Hama

[scandal 951]

BUMP.

Word has it Obama will call for Assad to go. Whippy dee.

Turkey still pussyfooting around. It recalled its ambassador to Israel in 2010 with all sorts of threats of "state terrorism" and "irreparable consequences in bilateral relations". But this week the Turkish foreign minister meets the regime in Damascus in a "friendly" meeting. Glad to see they've got the right priorities in Ankara.

Security Council resolutions? Nope.

Goldstone-like commission? Nope.

Flotilla? Nope.

Here's hoping SOMEBODY does something. They're literally getting mowed down in the streets by their own tanks.It's like Tianemmen Square times ten, every single day.

Bloodshed in Syria backfiring on government

By Liz Sly, Tuesday, August 9, 8:19 PM

BEIRUT — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s attempt to crush dissent through a massive military offensive appears to be backfiring, with fervent condemnations both at home and abroad undermining his government’s chances of survival.

The bloodshed of the past 10 days has drawn the ire of regional powers that had stayed silent throughout the nearly five-month-old uprising but were outraged by the killings of fellow Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan. It has also prompted calls for a tougher stand in the West, particularly from Washington.

Arab nations joined the international chorus of condemnation against President Bashar Assad's regime Monday, with Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia pulling out their ambassadors as a besieged Syrian city came under fresh artillery fire. (Aug. 8)

Arab nations joined the international chorus of condemnation against President Bashar Assad's regime Monday, with Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia pulling out their ambassadors as a besieged Syrian city came under fresh artillery fire. (Aug. 8)

The Obama administration has stopped just short of demanding Assad’s ouster, but it appeared to be edging closer to that position Tuesday. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters that “you can’t have any kind of partnership with a regime that does this kind of thing to innocents,” an indication that Washington is preparing for a final break with its two-year-old policy of engaging Assad.

U.S. officials are readying additional economic sanctions on Syria and are encouraging European countries to impose bans on its oil and gas sales. The coming days are also expected to bring renewed pressure at the United Nations for firmer action against Syria after a statement last week appealing for an immediate halt to the violence was ignored.

By sending tanks into the city of Hama and other rebellious areas, Assad may have been hoping to duplicate the tactics of his father, Hafez, whose successful suppression of an Islamist uprising in Hama in 1982 left an estimated 10,000 people dead. It took weeks before the world found out, by which time an entire generation of Syrians had been cowed into silence.

But in an age of satellite television and instant communications, “they’re not getting away with it,” said Najib Ghadbian, a professor of political science at the University of Arkansas, who is active in the Syrian opposition.

“This regime is living in an isolated world, and they think they can get away with mass killings, but, on the contrary, it is only hastening their departure,” he said.

There is still no sign that Assad’s fall is imminent. Opposition hopes for significant defections from the army or divisions in the government have not materialized. The protest movement remains without leaders and has offered no plan for replacing Assad, other than to continue staging protests.

But the government can expect to confront escalating pressure not only from its domestic opponents but also the wider world.

The violence has strained Syria’s close relationship with Turkey, the country considered most likely to wield influence over Assad. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu emerged seemingly empty-handed from a six-hour meeting with Assad on Tuesday in Damascus, after issuing what the Turkish media called an ultimatum to stop the killing.

Davutoglu said only that the encounter was “friendly” and that he expected to see “concrete steps” in the coming days to end the violence.

Yet Assad remained defiant, saying Syria would not relent in its pursuit of “armed terrorists,” according to the official Syrian Arab News Agency. And human rights groups reported that Syrian troops on Tuesday had launched a tank assault on a town near the Turkish border, even as bombardments and attacks on protesters continued elsewhere. The Local Coordination Committees, which organizes and monitors protests, said 34 people were killed across Syria on Tuesday.

[mawilson 2,133]

Unbelievable hypocrisy.

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

Unbelievable hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy is a secondary issue, people are getting slaughtered.

BUMP.

Word has it Obama will call for Assad to go. Whippy dee.

Turkey still pussyfooting around. It recalled its ambassador to Israel in 2010 with all sorts of threats of "state terrorism" and "irreparable consequences in bilateral relations". But this week the Turkish foreign minister meets the regime in Damascus in a "friendly" meeting. Glad to see they've got the right priorities in Ankara.

Security Council resolutions? Nope.

Goldstone-like commission? Nope.

Flotilla? Nope.

Here's hoping SOMEBODY does something. They're literally getting mowed down in the streets by their own tanks.It's like Tianemmen Square times ten, every single day.

I agree with you.

[scandal 951]

Hypocrisy is a secondary issue, people are getting slaughtered.

So where's WOM, showing her concern for the slaughtered and her outrage at the regime?

How come this thread falls all the way down and needs to be bumped?

[Sofiyya 1,687]

So where's WOM, showing her concern for the slaughtered and her outrage at the regime?

How come this thread falls all the way down and needs to be bumped?

It's Ramadan. A lot of Muslims shy away from debate during that time. I'm sure she'll be back at the end of the month for more delightful banter.

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

So where's WOM, showing her concern for the slaughtered and her outrage at the regime?

How come this thread falls all the way down and needs to be bumped?

My thread about the Syrian butchery is on page two or three, go figure. :(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84mVkiOwCjw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz5W9SlpdtA&feature=related

Edited August 10, 2011 by IR5FORMUMSIE

[Pooky 3,348]

It's Ramadan. A lot of Muslims shy away from debate during that time.

Could that be playing into the Syrian government's actions, using Ramadan to minimize the criticism from the Arab world?

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

Could that be playing into the Syrian government's actions, using Ramadan to minimize the criticism from the Arab world?

Could be.

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

It's Ramadan. A lot of Muslims shy away from debate during that time. I'm sure she'll be back at the end of the month for more delightful banter.

But never from Justice, what is going on in Syria is WRONG. No debate, just slaughter.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Where are you looking for Arab criticism of Syria? Here? FYI: WOM and I aren't the "Arab World"? I can find it, why can't any of you?

[웃 910]

Where are you looking for Arab criticism of Syria? Here? FYI: WOM and I aren't the "Arab World"? I can find it, why can't any of you?

Nice member title!!! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Nice member title!!! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Ya, apparently it needs to be repeated to satisfy some folks

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

Where are you looking for Arab criticism of Syria? Here? FYI: WOM and I aren't the "Arab World"? I can find it, why can't any of you?

Arab nations condemn Syria over crackdown

By The Associated Press Created 08/08/2011 - 10:45am Mon, 08/08/2011 - 10:45am | The News-Gazette [1] BEIRUT (AP) — Arab nations joined the international chorus of condemnation against President Bashar Assad's regime Monday, with Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia pulling out their ambassadors as a besieged Syrian city came under fresh artillery fire.

The renewed violence in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour comes a day after at least 42 people were killed there in an intensifying government crackdown on protesters.

"We heard very loud explosions, and now there's intermittent gunfire," an activist in the city said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. He said people were too terrified to take the wounded to government hospitals, instead treating them at home or in makeshift hospitals.

The international community has sharply condemned the government's crackdown, imposing sanctions and demanding an immediate end to the attacks. France and Germany renewed their condemnation Monday.

But in a sign of growing outrage, Syria's Arab neighbors joined the mounting criticism, voicing their concerns about a crackdown that intensified on the eve of the holy month of Ramadan — a time of introspection and piety characterized by a dawn-to-dusk fast.

Late Sunday, Saudi Arabia's king — whose country does not tolerate dissent and lent its military troops to repress anti-government protests in neighboring Bahrain — said he was recalling his ambassador in Damascus for consultations, and demanded "an end to the killing machine and bloodshed."

"Any sane Arab, Muslim or anyone else knows that this has nothing to do with religion, or ethics or morals; spilling the blood of the innocent for any reasons or pretext leads to no path to ... hope," King Abdullah said in a statement.

Bahrain, a U.S. ally that hosts the Navy's 5th Fleet, recalled its ambassador to Syria "for consultation," Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa announced on his official Twitter feed Monday. Bahraini officials couldn't immediately be reached for further comment.

Bahrain has faced the Gulf's largest uprisings since the start of the Arab Spring. Its larger Gulf neighbors, led by Saudi Arabia, sent in additional security forces to help Bahraini authorities put down widespread street protests under special emergency powers earlier this year.

Kuwait also recalled its ambassador to Syria, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheik Mohammad Sabah al-Salem Al Sabah said in a brief statement carried by official state news agency KUNA. He said Gulf foreign ministers planned to meet soon to discuss the situation in Syria.

In Deir el-Zour, about 280 miles (450 kilometers) east of the capital Damascus, machine fire and artillery blasts resumed early Monday, according to the Local Coordinating Committees, which help organize the protests and track the uprising.

Deir el-Zour is in an oil-rich but largely impoverished region of Syria known for its well-armed clans and tribes whose ties extend across eastern Syrian and into Iraq. At least 42 people were killed Sunday in a pre-dawn raid, said Abdul-Karim Rihawi, the Damascus-based chief of the Syrian Human Rights League, and Ammar Qurabi, who heads the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria.

Syrian troops also stormed Maaret al-Numan in the northern province of Idlib at dawn, activists said.

"Forces entered the city from its eastern side and they are preventing the residents from entering or leaving the city," the LCC said in a statement.

More than 300 people have died in the past week, the bloodiest in the five-month uprising against Assad's authoritarian rule.

The government's crackdown on mostly peaceful, unarmed protesters demanding political reforms and an end to the Assad family's 40-year rule has left more than 1,700 dead since March, according to activists and human rights groups. Assad's regime disputes the toll and blames a foreign conspiracy for the unrest, which at times has brought hundreds of thousands of protesters into the streets.

The central city of Hama had been the focus of the crackdown for most of the week. Reporters were taken on a tour of the government-run Hama National Hospital on Sunday night and shown the remains of 16 people, some decomposing.

Dr. Mohammed al-Omar said most of the bodies were members of the Syrian security forces who were killed by armed groups. He didn't elaborate on how he had gathered this information.

"There are gunshot wounds mostly on their necks, also on the chest. We now have 17 bodies in the hospital," al-Omar told reporters as an unidentified member of the security services stood closely behind him.

Condemnation of the Syrian government spread to the Internet, where the hacking group known as Anonymous claimed credit for vandalizing the Syrian military's website. The site quickly became unavailable, but screenshots circulated online showed the group's trademark headless suit and a message addressed to the Syrian people saying that "the world stands with you against the brutal regime."

Assad has shrugged off months of criticism and sanctions, blaming armed gangs for the violence while offering reform measures that have failed to placate the protesters demanding sweeping changes.

My link

[scandal 951]

Maybe this explains why there's no talk of a "Flotilla" to render aid to the oppressed Syrian people.

Because the Syrian Navy means business and would blow any ships approaching its coastline to kingdom come. Maritime Law, be damned.

Syrian Gunboats Used To 'Pound Coastal City'

2:27am UK, Monday August 15, 2011

Up to 25 people have been killed in Syria after authorities used gunboats to shell the coastal city of Latakia, activists claim.

The violence came after thousands of people marched in the Mediterranean city calling for the overthrow of President Bashar Assad's regime.

The coordinated attacks by gunboats and ground troops were the latest wave of a brutal offensive against anti-government protests launched at the beginning of the month.

The assault showed Mr Assad has no intention of scaling back the campaign even though it has brought international outrage and new European and US sanctions.

"We are being targeted from the ground and the sea," a frightened resident of al-Ramel district of Latakia, the hardest hit neighbourhood, told the AP.

"The shooting is intense. We cannot go out. They are raiding and breaking into people's homes," he added.

As the Syrian gunboats blasted waterfront districts, ground troops backed by tanks and security forces stormed several neighbourhoods in al-Ramel, sending terrified women and children fleeing to safer areas.

The al-Ramel resident said at least three gunboats were taking part in the offensive, and that many people were killed and wounded. The shooting also allegedly targeted several mosques in the area.

Foreign journalists are banned from reporting in areas of unrest in Syria and reports cannot be independently verified.

"Many homes have been destroyed and the shabiha have broken into shops and businesses," he said, referring to pro-government gunmen, as they are called by Syrians.

The assault on Latakia began Saturday, when tanks and armoured personnel carriers rolled into al-Ramel district amid intense gunfire.

On Friday after prayers as many as 10,000 marched there, calling for the president's ousting and after an initial assault on Saturday, Syrian forces pushed back into Latakia again Sunday.

State-run news agency Sana said troops were pursuing "gunmen using machine guns, hand grenades and bombs who have been terrorising residents in al-Ramel district."

The agency denied reports the area was being targeted from the sea. It quoted a health official in Latakia as saying two law enforcement officials were killed.

But according to Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 25 people were killed in the city on Sunday.

Amateur videos posted on the Internet by activists also showed at least one gunboat patrolling the coast opposite al-Ramel, and tanks rumbling along the waterfront.

Syrian soldiers pictured leaving the city of Hama after a military operation to try to quell pro-democracy protests.

Syrian troops have recently pulled out of Hama to fight elsewhere

"They are trying to take control of the city as they did in other places," Mr Abdul-Rahman said.

Ammar Qurabi, head of the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria, said the state was setting a "precedent" by using gunboats to shell its own people.

Using gunboats to fight protesters marks a new escalation in the regime's crackdown.

But the determined opposition is so far unbowed even though at least 1,700 people have been killed since March, according to activists and human rights groups.

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

Maybe this explains why there's no talk of a "Flotilla" to render aid to the oppressed Syrian people.

Because the Syrian Navy means business and would blow any ships approaching its coastline to kingdom come. Maritime Law, be damned.

Not sure, other than Turkey there hasn't been much public talk. The UN is still trying to agree on some sort of plan of action. The Chinese oppose the bombing of Damascus but they are not happy with the Syrians. In the meantime, people are dying. They're still protesting in the streets, GOD bless them, whether this will be another Prague Spring or not remains to be seen.