#Syrian troops ‘raid’ Palestinian refugee cam, 20.9.12
#Syrian rebels use captured regime tank in Aleppo; activists report regime raids near Damascus
02/08/12
In this Tuesday, July 31, 2012 photo, a Free Syrian Army soldier stands at a check point in Maarat Misrin in Idlib province, Syria. Arabic on the barriers read, “no God but Allah,” background, and “Free Syrian Army,” foreground.
BEIRUT - Syrian rebels on Thursday bombarded a military air base in Aleppo using a tank captured from government troops as activists reported the regime has launched new raids against opposition fighters near the capital Damascus, killing dozens.
It was one of the first indications the rebels are starting to deploy the heavy weapons they’ve managed to capture in the past weeks from the Syrian army. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the rebel-seized tank shelled the Menagh military airport outside Aleppo, which the regime has used to launch attacks on rebel positions in the surrounding area.
The incident represents an escalation in the 17-month-old uprising in which an estimated 19,000 have died, since the rebels now can start trading tank shells with the heavily armed regime that also has fighter jets and helicopter gunships.
The rebels have also been buoyed by new announcements of assistance by the U.S., which said Thursday it was earmarking an additional $12 million for Syrian civilians, on top of the extra $10 million in “nonlethal assistance” it promised the day before to the opposition.
Prospects for a diplomatic solution grew even dimmer Thursday, however, when the U.N. special envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, announced his resignation by the end of the month, effectively sinking a U.N. mission that had seen little success up until now to get either side to agree on a ceasefire.
Rebel forces in northern Syria attacked the country’s largest city of Aleppo two weeks ago and have captured several neighbourhoods, mostly lower income areas on the periphery, which they have since held despite ground and air assaults by the government.
Residents reported Thursday that Internet and mobile phones were barely working since the night before, which had raised fears of an imminent government onslaught on Aleppo. But the day only saw the usual clashes around the rebel bastion of Salaheddine and shelling, resident Abu Adel told The Associated Press. Communications also began to work again by late afternoon.
With its proximity to rebel-friendly Turkey just to the north, Aleppo has enormous strategic importance to the opposition and if the rebels were able to capture and hold it, the city could form the kernel of a wider rebel-controlled zone.
“If Aleppo falls, then automatically we are going to establish headquarters at the presidential palace,” said Syrian opposition leader Burhan Ghalioun, late Wednesday in Paris. The comments appeared overconfident, given that the regime still wields considerable power. “Nothing more would stand in the way of the Free Syrian Army. Hama and Homs, to the outskirts of Damascus, have in large part been liberated.”
The Syrian army, however, still has many more tanks and armoured vehicles than the rebels and there was no indication that Thursday’s attack on the air base was particularly effective. Later, a nearby village was shelled by government forces out of that same air base.
There was also heavy shelling earlier in the day around the town of Azaz on the Turkish border, which has been in rebel hands for weeks along with a checkpoint crossing in the area, making it easier to deliver rebel weapons and supplies to the Aleppo battle. It would be a huge blow to the opposition if the government retook the crossing.
In the capital Damascus, the regime on Thursday announced a string of raids against rebels in neighbourhoods on the southern edge of the city the night before, killing and arresting “a number of terrorists,” as the government refers to rebels.
Operations also took place in the well-to-do Muhajireen district on Thursday close to the presidential palace in Damascus. Activist Abu Qais, based in the Syrian capital, said 20 people were arrested.
Also on Thursday, the regime bombarded the southern suburb of Tadamon with artillery and mortars, sending plumes of smoke up into the sky, according to the Observatory. People in downtown Damascus confirmed hearing explosions coming from that direction and seeing the smoke.
A bold rebel assault on Damascus was crushed two weeks ago in fierce fighting, but the latest raids show that pockets of resistance remain in the capital and the surrounding countryside.
Abu Qais said that at least 20 people were killed by raids in the Yalda suburb on Wednesday night, in the south, while the Observatory reported that 47 people had been killed in the Jdaidat Artouz neighbourhood to the southwest. Videos posted by activists show piles of bloody corpses, many with visible bullet holes. The videos could not be independently authenticated.
International condemnation of Syria’s handling of the uprising is growing, but with President Bashar Assad protected by China and Russia in the Security Council, there has been no effective action in response.
Under pressure from Brazil, Russia, India and China, a General Assembly resolution sponsored by Arab countries and meant to condemn the regime was watered down to remove calls for Assad’s departure. Any mention of sanctions was also removed.
The United Nations’ Syria policy has been further hamstrung by the resignation of Annan, who first came up with the six point peace plan to resolve the crisis, including a cease-fire that was supposed to take effect in mid-April but never took hold.
The U.N. World Food Program, meanwhile, sounded the alarm Thursday over the humanitarian situation in Syria with close to 3 million people needing food and livestock assistance in the next 12 months — more than 10 per cent of the country’s population of 22 million.
The study carried out by the WFP as well as the Syrian Agricultural Ministry said the country’s agricultural sector has lost $1.8 billion this year from damaged crops and livestock. It’s not just the fighting that has kept farmers from their harvest but also shortages in fuel, electricity and labour to work the farms.
The statement warned that the country’s poorest would be the hardest hit.
U.S. officials, however, said Thursday that the Obama administration will ramp up its humanitarian aid to Syrian civilians by $12 million, increasing the total to $76 million. The funds will go to U.N. agencies, the International Red Cross and other organizations doing relief work. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to divulge the information.
A day earlier, State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell told reporters that the U.S. had added $10 million to its “nonlethal assistance” supplies to the Syrian opposition, which includes communications equipment. The new total now stands at $25 million.
Syria’s Foreign Ministry condemned the move, describing giving money to the opposition as “funding terrorism,” in contravention of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
#Syria’n activist Razan Ghazzawi (@RedRazan) is freed by authorities for a second time
Monday, 20 February 2012
Prominent blogger Razan Ghazzawi currently works at the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression where she was reportedly arrested last week. (File photo)
By Al Arabiya and Agencies
Syrian authorities have freed prominent blogger Razan Ghazzawi, along with six other female activists arrested last week during a security raid on the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression, located in central Damascus and headed by rights activist Mazen Darwish.
It was her sister Nadine who confirmed the news on Twitter: “@NadineGhazzawi: #FreeRazan #Syria Sister is home…but she can’t leave the country anymore…they won’t allow her”.
The women were released late Saturday, while other male activists from the same group, including Darwish, remain in custody.
Razan and the other women were ordered to report to the police on daily basis in order to pursue their interrogation. According to human rights lawyer Anwar Bunni, the authorities are investigating the sources of information used by the center, as well as its origin of funding.
Since the start of the Syrian uprising, nearly a year ago, Razan, an English literature graduate from Damascus University, has been arrested (and freed) twice, becoming a symbol of the opposition to the Assad’s regime. Her first arrest last December took place by the border while on her way to attend a conference in Jordan.
The U.S.-born Syrian blogger is known for her fierce criticism of the Syrian government, mostly expressed on her blog Razaniyyat (razanghazzawi.com),
and via her twitter account @RedRazan.
Ghazzawi currently works at the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression where she was reportedly arrested last week. Many believe the blogger was released (twice) thanks to propagated media and online campaigns that drew attention to her situation and possibly because she carries a U.S. passport as well.
In one of her latest blog posts Razan wrote: “People who do not live in a country that is living a revolution may not know that time, is revolutionaries’ biggest enemy.”
On a Tour Cut Short, Monitors in #Syria See Little
By
Published: January 26, 2012
HARASTA, Syria — On a tour by observers through the restless suburbs of Damascus, the stops on Thursday were anxious, brief and few.
In Irbeen, less than 10 miles from the capital, the observers hopped out of their heavily guarded convoy to examine two bodies of victims of recent violence that were lying in the street, then raced off a few minutes later as a group of protesters approached. In their rush, they were not able to look at three other bodies, an observer later said.
Later, they swept into the suburb of Harasta, where soldiers lined the entry road, taking up positions that suggested momentary control. Some sat on the sidewalk, and others milled about outside a store.
The streets emptied as the observers arrived. Their security guards drew their guns and searched the rooftops before the Arab League delegation inspected a cache of captured weapons in a house, including assault rifles and ammunition, as well as the opposition flag.
Afterward, they drove back to their hotel, having witnessed little of what is occurring in the neighborhoods that are posing a sharp and growing challenge to the government’s rule.
Arab League observers and government officials said on Thursday that a lengthier tour in Harasta, Irbeen and nearby Douma would have been impossible because antigovernment protests had become routine and gunmen, including many allied with the protesters, were attacking the security services with growing strength.
“We can’t go into certain neighborhoods, like Douma,” said one member of the security team guarding the observers. “We will be killed.”
The truncated visit also revealed the limitations of the observer mission, as the conflict shifted from frequently deadly confrontations between protesters and the government to clashes between armed groups and security forces.
Many observers said they felt more vulnerable after a recent report by the head of their mission, Lt. Gen. Muhammad Ahmed al-Dabi, that was perceived, at least by the Syrian government, as casting equal blame on opposition gunmen for the violence in the country. As a result, the observers seemed especially reliant on the government’s security as they traveled on Thursday. They did not meet with any opposition activists, not even one with whom they had scheduled an appointment so that the activist could give the observers a list of people detained by security forces.
An observer, Jaafar Kibeida, one of the mission’s leaders and a former Sudanese diplomat, said the activist would not have been able to visit them, surrounded as they were by the government’s army. For weeks, Mr. Kibeida said, the observers had repeatedly sought out opposition figures as they made their visits.
“People are more furious,” Mr. Kibeida said “The mood has changed.”
A visit to Douma — where the observers seemed to be most needed — was out of the question. Over the last week, the army and the security services have tried to rout hundreds of opposition gunmen who were controlling parts of the town.
After cutting off electricity and cellphone service, the government began storming Douma on Thursday, activists said, arresting hundreds of people during house-to-house searches before pulling back to the outskirts at night.
An activist in Douma, who gave his name as Muhammad, said the town had been considered “liberated” but indefensible. Though about 500 fighters were protecting Douma, Muhammad said, they could not guard all its dozens of entrances.
”It was like hell in Douma,” he said.
Fierce fighting continued on Thursday in Hama, in central Syria, where activists said the bodies of at least 23 men executed by the security forces had been discovered. The report, by the opposition Local Coordination Committees, could not be confirmed. The group posted a video of the bodies of men it said had been found in the Bab Qibli area, including several victims whose hands or feet were bound and who appeared to have bullet wounds to the head.
The Syrian state news agency, Sana, said that security forces had clashed with an “armed terrorist group” in Hama, arrested several people and killed “many others.” The news agency said that the authorities had seized explosives, remote detonation devices and rocket-propelled-grenade launchers.
The observers’ visit on Thursday started with the longest stop of the day, at the office of the governor of the Damascus countryside, Hussein Makhlouf, who conceded that armed gunmen “controlled some areas.” The gunmen gained that control, he said, after President Bashar al-Assad’s government had kept its promise to the Arab League and withdrew tanks from cities.
The meeting continued behind closed doors, where a police official told the observers that opposition fighters had spent two days trying to attack a police station in Irbeen, at one point, using a bulldozer, according to Mr. Kibeida, the observer.
“The situation was not good for us to go today,” he said.
#Syria: Arab League chief to head to UN
The head of the Arab League Nabil al-Arabi and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani are to head to the UN on Saturday to seek support for an Arab plan on Syria.
Demonstrators gather during a protest against Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad in Duma, near Damascus Photo: REUTERS
3:15PM GMT 26 Jan 2012
The two will “hold a meeting with the UN Security Council on Monday to seek ratification of the Arab League decision on Syria,” for President Bashar al-Assad to hand power to his deputy, Arabi said.
Arab League ministers meeting in Cairo last week had asked for UN support in their efforts to resolve the crisis in Syria, where a crackdown on protests has left more than 5,400 people dead since March.
The League called on Assad to delegate powers to his vice president and clear the way for a national unity government to be formed within two months.
Syrian troops meanwhile reportedly stormed a flashpoint suburb of Damascus, rounding people up in house-to-house raids and clashing with army defectors, according to activists.
The offensive against Douma came two days after Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said his government will continue with the “security solution” to end the crisis. It was the latest evidence that the Assad regime was rejecting pressure to stop the bloody crackdown, and the Arab League was powerless to curb it.
Arab League observers in Syria, depleted by a pullout of their Gulf Arab colleagues, meanwhile resumed work for the first time in a week during which a bloody struggle between President Bashar al-Assad and his opponents has raged on.
Security forces deployed across the Damascus suburb of Douma on Thursday according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Douma, a protest hotbed that has recently seen a rise in rebel activity, was rocked by loud explosions overnight, according to activists living there.
The British-based Observatory said army operations under way in parts of the countryside around the capital had led to fighting on Wednesday night but said there were no signs of clashes in Douma on Thursday since security forces deployed.
The Arab League, while extending the monitoring mission for another month, called on Sunday for Assad to step down as part of a transition plan for which it is seeking U.N. support.
France and Britain have joined efforts at the United Nations to end Assad’s 11-year rule, but Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his country remained opposed to sanctions on Syria and reiterated its opposition to military intervention.
“The UN Security Council must support the Arab League’s courageous decisions which are trying to end the repression and violence in Syria and find a solution to the political crisis,” French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said.
The Security Council could vote as early as next week on a Western-Arab draft resolution, council diplomats said.
A group of Arab monitors planned to visit the troubled Damascus suburb of Irbin, one of them said. It would be their first outing since Friday. The mission had put its activities on hold until Arab foreign ministers met to decide its future.
Gulf Arab states have since withdrawn their 55 observers from the 165-strong team, saying they were sure “the bloodshed and killing of innocents would continue”. Arab League officials said they would be replaced and work would go on.
An Algerian observer in the team heading to Irbin said he was nervous because some opposition groups had said they would not co-operate with the mission. “We don’t know what to expect,” he told Reuters, declining to be named.
Another monitor said he was confused about the purpose of prolonging the mission for another four weeks. “The report has been written and the (Arab League) decisions have been taken, so another month to do what? We are not sure,” he said.
Syrian opposition groups have accused the observer mission, which deployed on Dec. 26, of giving Assad diplomatic cover to pursue a crackdown on protesters and rebels in which more than 5,000 people have been killed since March, by a UN tally.
The head of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent in the northern town of Idlib was shot dead on Wednesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said, in an attack which Damascus blamed on “terrorists”.
The Arab League has suspended Syria and called for Assad to hand over to his deputy, pending the formation of an unity government, constitutional and security reform, and elections.
Source: Agencies
HOMS, #Syria: Security forces carried out the assassination of Mr. Ghazi Mohammad Khaled Zoaib, former Secretary General of the Homs’ Division of the Baath Party, and his wife Rajaa Mohammad Khaled Bakkar, while raiding their house in the neighbourhood of Baba Amr. They shot them and then burned the house. The martyrs had been threatened before by the Regime as a result of his support of the revolution since its beginning.
SNN | #Syria Kafr Awaid massacre in Jab Alzawyieh, Idlib & an appeal to the world || @UN @European_Union || December, 20th, 2011
While the shelling on many of the villages of Jabl Alzawieh is still undergoing until this moment by tank shells and anti-aircraft bullets, for example: Kafr Awaid, Kansfra, Alftaira, Almozra, and Kokfeen. The electricity are cut off on most of Idlib areas. We had documented by name 53 names of the martyrs (the majority of them are civilians ) til this momentSerjeh in addition to many more wounded:
After the Syrian military, the security forces and Alshabiha raided most of the villages and the towns of Jabl Alzawieh using tens of the heavy weapons like tanks and military trucks. Many of the activists were fled to a jungle area west of Kokfeen which is next to Kafr Awaid and the Syrian army started shooting without stop at the activists for 5 hours continuously and shelling the area using tanks. Many women tried to break the besiege on the activists but they were not successful. The Syrian military raided almost all the villages in the area of Jabl Alzawieh, Idlib and they arrested many guys from the village of Kafr Awaid and they executed them immediately and that happened while many of the activists from all the villages take a refuge in the area.
The corpses were gathered in the northern mosque in Kafr Awaid while the Syrian army are threatening to attack the mosque in any moment. Activists were able to count more than 110 bodies in northern Kafr Awaid mosque and more than 11 bodies in Almozra mosque. The massacre left tens of wounded people as well.
1- Mohammad Azo Haj Yasin || Idlib, Kansfra
2- Ahmad Ismaeel Haj Ali || Idlib, Kansfra
3- Mohammad Haj Ali || Idlib, Kansfra
4- Jamal Haj Ali || Idlib, Kansfra
5- Ali Saleh Alnajar || Idlib, Kansfra
6- Tarek Khalil || Idlib, Kansfra
7- Basel Khalil || Idlib, Kansfra
8- Adnan Alameen || Idlib, Kansfra
9- Mohammad Alhusain || Idlib, Kansfra
10- Mahmood Abd Alrahman Alsaeed || Idlib, Arnabeh
11- Ahmed Walid Alkasem || Idlib, Srjeh
12- Ismaiil Mustafa Majlawi || Idlib, Srjeh
13- Jafr Sulaiman Alshaikh || Idlib, Srjeh
14- Ameen Yosef Majlawi || Idlib, Srjeh
15- Alaa Draiii || Idlib, Srjeh
16- Mohammad Hasan Fayad || Idlib, Srjeh
17- Ahmad Abdo Aldaher (Imam the Northern mosque in Kafr Awaid)|| Idlib Kafr Awaid
18- Mohammad Abdo Aldaher || Idlib Kafr Awaid
19- Samer Mohammad Alkhanoos || Idlib Kafr Awaid
20- Adel Mohammad Alkhanoos || Idlib Kafr Awaid
21- Abd Alkarim Ahmad Alkhanoos || Idlib Kafr Awaid
22- Absi Ahmad Alkhanoos || Idlib Kafr Awaid
23- Yasser Aldadoosh || Idlib Kafr Awaid
24- Adnan Alismaiil || Idlib Kafr Awaid
25- The son of Jasem Aljarbooh || Idlib Kafr Awaid
26- Adnan Abd Alkarim Ameen Alddo || Idlib Kafr Awaid
27- Shaher Radwan Alshamali || Idlib Kafr Awaid
28- Hasan Mahmood Alnoshi || Idlib Kafr Awaid
29- Zuhair Ahmad Alnoshi (Alkubs)|| Idlib Kafr Awaid
30- Imad Ahmad Abdallah Aldaher || Idlib Kafr Awaid
31- Zuhair Ahmad Abdalla Aldaher || || Idlib Kafr Awaid
32- usab Abdalfatah Graibi || Idlib Kafr Awaid
33- Abd Amunem Ahmad Abdalhadi Alddo || Idlib Kafr Awaid
34- Alaa Mahmood Eidi Aldaher || Idlib Kafr Awaid
35- MOhammad Radwan Almustafa (Almuhr)|| Idlib Kafr Awaid
36- Ahmad Fawaz Aldaher || Idlib Kafr Awaid
37- Maree Khaled Mglaj || Idlib Kafr Awaid
38- Husain Khaled Muglaj || Idlib Kafr Awaid
39- Fadi Adnan Abdalrahim Muglaj || Idlib Kafr Awaid
40- Ahmad Abdalkarim Graibi || Idlib Kafr Awaid
41- Khaled Ahmad Graibi (Aljanoodi)|| Idlib Kafr Awaid
42- Drifter assistant officer Radwan Aljanoodi || Idlib Kafr Awaid
43- Fouad Aljanoodi || Idlib Kafr Awaid
44- The son of Fouad Aljanoodi || Idlib Kafr Awaid
45- Another son of Fouad Aljanoodi || Idlib Kafr Awaid
46- Asaad Abd Alrahim Maglaj || Idlib Kafr Awaid
47- Yussef Abd Alrahim Maglaj || Idlib Kafr Awaid
48- Mukhles Aljanoodi || Idlib Kafr Awaid
49- The drifted soldier Khaled Rajb Alhusain (Alsarhan) || Idlib, Alhbaid and he was killed in Kafr Awaid.
50- Fadi Adnan Almahmood || Idlib, Kafr Awiad
51- Yasser Ibrahim Alibrahim || Idlib, Kafr Awaid
52- Abd Alsalam Khaled Maglaj || Idlib, Kafr Awaid
53- Az Aldeen Khaled Maglaj || Idlib, Kafr Awaid.
An Appeal from the people in Jabl Alzawieh, Idlib:
To all the honest people and leaders in the world. We call on all human rights organizations and international humanitarian agencies, the Arab Ministerial Council, the UN Security Council and the High Commissioner of Human Rights, the Secretary General of the United Nations to speed up in rescuing us from the death policy that is pursued by the Syrian army and barbaric Alshabiha. The Syrian army is committing massacre against the civilians in Jabl Alzawieh, Idlib where they destroy the civilians’ houses, mosques, hospitals and they are using different kind of military weapons from tanks and anti-aircraft heavt machines. The humanitarian responsibility is upon you.
Signature
The people who remain in Jabl Alzawieh, Idlib
December, 20th, 2011
SNN | #Syria | Hama: Summary of Events in Hama province on Wednesday, 7 Dec 2011
By the Syrian Revolution General Commission – In Occupied Hama and The Revolution in Hama Archive found at http://www.hamafree.com/index.php?name=city
Martyrs:
Anas Mustafa Al-Mustafa Al-Yunes, 25 years old, his body was handed over today to his family. He was from Al-Trimseh town.
The regime is gradually releasing the bodies of victims from Al-Trimseh town; the regime does not want to release them all together so the media won’t pay the required attention.
Events on the ground:
Today in Hama province, all wireless communications were cut off 1st then all landlines were cut off as well. At the same time, Aleppo-Hama international highway was closed by security forces after the regime’s army bombarded the village of Morek. Later on the night some landlines were returned.
- Morek and Kafr Zita towns:
The army with armored vehicles stormed the village of Morek, located north of Hama; the village was bombarded by heavy weaponry and heavy gunfire. Many homes by the international highway in Morek village were targeted by the shelling, while Kafr Zita village was bombarded for 2 consecutive hours. Later in the day were got news that the village of Kafr Zita was being shelled by artillery and that more military reinforcement was heading to it.
2 brothers, Abdul-Razaq Ibrahim Al-Housh, 25 years old, and Khaled Ibrahim Al-Housh, 36 years old, were arrested today when their home was raided.
Heavy firing by security forces at the unarmed civilians in Morek village, Yesterday, 5 Dec 2011
http://youtu.be/eC_-_5dHVDU
A student demonstration by the children of Kafr Zita today, 7 Dec 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n67OVuq-Qfg
- Mehrada town:
Troops were gathering at the western roundabout and other areas of the town.
- Al-Trimseh town:
The funeral procession of Anas Mustafa Al-Yones, whose body was handed over today, turned into a large demonstration. The victim was the son of the town’s Mukhtar [the town leader selected by the people].
-Shriaz and Hayalin towns:
There were some defections from the army today.
- Al-Arayma village
A video showing the effect of a tank’s shell, which demolished a home, 4 Dec 2011
http://youtu.be/mYn1bGI_hL4
- Qalaat Al-Madiaq
A video showing security forces storming the town, yesterday, 6 Dec 2011
http://youtu.be/-LA988_1XXg
- Hama city:
Electricity was cut off in many of Hama city neighborhoods, including the neighborhoods of Bab Qebli, Tariq Halab (Aleppo-Road), and Al-Hamidiya. And for hours today there was no internet, landlines, nor wireless communications. Then all stores were closed. Later some landlines were returned.
2 explosions were heard in each of the northern and eastern areas of the city. There was heavy gunfire in many neighborhoods including the neighborhoods of; Al-Hamidiya, Tariq Halab (Aleppo-Road), Al-Sabouniya, Al-Arbain, Jesr Al-Mazareb, Al-Filat, and Janoub Al-Malaab.
There were raids and arrests in the industrial area where security and Shabiha (regime-sponsored gangs) harassed cars and people in homes and stores.
Arrests were also made in Bab Qebli neighborhood, where security and Shabiha stormed the neighborhood beating up and arresting people from their homes and shops.
Regime forces also targeted schools. 2 schools in Al-Qusour neighborhood were raided for the 2dn time in 2 days. Regime forces came in civilians cloths with an armored vehicles and a number of cars, threatening the teachers that they will be considered conspirers if more demonstrations come out from their schools. And in a third school, the school of Uthman Al-Hourani, students were arrested for opening a Facebook page and raising the independence flag.
Security and Shaibha storming Al-Arbain (40th) neighborhood in Hama city, 6 Dec 2011
http://youtu.be/Gi4Ot4kUcWc
- Demonstrations
Demonstrations held by the Public:
In Hama city, demonstrations were held in Tariq Halab (Aleppo-Road) neighborhood and in Bab Qebli where the protesters changed their gathering area as security forces occupied the square.
In rural Ham, demonstrations were held in Qalaat Al-Madiaq town, Al-Trimseh, and Kernaz
A morning demonstration in Kernaz town
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KpLys-kQ54
Student demonstrations:
Were held in Kafr Zita
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n67OVuq-Qfg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5wzBsTPU0o
In Al-Latamneh town
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_V2GKxMzao
In Khattab town
http://youtu.be/9-mIPJOKjjA
And in Hama city, in Al-Hamidiya, Al-Nasr, and Al-Sabouniya neighborhoods by school and university students
The demonstration in Al-Sabouniya neighborhood
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YTdd6Qol3k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq4Y3MLBfbM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnn-4yTcSl0
Al-Nasr neighborhood
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVMVDz1FiHA
SNN | #Syria | Homs: Summary of Events, Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Revolutionary Council of Homs
Another bloody night in Homs
After yesterday’s horrific events and its crimes committed by Assad’s cronies, the majority of the neighborhoods were under a full siege yesterday, as soon as the civilians went out to protests shootings started in areas like Deir Balba, Jib al-Jandai, al-Khalidiya al-Bayada , Bab al-Sbaa, Bab al-Draib, Karm al-Zeiton , Baba Amr and many other areas.
Many explosions were heard yesterday, and they was bombs aimed at houses in Jib al-Jandali where one home was destroyed and there were many injuries from nail bombs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4CVxRpz4zo
Injuries in Bab Tadmur
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9MGXL9nxmI
Funerals of the fallen heroes from al-Zafarana neighborhood who were killed in al-Zahraa area
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lnV6Us8mKc
Funerals of 3 fallen heroes: Firas Mala Hasan, Mohanad al-Hazouri, and Kamal al-Hazouri, all died under torture by the regime Shabiha 7-12-2011:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfq0IyRgYzs
Siege continued on Bab Houd, and rural Homs is still under fire
Checkpoints continue to check cars and civilians to rob them of any thing of value, heavy security presence and snipers were also seen in al-Khaldiyeh area, shooting randomly at stopped cars.
Bab Houd was raided today, where all entrances and exits were closed and several civilians were arrested.
Bab Tadmur woke up to shootings, to find a body of a defected soldier in the neighborhood. He is believed to have defected at dawn from one of the near checkpoints, and Assad security forces killed him.
Bab Tadmur | Body of the defected soldier killed by Assad Forces http://youtu.be/w8xoUFRSQdk
Siege continues on Talkalakh, Talbiseh and al-Rastan, and the situation in al-Holeh was worse, with a night full of shootings and explosions.
Demonstrations condemning sectarianism the regime is trying to ignite, standing up to oppression and bullets
Demonstrations went out today in al-Dablan and al-Khaldiyeh condemning the regime’s attempt to drag Homs into a civil war, and confirming the unity of the Syrian people:
al-Dablan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln06sqwhc3U
al-Khaldiyeh
http://youtu.be/tUSarhJYoUA
Baba Amr
http://youtu.be/YAcoTZTITt0
al-Karabees
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv04BPNEd9w
Bab al-Draib – al-Warsheh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGvrHfs4CyA
al-Holeh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUsidKymEZk
al-Qusoor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgxuMBceu3g
al-Waar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hMbfVp_dps
al-Qusayr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfvAVfv4WSE
Deir Balba
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85qhZ-BDRCw
People are dying from medicine shortage today, and more fallen heroes
Today, a woman with cancer died and another one with kidney failure also died, both in al-Holeh area, because they could not get treatment or to a place where they could be treated, which resulted in their death for lack of medicine and medical attention. Others were also killed today and last night by security and Shabiha bullets, and here are their names:
1- Warnas Fajr al-Muhammad, under torture | Baba Amr
2- Khalid Abdelhakim Tahhan, from wounds after being shot by a sniper in al-Khaldiyeh | al-Karabees
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m6oBU5Exgg
3- Man killed, name not available yet | al-Khaldiyeh
4- Shamseh Khalid Abara, 70, cancer, medicine shortage | al-Holeh
5- Fatima Rashar Abara, 50, kidney failure, medicine shortage | al-Holeh
The number of those confirmed killed in al-Zahraa massacre has reached 24, and so far the list is as follows for those with details known about them:
8 were killed from al-Shwertani family, who are from al-Abasiya neighborhood, but originally from al-Zaafarana village near Talbiseh. They were dragged from their homes to the nearby al-Zahraa neighborhood, a predominantly pro-regime neighborhood.
1- Naser Hamoud al-Shwertani
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of_INfxWFjg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1WwcuQC4i8
2- Samer Hamoud al-Shwertani
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of_INfxWFjg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZicZ_T0Ppc
3- Tawfik Hamoud al-Shwertani, 27, married, no kids
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of_INfxWFjg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbX1LYEKa20
4- Kassem Hamoud al-Shwertani, 25
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of_INfxWFjg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frXqF_6BaGw
5- Ahmad Hamoud al-Shwertani
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of_INfxWFjg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fX54Pr3pNs
6- Samir Muhammad al-Shwertani, 45, has 4 kids, cab driver
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of_INfxWFjg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewT0UZ6QbXM
7- Ahmad Muhammad al-Shwertani, 28, single
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of_INfxWFjg
8- Hasan Muhammad al-Shwertani, 17, single
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of_INfxWFjg
9- Hasan Hamd al-Muhammad, kidnapped from his car at al-Matahen checkpoint yesterday in al-Khaldiyeh | Karm al-Zeitoun
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL8SXCCfBbU
There were othes from Deir Balba, 5 of them work in distributing flour. Their car disappeared yesterday in al-Zahraa neighborhood. The others are also from Deir Balba, they were kidnapped or arrested at security checkpoints near Deir Balba, and they are:
10- Khalid Ahmad al-Abed, killed in al-Zahraa neighborhood | Deir Balba
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMYZKRk8PGY
11- Ibrahim Ahmad al-Abed, killed in al-Zahraa neighborhood | Deir Balba
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMYZKRk8PGY
12- Omar Ahmad Samha, killed in al-Zahraa neighborhood | Deir Balba
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAFl319YIZI
13- A person from the Samha family, killed in al-Zahraa neighborhood | Deir Balba
14- A person from the Samha family, killed in al-Zahraa neighborhood | Deir Balba
15- A person from the Samha family, killed in al-Zahraa neighborhood | Deir Balba
16- A person from the Samha family, killed in al-Zahraa neighborhood | Deir Balba
17- Unidentified person whose body was found near Khalid ibn al-Waleed mosque
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7FX5TNVrIg
18- Abdelkarim al-Qaseer, 16, found killed in al-Siteen street with signs of extreme torture on his body | Karm al-Zeitoun
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aISjk1QWobI
19- Ghazzi Ahmad al-Ammer, killed by regime’s Shabiha | al-Shammas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s0QzmGq9f4
20- Kamal Hazouri, kidnapped since December 3 from Fairouzeh road, tortured to death in al-Zahraa | Baba Amr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjZGGO_gPxE
21- Muhannad Hazouri, kidnapped since December 3 from Fairouzeh road, tortured to death in al-Zahraa | Baba Amr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjZGGO_gPxE
22- Karem Hassoun, taxi driver, was kidnapped and killed in al-Zahraa | Camp of the Returning Palestinians
23- Firas Mala Hasan, kidnapped since December 3 from Fairouzeh road, tortured to death | Bab al-Sbaa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjZGGO_gPxE
Summary of the summary:
- Destroyed homes and injuries following random shelling at Homs neighborhoods
- Gunfire and explosions that do not stop
- Raids and arrests in Bab Houd, al-Midan, and al-Qusoor
- More bodies discovered and identified from al-Zahraa massacre
- Fallen heroes in al-Khaldiyeh killed by snipers
- One person killed in Baba Amr under torture
- Morning and evening demonstrations calling for freedom
SNN | #Syria | Rif Demashq: Summary of Events in Damascus Suburb for Friday, December 2, 2011 The Friday of – The Buffer Zone is our demand
“The Revolution Council in Rif Demashq”
Since morning the slaughterhouse was raided. 2 pickups, 2 Zil, and 2 Toyota Macro-buses left the state security branch, they were full of elements, and they headed to Al-Shuhada square. The army surrounded Al-Hajjariya neighborhood, and attacked Al-Baghdadi mosque firing heavily at people in the area, while the people were appealing to the troops, on loudspeakers, to stop firing. Electricity was cut off in the 2 areas of Al-Hajjariya and Abdul-Raouf.
Despite the heavy presence of security surrounding Al-Saliq mosque and insulting worshipers with profanities when worshipers exit the mosque, and dispersing them by force, still the people gathered from many mosques chanting from freedom and cursing the soul of Hafez [late president and father of current president] promising that the fall of the regime is close. The army and security attacked, fired at, and chased the protesters in the allies and into the buildings’ doors, the cat and mouse chases went on for a long while, and man was arrested opposite to Al-Tawhid mosque.
The regime punished the neighborhoods that have been coming out in demonstrations by cutting of electricity, which is a form of state terrorism prohibited by international laws. Note that all forms of communications are completely cut off in the city. The humanitarian situation is very bad and the city is living in a state close to a curfew due to the heavy deployment of security who terrorized the people. Some of the most affected areas is Al-Hajjariya, the areas around the mosques of bdul-Raouf and Al-Tawhid, and Al-Quwatli Street; these areas are suffering under collective punishment because they have been coming out in peaceful demonstrations against security and Shabhia (regime-sponsored gangs).
Featured Videos:
Since morning, the army was heavily deployed and the mosques were surrounded to prevent demonstrations, on Friday dubbed “The buffer zone is our demand”, 2 Dec 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cBmNCAq1tzE
The people of Douma city came out in a demonstration from Taha mosque despite the heavy security presence in front of the mosque, on Friday dubbed “The buffer zone is our demand”, 2 Dec 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wi6h5J9L-CQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=c4xmbrA8tTE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qjJe29z1lFA
At-Tal:
Tens of cases of asphyxia and more than seven people are wounded, one of them with serious injury with Alpmpkhn rifles. Most of the mosques in the city are under siege, and in AlArnoos Mosque, people are allowed to eneter their mosque by showing their identity.
A demonstration took off in the city, but it was faced with attack from the security forces and there was an exchange of stone throwing which led to many wounded.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLTEnzkL3vg&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDvaTV7yLx4&feature=player_embedded
Hammouriyah:
The Army surrounded Al-Khawlani Mosque in the city to prevent a demonstration from taking off with the presence of the army heavily in the town.
Saqba:
The security forces surrounded Ali Ibn Abi Talib Mosque at Al-Jameeiyah Circle and they directed their machine-guns toward the worshipers as they were leaving after the prayer, while Adunia (government sponsored) news Channel was filming. The security forces stood behind the camera with their guns pointed at the people saying: see there is nothing, everything is peaceful and to prove that there was no demonstration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGvnIYKoilY&feature=player_embedded
Mua’adhamiatu Asham:
There is a wide spread for the security forces in Ar-Rawda St., Az-Zaitoona St. and the main street with the presence of security forces patrols in front of every mosque to prevent people from praying with peace and tranquility. In addition, there was a heavily and wide spread to the security forces and army fully armed all over the city surrounding the mosques placing heavy machine guns in front of the mosques and only allowing people to enter the mosques after checking their identities
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=credeb3Urt4&feature=player_embedded
Qatana
The city was occupied completely by the security forces both main and sub- streets were occupied to block the way to A-lHallalah neighborhood.
Darayyiah:
The people were not allowed by the security forces –which spread heavily around the mosque- to enter Musaab Mosque except with identity. They arrested two or more men in front of the mosque after the prayer immediately. The Security forces with their buses entered the city today touring the town and spread widely at the main mosques waiting to restrain any demonstration, but despite their efforts a joint demonstration took off from Assalam Mosque representing Darayyiah and Al-Qadam singing for victory and calling for a Buffer Zone for protection.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=credeb3Urt4&feature=player_embedded
Zamalka
Starting at 11:30 AM the security forces stormed the town in large numbers, backed by armored vehicles and tanks spreading snipers on the roofs around the mosques and the main circle, they deployed machine guns and put up barcodes. At about 3:30 PM some men started chanting the security forces opened their fire shooting randomly resulting in several wounded falling. At about 4:30 the security forces pulled out to the outskirt of the city. After the evening prayer a massive demonstration took off from At-Tawba Mosque and Aljamee AlKabeer chanting for the cities which are under siege and demanding a buffer zone for protection.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk9iDHVS2Xc&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvUFmN1h4xU&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7FjcXngkwA&feature=player_embedded
Qudsayyia:
Despite the wide spread of the security forces a demonstration took off from AlUmary Mosque.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lefjf84G8QA&feature=player_embedded
Kafar Battna
The Security forces put up Barricades in the street with widespread for the security forces in the streets and the snipers over the roofs around the mosques to restrain any demonstration.
Arbeen:
The security forces entered the town stationing in the main center and all main entrance which lead to it.
Rankoos:
Despite the wreckage, devastation and the destruction that that security forces left in Rankoos, the city gets up from under the ashes and the debris to chant: we will not bow down to the regime, either we get victory or we die as a martyr.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d7doKPB3sA&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k_eUDjJ72I&feature=player_embedded
Harasta:
The mosques were under siege by the security forces to restrain people from demonstrating, but after the departure of the security forces a demonstration took place chanting with loud voice as their voice were reaching to the sky: God is Greater than our oppressor.
Homs, #Syria: Summary of Events, “Demand for a Protected Area” Friday, December 2, 2011
Revolutionary Council of Homs
Homs, when a city becomes a large prison, Talkalakh is a model
A trench has been in the words for about a month around the city of Homs to isolate it from the villages and turn it into a big prison. The Syrian-Lebanese borders are on fire today, with landmines planted along the borders to prevent people from migrating. Talkalakh has been under siege for two days and the area has been bombed since yesterday, resulting in destruction to parts of some people’s homes. A woman was injured in her head and she is in critical condition today, and there is a large number of injured people, while the number of those killed is still unclear. Yesterday, a bomb dropped on a home, which critically injured a mother and father and five of their kids, but the National hospital of Talkalakh refused to admit them. Power and communications are cut in the town, and going in or out are near impossible.
A video of the trench being dug around Homs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk8Om2acVZc
Curfew in al-Rastan, Talbiseh being shelled, homes in Tadmur being raided, and here is more
1- al-Holeh: there was a massive demonstration in al-Holeh villages, and fire was opened immediately at the people, resulting in some getting wounded and at least one confirmed fallen hero, a young man, Muhammad Saed al-Hasan. It is estimated that the number of those injured is more than 5, among them a little boy. Later in the day, the villages were being bombed with nail bombs and other heavy weapons. The situation was hysterical as if the security that tortured the town, went crazy after seeing the number of people in the demonstration and their persistence. Gunfire lasted for a while, and at least 5 homes were partially destroyed.
The demonstration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjA5syufGHo
The injured young boy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7BKbt3DkB4
Signs of the bombing that was aimed at the demonstrators
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apWg511kGCw
Some of those injured after opening fire on them
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3byk4kxW_4s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIFRXK_J4E4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt8yAW4NXsw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7BKbt3DkB4
2- al-Rastan, Talbiseh, al-Ghantou, Teir Maleh, and villages north of Homs: there is heavy security presence and residents could barely get to the mosques. Still, demonstrations went out in Talbiseh, al-Ghantou, and Ter Maleh. The situation in Tabliseh has been miserable since last night, and explosions have not stopped there to prevent people from gathering, and gunfire from security checkpoints could be heard intermittently throughout the day. Meanwhile, snipers went atop homes in al-Rastan terrorizing the residents and imposing somewhat of a curfew to discourage them from going out, and people could not reach mosques. The curfew in al-Rastan lasted nearly all day and was imposed by the power of the bullet.
3- Tadmur, al-Qaryatain, al-Sikhneh, Maheen, Hasyaa: a huge demonstrations went out in Tadmur, the army and security forces fired at demonstrators, resulting in 4 injuries, one of them very critical. Other areas around Homs witnessed great demonstrations, like al-Sikhneh, Hasyaa, al-Qaryatain, Tadmur, and other areas. It should be noted that the village of Maheen was raided early in the morning today, and some young men were arrested. The village held a funeral for one of its residents, a guy who was killed by security in the suburbs of Damascus. After burying him, the residents held a sit-in in the main town square to release the victims.
al-Sikhneh demonstration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGjUIWVmPGI
Hasyaa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y3vvGJw6Eo
4- al-Qusayr and its villages: there was huge security presence since the morning, but the people of al-Qusayr still went out in a demonstration that security fired at right away, resulting in injuring at least 4 people. The villages around al-Qusayr also witnessed heavy security presence, and the Lebanese borders are closed to prevent people from escaping the fire.
Demonstration in al-Qusayr
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9V62mvFnl0
Surrounding mosques, then demonstrations, then gunfire
Security was heavily spread around today since the morning after al-Waar and Baba Amr witnessed army defections early this morning, followed by explosions and exchange of fire between the defecting soldiers and the Assad army. Some of the mosques in al-Waar and al-Ghouta and other places were surrounded. Demonstrators in other areas went out in large number calling for execution of the president and reaffirmed their demands for freedom and justice, and asking for an isolated area to protect the people from the violence of the Assad regime. But Assad forces faced the people with fire and bullets, and here are some videos showing the army and security spread around:
al-Waar | Security around al-Rawdha mosque
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdbW0vj_Dug
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK8LrbMXL7I
al-Mrejeh | Assad gangs from a checkpoint targeting a car and burning it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlUy1HORuzs
tal-Zeer street | Signs of bombing and smoke rising
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R34W_JD37aE
al-Inshaat | The branch of political intelligence firing at a demonstration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KoO_tmANTF
Bab al-Draib | Smoke rising up after bombing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrM5ZwEGkd4
Here are some example videos of areas that went out today in and around Homs
Hajj Attef square
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezfuYwXwVho
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTqNaLiKJhI
Jib al-Jandali
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8H03092Noo
Bab Tadmur
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5n6asaUOyQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fJfnDBXZMU
Bab al-Sbaa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKH6GgqJ6KY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYEgBCDtZNg
al-Mrejeh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-T2eEuyiqc
al-Inshaat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ij96YoweMg
Karm al-Shami
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwhhpJ3Atug
Demonstrations for freedom in the evening despite being under siege and power outage
In the evening, despite the bullets and power outage, people went out demonstrating to reaffirm their demands for freedom, justice, unity, and peace. Here are some examples of the evening demonstrations:
al-Qusoor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JEx_5t-LlQ
al-Khaldiyeh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0T1nlSPmOg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txMc-aSJOdc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjPHCo7aMyE
al-Inshaat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uSkK-NXCjM
Karm al-Shami
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3xj2ZtQjCk
al-Dablan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8Jvg8fzv2I
Deir Balba
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5Kzy8M7TjU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoGlYZIEHmo
al-Malaab
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tfi7atyL2jI
al-Ghouta
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dwCotV1Uc0
Joret al-Shayah
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-Z9ZMsTN8Y
Tadmur
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBvL6dxoQ6I&feature=youtu.be
Today’s fallen heroes, four stars in the sky of freedom
-Rashida Yaseen, the mother of a fallen hero, Abdelwakeel al-Bwedani, random bombing | Baba Amr
- Muhammad Saed al-Hasan, 75, random gunfire | al-Holeh
- Muhammad Murad al-Kassem, killed in Deir Atiyah | Maheen – al-Qaryatain
- Zaher or Haytham Samir al-Nayash, from injuries sustained from random gunfire |al-Rastan
