s release is thought to be part of a Syrian backlash on its new Western foes. The Syrian was also identified as an al-Qaeda operations chief in Europe, also going by the name of Mustafa Setmariam Nasar.

His release was revealed by Syrian opposition website Sooryoon.net last week, citing local sources.

A statement on the site read: “The timing of his release raises a lot of questions and observers believe the release may indicate the regime is stopping security co-operation with the Americans and thus releasing all those Washington considers a threat to its interests.”

Suri, a mechanical engineer, was seen as a possible successor to former al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, although the pair had reportedly been rivals.

Dubbed the 7/7 “mastermind,” the Syrian was accused of planning the London bombings, in which four British terrorists detonated bombs on three packed underground trains and a bus in the morning rush hour on July 7, 2005.

The bombs killed 52 victims and injured more than 700 people.

In a statement released after the attacks, Suri said: “[In my teachings] I have mentioned vital and legitimate targets to be hit in the enemy’s countries … Among those targets that I specifically mentioned as examples was the London Underground. [Targeting this] was and still is the aim,” The Telegraph reported.

The freed Syrian is also wanted in Spain in connection with the Madrid train bombings in 2004, which left 191 dead, and for links to an attack on the Paris Metro in 1995.

He had a $4.75 million U.S. State Department bounty on his head, was reportedly captured in Pakistan in November 2005 and handed to the CIA.

In a move that has never been officially confirmed, the Americans then reportedly turned him over to Syria where he had been held for the past six years in the Aleppo prison, The Telegraph reported.

Concerns now linger over whether reports of Suri’s release could trigger fear in the Western community over al-Qaeda’s ability to continue launching terrorism attacks.

Suri could now bring renewed clout to the militant group following the death of Bin Laden last May and the death of Yemeni al-Qaeda leader, Anwar al-Awlaki, in a U.S. drone attack in Yemen last September

quote:

Assad forces continue deadly assault on Homs

Syrian opposition groups dispute number of dead but residents claim new type of artillery shell is being used against restive city

Syrian forces persisted with one of the deadliest attacks of the 11-month uprising on Sunday, pounding parts of Homs even as residents combed through rubble looking for victims of a sustained barrage over the weekend that killed dozens, if not scores of people.

Homs residents said the flashpoint area of Bab al-Amr was under sustained attack throughout the afternoon, with up to six people killed. There was also a renewed bombardment of the nearby neighbourhood of Khalidiyeh, centre on Friday night of one of the most violent assaults thus far by Bashar al-Assad's forces.

Residents were still trying to come to terms with the savage firepower aimed at their district during a six-hour barrage early on Saturday.

"We counted 300 explosions, at least, in that time," said a Bab al-Amr resident, who calls himself Omar Shakir. "There was nothing we could do for the people there, there are two regime checkpoints between us and them. And today it was our turn."

Mortars fired from an elevated area around a mile and a half away accounted for almost all of Friday nights casualties. The numbers of dead are disputed. A hospital in Homs and two Syrian opposition groups say 250-300 may have died. A third group, the Local Co-ordination Council said the toll may be 50-60. Either way, with many civilians caught up in the onslaught, including women and children, it was an offensive that marked a grim low point in the confrontation between Assad's forces and the protesters and armed deserters now ranged against him.

Residents said a new weapon was being used – possibly artillery shells, which have a distinctive whine as they approach their target. "They are very unusual sounds, the explosions," said Shakir.

"We have not heard them before in Bab al-Amr. And we have heard a lot of explosions here."

A Khalidiyeh resident, Fadi, said local people had been able to leave their homes to bury the dead and look for survivors.

"There was random shooting into civilian areas. It was indiscriminate and it went on for six hours. The smell in the streets is completely awful," he said. "The blood is everywhere and it is difficult to find all the parts of the people."

Videos posted on the internet purported to show men digging makeshift graves in which to bury unclaimed body parts.

"We were not expecting that the Syrian army would attack in this way," said Fadi of the mounting horror as Friday night's bombardment intensified. "We thought it was some kind of exaggeration that would be over soon, but the explosions kept coming and coming."

By daybreak, the small neighbourhood, which had been closed off to regime forces by the Free Syrian Army lay in partial ruins, with the roofs of numerous buildings pancaked onto the floors below. Dozens of people are still believed to be trapped, with residents having no equipment other than shovels with which to rescue them.

A hospital in a rebel-held area of Homs was also reported to have been hit with at least one mortar round , causing extensive damage to part of a ward.

The Syrian government has denied bombarding Homs and says "terrorist gangs" are responsible for the deaths. Syrian officials say some of the bodies had been kidnapped by opposition elements who had killed them in an attempt to persuade Syria's allies, Russia and China, to move against them in the UN security council.

"They are stupid to suggest that we have mortars like that," said the brother of one man linked to the Free Syria Army, which is comprised mainly of defectors carrying light weapons they used while serving in the regular military.

"Anyone who knows anything about military operations knows that mortars are fired from a fixed position (and are) easy to track by radar, or even through lenses. They can be destroyed by artillery, or helicopters within minutes. This went on for six hours."

quote:

Op zondag 5 februari 2012 23:34 schreef Nemephis het volgende:

[..]

Pfff dat maakt het zo moeilijk.. voor die Russische benadering is zeker ook wat te zeggen.

Het is alleen zo kut dat het altijd de gewone burgers zijn die de rekening betalen. Maar dat is nooit anders geweest.