visionary Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/syria/120821/aleppo-ramadan-eid-assad Holidays in SyriaMARA, Aleppo – On the last day of Eid al-Fitr, the celebration that marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, this town awoke not to the call to prayer, but to the sound of a falling rocket. Everyone's doors and windows rattled, and shrapnel rained down outside. For this village on the edge of Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city and the scene of the regime's latest offensive against rebel forces, bombardments like this occur almost daily. After the first explosion, Rafah al-Huseni, 29, rushed to opened the doors and windows. Her mother darted back from the outside toilet, adjusting her clothes as she ran. Her hands shook as she removed debris from her hair. “We must open the doors and windows or they will blow apart in the explosion,” said al-Huseni, who is 3 months pregnant. She is a veteran of air raids, having lived in the embattled city of Homs for most of the Syrian revolution. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/22/world/middleeast/doctors-without-borders-reveals-its-work-in-syria.html?_r=1&smid=tw-nytimesworld&seid=auto Doctor Group Is Treating Syrian Rebels and CiviliansWorking in a converted villa in a town in the Syrian north, an international team of doctors and nurses has been quietly treating Syrian opposition fighters and civilians for the past two months, Doctors Without Borders announced in Paris on Tuesday. The seven-person team, working in conjunction with a group of Syrian doctors, represents one of the precious few aid groups that have entered Syria and established operations since the conflict began last year. Doctors Without Borders informed the Syrian government of its work shortly after arriving in the country, in secret, but was not authorized to stay. “They’re aware of our presence,” said Olivier Falhun, a Paris official at Doctors Without Borders, known in French as Médecins Sans Frontières. But the government has indicated that the group’s work will be conducted “at our risks and perils,” Mr. Falhun said. The location of the field hospital has been kept secret. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/08/us-sanctions-give-china-an-opportunity-to-supply-bandwidth-to-syrian-isps/ Syria sidesteps sanctions by turning to China for Internet bandwidthCensorship and government monitoring aren’t the only problems facing Syrian Internet users. There have been frequent, recent shutdowns of all Internet traffic crossing the Syrian border over the last few months, accompanying dramatic changes in how the country connects to the rest of the world. With growing international diplomatic pressure and sanctions against Syria, the Syria Telecommunications Establishment (which controls the country’s Internet infrastructure) has increasingly taken its network business somewhere it’s wanted: China. But despite sanctions, some Syrian ISPs still maintain a presence in the US, with the largest hosting its home page on a server in Chicago. In April, the Obama administration announced sanctions against Syriatel, the Syrian telecommunications company, for its role in "tracking and targeting citizens for violence." Syriatel owns SAWA, Syria’s largest ISP. While that’s prevented US telecommunications companies such as Cogent and Level 3 from doing business with SAWA, it hasn’t stopped the Syrian company from using some US Internet services. http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=428710&MID=0&PID=0 War by rapeThe Syrian regime is reportedly using rape as a tool of war against opposition forces. Human rights monitors have documented cases of sexual violence perpetrated by regime security forces against both men and women, however, first-person testimonies have been hard to come by. NOW sat down with a Syrian refugee in Lebanon who asked to be called Shero and who claims that he and his friend Meshaal were raped by regime forces. The two young men are activist from the Monastery of Saint Moses the Abyssinian, a monastic community of Syriac Catholics north of Damascus. They worked closely with Father Paolo Dall’ Oglio, the Roman Catholic priest who was recently expelled from Syria for criticizing the regime’s violence. https://twitter.com/AnonymousSyria As for the shells, last one fell 30-40 meters away from where I live on Sunday night. Aleppo9:22 PM @Austin_Tice didn't tweet since Aug 12nd! 9:24 PM I want to go to Turkey, but I'm not sure how to get out of Aleppo and I'm facing difficulties finding an apartment there for $300-$400/month 9:29 PM https://twitter.com/BigAlBrand Mom's asking me about today's casualties. Now we're both crying. **** you Assad.9:38 PM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2017128&l=dc56263fce&id=217848338242310 Local Coordination Committees in Syria:LCC was able to document by the end of Tuesday 230 martyrs, including women and children. 104 in Damascus and its suburbs (mostly in Mudamieh Sham during regime shelling), 42 in Aleppo most of them in Aqyoul neighborhood,32 in Daraa most of them in Herak and including 5 bodies in Nawa, 12 in Deir Ezzor (including an entire family from Mohamiedeh), 10 in Homs, 5 in Idlib. 3 in Hama, and 2 in Lattakia 5:47 PM http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357480-Yahoo-Assad-predicts-disaster-if-West-meddles-in-Syria&p=9046975&viewfull=1#post9046975 24,812 people killed so far in Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/08/20128229218818879.html Syria resumes shelling on Damascus districtsThe Syrian army has deployed tanks on a ring road surrounding Damascus and shelled southern neighbourhoods where rebels operate, the heaviest bombardment in the capital since the army reasserted control last month, residents and activists said. At least 40 people were killed in the shelling, which was accompanied by attacks from helicopters, and in ensuing ground raids on the Kfar Souseh, Daraya, Qadam and Nahr Aisha neighbourhoods, they said. "The whole of Damascus is shaking with the sound of shelling," a woman in Kfar Souseh said. She said the army's artillery was also firing on the capital from the Qasioun and Saraya mountains overlooking Damascus. The assaults in the capital coincide with the departure of the United Nations observer mission, whose members are leaving after failing to secure a ceasefire. Maaz al-Shami, a member of the Damascus Media Office, a group of young opposition activists monitoring the crackdown in Damascus, said rebels who had left the city during a fierce army campaign last month had started to return. "They went back to their homes, or disappeared in the green belt surrounding Damascus," Shami said. "They are back now, and the regime is responding with daily shelling and helicopter bombardment. A war atmosphere in Damascus is setting in." http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/08/2012822142040588686.html Lebanese rivals continue battles over SyriaThe death toll from fighting between rival pro- and anti-Damascus gunmen in the city of Tripoli has climbed to at least 10, in clashes that the city's residents described as some of the heaviest since Lebanon's civil war. More than 100 people have been wounded in the fighting which erupted this week along a sectarian fault line between the Sunni district of Bab al-Tabbaneh and the Alawite area of Jebel Mohsen. Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting in Tripoli on Wednesday, said the city's mayor had convened a crisis meeting to try to negotiate an end to the fighting but that no solution had been reached. Prime Minister Najib Mikati, a native of Tripoli, on Wednesday raised fresh concern at "efforts to drag Lebanon more and more into the conflict in Syria when what is required is for leaders to cooperate ... to protect Lebanon from the danger."The authorities have instructed the army and security forces "to bring the situation under control, to prohibit any armed presence and to arrest those implicated" in the violence, he said in a statement. Later an army statement said: "Due to the gravity of the situation and in order to prevent attempts of dragging the whole of Lebanon into a state of unrest... the army command announces it will enter into dialogue with the city's leaders and officials, particularly in Bab al-Tebbaneh and Jabal Mohsen." http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/topic/syria-153 about 3 hours agoThe son of a late Chechen field commander who waged two post-Soviet wars against Russian forces has been killed while fighting with the rebels in Syria, a Russian Islamist website said Wednesday. Rustam Gelayev, son of Ruslan Gelayev, "entered into a battle with superior forces of the Alawite regime in a Syrian district, presumably between August 11 and August 13," the KavkazCenter website said. "During the fighting, he was martyred," said the website, which is regularly used by Russian-based Islamic militants to exchange information and has developed a history of providing accurate battlefield reports. about 2 hours agoSyrian government forces fought rebels on Wednesday for control of a military base and an airfield near the southeastern town of Al Bukamal on the Iraqi border, a local Iraqi official and a Syrian rebel commander said. "There is fierce fighting between the Free Syrian Army and Syrian border guards to control the base, where tanks and artillery were used to bombard (Al Bukamal)," Farhan Ftiakhan, mayor of the nearby Iraqi town of Qaim, told Reuters. "Most Al Bukamal areas are in the hands of the Free Syrian Army, but the Syrian regular army is deployed and controlling the areas just outside Al Bukamal," he said by telephone. A rebel commander said they now controlled the town, which sits on a supply route from Iraq, where many Sunni tribes sympathise with those fighting Assad's forces. The commander, known as Abu Khalid, told Reuters by satellite telephone that the Syrian army now only held the military base and the area around it. Opposition sources said on Tuesday Syrian state forces had abandoned two security compounds in Al Bukamal that had been run by the Air Force Intelligence and Political Security agencies. Al Bukamal lies 120km southeast of the city of Deir Az Zor, capital of a Sunni province with strong family and clan connections to Iraq's Sunni heartland in Anbar province. 24 minutes agoAt least 12 people have been killed - as pro- and anti-Assad camps take aim at each other in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli. Old rivalries have been reignited and there is considerable tensions between the two communities - it's being described as the worst since Lebanon's civil war. Al Jazeera's James Bays has sent in this report from Tripoli: https://twitter.com/MahirZeynalov Four Syrian colonels, two captains are among 1,425 Syrians who crossed into Turkey this morning. 4:27 AM Iran says Gaziantep blast that killed nine Turkish civilians not surprising given Ankara's Syria policies http://bit.ly/ReCDPp 6:22 AM The Syrian conflict has really done a lot to push Turkey and Iran apart. It's interesting how much at odds they are these days. A few years back Turkey was passionately courting Iran. https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf The FSA in Damascus captures a regime sniper who has killed 15 people in Barzeh, Qaboon, and Midan. 8:08 AM The FSA in Ariha Idlib have stopped the regime forces from entering the city and destroyed 6 tanks in the process!! 9:26 AM They were shelling the city [idlib] this morning...concentrating on the northern villages. There was also some shooting last night. 9:29 AM https://twitter.com/jfoleyjourno a civilian leader in BustanalQser said worried increasing problem of Warlordism amongst disparate katibas and commanders Aleppo11:11 AM I've been wondering about that myself. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2019252&l=553ac53168&id=217848338242310 Local Coordination Committees in SyriaThe number of martyrs in Syria has risen to 80 so far. 50 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs; including 25, who were executed in the field in Kafar Souseh, 10 in Homs, 7 in Idlib, 5 in Daraa, 4 in Aleppo, 2 in Hama, 1 in Hasakeh, and 1 in Lattakia 10:19 AM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2019457&l=87fc7de50c&id=217848338242310 Local Coordination Committees in SyriaThe number of martyrs in Syria today has risen to 110 thus far. 70 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs; including 25 who were field-executed in Kafar Souseh and another 25 who were also field-executed in Qaboun, 11 in Homs, 7 in Idlib, 5 in Daraa, 5 in Aleppo, 2 in Hama, 1 in Hasakeh, 1 in Deir Ezzor and 1 in Lattakia 11:38 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/08/2012822142040588686.html Lebanese rivals continue battles over SyriaThe death toll from fighting between rival pro- and anti-Damascus gunmen in the city of Tripoli has climbed to at least 12, in clashes that the city's residents described as some of the heaviest since Lebanon's civil war. More than 100 people have been wounded in the fighting which erupted this week along a sectarian fault line between the Sunni district of Bab al-Tabbaneh and the Alawite area of Jebel Mohsen. Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting in Tripoli on Wednesday, said the city's mayor had convened a crisis meeting to try to negotiate an end to the fighting but that no solution had been reached. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/assad-influence-in-lebanon-declining-as-syrian-civil-war-shakes-beiruts-ties-with-damascus/2012/08/22/c74d42d6-ec8e-11e1-866f-60a00f604425_story.html?wprss=rss_social-world-headlines&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed Assad influence in Lebanon declining as Syrian civil war shakes Beirut’s ties with DamascusThe Syrian civil war has spilled over into Lebanon, bringing with it sectarian street clashes, mob violence and general government paralysis in Beirut. But it was the dramatic arrest earlier this month of a former Lebanese government minister and prominent supporter of Syria’s embattled president that has suggested the conflict may be causing Lebanon to slip further away from Damascus’ long domination. The bloodshed in Syria has drawn Lebanon deeper into the unrest — a troubling sign for a country that has gone through its own 15-year civil war and has an explosive sectarian mix as well as deep divisions between pro- and anti-Syrian factions, many of which are armed. The chaos could give Sunni Muslim fighters in northern Lebanon more leeway to establish supply lines to the rebels inside Syria in their battle to oust President Bashar Assad. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/08/22/the_air_war_in_aleppo?page=full#.UDVVooovu6c.twitter The Air War in AleppoEven now, though, it is possible to walk through the border gates between Turkey and Syria, get your passport stamped by a grinning rebel at an immigration post, and hitch a ride south in the back of a truck. It may not be luxurious, but it is a far cry from the illegal and dangerous hike across the Turkish frontier that many reporters and activists were previously forced to take to enter Syria. Syrian rebels have largely cleared regime troops from the area between the Turkish border and Aleppo, the country's economic hub and largest city. Abdul Nasser al-Khatib, a rebel commander in the newly formed al-Tawhid ("Unity") Brigade, an organization of rebel groups around Aleppo, claimed that opposition forces hold an approximately 125- by 25-mile area in the north. "We have made our buffer zone," said Khatib, a burly former interior decorator. Roads snaking through the rich, dark brown farmland of northern Syria are devoid of regime checkpoints. There are even a few Free Syrian Army (FSA) checkpoints. Free from a threat in the countryside, the rebels have moved almost all their fighters to the city of Aleppo, where battles are still raging. Suddenly, we were there. A regime jet, probably an L-39 Albatros, screamed low overhead as rebels who were already engaged in battle fired on it with two truck-mounted Dushka guns. A fighter firing one of the weapons, a Soviet-era heavy machine gun, watched open-mouthed as the plane darted overhead. His truck sped down the street after it, but it was already out of range. Absent extraordinary luck, the rebels' weapons were simply incapable of downing the jet.Before the rebels from Sha'ar neighborhood reached the roundabout, the Albatros came back around and seemed to locate them. They ducked into a house just before it fired a rocket. The explosion reverberated down the street, hitting about three houses down. The rebels pushed into a stairwell in the house and listened to instructions from a commander. The neighborhood had been abandoned. The plane was hitting the streets around us with machine guns and rockets. The rebels seemed to be only too happy under direct attack from the plane. I was not. German photographer Daniel Etter and I -- after some yelling at a rebel who clearly preferred to stay and, somehow, continue forward -- ran back out into the street with two rebels and began to retreat, leaving the others behind. It was in this slow procession up the dirt street -- the fighter plane swooping overhead and a buzzing helicopter apparently acting as its target spotter -- that I fully understood the frustration faced by Syria's rebels. Was Assad not an international criminal? Was it not clear, from everything the rebels had accomplished with so little international support, that the regime would not last? The status quo the Assad regime had long upheld in the Middle East was over. With more advanced weaponry, the rebels could better protect innocent lives. Including mine. But while the Syrian military's use of air power temporarily delayed the rebels' advance in the city of Aleppo, jets and helicopters alone are not capable of reversing the regime's losses. It would take more than 24 hours, but the rebels would seize back the roundabout, after an all-night battle against tanks. The next day, planes, which did not attack at night, once again returned to harass the rebels. But they were not accompanied by regime troops.Khatib, the rebel commander from al-Tawhid, said that that even if they did not procure better anti-aircraft weapons, the rebels would continue the same strategy against the regime. "Bashar al-Assad, he will give up Syria. Before he gives up Syria, he will destroy Syria," he said. "He knows the FSA will destroy most of his army. But he can kill people ... sleeping at home, by fighter jets http://video.nytimes.com/video/2012/08/20/world/middleeast/100000001731940/the-lions-of-tawhid.html The Lions of TawhidThe Times’s C.J. Chivers travels with an antigovernment fighting group in and near Aleppo, where the war for Syria’s future has hardened all involved. https://twitter.com/KareemLailah Assad forces assassinated journalist Mosaab Aoudallah in his house in Damascus. pic.twitter.com/z6JaLBW48:24 AM https://twitter.com/THE_47th Syria Support Group MT @mannoush: FSA commanders to request NoFlyZone &declare safe zones from int. community http://bit.ly/PUE5Ho 5:44 PM Uncnfirmd reports: Forces roaming various streets of Deraa w/ loudspeakers: "hand us Al Sharaa now, or we'll level this city over ur heads" 5:54 PM Not sure about other reports, but 1 thing's for sure: Deraa has been getting pounded like crazy for a week now. 6:00 PM During shelling breaks, Assad Forces grab a quick summary-execution tours in Deraa city and then out & back to shelling. 6:02 PM https://twitter.com/DamascusSYR People of Jordanian towns near Syria'n border reported to a local Jordanian news website that shelling on Daraa is VERY heavy now.6:18 PM https://twitter.com/edwardedark oh btw, I'm still alive in case anyone was wondering... thanks for all your messages of concern. much appreciated, they mean a lot. I'm in Aleppo, haven't left. we had mobile phones cut off for a week and internet cut for about 10. only internet via mobile now 11:26 AM last week, 3 shells landed near Russian consulate in an upscale part of Aleppo which hasn't seen fighting. 1 hit a house & exploded 2 didn't. the army shelled Aleppo University for no apparent reason. maybe it was aimed at the dorms housing displaced for revenge? 11:36 AM some FSA are good, but unfortunately many are not. lots f criminals and extremists among them too. they also looted medicine and food produce warehouses belonging to the health ministry in Aleppo 12:02 PM regime forces completely looted the luxury Carlton hotel in front of the Citadel as well as the entire Khan el Shouneh souk (market) Aleppo 6:14 PM FSA mortars have hit houses in Jamilieh after targeting Military Police HQ, & houses in Shiek Maksoud after targeting PKK checkpoint -Aleppo 6:25 PM https://twitter.com/hhassan140 Al Ahram: two senior figures of Syria regime will announce their defection within the next few hours. via Al Jazeera2:42 AM https://twitter.com/THE_47th If u or ur family is in Damascus, stock up & stay at home & try to avoid going out as much as possible. All chatter is abt mjr escalations.2:48 AM https://twitter.com/NMSyria Apparently the FSA in Aleppo had a military parade with tanks and armored vehicles they captured. Anyone have a video?2:52 AM https://twitter.com/AnonymousSyria Moscow evacuates naval base in Syria http://goo.gl/YSx1m Tartus2:53 AM http://www.lccsyria.org/9962 The Local Coordination Committees in Syria (LCC) was able to document 184 martyrs on Wednesday. 100 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its suburbs, including 46 executed in Qaboun, 25 executed in Kafar Souseh, and 7 eecuted in Nahr Aisha; 25 martyrs were reported in Idlib; 22 in Homs; 17 in Daraa; 11 in Aleppo; 4 in Hama; 3 in Deir Ezzor; 1 in Hasakeh; and 1 in Lattakia http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357480-Yahoo-Assad-predicts-disaster-if-West-meddles-in-Syria&p=9046975&viewfull=1#post9046975 24,996 people killed so far in Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 http://brown-moses.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/syrian-activists-claim-al-mayadeen-news.html Syrian Activists Claim Al Mayadeen News Tweets FSA Positions To The Syrian Air Force Interesting look at MB influence and limits in Syria http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/23/syrians-torn-despotic-regime-stagnant-opposition?CMP=twt_gu Syrians are torn between a despotic regime and a stagnant opposition http://www.enduringamerica.com/home/2012/8/23/syria-and-beyond-live-coverage-a-nationwide-battle.html#1430 1601 GMT: Syria. The Guardian has spoken to a resident of Damascus and reports that 11 more people may have been executed by the regime in Kafer Souseh, adding evidence to my earlier assessment that this may be the new pattern, at least in Damascus:As usual today started with shelling, mortar shelling , tank shelling and helicopter shelling in several areas in Damascus and Damascus suburbs ...Today it [Kafr Sousseh] was targeted with shelling, also a raid of the neighbourhood. Military and Shabiha (pro-Assad militia) raided the neighbourhood and started looking for activists, all kinds of activists, civil activists, media activists. Unfortunately, today 11 people were killed in Kafr Sousseh in extra-judicial executions ...They are being killed and executed on the ground in front of their families ... We are witnessing an escalation here in the number of casualties. So many people are dying under shelling, in extra-judicial executions ..... http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog about 7 hours agoSyrian forces backed by tanks stormed Daraya, on the outskirts of Damascus, on Thursday after 24 hours of artillery and helicopter bombardment to drive out rebels, opposition sources said. The bombardment killed at least 15 people and wounded 150 in Daraya, situated on the southwest edge of Damascus, the sources said. Troops were conducting house to house raids in the conservative Sunni Muslim town and making their way to the town's centre, meeting light resistance from rebels who appear to have largely withdrawn from the area, activists in Damascus said. about 3 hours agoWe told you earlier of reports that Syrian military planes have crossed into Iraq during a strike against the border town of Abu Kamal, which was taken by Syrian rebel forces last month. Iraqi border guards now say the combat aircraft crossed into Iraqi airspace for about fifteen minutes, and that they were reportedly targeting the part of Abu Kamal that lies within Syrian territory. But the mayor of the town of Qaim which is across the border from Abu Kamal, denies the aircraft crossed into Iraqi territory. about 3 hours agoThe neighbourhood of Seif El Dawla in Aleppo seems to be witness to some heavy clashes. Reuters provides with these two shots, showing smoke rising over the city's buildings in the course of fighting between government forces and rebels: about 3 hours agoShort of weapons and ammunition, Syrian rebels have set up factories producing a wide array of homemade bombs and grenades that they can take into battle against much better-armed government forces. Reuters reports: "Bomb, bomb, bomb!"shouted the rebel fighters in the midst of battle on the streets of Aleppo. Everyone crouched down and held their fingers in their ears. But the rusty foot-long metal container they rolled into a building hiding enemy Syrian army forces failed to explode."The batteries were dead and it didn't work," said Abu Furad, a rebel commander in aviator sunglasses, who still wears the Syrian army uniform he was issued before he defected to the rebel cause three months ago. Abu Furad had another homemade explosive device in the pocket of his vest - a black metal tube with a small ceramic coffee cup attached to the top by a wire. The cup acts as a trigger like the pin of a grenade. about an hour agoIn the town of Harrak on the Syrian-Jordanian border women and children were fleeing what they say was a Syrian government bombing campaign. https://twitter.com/NMSyria Damascus: Six bodies found in area between Daraya and Moadamiyet, among them a mother, her four children, and an unidentified young man. 3:12 AM You know what, I don't even know what to say anymore. Another massacre in Tadamon, Damascus this morning in Syria. **** humanity. 3:13 AM Bodies of those killed in massacre in Tadamon, Damascus piled one over each other in the back of a truck. 3:14 AM https://twitter.com/MajdArar This is the 5th day of the battle around Mazeh airport including the areas of Daraya, Moadamia, Kafarsouseh & NahrIsha Damascu. Assad army is waging a big battle to secure the surrounding of Mazeh airport & bombing towns around it like Daraya & Moadamia4:29 AM Mazah airport is strategically very important for Assad to control Damascus & maintain the flow of ammunition supplies. 4:30 AM Mazah airport is the headquarter of the well known Air force Intelligence, the branch responsible 4 bulk of repression in Syria 4:32 AM FSA controls the lands around Mazeh airport along with Daraya, Moadamia & south of Kafarsouseh 4:34 AM FSA has been targeting the airport with mortar shells for the past 4 days. Assad tanks moved in to secure the airport. 4:36 AM https://twitter.com/MahirZeynalov 3 Syrian colonels, 4 lt. colonels, 2 majors, 2 captains, 2 lieutenants, 2 soldiers were among 923 Syrians who crossed into Turkey today. 11:37 AM https://twitter.com/MajdArar Technically, the Assad army is trying to invade & take control of a vast area of woods & bushes between multiple towns. Damascus4:52 AM We're maybe at the doors of Damascus battle round 2. Let's hope it will give Assad a good blow. 4:55 AM I guess regime is back to square one in Damascus, Helicopters in the sky which means they've been hit badly on the ground. 12:05 PM I hear the artillery shell cracking in the air above my head, I go to window & just minutes I see where it lands. 12:29 PM NahrIsha & Qadam are just being wiped out by shells. Damascus 12:30 PM https://twitter.com/NMSyria Syrian battlefield just wouldn't be complete without tea kettle and cups in corner. via @MidaniSpeaks. http://pic.twitter.com/1RFySxY912:57 PM BREAKING: Explosion in Mujtahed, Central Damascus near Midan. Helicopters reported flying overhead. Tanks heading to an unknown location. 12:57 PM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf It hurts so much looking at these pictures of my people sleeping in the streets...little children, entire families...homeless in seconds...1:13 PM http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2022124&l=da17132953&id=217848338242310 Local Coordination Committees in SyriaNumber of martyrs has risen to 125 thus far, including children and women, 66 martyrs were reported in Damascus and it's suburbs including "21 in Modamieh, 15 in Daraya, 10 in Kafarsoseh and 6 in Barzeh,17 in Aleppo, 13 in Daraa,9 in Deir Ezzo, 7 in Homs, 5 in Hama, 5 in Idlib, 2 in Safeta in Tartous and 1 in Hasakeh 11:08 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/08/23/2965096/whereabouts-of-journalist-austin.html Whereabouts of journalist Austin Tice, McClatchy contributor, unknown in SyriaAustin Tice, a freelance American journalist who has contributed to McClatchy, The Washington Post and other media outlets from Syria, has been incommunicado for more than a week, his whereabouts unknown since exchanging email with a colleague. Tice, a Georgetown University law student who served as U.S. Marine Corps infantry officer before leaving active duty in January, was one of the few foreign journalists to report from inside Syria as the civil war intensified. He entered the country in May and traveled extensively through central Syria, filing battlefield dispatches before arriving in Damascus in late July. Tice’s reporting earned him a 2,000-strong following on Twitter, where fans of his work noted his disappearance when he stopped tweeting after Aug. 11 – when he’d recounted spending his 31st birthday listening to Taylor Swift music with rebel fighters from the Free Syrian Army. His subsequent silence didn’t raise immediate alarm because he’d planned to leave that week, on a journey to the border that often takes days because of the fighting en route. The Damascus suburb where he was last known to have been has faced heavy bombardment in recent days, making communications difficult. Tice was well aware of the dangers of reporting in Syria, and even took to his Facebook page to beseech his friends and relatives to “please quit telling me to be safe.” He then launched into an impassioned defense of his presence in Syria, which he acknowledged was “in the middle of a brutal and still uncertain civil war.” However, he continued, he found inspiration from the Syrians he encountered.“I’m living, in a place, at a time and with a people where life means more than anywhere I’ve ever been – because every single day people here lay down their own (lives) for the sake of others,” Tice wrote. “Coming here to Syria is the greatest thing I’ve ever done, and it’s the greatest feeling of my life.” An article/essay he wrote about being in Syria: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/austin-tice-its-nice-and-all-but-please-quit-telling-me-to-be-safe/2012/08/23/984488ba-ed4b-11e1-a80b-9f898562d010_story.html We kill ourselves every day with McDonald’s and alcohol and a thousand other drugs, but we’ve lost the sense that there actually are things out there worth dying for. We’ve given away our freedoms piecemeal to robber barons, but we’re too complacent to do much but criticize those few who try to point out the obvious. Americans have lost their sense of vision, mistaking asinine partisan squabbles for principles. When we do venture into space – the part of space we’ve gotten comfortable with, mind you – now we pay the Russians to give us a ride. That’s humiliating. I can’t believe we let that happen. So that’s why I came here to Syria, and it’s why I like being here now, right now, right in the middle of a brutal and still uncertain civil war. Every person in this country fighting for their freedom wakes up every day and goes to sleep every night with the knowledge that death could visit them at any moment. They accept that reality as the price of freedom. They realize there are things worth fighting for, and instead of sitting around wringing their hands about it, or asking their lawyer to file an injunction about it, they’re out there just doing it. And yeah most of them have little idea what they’re doing when they pick up a rifle, and yes there are many other things I could complain about, but really who cares. They’re alive in a way that almost no Americans today even know how to be. They live with greater passion and dream with greater ambition because they are not afraid of death. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/23/syria-crisis-chemical-weapons-live?commentpage=3#comment-17866406 Earlier today, the Associated Press reported that Syrian rebels had captured a string of security posts and the local police headquarters in Albu Kamal, near the border with Iraq, despite heavy government shelling and airstrikes by warplanes.Our colleague Mona Mahmood has now spoken via Skype with Abu Ahmed, a member of the Syrian Revolution Council in in Albu Kamal. This is what he told her: Yesterday, the first shooting by MiG 21 started against Albu Kamal. The shooting was random as the FSA are not centered at any place. The FSA liberated the crossing point [to Iraq] and the checkpoints and went away. They are conducting here a guerilla war and do not want to commit the same mistake they made in Aleppo.The mistake in Aleppo was that when the FSA got control of one of the districts, they based themselves there. Now, they do not want to do that in Albu Kamal. There are 15 [army] checkpoints in Albu Kamal – 12 of them were liberated and other three are still waiting. The three checkpoints which are not liberated yet have the biggest number of Syrian forces in men and equipment. All the Syrian army who were at the 12 liberated checkpoints are now gathered at these three checkpoints. The biggest checkpoint is near the military airport in al-Hamdan district. It is 4km north-west of the centre of Albu Kamal behind al-Sukkariya village. There are more than 37 tanks at the airport, 10 armoured vehicles, some of the tanks are T-52 and T-62. There are six officers, one of them is an Alawite general, and the other five officers are Druze. Most of the security officers here are Druze – we don't know why. The FSA have arrested some of them, but soon afterwards they were released to encourage them not to work for the regime. The population of Albu Kamal is 250,000 people. Ninety per cent of the families have Iraqi origins – from al-Anbar province. Even their accent is Iraqi. The countryside is inhabited by Iraqi tribes too. There are a few Kurd families and about 30 Alawite families. There are 30 Christian families too.... https://twitter.com/evanchill Freelance journalist @austin_tice, a good man, has been missing in Syria for more than a week. http://ow.ly/dbIoX4:36 PM https://twitter.com/DavidKenner Austin Tice, a brave reporter, is missing in Syria - last heard from around Damascus. Be in touch if you have any news. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/concern-mounts-over-us-journalist-in-syria-austin-tices-whereabouts-unknown/2012/08/23/857f0138-ed50-11e1-866f-60a00f604425_story.html4:25 PM Last email from Austin stated his intent to get drinks in Beirut, invitation to join: "I'm told it's socially preferable not to do so alone" 4:39 PM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2022699&l=9cd7e16d65&id=217848338242310 Local Coordination Committees in SyriaNumber of martyrs has risen to 200 thus far, including children and women, 96 martyrs were reported in Damascus and it's suburbs including "21 in Modamieh, 15 in Daraya, 10 in Kafarsoseh and 6 in Barzeh,37 in Aleppo, 21 in Daraa,14 in Deir Ezzor, 13 in Idlib including 5 children,11 in Homs, 5 in Hama, 2 in Safeta in Tartous and 1 in Hasakeh 4:32 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 http://www.theworld.org/2012/08/syrian-alawite-defector-in-limbo/ Syrian Alawite Defector in LimboIn a crowded café in the Turkish city of Antakya, Omar phones his brother in Syria to see if anything has changed in their family’s situation. Omar can only speak to his brother in hushed tones and code words. “They are under the eyes of the regime because of me,” he said. “Every move, they are watching my family, every move, every step.” Omar, who asked that we not use his real name to protect his family, is an Alawite Syrian from a village outside Latakia in the northwest. The area is well known as a bastion of support for President Bashar al-Assad, who largely draws from the Alawite community for his security forces and inner circle. As an Alawite, Omar would be considered a natural supporter of Assad’s regime. But about seven months ago, Omar fled Syria and joined the rebels, making his way to Turkey. He said he felt his community had been taken hostage, forced to support Assad against the rest of their countrymen. “They just kidnapped the Alawite community, and they are pushing them to fight this civil war,” Omar said. He acknowledges that his case is unusual. Only a handful of Alawites openly support the rebellion. He’s paid a price for his support. His Alawite community now shuns him, but so do some of the rebels who say they can never fully trust him. http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/topic/syria-153 about 6 hours agoFrance signaled Thursday that it was prepared to take part in enforcing a partial no-fly zone over Syria, piling pressure on President Bashar Assad's embattled regime as it widens a major offensive against rebels in Damascus and surrounding areas. French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian urged the international community to consider backing a no-fly zone over parts of Syria, but cautioned that closing the Arab nation's entire air space would be tantamount to "going to war" and require a willing international coalition that does not yet exist. - Associated Press about an hour agoAs the battle for Aleppo closes in on the historical centre in northern Syria, heritage sites in one of the world's oldest cities are being damaged and experts fear the worst is yet to come. In Bab al-Nasr neighbourhood, a Free Syrian Army rebel pointed to a gaping hole in the base of the delicately chiseled minaret of the 700-year-old Mahmandar mosque. about an hour agoA young Sunni sheikh has been killed in the north Lebanon city of Tripoli early Friday as new clashes erupted between pro- and anti-Syrian factions dashing a tenuous truce, an AFP correspondent reported. Sheikh Khaled al-Baradei, 28, was killed when fierce fighting broke out at dawn between residents of the anti-Syrian Sunni Muslim Qobbeh district and the neighbouring pro-Damascus Alawite district of Jabal Mohsen, the correspondent said. The exchanges of rocket-propelled grenade and rocket fire sparked large fires in the two neighbourhoods in the east of the Mediterranean port city, Lebanon's second largest. https://twitter.com/RulaAmin Syrian filmmaker Orwa Nyrabia arrested as he was trying to leave syria via Damascus airport, family lost all contact w\him at airport 12:27 AM Renewed clashes in Tripoli between Jabal Muhsin and Bab Attabaneh districts lebanon 12:29 AM 3 people killed already during clashes in tripoli since midnight 2:08 AM https://twitter.com/baysontheroad TRIPOLI army deployed across city. I can see smoke on skyline. Gunfire close to where I am.3:16 AM TRIPOLI Just spoke to commander in Bab al Tabaneh he says they will fight on for as long as it takes. 5:05 AM TRIPOLI two members of media injured - sniper rounds - where satellite dishes were parked. 5:40 AM https://twitter.com/MahirZeynalov 1 Syrian general, 2 colonels, 3 lt. colonels, 1 major, 2 captains, 2 lieutenants, 60 soldiers among 1,247 Syrians who fled to Turkey today.3:10 AM Total number of defected Syrian generals in Turkey is 33 while total number of refugees in Turkey is 77,730 as of today. 3:17 AM 3,626 Syrians crossed into Turkey in the past 24 hours, including 1 general, 24 high-ranking army officers and 62 soldiers. 5:16 AM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf Alrawda mosque in Maarat Al-Nouman destroyed by shelling. Idlib http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-xR_s6-pOo&feature=youtu.be … 4th mosque in the city to be destroyed past 3 months 4:49 AM Clashes are still on-going in Ariha between the FSA and regime forces. Idlib 4:51 AM MASSACRE in Kansafra JabalAlzawiyah due to MiG shelling. 10s of martyrs. Idlib 5:02 AM As of now there are 10 martyrs in Kansafra and the bodies are still being found underneath the rubble. Houses of several floors...reduced to pebbles... Kansafra Idlib 5:08 AM Suqoor Alsham brigade destroy a regime tank in Ariha Idlib just now in Sina`a neighborhood. 5:36 AM https://twitter.com/LeShaque Ranking army officers defect, remain in Syria, join FSA-JLC. Refreshing to see them stay, most go to Turkey | 5:11 AM http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357480-Yahoo-Assad-predicts-disaster-if-West-meddles-in-Syria&p=9046975&viewfull=1#post9046975 25,196 people killed so far in Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/24/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE8610SH20120824 Fierce fighting in Syria swells refugee exodusTurkey alone now hosts more than 78,000 Syrian refugees, according to its Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate, a sharp rise on the 44,000 registered there at the end of July. Ankara, saying it will not be able to accommodate more than 100,000 refugees, has suggested that the United Nations set up a safe haven inside Syria to staunch the outflow. The chances of gaining a U.N. Security Council mandate for such a safe haven, which would require military protection, are close to zero, given the rejection by veto-wielding powers Russia and China of any outside intervention in Syria. French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on France 24 television on Thursday that an "international coalition" of Western nations and allies could consider setting up a limited no-fly zone over part of Syria without such a mandate. "The scenario mentioned by (U.S. Secretary of State) Hillary Clinton of a particular zone where there could be a banned area is something that needs to be studied," said Le Drian, the first senior French official to air the possibility of action by an "international coalition," rather than the United Nations. On Tuesday, Russia warned the West against taking any unilateral action in Syria, after President Barack Obama threatened "enormous consequences" if Assad used Syria's chemical or biological weapons. France chairs a meeting of U.N. Security Council foreign ministers in New York next week which it has said will focus on humanitarian solutions for Syrians caught up in the conflict. Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said he had invited Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan to attend the conference, given the number of refugees and fears of the conflict spreading. https://twitter.com/MajdArar FSA has secured an escape route for some of my relatives in Daraya, they speak of horrors going on there.2:07 PM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf A 4 story building in Mayadeen DeirEzzor collapses after MiG shells hit it directly. Martyr count estimated to be at 60 as a result.7:13 AM 40 Shibeeha killed in Ariha Idlib by the FSA. One tank has also been destroyed and a high ranking officer captured. 7:41 AM Iraqi forces fired at Syrians trying to rescue the injured by crossing the border. via @LccSy https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2025135&l=fc2e97de4d&id=217848338242310 2:36 PM For the second time in 24 hours, shells from the Syrian regime have fallen in the Iraqi city of Alqaem. 2:55 PM Regime sniper sniped by the FSA in Zamalka Damascus. 3:12 PM Tripoli, Lebanon https://twitter.com/alihashem_tv Bullets can be heard around tripoli, tension is high after a man was killed by a sniper in Jabal Mohsen this evening3:10 PM This comes after 24 hours of tension following the death of a Sunni field commander from Tabaneh by a sniper 3:14 PM Fighters from Altabbaneh Sunni neighbourhood told me earlier that all what they seek is revenge for Sheikh Khaled who was killed yesterday 3:17 PM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2025024&l=cca87711f1&id=217848338242310 Local Coordination Committees in SyriaNumber of martyrs has risen to 170, including more than 25 children, 45 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its suburbs most of them in Daraya, 45 in Deir Ezzor "most of them in Mayaden", 25 in Daraa,20 in Idlib,15 in Aleppo, 10 in Hama, 5 in Lattakia, 3 in Homs and 2 in Qunaitra 2:12 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/24/column-rohde-idUSL2E8JO4I620120824 COLUMN: Trying to have it both ways in SyriaAmid the daily reports of clashes and killings in Syria, a subtler message is emerging: America is increasingly irrelevant. Inside Syria, opposition fighters complain that the United States is doing little to help them, according to intrepid reporting by correspondents for Reuters, the New York Times and Foreign Affairs. Instead, funds and arms from Qatar and Saudi Arabia are turning jihadists into a growing presence. Among international observers, Washington is seen as insignificant. "On the ground, really, this administration has been essentially irrelevant, locked into its own perpetual debate on what to say and what to do," said Peter Harling, Syria analyst for the International Crisis Group. "I think generally this administration in the Arab Spring has spent a huge amount of time trying to analyze events instead of shaping them." Those comments, of course, may thrill many Americans -- and White House staffers. In the wake of Iraq and Afghanistan, Americans want nothing more than to get out of the Middle East. One of Obama's primary pitches to voters this year is that he gets America out of foreign entanglements, not into them. There are ways, though, to aid the Syrian opposition without becoming militarily entangled. One of the many tragedies of the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan is that they distort our views of how we can have influence in the region. Our options go far beyond whether to bomb or not to bomb. http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/topic/syria-153 about 6 hours agoMitt Romney says he's willing to send US troops to Syria if needed to prevent the spread of chemical weapons. The Republican presidential contender has told CBS News that the United States must take "whatever action is necessary" to ensure weapons of mass destruction don't fall into the wrong hands. Romney says that may require ground troops or action by US allies such as Turkey or Saudi Arabia. about 2 hours agoSecurity forces in Syria have arrested a filmmaker and an actor who helped people made homeless or jobless by government forces, their friends said on Friday. Arwa Nairabiya - who founded the "Damascus Dox Box" documentary film festival - was arrested at Damascus airport on Thursday evening before boarding a plane to Cairo, fellow filmmakers and relatives said. Secret police agents also raided the home of Mohammad Omar Oso, an actor who had starred in several popular television series, and took him to an unknown destination, the Damascus Media Centre activists' group said in a statement. about an hour agoThe colleague of a Japanese journalist killed in Syria held a news conference on Saturday after the repatriation of her body. Mika Yamamoto was reportedly killed on Monday by government forces in Aleppo - becoming the fifth foreign journalist to die in the country since the uprising began 17-months ago. After an 11-hour flight from Istanbul, the coffin of Yamamoto was unloaded from a Turkish Airlines aircraft as its pilot and crew saluted her and Narita airport officials observed a moment of silence. Yamamoto's two sisters as well as her colleague, Kazutaka Sato, were also aboard the flight. Sato spoke to journalists following his arrival. "We'll hold a wake, and then the funeral. Beyond that, I just can't think at all," he said. https://twitter.com/jenanmoussa Wife of missing alhurranews reporter in Syria says he's alive, shot in shoulder, in Shabiha custody http://ow.ly/dcN1c10:40 PM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf New battalion belonging to the Alhaq brigade in Idlib suburbs. 1:08 AM https://twitter.com/NMSyria Two hours before the massacre in Douma - this little boy was having the time of his life protesting. pic.twitter.com/EQTxMMwt2:15 AM Children at a protest in Douma in Damascus - two hours before massacre that claimed more than dozen lives. pic.twitter.com/cJ7eVjGa 2:16 AM This is what happened right after the protest. A river of blood, the purest of blood. Douma pic.twitter.com/j8Cp5uPw 2:17 AM https://twitter.com/NMSyria Reports of the first defection of a Syrian Army field commander. Commander of the Seventh Division of army has arrived in Jordan.3:21 AM https://twitter.com/ahmed Do we know anything about the Canadian journalist Maria Moore who got injured in Tripoli, Lebanon? Like who did she work for?3:38 AM https://twitter.com/MajdArar FSA withdrawn from Daraya, it goes without saying that summary executions & vandalism will follow.4:05 AM https://twitter.com/THE_47th Lebanese media reporting the kidnapping of a Kuwaiti & a Qatari national.4:55 AM It turns out only a Kuwaiti was kidnapped in Lebanon, but he was driving a Qatari car (hence the confusion). 5:11 AM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2025644&l=66ea15a59d&id=217848338242310 Local Coordination Committees in SyriaNumber of martyrs has risen to 206, including more than 25 children, 55 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its suburbs most of them in Daraya, 45 in Deir Ezzor "most of them in Mayaden" ,30 in Aleppo, 30 in Daraa, 26 in Idlib, 10 in Hama,5 in Lattakia,3 in Homs and 2 in Qunaitra 7:49 PM http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357480-Yahoo-Assad-predicts-disaster-if-West-meddles-in-Syria&p=9046975&viewfull=1#post9046975 25,402 people killed so far in Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 Al Jazeera English headline: http://www.aljazeera.com/ TURKEY SAYS IT WILL OPEN SEVEN NEW CAMPS TO ACCOMODATE INFLUX OF SYRIAN REFUGEES, BUT WARNS IT IS NEAR LIMIT AS NUMBER CLIMBS ABOVE 80,000 PEOPLE I wonder if any of those camps are going to be in Syria. But seriously, where are they going to put them? http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/25/world/middleeast/refugee-numbers-swell-as-fighting-in-syria-intensifies.html?_r=2&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y Torrent of Syrian Refugees Strains Aid Effort and RegionInternational relief agencies reported an alarming increase in Syrian refugees on Friday, shattering calculations made by the United Nations and spreading fears that the violence in Syria is creating a broader humanitarian crisis that could further destabilize the Middle East. Reports by the United Nations refugee relief agency, combined with accounts by officials and workers in refugee camps, provided new evidence that the emergency relief efforts undertaken so far are inadequate and have underestimated the needs of the refugee population. The swelling numbers of Syrians have caused many new stresses in Syria’s neighbors. Turkey is struggling to accommodate overcrowded camps and said it has nearly reached its limit. The Lebanese and Jordanian Armies are increasingly confining refugees to inhospitable border areas with bare-bones accommodations. Schools near the Syrian border in Iraq, a country still recovering from war, are overflowing with refugees even as local children are preparing to return to class. Many refugees are younger than 18, including unaccompanied children. Saba Mobaslat, director of Save the Children’s Jordan office, described a windswept, nearly barren area of desert near the Syrian border as a “children’s camp.” Each night this week, the number of people fleeing into Jordan almost quadrupled, compared with last week, she said. As of Friday, the United Nations refugee agency said, 202,512 refugees had been registered in Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, with more than 30,000 new arrivals tallied in the past seven days alone. The agency had anticipated a total of 185,000 registered refugees by the end of this year. Israel, which is in a technical state of war with Syria, has not taken any refugees. Those are only official numbers. The real numbers of refugees are much much higher. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/08/20128252237209782.html Al Jazeera's Sue Turton, reporting from Turkish side of the border in Antakya, said that "it seems like the numbers are growing ever bigger"."The flow (of refugees) is increasing, which is really worrying the Turkish authorities," said Turton, adding that the reason behind this increase is likely the up tick in the aerial bombardments carried out by the Syrian army. "Many of these families are coming up from towns that have been bombed, moving up to the next town north, towards Turkey, hoping to be able to set up some sort of safe haven there - stay with families or friends. But tjhey're being bombed there and being pushed up further and further, and their numbers are just increasing as they get closer to Turkey." http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/topic/syria-153 about 3 hours agoSyria's second-city of Aleppo is bearing the scars of more than two months of attacks by government warplanes, tanks and heavy artillery as the army battles to dislodge rebels who claim to control 60 per cent of the northern metropolis. At least 200,000 people have fled the city since late July when the increasingly bloody conflict spread to Aleppo, a once thriving manufacturing and commercial hub where war has now left a trail of destruction, with bombed out buildings and shuttered shops. Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reports on Aleppo's residents accusing the government of indiscriminate attacks that have destroyed many lives. about an hour agoSyrian rebels free 1 of 11 Lebanese Shia pilgrims held in Syria. The group was taken in May and little has been heard from them since. about an hour agoThe AFP brings us some images from Aleppo, where fighting has been heavy and unrelenting: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/july-dec12/syria_08-23.html U.N. Monitors Exit Syria, Failing to Stop BloodshedMARGARET WARNER: And what about ordinary civilians? Did you get any sense of how they're coping with this? GHAITH ABDUL-AHAD: Pretty horrible for the local civilians. At the front lines, you see these skirmishes taking place. You see snipers shooting in the middle of the street. And then in the middle of that street, you see a civilian carrying two plastic bags walking, trying to retrieve their -- whatever left in their houses. It's very, very heavy on the civilians. MARGARET WARNER: And did you feel in danger? Were you in danger? GHAITH ABDUL-AHAD: I mean, of course. It is a front-line situation and you have people -- it was pretty intense. You meet people in the morning, you see them over breakfast, and then the end of the day, they're dead. I spent the night with a commander. We had dinner one night. The next day, we had tea. And then at the end of that day, he was dead. It was very, very intense. As I said, I haven't seen such an intense fighting since the days of Iraq. You know, you're standing in there in the street corner, and then a jet fighter would pass over you and drops a bomb 50, 100 meters away. So it was a very, very difficult situation. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/media/2012/08/23/20120823_syria.mp3 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/25/syria-conflict-kidnapped-lebanese_n_1829970.html Syria Conflict: Rebels Set Free One Kidnapped LebaneseSyrian rebels on Saturday freed one of 11 Lebanese Shiite pilgrims they have been holding for three months, in a move aimed at easing cross-border tensions after a wave of abductions of Syrian citizens in Lebanon. Hussein Ali Omar, 60, appeared healthy in an interview aired on Qatar's Al-Jazeera TV as he crossed into Turkey after his release, urging the Lebanese and Arabs to support the Syrian people in the midst of their country's escalating civil war. Omar later arrived in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, aboard a private Turkish jet. "Our treatment (by the Syrian captors) was excellent and the Lebanese (hostages) are well," said Omar, wearing a white shirt and a red tie bearing an image of the Turkish flag. "I am wearing it in recognition of Turkey's efforts to free me," he said of the tie. Turkey's Foreign Ministry said Ankara would continue to try to win the freedom of the rest of the hostages. https://twitter.com/olireports Hundreds of thousands of civilians remain in Aleppo Syria despite constant bombardment from the air and artillery.9:22 AM Markets in Aleppo still open. When a fighter jet or helicopter drops a bomb, people scatter, then return to shopping. 9:23 AM Shelling in Aleppo not just at front line. All areas held by rebels are being bombed. Each street has rubble from blasted buildings. 10:18 AM Saw a helicopter drop a bomb on an Aleppo district. It must have been the size of a dustbin. 10:23 AM What is happening to Aleppo is the reason why NATO said it intervened in Libya. Aerial bomb attacks against a civilian population. 10:32 AM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf# New FSA company belonging to Suqoor Alsham formed in Maarat Al-Nouman Idlib …7:56 AM Tank belonging to Suqoor Alsham shells a Large regime checkpoint in JabalAlzawiyah Idlib …8:45 AM 73 martyrs reported in Daraya Damascus. [After the FSA reportedly was forced to pull out out of there yesterday.] 10:50 AM Lots of clashes today in Idlib city...hopefully they will able to finally gain some ground there. 10:55 AM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2027116&l=6b7285a097&id=217848338242310 Local Coordination Committees in SyriaThe number of martyrs in Syria has risen to 111 so far, including many women and children. 88 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs; most of them were martyred in the massacre in Daraya, 14 in Deir Ezzor, 5 in Daraa, 2 in Aleppo, 1 in Idlib, and 1 in Hama 11:47 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/topic/syria-153 about 3 hours agoReuters has images from the village of Hazano in Syria's Idlib province, showing what residents sifting through the ruble of their homes after aerial raids did grave damage to their village: https://twitter.com/WashingtonPoint Back to Syria.. This time Idlib... Been around Idlib for three days, there is almost no internet anywhere around Idlib.12:04 PM Things differ from bad to worse around Syria.. Though as the world focuses Aleppo, Idlib's misery go unnoticed 12:09 PM Couldnt reach inside AREHA. It has been under siege for 6 days.. W/FSA, we attempted to deliver some bread but failed 12:24 PM I stayed near Idlib for two days.. Surrounding cities were being shelled from 7 am until evenings.. with helicopters and MIGs.. unbearable. FSA, just like half Aleppo and its north, Idlib too, controls from Jabal alZawya to the Turkish border. 12:31 PM In Binnish, 40 km from the Turkish border, one wedding saloon owner changed its place to slaughterhouse bcs noone marries anymore 12:26 PM https://twitter.com/jfoleyjourno big massacres going on in damascus countryside, but almost no journos have access to them6:11 AM saw at least 8 wounded children and one killed in hospital aleppo over last few days, bodies full shrapnel- artillery and plane shelling 2:59 PM https://twitter.com/THE_47th Instead of focusing on fringe extremist elements in the FSA, maybe focus on the system that fostered them. U know? The one we want down. 4:52 PM Genius of Homs: fighters use what they have, connect a .500 machine gun to a Playstation gamepad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPsVW10S0F0 … /via @freeCritic2000 5:15 PM https://twitter.com/Reuters SYRIAN ACTIVISTS SAY 122 MORE BODIES, 13 WOMEN, FOUND IN DAMASCUS SUBURB OF DARAYA AFTER ARMY HOUSE-TO-HOUSE RAIDS, BRINGS TOTAL TO OVER 2005:20 PM https://twitter.com/tweets4peace Urgent: Damascus suburbs: Daraya: After regime forces backed with sectarian armed shabeeha thugs stormed the area today. They raided homes/summarily executed entire families. Number of martyrs [recovered] has risen to 220 in Daraya alone for today. Daraya: 74 names identified thus far. 19 women have been confirmed and there are dozens of children.5:39 PM https://twitter.com/MES0_88 We lost 300 syrians today! 300! Not birds or cats or dogs or trees! they are sons, daughters,dad's and mom's! WAKE UP DAMNED WORLD!5:46 PM https://twitter.com/THE_47th Activists are still digging out bodies from the rubble & empty houses "visited" by Assad forces in Daraya. These numbers are only initial.5:47 PM https://twitter.com/MajdArar We're sick of world ignorance, we're sick of hypocrisy, we may now rest in peace & die without noise.5:48 PM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2027663&l=f894ba152e&id=217848338242310 The Local Coordination Committees in Syria: The Local Coordination Committees was able to document 330 martyrs by the end of the day on Saturday in Syria; this number includes women and children. 212 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its suburbs (most of them in the Daraya massacre). 39 martyrs were reported in ALeppo; 28 in Deir Ezzor; 23 in Idlib; 15 in Daraa; 9 in Hama; and 4 in Homs5:34 PM I'm seeing reports that the number of people killed just in Daraya has gone up to 300. Maybe that's including other days? I hope. Even if the death toll stays where it is now, 1,150 people have been killed over the past 5 days, and 1,470 over the past week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/26/world/middleeast/Syria.html?_r=1 On Saturday, a Shiite family that had abducted dozens of Syrians inside Lebanon said Saturday that it would let all but a few of the captives go, and Syrian rebels released one of 11 Lebanese pilgrims kidnapped in May.It was not clear if the releases were connected, but they both brought calm to a crisis that had seemed destined to escalate. North of Beirut, in Tripoli, a cease-fire also seemed to hold after five days of extended gun battles between Lebanese Sunnis and Alawites loyal to Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad. Maher al Mikdad, the spokesman for the family that kidnapped more than 30 Syrians in retaliation for the abduction of a relative earlier this month in Syria, told reporters that his family let most of the captives go “as a good-will gesture.” He said that in order to press for the release of his relative, Hassan al Mikdad, the Mikdad clan would hold onto four Syrians who he said are members of the Free Syrian Army, the main group of rebel fighters in Syria, and a Turkish man who was also kidnapped. https://twitter.com/Al_Sununu Just 4 the record, Daraya was THE city where activists threw roses on security forces that attacked their peaceful demos @ the start of revo 5:57 PM https://twitter.com/mwhanna1 Those who've met Assad inner circle in recent days suggest regime still convinced of its ability to manage events and its ultimate victory.6:24 PM https://twitter.com/MajdArar People work around the clock to make shelters ready then Assad thugs enter them & kill every man, women & child.6:26 PM https://twitter.com/BigAlBrand 200 or 300 in Daraya alone. A hundred won't matter since 21000 didn't. I'm so sick of this. I'm so sick of life.6:21 PM Can barely breath. Humanity failed us. God left us alone. 6:23 PM I don't wanna live in this world anymore. 6:29 PM I really don't want freedom anymore. I don't want anything. I just wanna go. I quit. I'm gone. 6:35 PM https://twitter.com/NMSyria From Facebook: "Leave Daraya and come back to Homs. We're grown accustomed to the death and blood. Leave them alone"7:06 PM https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss Another massacre in Syria. But no chemical weapons used. Carry on, Bashar.6:36 PM I never thought I'd be ashamed of my country but I am today. There are no more excuses. 7:13 PM https://twitter.com/abuhatem Follow @WashingtonPoint who has snuck into different parts of Syria 3 times during this uprising/civil war.6:04 PM Just saw Daraya pics, even more traumatized and depressed. What has become of our Syria. 7:20 PM https://twitter.com/KareemLailah 440 were brutally killed in my country today. Dear world, be careful calling yourself humans. 7:23 PM Daraya means ‘plenty of houses’ in Assyrian. Now, very few houses are still standing. 7:33 PM Another massacre in Syria. But don’t worry Mr. Obama, no chemical weapons were used. 7:41 PM https://twitter.com/LeShaque US claims it has provided the FSA with 900 satellite phones as "non-lethal aid." We have a team searching for them. No leads yet.7:04 PM More than 400 Syrians gave up their lives yesterday so that we can live ours. 7:24 PM Activists say 270 to 300 of yesterday's 440 martyrs died in the Daraya Massacre. 300 in one go. Assad's bloodlust is growing fast. 7:33 PM Take a step back and let it sink for a while. 440 people died. That's than all your friends. 7:42 PM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2027831&l=cb9ecef9d5&id=217848338242310 Local Coordination Committees in Syria 440 martyrs have been confirmed thus far today, including dozens of women and children; 310 in Damascus and its suburbs (mostly in the Daraya Massacre), 40 in Aleppo, 28 in Deir Ezzor, 24 in Idlib, 15 in Daraa, 9 in Hama, and 4 in Homs.7:33 PM https://twitter.com/tweets4peace A guy just met with people from Daraya, they are saying death toll will exceed 700 and possibly go to 1000, full on genocide today7:47 PM Daraya: he told him they want to kill all, his voice was broken +interrupted he could barely speak, said there are bodies everywhere 7:48 PM http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357480-Yahoo-Assad-predicts-disaster-if-West-meddles-in-Syria&p=9046975&viewfull=1#post9046975 25,842 people killed so far in Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf In the meantime, the mother of all clashes has been ongoing in Ariha for the past 4 days non-stop. Idlib6:38 AM 5 different FSA brigades have joined forces to liberate #Ariha, and have already taken major strides. Idlib 6:39 AM Regime army fire on a firetruck as it tries to control a fire in a burning house in Maarat Al-Nouman Idlib. 6:56 AM The FSA has taken control of the Fanar checkpoint in Jabal Alarbaeen in Ariha Idlib 6:58 AM 7 new bodies discovered in Daraya Damascus that had been martyred in field executions. Syria [LCC] 9:44 AM https://twitter.com/anitamcnaught Re Brit resident/educated nutters who took journalists Cantlie & Oerlemans hostage, local FSA commanders told me "we ran them out of Syria"7:08 AM https://twitter.com/THE_47th There's something very shady about Syrian VP showing up on TV more than 1 week later, even tho it was denied by his office 1st day.6:34 AM VP missing 4 weeks, regime failed 2 show his face on TV (unlike what they did w/ Turkmani, Muslmani & others)..only till now? I dnt buy it. 6:37 AM What I have to say abt all this? Sharaa defected, Deraa was besieged for 10 days, he was recovered. 7:14 AM And when Sharaa was recovered, he wasn't killed on the spot for the following reasons: - morale of Gov & army - can be used in PR stunts 7:20 AM Farouk Al Sharaa was recovered. No doubt in my mind, almost all his fam is in Jordan, he's been MIA for 10 days, Deraa was set ablaze. 7:24 AM. Two possibilities seem likely either he did defect and was recaptured, or he was under house arrest the whole time and the attacks on Daraa were to punish him and make him give in. https://twitter.com/andrewchappelle Turkey begins holding thousands of Syrians on the Syrian side of the border as it struggles to cope with wave of refugees (via @reuters)8:59 AM At least 2,000 people fleeing violence in Syria were prevented from entering Turkey overnight. 9:00 AM Official: "We have run out of space to house these people. When [shelters] are completed we will allow these people across" 9:01 AM Turkish official to @Reuters: "Our capabilities as a host country are being strained ... we are now struggling to cope" 9:13 AM https://twitter.com/justinvela Was told this not the first time Turkey has slowed the entrance of Syrian refugees, making them wait on border for some time.9:15 AM Unofficial crossing points relatively organized when I visited in July. Turks registering all Syrians entering Turkey and providing IDs. 9:16 AM Some Syrians still bypassing Turkish border guards and entering the country unregistered for a variety of reasons. 9:18 AM UPDATE: Turkey actually turned away 6k Syrian refugees overnight according to one of our producers in Turkey who spoke to foreign ministry. 10:31 AM Wow. Is Turkey just stalling to set up the new camps or up to something else? https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2029261&l=c68effe894&id=217848338242310 The Local Coordination Committees in Syria:The number of martyrs in Syria has risen to 75 thus far, including women, children, and unidentified bodies. 47 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its suburbs (including an entire family and 14 unidentified bodies in Daraya); 9 martyrs in Daraa; 7 in Hama; 5 in Aleppo; 4 in Idlib; and 3 in Homs 9:48 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 https://twitter.com/olireports In Aleppo rebels have fortified their positions with improvised explosive devices and snipers.7:24 AM Just saw a jet shoot missiles at a petrol truck in Aleppo, Syria. It flew at 300ft above our heads. Fired machine guns. 11:57 AM https://twitter.com/BSyria Erdogan said emphatically that Turkey won't close its borders to fleeing Syrians. He has reneged on his promise it seems.1:05 PM No escape for refugees, no weapons for FSA. Die where you are. 1:08 PM https://twitter.com/Turk4Syria It is temporary for probably a few days, until the new camps are ready. Still wish they would have let them in immediately. 1:08 PM https://twitter.com/AlexanderPageSY We interviewed many members of the FSA today and managed to get their thoughts on many issues pic.twitter.com/pbSPExVt1:15 PM https://twitter.com/THE_47th By supporting Assad, Nasrallah single-handidely widened the Sunni-Shiite divide in the Levant when he could’v wiped all animosity at once.1:31 PM With that in mind, I hold no grudges nor shd any1 against Shiites as a whole, and like anybody else, I support their quest for equality. 1:35 PM https://twitter.com/AlaaSarraj 8/26/12 FSA destroys 17 Assad oil trucks and takes over 6 of them. 1:39 PM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf 13 minutes of an epic battle to free a major checkpoint in Ariha Jabal Alarbaeen. Many FSA brigades working together. …1:40 PM https://twitter.com/LyConstitution Heartbreaking... A Dr. treating the injured in Syria when she discovers the dead body of her son and she breaks down.4:18 PM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2030520&l=34c80f8973&id=217848338242310 The Local Coordination Committees in Syria:The number of martyrs in Syria has risen to 160 thus far, including women, children, and unidentified bodies. 62 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its suburbs (including an entire family and 21 unidentified bodies in Daraya); 48 martyrs in Daraa, most of them were killed in a massacre in Busra Sham;16 in Idlib ;14 in Aleppo; 10 in Hama; 7 in Homs;1 in Deir Ezzor, 1 in Lattakia and 1 in Qunitra 4:05 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 http://m.mcclatchydc.com/dc/db_112239/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=ArQsDgzE&full=true#display Syrian rebels accuse army of atrocities in Damascus suburb where 371 died https://twitter.com/SeekerSK Massacre in Bosra Sham Daraa, 34 killed inc 12 children & 10 women. Warplanes dropped 12 TNT bombs on residential area demolishing many homes atop residents, many casualties under rubble still.6:40 PM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf FSA in JabalAlzawiyah Idlib capture a BMP and 2 army carriers after taking out a checkpoint. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6877TvqDQdk&feature=player_embedded … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cnci7qemfw&feature=player_embedded …6:08 PM Nothing new from Idlib city...The FSA captured a major checkpoint in Ariha...and has several others surrounded cutting off their supply routes. They has been fighting there for a few days now. There was shelling on Maarat Al Nouman today. 6:35 PM There was a massacre in Jisr Alshughoor and maarat Hurmeh today. 6:35 PM 39 martyrs in Idlib today. 7:13 PM https://twitter.com/7__r Military helicopter was just gunned down over the eastern part of Damascus. My neighbors saw it.2:31 AM Clear video shows the helicopter falling: 3:02 AM https://twitter.com/NMSyria Some might argue that any Syrian willing to ally with Al Qaeda out of desperation is one we needn’t try to help.3:40 AM Tell that to a father who has been strapped to a chair and forced to watch as his young daughter is gang-raped by shabiha thugs. 3:41 AM How likely is he to forbear when, instead of American warplanes overhead, a foreigner with experience in explosives knocks his door? 3:42 AM If there is any Al Qaeda or Islamic fundamentalist presence in #Syria - it's only because we have created a situation of chaos & desperation 3:42 AM https://twitter.com/MajdArar Heavy artillery bombardment on Jobar after a helicopter gunship were downed. Damascus3:58 AM Excessive joy in Damascus after one of the deadly army helicopters were gunned down, expect regime to respond utmost brutality. 4:02 AM https://twitter.com/Bambuser_Alert LIVE NOW: Shelling of Damascus suburb AlZabadani, Syria. Black smoke rising over the city: http://bambuser.com/v/2937300 4:03 AM LIVE NOW: (Continued) Shelling of Damascus suburb Erbeen, Syria. Army helicopter just shot down: http://bambuser.com/v/2937299 4:04 AM https://twitter.com/NMSyria Eyewitness: After the helicopter fell, people in Souq al-Hal in Zablatani started to chant. Security forces entered area. Wounded reported4:15 AM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2031769&l=e1379154fb&id=217848338242310 Aleppo: Bab: Tens of wounded people, some in critical condition, due to the aerial shelling by the regime's forces on Hal Souq area4:51 AM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2030641&l=cf2bd16ff5&id=217848338242310 The Local Coordination Committees in Syria:The number of martyrs in Syria has risen to 213 thus far, including women, children, and unidentified bodies.84 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its suburbs (including more than 45 martyrs in Daraya);73 martyrs in Daraa, most of them were killed in a massacre in Busra Sham;16 in Idlib ;14 in Aleppo; 12 in Hama; 11 in Homs;1 in Deir Ezzor, 1 in Lattakia and 1 in Qunitra 5:14 PM Yikes...I didn't realize it went up after that. http://www.lccsyria.org/10017 The Local Coordination Committees in Syria:Local Coordination Committees in Syria was able to document 244 martyrs on Sunday, including women, children, and unidentified bodies. 85 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs; including more than 45 martyrs in Daraya, 76 in Daraa; most of them in a massacre in Busra Al-Sham, 36 in Aleppo, 21 in Idlib, 12 in Hama, 11 in Homs, 1 in Lattakia, 1 in Deir Ezzor, and 1 in Qunaitra http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357480-Yahoo-Assad-predicts-disaster-if-West-meddles-in-Syria&p=9046975&viewfull=1#post9046975 26,086 people killed so far in Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=431096 Aleppo archbishop flees to Lebanon, Vatican radio saysThe Melkite Greek Catholic archbishop of Aleppo has fled to Lebanon and his offices in the war-ravaged city have been looted, Vatican media said on Monday, amid fears over the fate of Christian minorities. Vatican radio and the missionary news agency Fides said Jean-Clement Jeanbart initially sought refuge with some Franciscan friars in the city on Thursday last week as fighting intensified in Christian quarters of Aleppo. Within a few hours the archdiocese had been ransacked by "unidentified groups who want to start a religious war and drag the Syrian people into a sectarian conflict," a source in the local Christian community told Fides. The doors of the archdiocese had been forced open and several objects like computers stolen, the reports said. Jeanbart has since fled to Lebanon. Keep in mind that some religious leaders in Syria are crooks working for the government. Also there has been false news about Christians being massacred and purged in Syria before that was later proven to be pro regime islamaphobic propaganda. That said...there are credible reports of religious tensions and possibly some fighting in Aleppo between Christians with guns and FSA and Jihadist elements. https://twitter.com/And_Harper Over 2000 Syrians x'd to safety of jordan last night. More buses arriving. Resources stretched. Huge crowds in front of HCR office.1:11 AM @Zaatri. [desert refugee camp in Jordan] Already record no. x'd last night 2 jordan (2300) we could have up to 3500 today. 2:00 AM Irish Min Joe Costello witness today record x'ing 2 Zaatri announces USD 1 mil (shukran) in support to refugee response jordan. 3:03 AM https://twitter.com/MahirZeynalov AP: More than 10,000 Syrian refugees are stuck on the Turkish-Syrian border as Turkey rushes to build more camps.10:17 AM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf 16 martyrs as of now in Ariha...several of them from other areas of Idlib and were fighting to liberate Ariha.9:18 AM https://twitter.com/Avend93 BREAKING: the founder of ANN "Amude News Network" has been kidnapped by the Syrian Army.11:26 AM https://twitter.com/anitamcnaught Turkey cameraman Cuneyt Unal is alive, but beaten & making a forced confession on Syria Al Ikhbariya TV. No news of Bashar Fehmi yet.12:10 PM https://twitter.com/AP BREAKING: Hollande calls on Syrian opposition to form provisional government, says France would recognize it.12:15 PM https://twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak French president Francois Hollande says use of chemical weapons in Syria would be legitimate reason for military intervention12:18 PM https://twitter.com/Reuters U.N. Chief Ban shocked by reports of massacre in Syria's Daraya, condemns it as "appalling and brutal crime."12:26 PM U.N. Chief Ban calls for immediate independent investigation into reports of hundreds killed in Syria's Daraya. 12:26 PM https://twitter.com/NuffSilence FSA storms the Zamalka checkpoint, the largest checkpoint between Damascus and its suburbs: via @Hsn_Kh12:38 PM https://twitter.com/Reuters A Syrian fighter jet fires two rockets at targets on eastern edge of Damascus - Opposition activists12:59 PM https://twitter.com/MajdArar Most likely Assad started to use fixed wing jets in bombing targets in EasternGhota, it's the first incident in Damascus Provence.12:59 PM Here's the jet in Saqba Damascus suburb today 1:00 PM Another video of the fighter jet in Damascus 1:08 PM Latest development in Damascus today, came after FSA stormed most of Damascus main highway checkpoints 1:20 PM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2032680&l=e086291306&id=217848338242310 Local Coordination Committees in Syria: The number of martyrs has risen to 157 thus far, including dozens of women and children. The distributions across the country are as follows: 88 in Damascus and its suburbs, including 42 martyrs in Zamalaka; 24 in Daraa, including 11, mostly women and children, in Jiza; 12 in Idlib, majority in Areha; 10 in Aleppo, 7 in Deir Ezzor, 10 in Homs, including one that was martyred in Tadamon (Damascus Suburbs), and 6 in Hama. 12:36 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/sharp-increase-in-refugee-flows-from-syria/2012/08/26/939c19ee-efb8-11e1-892d-bc92fee603a7_story.html Sharp increase in refugee flows from SyriaA surge in the number of Syrians seeking sanctuary from their country’s soaring violence prompted the Turkish government to halt the flow of refugees at two key border crossings Sunday amid an escalating humanitarian crisis that is swamping Syria’s neighbors and intensifying pressure for international intervention. The closure left more than 7,000 refugees stranded in olive groves just inside Syria at the two places where most of the Syrians cross, while Turkish officials look for a way to accommodate them at camps that can’t keep pace with the influx. But with more than 80,000 refugees in Turkey, nearly double the number a month ago, officials warned that the country is rapidly approaching the point at which it will no longer be able to cope. That could trigger a request for support at the United Nations for the creation of some form of internationally protected haven that would enable refugees to remain in Syria. http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/topic/syria-153 about an hour agoThe United States said Monday that the Syrian opposition's first priority should be to coordinate and set a democratic path after France called for the quick formation of a provisional government. Asked about Hollande's remarks, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said that the United States was calling on Syria's opposition "to coordinate more closely" with citizens both inside and outside the war-torn country. "So that's the first order of business - for them to all agree on what a transition ought to look like. Obviously, it's a matter for them to decide if and when they may be prepared to start naming folks," she told reporters. "We would want to ensure that that was based on a solid democratic plan and that it reflected a broad cross-section of those in Syria and reflected the values of inclusion, the values of human rights and protections for all groups," she said. [source: AFP] 29 minutes agoThe Broadcast Board of Governors is calling on Syria to release immediately two captured journalists who work for one of its television stations. Bashar Fahmi and cameraman Cuneyt Unal work for Virginia-based Alhurra TV. They had been covering the violence in Aleppo when they disappeared Aug. 20. In a statement on Monday, the board of governors says Syrian television broadcast a video of Unal describing himself as part of an international militant force. The board added that the Turkish foreign minister says Unal was forced to make the statement, which was dictated to him. Michael Meehan, the chairman of the Middle East Broadcasting Networks and a member of the broadcast board, calls the video "deeply disturbing'' and says it "underscores the perilous situation for these journalists.'' The Broadcast Board of Governors is funded by Congress and runs several broadcast networks for foreign news, including the Voice of America and Radio and TV Marti, which broadcasts to Cuba. [source: AP] https://twitter.com/RafifJ A transitional framework 4 Syria 2 b released tomorrow, called The Day After, written by Syrians 4 Syrians, will be avail for comment.10:14 AM https://twitter.com/SlaughterAM The U.S. is betraying everything we say we stand for re Syria. It's not about Assad, or state of the opposition, but about the victims.2:15 PM https://twitter.com/British_Syrian Lebanese journalist Jinan Moussa describes her experience in Syria & becomes overcome with emotion. She covered... http://fb.me/1YSSd93Mq 2:28 PM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWEvHoAj6w0 https://twitter.com/Mou2amara Found out last night my name is at Syria'n ports of entry waiting my arrival for my arrest, wanted by Political Security.1:49 PM Egypt's President Morsi has aided & abetted Assad killing Syria'ns by allowing a weapons delivery from Iran to pass thru Suez canal. 2:57 PM https://twitter.com/Avend93# unity agreement between the PYD and the KNC is now officially dead in Amude and Kobani.3:52 PM BREAKING: the Syrian regime release Salih Yusuf the member of KNC and ANN founder. 3:59 PM https://twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak Reuters: opposition activists say Syrian fighter plane attacks on eastern outskirts of Damascus have killed at least 60 people4:08 PM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2033148&l=bf1d8667fe&id=217848338242310 Local Coordination Committees in Syria:The number of martyrs in Syria has risen to 224 so far, including women and children: 148 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs (including 42 martyrs in Zamalka, 39 in a new massacre in Daraya, and 25 in Mouadamiyeh) 27 in Daraa (including 11 in Jiza; most of them are women and children), 12 in Idlib; most of them in Ariha, 10 in Aleppo, 8 in Deir Ezzor, 10 in Homs (including a person who was martyred in Tadamun neighborhood, Damascus), and 9 in Hama 3:36 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 People are getting really desperate.... http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/28/us-egypt-syria-arableague-idUSBRE87R01T20120828 Syrian man threatens to blow up the Arab LeagueEgyptian authorities arrested late on Monday a Syrian man who threatened to blow up the Arab League's headquarters in Cairo after he learned that his parents had been killed in Syria during a battle between the rebels and troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, Egyptian news agency MENA reported. MENA did not name the Syrian man and said that the incident started when the head of Cairo's security received a complaint from the League's security department about a man threatening to blow up the League. The agency said the man stopped his car near the League's building and said he had planted explosive devices in the car, warning "he would blow up the Arab League's building if the League did not come up with a decision against the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad." The Egyptian authorities did not find any explosives in the Syrian man's car when they inspected it, according to MENA, which said the man was sent to a general prosecution for further investigations. http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/27/world/meast/syria-uprising-art-defiance/index.html?hpt=hp_bn2 Syrian artists fight Assad regime with satireWith horrors emerging from Syria's civil war with numbing regularity, it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that the uprising has not been waged only with guns. A creative and resolutely non-violent form of opposition to Bashar al-Assad's regime has taken hold in Syria, as the country's artists respond to the crisis with newfound boldness and purpose, despite the clear dangers in doing so. "Since the uprising, the artists have broken through the wall of fear in Syria and are thinking in another way," said Syrian journalist Aram Tahhan, one of the curators of an exhibition on Syria's creative dissent -- Culture in Defiance -- currently on display in Amsterdam. "The uprising has changed the artists' thinking about the task of art in society, how they can do something useful for society," said Tahhan. "They have rewritten everything." https://twitter.com/ZeinakhodrAljaz Turkey hasn’t closed its border. But to cross it, Syrians right now need passports &ability to survive on their own. Others have to wait4:18 PM Thousands of Syrians stranded at the Bab al Salameh border crossing with turkey ; they can't cross coz no passports 4:19 PM Ankara says it hasn't changed its policy but it cant absorb thousands of refugees until new camps ready to receive them 4:20 PM Some Syrians don't want to wait and are crossing the border into turkey illegally; they don't have passports but have means to survive 4:23 PM 7 yr old girl, Syria refugee had fear in her eyes while illegally crossing into Turkey but an innocent smile; the weak suffer most in war 4:29 PM https://twitter.com/WashingtonPoint I got out of Syria..Feels safe now here in Istanbul and impossible to forget those who have to face w/regime's attacks day in &out.4:40 PM Almost nobody works.. %90 of businesses/shops are shut down..Seen Aleppo and Idlib this month. frustrating to compare miseries btw them. 4:44 PM Joined a Friday protest in Binnish, Idlib.. Despite all, Syrians still fill streets peacefully & continue showing their peaceful resistance 4:49 PM Outside of Idlib mostly controlled by FSA brigades.But, taking a trip to one place to another has huge risks bcs of airstrikes®ime forces. Intercity roads empty.. nobody dares to drive.. I repeat: regime jets and helicopters begin circling early morning to the nights bombarding 5:17 PM Visited several brigades.. All of them were composed by locals.. Demands always d same: we need heavy weapons and NFZ.. every single time. Turkey has enormous popularity in Idlib just like Aleppo.. They are mostly thankful, but asking for heavy weapons. 5:22 PM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf Intense shelling on Maarat Al-Nouman Idlib right now.6:01 PM 7 Shabiha from Othman family have been captured in Ariha. Idlib 6:06 PM https://twitter.com/BigAlBrand I hate him more every day. Every hour. Every minute. Every second. "@KetyDC: If that is even possible I hate Assad now even more."9:35 PM http://www.lccsyria.org/10026 Local Coordination Committees in Syria was able to document 231 martyrs on Monday, including women and children: 148 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs (including 42 martyrs in Zamalka, 39 in a new massacre in Daraya, and 25 in Mouadamiyeh) 28 in Daraa (including 11 in Jiza; most of them are women and children), 12 in Idlib; most of them in Ariha, 11 in Aleppo, 8 in Deir Ezzor, 10 in Homs (including a person who was martyred in Tadamun neighborhood, Damascus), 13 in Hama, and 1 in Hasakeh http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357480-Yahoo-Assad-predicts-disaster-if-West-meddles-in-Syria&p=9046975&viewfull=1#post9046975 26,317 people killed so far in Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 http://news.sky.com/story/977768/syria-rebel-slams-hague-as-airstrikes-ramp-up Syria Rebel Slams Hague As Airstrikes Ramp UpA main rebel commander fighting the battle for Syria's biggest city Aleppo has criticised the British Government for failing to provide them with weapons. Clashes are raging across Syria as the rebellion grows increasingly bloody, particularly in Aleppo, where the army and rebels appear stuck in a war of attrition. A new report from Human Rights Watch details how the regime is increasingly using its air assets to pound rebel positions - but it is Syria's civilians who are bearing the brunt. And the regime is using its superior firepower to crushing effect - and relying on it more and more. Haji Marea, one of the main commanders from the Tawed Brigade fighting in Aleppo, insists the rebels could win in days with a no-fly zone or anti-aircraft weaponry. He is furious at the British Foreign Secretary's offer of just communication equipment. "This is not help. It is a joke. He thinks we are simple people so today he's going to send us help like radios and food. We don't need this help. We need weapons to defend ourselves," he said. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2012/Aug-28/185893-samaha-transcript-indicates-high-level-syrian-involvement-in-plot.ashx#axzz24pCpmNVA Samaha transcript indicates high level Syrian involvement in plotFormer Information Minister Michel Samaha has confessed to plotting bomb attacks with Syria’s national security chief with the knowledge of Syrian President Bashar Assad, according to alleged leaked interrogation transcripts published by a local newspaper Monday. Samaha was charged earlier this month by Lebanon’s chief military prosecutor with planning attacks in Lebanon and transporting explosives. According to the transcript published by Al-Joumhouria, the former minister, who has close links to the Damascus regime, said Assad was aware of the terror plot. He was quoted as telling an informer, who was later identified as Milad Kfouri, that the only four people who knew of the plot were Assad, Syrian National Security Chief Maj. Gen. Ali Mamlouk, Kfouri and Samaha himself. Samaha sought to use Kfouri to execute the plot, but Kfouri set him up by informing the Internal Security Forces Information Branch after holding a meeting with the former minister to plan the killings and identify the targets. http://brown-moses.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/captured-major-general-defects-to-fsa.html Captured Major General Defects To The FSABack in June I wrote about the capture of Major General and Brigadier General in Damascus, Brigadier General Mounir Shleibi of the notorious Palestine Intelligence Branch, and Major General Faraj al-Maqt of Syrian Central Command. In an interesting twist a new video has been posted online in the last few days showing Major General Faraj al-Maqt declaring his defection to the Free Syrian Army http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrian-army-drops-leaflets-over-damascus-urging-rebels-to-give-up-arms-or-face-death/2012/08/28/808cd1b2-f0ea-11e1-b74c-84ed55e0300b_story.html Syrian army drops leaflets over Damascus urging rebels to give up arms or face deathSyrian military helicopters have dropped hundreds of leaflets over Damascus and its suburbs urging rebels to hand over their weapons or face inevitable death. The warning comes amid a widening military offensive to recapture areas on the edge of the capital and its outskirts that have fallen into the hands of rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad. The leaflets said the Syrian army is determined to “cleanse every inch of Syria” and that “gunmen” have no choice but to give up their weapons or face “inevitable death.” http://edition.cnn.com/video/?on.cnn=1&hpt=hp_c1#/video/world/2012/08/27/pkg-daraya-syria-undercover-look.cnn Added On August 27, 2012Daraya, Syria was beginning to clean up and rebuild just as Syrian government forces started shelling and bombing again. https://twitter.com/MajdArar Death is coming to the east suburbs of Damascus, convoys of tanks headed there.4:07 AM https://twitter.com/RawyaRageh Egypt to set up field hospital for Syrian refugees on Syria - Jordan border4:44 AM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2034164&l=9204e47e6d&id=217848338242310 Idleb: Kfrenbl: More than fifteen were martyred and dozens wounded by warplanes bombing the demonstrating yard4:26 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/fsa-rebels-accused-of-war-crimes-shape-syrias-future#full FSA rebels - accused of war crimes - shape Syria's futureSyria, the crossroads of civilisation, has become a land of crossings. Refugees cross borders to overcrowded camps; displaced families travel from destroyed towns and cities to others still being destroyed; officials and diplomats defect from the Assad regime to form alliances with the loosely defined "opposition". And thousands of people have crossed from life to death. There are regime supporters who call for reform and dialogue without acknowledging that they would dare not utter those words but for the courage of the revolutionaries. In the same way, diehard FSA supporters refuse to acknowledge that the FSA finally signed and implemented a code of conduct, after the Barri executions, only because of the voices of the critics.The regime is still strong, but power is shifting. And with shifting power comes greater responsibility - and stronger criticism. The FSA will capture many more pro-regime criminals, leading up to the top. Now is the time for the difficult conversation about how to act justly. For people like me, watching the revolution from afar, insisting on the revolution's original principles seems impossible. How do you ask a person who has experienced such bloody horrors to show restraint? To practise compassion? To extend dignity? It seems impossible. But didn't a Syrian revolution against the Assads seem impossible once? Meanwhile, the opposition seems divided about justice. But the reality is different. For decades, Syrians gave the regime fear disguised as love. The revolution is about reversing that, abandoning blind support for anyone and building a new society founded on accountability and responsibility. Our actions today ripple into the Syria we will inhabit tomorrow.Like the defectors in that lorry, we all have internal boundaries to cross. For us, as for the few men who have become brothers after being enemies, crossing over, without vengeance or betrayal, is our only option. We must reject what we have inherited from the regime and act like who we are: a complex society not always in agreement, but united as a people, united as Syrians. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444230504577615393756632230.html?mod=googlenews_wsj Iran Said to Send Troops to Bolster SyriaIran is sending commanders from its elite Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and hundreds of foot soldiers to Syria, according to current and former members of the corps. The personnel moves come on top of what these people say are Tehran's stepped-up efforts to aid the military of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with cash and arms. That would indicate that regional capitals are being drawn deeper into Syria's conflict—and undergird a growing perception among Mr. Assad's opponents that the regime's military is increasingly strained. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/08/27/what_war_in_syria_looks_like What War in Syria Looks LikeA photographer ventures inside the battle for Aleppo. http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/topic/syria-153 about 3 hours agoA car exploded during a funeral in a southeastern suburb of Damascus on Tuesday killing several people, Syrian state television reported without giving further details. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the blast in Jaramana suburb and said it was caused by a car bomb. "In the suburb of Jaramana, a car laden with explosives hit a funeral held for two regime supporters," said the watchdog. "Some people were critically injured." The funeral was held for two people killed in a bomb attack on Monday, the Britain-based Observatory said. "Dozens of people were injured in Tuesday's blast, and several ambulances were seen at the site of the explosion," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP, adding that most of Jaramana's residents support President Bashar al-Assad's regime. 28 minutes agoJordan called on Tuesday for international help with a sudden influx of refugees fleeing escalating violence in southern Syria. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said the pace of Syrian refugees reaching Za'atri camp in northern Jordan had doubled, with 10,200 arriving in the last week, heralding what could be a bigger movement. "This crisis is beyond the resources that are being extended by us or the efforts of the UNHCR or other humanitarian bodies," said Jordan's Minister of State for Information Samih Maaytah. "It needs an international programme and response," the cabinet minister told Reuters. There are nearly 70,000 Syrian refugees registered or awaiting registration in Jordan, although thousands more have not signed up for assistance, according to the UN refugee agency. [source: Reuters] https://twitter.com/omarsyria Unprecedented shelling of Jobar all day, sounds from there shaking the entire capital. Family there all evacuated, area largely empty.11:05 AM Only people left in Jobar those who have nowhere else to go. 11:05 AM Jobar's shelling is revenge for the taking down of the regime helicopter there which embarrassed the regime. Expect Darayya-scale massacres. 11:05 AM FSA shouldn't perform such heroisms if they aren't able to stay and protect the civilians who pay the price. No to "strategic withdrawals." 11:06 AM Every time FSA pulls off some stunt, pisses off the regime, who then get ready to take revenge. FSA "strategically withdraws," civilans die. 11:06 AM https://twitter.com/RafifJ If u want "united" opposition: we've had 50+ years of single-party rule. Respect diversity & support Syria b/c it's a humanitarian crisis.11:39 AM I don't think the opposition needs to be a single party, but it does need a carefully planned transitional government. 11:40 AM please read the document; multiple opposition groups and independents contributed. http://www.thedayafter-sy.org 11:49 AM https://twitter.com/ZeinakhodrAljaz UNHCR says that 200,000 Syrians might seek refuge in Turkey; increase in numbers arriving has been dramatic11:55 AM UN says working with Turkey to make necessary plans to deal with possible refugee influx 11:55 AM Turkey will open 4 new camps for Syria refugees by next week, bringing total capacity to 120,000 people &making plans for continued influx 12:01 PM What are the refugees supposed to do in the meantime? Anyway, I thought 100,000 was a red line for Turkey. I mean I'm glad that they're planning to help more refugees, but at what point do they actually grow a pair of balls and do anything that they've talked about doing? At some point I would not be surprised if there will be more Syrians outside of Syria than in it. https://twitter.com/AlexanderPageSY SNC member Oday alSayid has created a monopoly over arms support to Syria'ns by only sending to his family whilst others don't have bullets12:29 PM It was appalling to see that Oday al sayid and his father nickname: "Bahbooh" threaten the rest of binnish with their weapons control 12:32 PM https://twitter.com/NMSyria European Commission: No military intervention in Syria without a UN Security Council resolution.11:30 AM BREAKING: Clashes between FSA and Assad forces taking place in the Tadamon neighborhood of Damascus 11:47 AM Sniper atop police building in Jobar continues to target people passing by. Damascus 12:12 PM Homs: Lama Aroub and her three children were martyred due to the heavy shelling of Khaldiya neighborhood by warplanes #NamesNotNumbers 1:03 PM Heavy mortar shelling on Tadamon, Damascus. 1:03 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/ap-exclusive-syria-defectors-1508594.html AP Exclusive: Syria defectors live in secret campMAFRAQ, Jordan — In an isolated stretch of Jordanian desert, a heavily guarded, secret compound houses 1,200 senior police and army officers who defected from nearby Syria. The men live in trailers with fans but no air conditioning, surrounded by barbed wire, and they pass their days browsing the Internet and watching TV for news of Syria's civil war, longing to join the fight — but they are largely unable to leave. The Jordanian military runs the camp near a site formerly used by the U.S. to train some its forces for the war in Iraq, and the defectors are debriefed by intelligence agents. Access to them is tightly restricted for their own protection. They are even separated from their families, who live outside the camp near the northern border city of Mafraq but can get special police permits to visit. The defectors in the camp are allowed to communicate with the rebel Free Syrian Army in Jordan and abroad, both in person and through telephone and Internet communications, but do not have what is considered valuable intelligence, according to Jordanian security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to make press statements. The facility is a sign of Jordan's growing role as a quiet supporter of Syria's opposition. But at the same time, Jordan wants to avoid aggravating tensions with its more powerful northern neighbor, fearing that President Bashar Assad may remain in power. There are more than 160,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan, and their number is increasing by the thousands every day. About 8,000 live in a newly set up camp on the border, while the rest are scattered across Jordan. https://twitter.com/RawyaRageh Basma Koudmani in statement announcing resignation from SNC: I will continue to support the Revolution in Syria in my personal capacity2:23 PM Basma Koudmani: SNC did not gain necessary credibility, did not uphold trust ppl put in it, veered from the chartered path 2:27 PM https://twitter.com/BigAlBrand Would you support the SNC if I joined it, along with others like me inside Syria? Please answer yes or no. Thanks.2:19 PM All yeses so far. If we're gonna join the SNC we'll want guarantees that we'll actually be heard. Not puppets. 2:23 PM Feedback to my SNC question: All answers said yes. Demands: Transparency, taking out the trash, and involving people inside in all levels. 2:31 PM I think I'll address the SNC with all I'm getting on twitter and on the ground and put the ball in their field. 2:52 PM @RafifJ @MidaniMundass Rafif, I'll keep you posted with what I got in mind. Planning something here. we need to get more people. From every group. And others. From inside and out. 3:15 PM https://twitter.com/MidaniMundass @BigAlBrand 1) Empower the FSA 2) Get an accounting firm to audit you 3) Make sure that humanitarian aid reaches refugees. Good luck 4) Public appearances and speeches have to happen in Syria and not at the Ritz Carlton Istanbul. 5) Get a PR Firm on a retainer fee and develop a clear and cohesive strategy based on our principles. No tactical solutions. I have 15 years of Public Policy and PR experience, nobody ever approached me 4 advice. I'm always available. I am ready and Um Farouk knows how to get in touch with me whenever you guys r ready. 3:13 PM https://twitter.com/MajdArar Regime lost initiative in Damascus, last actions are all taken in hastened response to FSA operations.2:47 PM Army attacked Daraya after FSA bombed military airport & now attacking EasternGhota after FSA taken missile battalion. 2:48 PM Bottom line Assad had to send his troops east when he has unfinished business in west & south. 2:49 PM People from hotspot towns are routinely harassed & intimidated by soldiers on checkpoints in Damascus 2:51 PM https://twitter.com/omarsyria At 7:30 AM, FSA rebels gathered up and attacked the strategic Jobar-Zamalka military checkpoint connecting Damascus with its suburbs. The rebels overwhelmed regime soldiers on Jobar-Zamalka checkpoint w well-planned attack, taking it over w its tanks and PKC-mounted trucks.3:20 PM Embarrassed bc of their unpreparedness and loss to rebels, regime sent to helicopters to shell FSA-controlled Jobar-Zamalka checkpoint. 3:20 PM Rebels returned fire at attacking helicopters w AA weaponry taken over w the checkpoint. This is what took down the helicopter. Rebels took down helicopter attacking Jobar-Zamalka w regime weapons at 8:45 AM. It had 2 regime colonels, a lieutenant colonel, & a major. 3:20 PM The taking down of the regime helicopter is what lead to the subsequent sending of several helicopters, shelling, Jobar exodus. 3:21 PM https://twitter.com/NMSyria Bashar al-Assad to appear for interview on Addounia News regarding situation in Syria. Tomorrow evening at 9PM Syria time.3:43 PM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2035388&l=0d20e56b58&id=217848338242310 About the Explosion in JaramanaYet again, the terrorist regime has resorted to sowing sedition between the different sects of Syria. This time by using the method they are well-known for and perfected in other places and countries, which is to booby-trap cars. The regime has deliberately bombed a massive funeral in the area of Jaramana, where the majority of residents are from the Druze community. 2:34 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 https://twitter.com/AlexanderPageSY BREAKING: military helicopter just began shelling on our location. Mosques are calling on families to evacuate the area Tiftinaz6:11 PM We can see and hear clashes in near by Areeha whilst air forces shell Tiftinaz. families are now being moved out on the main roads 6:52 PM BREAKING: Shelling has intensified on Tiftinaz based on info from surrounding areas a military ground attack is about to happen 7:04 PM WE ARE NOW EVACUATING THE AREA This is insane, Women and children in streets as military airforces shell randomly Tiftinaz 7:10 PM https://twitter.com/NMSyria Seems as if the FSA has gotten their hands on some very, very, very HEAVY weaponry in Damascus. Missiles.8:24 PM Check this video out. via @freeCritic2000 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRuRbJh5lyk 8:25 PM It looks like the FSA has responded to the air strikes on Taftanaz by launching a major assault on regime air bases in the area. https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf Reports that several military helicopters have been destroyed inside the Taftanaz airport. Taftanaz military airport (largest helicopter base) surrounded by FSA and fired on using medium sized artillery.11:05 PM Qarmeed checkpoint near Taftanaz also being attacked by the FSA using rockets. 11:09 PM Abu Althuhoor military airport in Idlib also being attacked by the FSA using mortars. 11:09 PM Alnayrab military base being surrounded by the FSA and attacked using rockets and mortars. 11:10 PM This just in: 3 helicopters were destroyed in the attack on the Taftanaz airport in Idlib. Several of the buildings inside Taftanaz airport have been destroyed...unconfirmed reports that 2 more helicopters have been destroyed. 11:25 PM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf [places under attack] 5 different ones...they're not all in the same area but are being attacked at the same time. 11:32 PM 2 airports and 2 military bases and a major checkpoint. 11:37 PM BREAKING First video from Taftanaz airport! Smoke and flames rising from the airport. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkXc7IsFDrs&feature=youtu.be 11:40 PM Intense shelling on the cities of Taftanaz and Binnish using MiGs and helicopters. 11:54 PM http://www.lccsyria.org/10030 The Local Coordination Committees in SyriaLocal Coordination Committees in Syria was able to document 140 martyrs on Tuesday, including women and children: 54 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs, 29 in Idlib; including 23 martyrs in Kafranbel, 24 in Hama, 9 in Lattakia, 10 in Aleppo, 6 in Homs, 5 in Daraa, and 3 in Deir Ezzor http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357480-Yahoo-Assad-predicts-disaster-if-West-meddles-in-Syria&p=9046975&viewfull=1#post9046975 26,457 people killed so far in Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=49923&c=1 The Indy's Kim Sengupta on staying alive in Syria http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/daraya-the-defiance-that-led-to-the-syrian-massacre-of-hundreds Daraya: the defiance that led to the Syrian massacre of hundreds https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf First images of some of the destroyed helicopters in the Taftanaz military airport. pic.twitter.com/cdi6MZVS6:24 AM Video from Aljazeera showing the FSA battalions shelling Taftanaz airport with tanks. Destroyed helicopters. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgBmIMUHCoA&feature=youtu.be … 6:53 AM There were 20 helicopters in the airport at the time...10 of them were destroyed. 70% of the airport was destroyed. Taftanaz 7:00 AM Many of the weapons and rockets used in the attack were hand-made. Taftanaz 7:00 AM Video showing a helicopter burning in the Taftanaz airport. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vymeo8N2t8&feature=player_embedded … 7:02 AM You won't give us anti-aircraft weaponry? We'll destroy the aircraft while they're on the ground! 7:07 AM Off to Busch Gardens for the day, so this is all I'm going to be posting until late tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/30/world/middleeast/syrian-group-in-united-states-seeks-to-arm-rebels-against-assad.html?_r=1&smid=tw-share Syrian Émigrés Seek Aid in U.S. to Arm RebelsFrom a one-room office in an unfinished glass tower three blocks from the White House, an amorphous network of activists is doing what the Obama administration will not: attempting to arm the rebels trying to overthrow Syria’s government. The Syrian Support Group, incorporated here in April as a nonprofit, has few resources and, so far, few donations, and whether it succeeds in its larger goal remains to be seen. But it is already serving as a conduit between the United States and the armed forces seeking to topple Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, and having an effect on American policy. The group has surprisingly extensive contacts among rebel commanders of the Free Syrian Army, a rare license from the Department of Treasury allowing it to sidestep sanctions and a conviction that the assistance the administration has so far offered Syrians — mainly communications equipment — is simply not enough to defeat Mr. Assad. Its members regularly consult with State Department officials, including the American ambassador to Syria, Robert S. Ford, who has been based in Washington since the embassy in Damascus closed in February. Their unusual relationship with the American government reflects the Obama administration’s constrained, at times convoluted policy toward Syria’s raging conflict. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/29/syria-crisis-live#block-503e2cb8c0e3513f65bf96c9 Assault on Taftanaz military airportOur colleague Mona Mahmood has interviewed via Skype Tamiem al-Shami, a member of Ahrah al-Sham brigade in Idlib that he says carried out the assault on the Taftanaz military base that led to the destruction of several helicopters. He emphasised that the brigade is not part of the Free Syrian Army. Al-Shami said: We are Ahrar al-Sham brigades. These are armed independent brigades. I'm a defected officer of the Syrian army ...We are revolutionary brigade with religious Islamic doctrine and acting according to Islamic Sharia ...We are cooperating with all revolutionary forces on the ground including the FSA ...We had been planning to attack Taftanaz base for a long time because of its importance to the Syrian army. This base covers more than 150km of area. It was a big strategic target for Ahrar al-Sham. We had been collecting data and intelligence about the target for a long time. There was a big movement of defectors from inside the base. We were able to make use of the information provided by these defectors. Today, shortly after dawn, we started our operation against the base. We were shooting the base from different directions. We used a few tanks that we had confiscated in previous operations against Syrian army checkpoints . I was coordinating the forces who took part in the operation as well as weapons and how to use them. The operation lasted for 40 minutes. We were able to take out most of the defences at the base. We used a lot of fire against the helicopters at the base and could see with our own eyes how these helicopters were burning. Some of the helicopters were destroyed by tank shells. We used RPGs against the tanks inside the base which were shooting against us. After 40 minutes, when the Syrian army inside the base could not defend themselves, warplanes started to fire heavily at the area. We have three martyrs who were killed during the operation and a few wounded. Only one was seriously wounded during the operation and he is under treatment now. When we set up the plan to attack the base, it was not in our calculations to keep it under our control. Our military expertise told us that it would be a big mistake to keep the base under our control. The regime will shoot and burn the site with its contents and people inside even if there are some Syrian army soldiers and officers there. We stormed the base, burnt the helicopters, destroyed a lot of the terminals at the base and then pulled out safely. The regime now is attacking the surrounding areas like Danash and Taftanaz. We could not confiscate any weapons from the base because all the weapons were heavy, but we were aiming to destroy them. We could not move these heavy weapons, the planes were shooting from other bases nearby. At the same time, other members of Ahrar al-Sham were attacking Syrian army military headquarters nearby to stop them helping the troops inside Taftanaz base. We targeted them with mortars and rockets. The brigades were able to manufacture rockets with a 6km range. We used them in this operation. https://twitter.com/NMSyria Dear King of Jordan. You suck. I am disgusted. You're a shame. Sincerely, Syria. 3:33 PM Jordan returns more than 200 Syrian refugees from Zaatari Camp to Syria. 3:35 PM There were fights between refugees and Jordanian security at the camps, which is wrong. However, returning them to imminent death is wrong. 3:39 PM https://twitter.com/AlexanderPageSY We rose peacefully and it developed into an armed struggle justifiably, however foreign jihadists are wrecking Syria demolishing revolution 6:34 PM I'm here now I'm seeing with my own eyes. Out revolution is a ****ing miracle god dammit and these bull**** jihadists are ruining it 6:38 PM I saw an al Qaeda element threatening an FSA soldier to remove the independence flag from his shoulder saying it was blasphemy Syria 6:40 PM There are pure people fighting in the FSA for freedom we have to differentiate between them and the insurgents that are wrecking Syria 6:43 PM I support the armed resistance and I have joined them but I will not be represented by insurgents who care nothing for freedom in Syria 6:46 PM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf Reports that the FSA attacked the Abu Althuhoor airport in Idlib and destroyed MiG jets and several tanks and BMPs!4:00 PM The source is a very legitimate one...I'm just waiting on confirmation now. 4:04 PM Confirmed!! FSA attacked the Abu Althuhoor airport in Idlib and have destroyed at least 10 MiG fighter jets. FSA is inside the airport. 4:08 PM http://www.lccsyria.org/10040 Local Coordination Committees in SyriaThe Local Coordination Committees were able to document 136 martyrs on Wednesday. 66 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs, among them 2 unidentified martyrs in Mouadamyeh; 17 in Idlib; 16 in Aleppo; 12 in Homs; 7 in Daraa; 7 in Raqqa; 5 in Hama; 3 in Deir Ezzor; 2 in Lattakia; and 1 from Jableh martyred in Damascus Suburbs http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357480-Yahoo-Assad-predicts-disaster-if-West-meddles-in-Syria&p=9046975&viewfull=1#post9046975 26,593 people killed so far in Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 I'm feeling pretty sick right now, but I just I had to post this before going back to bed. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/08/20128308579560767.html?utm_content=automate&utm_campaign=Trial6&utm_source=NewSocialFlow&utm_term=plustweets&utm_medium=MasterAccount Morsi criticises Syria at Tehran meetingEgyptian President Mohamed Morsi has said it is an "ethical duty" to support the Syrian people against the "oppressive regime" in Damascus. His speech at the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Tehran on Thursday prompted a walkout by the Syrians. "Our solidarity with the struggle of the Syrian people against an oppressive regime that has lost its legitimacy is an ethical duty as it is a political and strategic necessity," Morsi said. "We all have to announce our full solidarity with the struggle of those seeking freedom and justice in Syria, and translate this sympathy into a clear political vision that supports a peaceful transition to a democratic system of rule that reflects the demands of the Syrian people for freedom." Al Jazeera's Imran Khan, reporting from the summit, said: "Morsi's comments have caused an unease feeling, especially for the Iranians who are close to Syria." :ols: https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf Fire erupts in the Abu Althuhoor airport after the FSA operation Idlib http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TUZvFzLRAs&feature=youtu.be …12:29 AM Activists in Ariha Idlib are describing the situation there as being worse than that of Baba Amr. 11:59 PM The FSA actually withdrew to the outskirts of the city today because of the brutality of the regime as they used civilians as human shields, did not allow them to get food, starved them to death, destroyed many buildings completely... 12:05 AM The humanitarian situation in Ariha Idlib is very dire. There is no water, electricity, cell coverage, or any form of communication. (1) Basic life necessities and food are almost non-existent. There are no doctors or nurses in the city. (2) People have to sneak out under cover of darkness to escape the snipers only to find scraps of food for their families. 12:27 AM The FSA in Aby Althuhoor #Idlib have taken down an aircraft FROM THE SKY! The parachuters jumped out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAeTjOa9QMs&feature=player_embedded 6:20 AM BREAKING | ALARABIYA JUST SHOWED A VIDEO OF PILOT PARACHUTING DOWN FROM A DOWNED FIGHTER JET IN EDLIB.4:42 AM NEWS REPORTS OF DOWNED MIG ARE NOW BEING CONFIRMED WITH A VIDEO (VID DOESN'T SHOW JET, ONLY EJECTED PILOT PARACHUTING DOWN). 4:44 AM in 24 hrs: FSA reportedly demolished 10 grounded hlcptrs in Taftanazaz (w/ vid), 10 grnded MIGs in Abu Athuhoor (no vid), & shot dwn 1 2day 4:52 AM It's raining men! 1st screenshot of ejected pilot from downed fighter jet RT @RamiAlLolah: @THE_47th This is for you! pic.twitter.com/XFAV4etz 5:01 AM The entire Governorate of Edlib is collectively being punishment for embarrasing Assad Forces with the severest bombing campaign to date. 5:42 AM https://twitter.com/AlexanderPageSY BREAKING: TO MEDIA intense assault on numerous areas of Idlib this very Moment the situation is (shelling + air strike)5:33 AM THIS IS NOT A BATTLE IT'S AN EXTERMINATION PROCESS FOR GODSAKES WHERE IS HUMANITY 5:35 AM https://twitter.com/Basilkabbani This doesnt surprise me: Syria Aleppo "Human Rights Watch" said that Assad army targeting at least 10 bakeries knowingly"5:37 AM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf [The pilot that parachuted out of the MiG that was shot down in Idlib has been captured!6:27 AM I think its the same one. The first reports said they captured him but he was actually killed before he even hit the ground. 10:08 AM There's videos out now showing the wreckage of the plane and his dead body next to it. So the news of his capure was apparently inaccurate. http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/topic/syria-153 about 17 hours agoAl Jazeera's Sue Turton writes: It's the middle of the night, 02:30am local time, to be precise. And the shelling close to our safe house just got a lot louder. Nobody stirs.Salma's residents are all used to the sounds of rockets and tank shells falling on and around their town. Since the Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters kicked President Bashar al-Assad's soldiers out in June, an artillery unit perched on the neighbouring mountain has indiscriminately hit house after house - punishment for the rebellion. The only people out on the streets are the FSA on motorbikes. Whole families are hiding indoors, too scared to venture out. There's little reason to leave the house anyway. All the shops are boarded up. Their shelves are empty. The makeshift field clinic is the only busy building. A steady stream of civilians hit by the shelling, and fighters wounded in battle, flows in and out. Medicines are in short supply but the doctors are determined to do their best. "It is miserable to see people injured and shouting, screaming in pain from wounds, shrapnel, bullets all kinds of weapons that should not be used on them," paediatrician Dr Rami Habib tells me. about 3 hours agoSyrian President Bashar al Assad has sharply criticised foreign powers who have raised the possibility of outside intervention. He has lost control of large parts in the country's west where teenage fighters have taken up arms against him. The young men soldier on, defending their communities against tanks and fighter jets, in spite of a lack of sophisticated weaponry. Al Jazeera's Sue Turton reports from Salma in western Syria. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/08/201283055952298905.html UN Security Council meeting to discuss SyriaAn emergency meeting of foreign ministers of the UN Security Council member-countries is set to discuss the deteriorating situation in Syria. The 15-member council, however, is deadlocked over taking strong action after Russia and China blocked three resolutions that criticised Bashar al-Assad, Syria's president, and threatened sanctions. France, which is council president for August, hopes the body could unite to deal with the aid crisis and convened Thursday's meeting, which will also be attended by ministers from Syria's neighbours Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. But less than half the council members are sending ministers, and of the permanent members - the US, China, Russia, Britain and France - only the French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, and his British counterpart, William Hague, will attend. Diplomats said that aside from possible announcements of aid initiatives by individual countries on Thursday, there would be no further action on Syria from the Security Council. "We wanted a resolution on humanitarian issues, but we faced a double refusal," a French diplomatic source said. "The United States and Britain believe we have reached the end of what can be achieved at the Security Council, and Moscow and Beijing said that such a resolution would have been biased." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=290947 France, Britain say Syria military intervention on tableFrance and Britain warned Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday that military action to secure safe zones for civilians inside the country was being considered despite the paralysis of the UN Security Council over how to end the 17-month conflict. While the Security Council impasse between western nations and Russia and China means a resolution to approve such a move appears impossible, countries could act outside the authority of the world body and intervene, as happened in Kosovo in 1999. "We're ruling nothing out and we have contingency planning for a wide range of scenarios," British Foreign Secretary William Hague told a news conference at the United Nations ahead of a meeting of Security Council foreign ministers later on Thursday to discuss how to ease Syria's humanitarian crisis. "We also have to be clear that anything like a safe zone requires military intervention and that of course is something that has to be weighed very carefully," Hague said. http://www.startribune.com/world/168012136.html?refer=y Ex-Syrian diplomat says he aided opposition while at Syria's UN mission, many more like himFormer Syrian diplomat Danny al-Baaj says he spent half his days at the Syrian U.N. mission in Geneva secretly working against President Bashar Assad's regime — and he says there are many others like him at all levels of government. Al-Baaj, who joined the mission as a third secretary in August 2010, defected to the opposition in the fall of 2011 but kept on in his job, where he dealt mainly with human rights issues. He says he tried to represent the Syrian people, not the regime and its brutal attempt to suppress anti-government groups. "Yes, I was with the opposition for a year and a half," al-Baaj told U.N. reporters in Geneva on Thursday after his defection earlier this month. "It is a criminal regime." In recent months, he said it had become harder for him and several other diplomats elsewhere who were secretly opposed to the regime to keep up appearances. He said higher-ups increasingly scrutinized their statements, finding them not in line with the regime's thinking. Al-Baaj told reporters that he remained in his role as long as he could since he had decided he could be more useful to the opposition by doing so. "(There are) a lot of other Syrian diplomats, a lot of other Syrians, even officers in the army, who feel that they can help from the inside," he said. https://twitter.com/sydmadamasceno Syrian diplomacy 'on verge of collapse' : MFA recalling potential defectors to Damascus, drained embassies' staff. http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2012/1112/re8.htm …12:04 PM https://twitter.com/markito0171 Aleppo Rebels liberate Salahuddin roundabout 29 8 … http://wikimapia.org/#lat=36.182961&lon=37.1268138&z=19&l=5&m=b9:55 AM Aug 29 Aleppo Mass grave found near Industrial town of SheikhNajjar- not far from main prison http://wikimapia.org/#lat=36.2674084&lon=37.2561311&z=13&l=5&m=b 12:11 PM https://twitter.com/UN_News_Centre Non-Aligned Movement must respond to its people’s aspirations, Ban tells summit in Iran http://ow.ly/dlP9z 12:45 PM https://twitter.com/Avend93 PYD doesn't give any **** to the Unity Agreement "Hewler Agreement" in Efrin, it's simply controlling on everything.1:31 AM it's ruling everything, only PYD flags are allowed to be put on centers. 1:34 AM PYD Is taxing people! 1:43 AM in Kobani people have to wait hours for getting the bread. 1:47 AM Syrian Regime has started a big operation of taking Kurdish Youth to the army by force today earlier afternoon. Assad forces raided houses in Dirbese as well an hour ago, taken many Kurdish Youth by force to the Army. 12:58 PM https://twitter.com/Khaledkhoja The security services executed 45 people in Ariha and burned their bodies after the FSA withdrawal this afternoon.1:45 PM https://twitter.com/WilliamJHague Just announced in New York that the UK will increase aid for Syrian refugees to £30.5 million1:55 PM New UK aid will go towards medical supplies inside Syria and help for women refugees in Jordan 1:56 PM UK is second largest country donor to Syrian refugees. Other countries should give generously and make up the shortfall in UN relief funds 1:57 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.