Yahoo: Assad predicts disaster if West meddles in Syria

[visionary]

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/12/2011122182648844599.html

Syria group urges UN action over 'massacre'

Syrian security forces are maintaining a heavy presence in the northwestern Idlib province after an offensive on army defectors killed about 250 people, including a large number of civilians, activists say.

The Syrian National Council, an umbrella group representing opponents of President Bashar al-Assad's government, on Wednesday called for "immediate action" by the Arab League and the UN Security Council to condemn and halt what it called "horrific massacres" conducted by Syrian forces in Idlib and other areas.

Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr, reporting from the Turkish city of Antakya, along the border with Syria, said the Syrian military's operations had been focused on Idlib because it was attempting to regain control over what had become a stronghold for army defectors.

Alaa El Din Al Youssef, a Syrian opposition member in Idlib, described the government's attack on the area of Jabal al-Zawiyah on Tuesday as a "massacre".

"Civilians were surrounded by security forces who killed 100 of us. The corpses of those killed were left in the streets and the mosques and we are not allowed to bury any of them."

"Some of those killed cannot be recognised. Some were burnt and some beheaded with their hands tied. We are really scared because the area might be stormed once again."

http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/Syria

1 hour 24 min ago

The White House has calied for an end to the bloodshed in Syria and warned of new international measures. These are excerpts of the statement:

The United States continues to believe that the only way to bring about the change that the Syrian people deserve is for Bashar al-Assad to leave power. The words of the Assad regime have no credibility when they continue to be followed by outrageous and deplorable actions.

"The United States is deeply disturbed by credible reports that the Assad regime continues to indiscriminately kill scores of civilians and army defectors, while destroying homes and shops and arresting protesters without due process. While Syrian security forces have also taken casualties, the overwhelming majority of the violence and loss of life in Syria stems from the actions of the Assad regime, and we call on all parties to put an end to violence.

"It’s time for this suffering and killing to stop ... We urge Syria’s few remaining supporters in the international community to warn Damascus that if the Arab League initiative is once again not fully implemented, the international community will take additional steps to pressure the Assad regime to stop its crackdown."

http://twitter.com/#!/francediplo_EN

France urges Russia to accelerate the pace of negotiations at the Security Council on its draft resolution about Syria 1 hour ago

Here's another account of what happened yesterday:

One villager who is an anti-government activist told The Associated Press by telephone that scores of residents and activists fled Tuesday morning to the nearby Budnaya Valley, where they were completely surrounded by troops. The forces bombarded them with tank shells, rockets and heavy machine gun fire. The man, who identified himself only as Abu Rabih for fear of government reprisal, said troops also used bombs filled with nails to increase the number of casualties.

"What happened yesterday was a crime against humanity," Abu Rabih said. He said 110 people were killed in the attack and 56 of the dead were buried in Kfar Owaid on Wednesday. Others were buried in villages nearby.

According to activists, all of those in the valley were unarmed civilians and activists, there were no armed military defectors among them.

Abu Rabih said the Jabal al-Zawiyah region has been under intense attack by government forces since Saturday.

Yesterday a large part of the death total was said to have consisted of defectors.

Then again, most of the reports were second hand it seemed and today we have more accounts from people inside the area.

In any case, Assad does not seem to fear any repercussions from this these sorts of massacres and I don't doubt that we will see them continue and even increase. A couple of months ago it was a few hunsdred dying a month, the past month or so it's been over a thousand and if this keeps up it will just get worse and worse.

We've already seen the Syrian Free Army conducting some attacks on convoys and bases and such, and there have been rumors about a lot of randomized revenge killings by others.

There is a fear as well among Syrians and others in the middle east that if something is not done soon to lesson the sense of desperation and hopelessness that the Syrians feel right now that the people will turn to terrorism to stop the regime and to lash out in anger in a much more random way at the world that they feel left them to die.

There's already a growing feeling of resentment towards the rest of the world for abandoning them to Assad's wrath. I like what Europe and the US have done in the UN and with Arab allies to put pressure on Assad...but if there isn't some concrete results from the international efforts to stop the Syrian government, on the ground in Syria in the next few weeks. Things will get very very bad. Turkey and the Arab League need to step the hell up and stop making useless statements. Russia and China have to be brought around to some concrete agreement with the rest. None of this toothless nonsense they pretend is a useful resolution.

If actions aren't taken quickly to change the way things are going, things will go in a way none of us will want to imagine.

[visionary]

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/Syria

8 hours 6 min ago

This video purports to show a protest in the town of Marea in Aleppo governorate on Wednesday.

NfIjOHh_OxY

7 hours 45 min ago

An unusually high number of anti-government protests has been reported from Aleppo, Syria's second city. today. The city has so far stayed largely quiet, with protests mainly held in suburbs. Activists say 10 protests are ongoing in the city itself, including the neighbourhoods of Sakhour and Furqan. Four protests are reportedly held at the university, where a student at the Faculty of Science has reportedly been killed by thugs.

7 hours 38 min ago

The Local Co-ordination Committees say 15 people were killed in different Syrian provinces across the country on Wednesday - five in Hama, four in Homs, three in Idlib and three in Deraa.

Meanwhile, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 22 people were killed in clashes in the southern Deraa province.

"Twenty-two people - six deserters, a civilian and 15 members of the armed forces and security forces - were killed and several dozen civilians were wounded in their homes," the group said.

[visionary]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/22/6200-killed-in-syrian-crackdown

6,200 killed in Syrian crackdown, claims rights group

More than 6,200 people, including hundreds of children, have died in Syria's crackdown on an anti-government revolt, a human rights group said on Thursday.

Syria is facing increasingly fierce international condemnation for its handling of months of demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad's rule, partly inspired by the Arab Spring uprisings that have swept across North Africa and the Middle East.

Syria says it is fighting foreign-backed "terrorists" and on Thursday announced that more than 2,000 of its security forces had been killed in the unrest.

The British-based Avaaz rights group said it had collected evidence of more than 6,237 deaths of civilians and security forces, 617 of them under torture. At least 400 of the dead were children, it added.

The figures were about 1,000 higher that the latest UN estimates, which have also been climbing sharply in recent months.

The last UN estimate was a couple of weeks ago of course.

Assad's been a busy killer since then.

http://twitter.com/#!/BreakingNews

Arab League monitors arrive in Syria in bid to end political crisis that has torn the country apart - @haaretzonline http://bit.ly/rRrNRS 48 minutes ago

[visionary]

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/12/2011122353147515588.html

'Twin suicide bombs' hit Syrian capital

State TV says several killed after two "suicide car bombs" struck Damascus, ahead of planned anti-government rallies.

The government has already declared it to be the work of Al Queda and said that they caught one of the suicide bombing suspects.

There was also reported to be 100+ dead from the bombing of the security forces headquarters.

Everyone on twitter has been makin fun of the government on how quickly they found out who was behind it. lol

There's a fairly wide held belief right now that it's a set up.

I can't imagine that they would blow up over a hundred of their own security guy though.

So if the casualty numbers I'm seeing are accurate it would lead some credence to it.

On the other hand this happens right after the Arab League envoys (headed by Sudan) show up, and I haven't heard anyone take credit for this so far.

I'm seeing a lot of reports of 30 dead and 55 wounded now. So I'm not sure if hundreds was just a guess or something state tv said.

I'm not really sure where the numbers are coming from. I see a Lebanese tv station credited im one case, and reuters as well.

Ah, it seems it's coming from the Syrian government. Well, I'm sure they woulldn't lie.

[visionary]

Apparently now both the Free Syrian Army and the Syrian National Council (opposition organizations: military/diplomatic) have condemned the attacks and accused the regime of being behind them.

They've also suggested that there is evidence that the civilian casualties were detained prisoners from buses nearby.

I'm also seeing a claim on twitter that hasn't been verified yet, that Syrian tv may hve anounced the bombings before they happened.

[visionary]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/23/world/meast/syria-bombings/index.html?on.cnn=1

Abdelkarim Al Rihawi, the head of the Syrian Human Rights League, called the attack "the work of the Assad regime and a message to the Arab League that the regime is fighting terrorists."

The Free Syrian Army, the rebel force made up of military defectors, has launched strikes against government forces in recent weeks. But Al Rihawi said the rebel army and other opposition forces don't have "the technology used in such a massive bombing." He said at least 32 civilians died.

"We have information that many of the civilians who died in the blast were detained civilians arrested during protests. I expect more bombings in the next days. There is no al Qaeda in Syria and the hallmarks of the bombings in Syria are similar to those in Iraq. The regime is willing to sacrifice anything to portray to the Arab League that they are fighting terrorists."

Mohamed Hamado, a Free Syrian Army lieutenant colonel, told CNN the government staged the strike "to mislead the international community and Arab League."

"The FSA received requests from the Syrian National Council to temporarily ease up on the attacks against the Syrian Army to give a chance to the Arab League observatory mission to conduct its field operation," he said, referring to the political opposition movement.

"The SNC are not fully aware of the cruelty of the Assad regime, we used to be in his army and know his dirty tricks. We will not respect any truce and we are currently in the heavy rain preparing for several operation against the Syrian Army today."

Elsewhere in Syria, at least 12 people died, eight in Homs and two each in Hama and Douma, said the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an activist group.

At least 38 people were killed Thursday, according the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an opposition network that says it collects reports from eyewitnesses and protesters. CNN can not confirm the reports. Of those killed, at least 25 were in the beleaguered western city of Homs.

[visionary]

So about a half hour ago or so Skynews and AFP came out with news that the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood was claiming responsibility for the bombings in Damascus.

This was later repeated by Al Jazeera and Breaking News.

After a round of skeptical and suprised statements by just about everyone following the situation on twitter, one of the Syrian activists pointed out that it was apparently not the Muslim Brotherhood who had claimed responsibility, but some Assad loyalists who set up a fake MB site a few days ago. A little later the MB themselves came out and denied any responsibility.

Now the news sites are retracting the story.

What did we learn from this?

Apparently the Syrian regime has trouble remembering who they're framing for their terror attacks from one day to the next.

Also the media is now less reliable at vetting information than semi-random people on twitter.

LMAO, I hope this isn't the regime's next blame shift:

http://twitter.com/#!/LeShaque

Street interviewee on Syria News TV promises to take fight to US if "Obama does it again." It being the explosions in Damascus. 5 minutes ago

In other news according to activists, 25 were reportedly killed yesterday for protesting and 15 so far today.

There were also isolated reports that part of Homs was being bombarded by air yesterday, but I only saw maybe one person report that.

[visionary]

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/12/20111224162027521407.html

Syrian city 'under siege' by army

Residents in the Syrian city of Homs are calling for western intervention, as activists say the area has come under renewed attack from forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

Residents told Al Jazeera on Saturday that army tanks were shelling the city. Activists in the Bab Amr district said they had been under seige for the last 48 hours.

"There is heavy bombardments going on since early morning and there is non stop firing so far," a resident of Bab Amr told Al Jazeera on Saturday.

"So many people are been killed, we have counted so far 16 people have been killed and we've got so many injured, so many houses have been destroyed and we don't know what to do. Everywhere from every side we can see tanks very clearly and different types of heavy machine guns have been used since morning."

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JLHmApqIMhM

I'm also seeing reports of missles being fired at Bab Amro from a nearby barracks.

---------- Post added December-24th-2011 at 12:49 PM ----------

Assad seems to really like Holiday massacres.

First Ramadan, and now Christmas.

http://twitter.com/#!/LeShaque

"Tanks have joined the action" in Homs.12 minutes ago

http://twitter.com/#!/SeekerSK

Homs: Captain Abdulqader Mustafa Sweidan of Hama was martyred by bullet of sec forces for refusing to open fire on civilians 8 minutes ago

31 Martyrs in Syria so far- including 4 children and 2 defectors. 3 minutes ago

[visionary]

http://twitter.com/#!/wissamtarif

Several Arab Human Rights defenders refuse to join Monitoring mission in Syria under regime's current terms 2 hours ago

http://twitter.com/#!/LeShaque

BREAKING: France 24 / reporter: Syrian military jets are flying in Lebanon's skies. 7 minutes ago

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/12/2011122572730248889.html

Syrian activists denounce 'siege' of Homs

[visionary]

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/Syria

52 min 50 sec ago

Activists say at least 19 people have been killed today across Syria, with most of them in the besieged central city of Homs.

"The situation (in Homs) is frightening and the shelling is the most intense of the last three days," the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"The rounds fired from heavy machineguns in the Bab Amr district caused 13 deaths on Monday morning and dozens of injuries," the group said. [AFP]

http://twitter.com/#!/LeShaque

Residents of Bosr AlHarir are reporting that tanks are withdrawing from their streets. They suspect the monitors will be arriving. 45 minutes ago

SRGC: The shelling on Bab Amro is "insane." --And the monitors are still waiting for the regime to provide a ride. 3 minutes ago

SRGC: 27 killed across Syria today including 21 in Homs alone. 2 minutes ago

A few international news sites are reporting that France has called upon the Arab League monitors to get to Homs today.

(supposedly they were scheduled for tomorrow, I think)

[visionary]

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/12/2011122675532134954.html

Arab monitors arrive in Syria amid violence

The first group of Arab League monitors has arrived in Syria amid reports that deaths are mounting from an ongoing security crackdown on anti-government protests.

"They arrived at about 8pm," a member of the delegation in Damascus told Reuters news agency on Monday night after meeting the monitors at the airport.

The arrival of 50 observers and 10 Arab League officials came as activists reported the deaths of at least 45 people around the country, 33 of them in the besieged central city of Homs.

The Arab League's team, led by Sudanese General Mustafa Dabi, will start its mission in Syria by visiting Homs on Tuesday, a source told Reuters.

[visionary]

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/12/2011122713573266542.html?utm_content=automateplus&utm_campaign=Trial6&utm_source=SocialFlow&utm_term=tweets&utm_medium=MasterAccount

Mass protests in Homs as Arab monitors visit

Tens of thousands of Syrians have reportedly taken to the streets of Homs, as Arab League monitors finished their first day of observation in the city that has been the centre of the anti-government protest movement.

Arab League peace monitors are on a mission to assess whether Syria has halted its nine-month crackdown on protests against President Bashar al-Assad.

The delegation met the governor and toured Homs on Tuesday, a day after activists said dozens of people were killed there. They will continue touring the area on Wednesday, the Syrian television channel Dunia said.

"I am returning to Damascus for meetings and I will return tomorrow to Homs," Sudanese General Mustafa Dabi, head of the mission, told the Reuters news agency. "The team is staying in Homs. Today was very good and all sides were responsive".

The 50 observers, who arrived in Syria on Monday, are split into five teams of 10, according to Reuters.

Teams are also visiting Damascus, Hama and Idlib.

http://twitter.com/#!/javierespinosa2

Local Coordination Committees: Syrian security forces shot dead 29 people today, 11 of them in Homs 43 minutes ago

[visionary]

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/12/20111228112416316112.html

At least 13 people have been killed in fresh violence across Syria, activists said, as Arab League observers continue their mission to visit flashpoint cities in the country.

Six of the dead were said to be taking part in an anti-government demonstration in the central city of Hama on Wednesday. Local rights groups say others were killed in Homs, Aleppo and Idlib.

Video shared by activists from the protest in Hama showed gunshots being fired and black smoke rising above the city. Dozens of men were marching through the streets, chanting "Where are the Arab monitors?"

Video uploaded by Homs-based activists showed monitors visiting the restive Baba Amro neighbourhood, with heavy gunfire clearly audible in the background. Other videos showed residents of Baba Amro showing observers the body of a five-year-old boy who was reportedly killed by security forces.

Al-Dabi, who visited the central city of Homs with his team a day earlier, said the members of the mission "did not see anything frightning".

"Yesterday was quiet and there were no clashes. We did not see tanks but we did see some armoured vehicles," he said.

"But, remember, this was only the first day and it will need investigation. We have 20 people who will be there for a long time."

A Homs-based activist told the Reuters news agency that some families of people who have died in the violence there refused to meet with the monitors because they were being escorted by an army officer.

[visionary]

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/30/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?hpt=imi_c1

Large-scale anti-government protests and more violence unfolded across Syria Friday as tens of thousands of demonstrators converged on public squares to protest the al-Assad regime -- nationwide rallies dubbed "The Crawl to Freedom Square."

The protests coincide with reports of increased violence against demonstrators by President Bashar al-Assad's security forces, even as an Arab League fact-finding mission works to determine whether the Syrian government is abiding by a peace agreement to end a brutal crackdown on protesters.

The Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an opposition activist network, said 35 people were killed. Deaths occurred in Idlib city, Daraa, Hama, Homs city, the Homs province town of Tal Kalakh near Lebanon, the Damascus suburbs, and Abu Kamal in the east.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based opposition group with contacts throughout the country, said that security forces attempting to prevent tens of thousands of protesters from reaching a square in Idlib city shot and wounded 25 protesters. The observatory said demonstrators turned out in Idlib province towns as well.

It also said security forces fired their weapons at demonstrators in Daraa, in the south, and Deir Ezzor, in the east.

The LCC said tens of thousands of protesters held a sit-in in front of Arab League observers in Douma, outside Damascus. It said more than 30,000 demonstrators in the Idlib province town of Saraqeb chanted to topple the regime, and the military fired shots to disperse protesters.

[visionary]

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/30/world/meast/syria-citizen-journalist-killed/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

Homs in grief after 'eye of truth' dies

Armed with valor, vigor and a lone video camera, citizen journalist Basil al Sayid chronicled the Syrian siege of Homs for months before a sniper picked him off and killed him.

Now, the city is mourning a man some call the "eye of truth."

"He was a very brave young man and he wanted to specialize in a certain angle of the revolution," said Omar Shakir, a pseudonym for a close friend and colleague in Baba Amr, a Homs neighborhood at the center of anti-government ferment. "He chose to be a videographer because he was courageous. The minute you hold a camera you are a target for snipers."

[visionary]

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/cairo-dec-31-2011-1809

Syria's two largest opposition groups have signed a draft agreement to unite against President Bashar al-Assad, and to establish democracy.

The document signed in Cairo on Saturday by the Syrian National Co-ordination Committee and the Syrian National Council will be submitted to a conference for opposition groups next month.

It calls for the protection of all civilians within international law and no foreign intervention.

Ashraf Al-Moqdad, a member of another Syrian opposition group, the Damascus Declaration, spoke to Al Jazeera from Cairo on the significance of the agreement.

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/Syria

The SNC is a coalition of 230 members, including the banned Muslim Brotherhood and liberal figures.

The NCB is an umbrella group of Arab nationalist figures, socialists, independents, Marxists and Kurds. [AFP]

6 hours 3 min ago

More on the deal signed between the two opposition factions:

1 - Refusal of any foreign intervention in Syria which could affect the independence and sovereignty of the country but taking into consideration that Arab intervention is not a foreign one

2 - The necessity of protecting civilians with all legitimate means under international law

3 - The importance of national unity and refusal of sectarianism

4 - Salute the Syrian soldiers who refused to kill protesters

5 - Safeguard state institutions after the fall of the regime

6 - The transition period should end with the writing of a new constitution which guarantees a democratic parliamentary system and the election of a new parliament and a president

7 -Calls for a just end to the Kurdish problem within the unity of Syria

4 hours 52 min ago

Al Jazeera's Hashem Ahelbarra has spoken to a member of the Arab League mission deployed to Syria. The observer confirmed that the team had seen many snipers posted on rooftops and described the situation as "very dangerous".

[visionary]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16372833

The latest footage posted on the internet cannot be verified, but it shows what appears to be an Arab League observer complaining about snipers shooting at demonstrators in Deraa.

The man is filmed telling protesters: "You're telling me there are snipers? You don't have to tell me, I saw them with my own eyes."

He says the observers' concerns would be conveyed to the Arab League, and that if the snipers were not removed within 24 hours, action would be taken.

In a separate report, the German news agency DPA also quoted a source close to the mission saying observers had also seen snipers in Douma, a suburb of the capital Damascus.

However the head of the Arab League mission, Gen Mustafa al-Dabi, later contradicted these accounts. He told the BBC's Newshour programme that the official seen in the video was making a hypothetical remark.

"This man said that if he saw - by his own eyes - those snipers he will report immediately," Gen Dabi said. "But he didn't see [snipers]."

Correspondent say the statement will add to protesters' allegations that Gen Dabi - who is Sudanese - is biased towards the Syrian government.

Dabi is generally reffered to by Syrians on twitter as, "the war criminal"

Just to make it clear what folks in Syria and elsewhere think of him already.

[visionary]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/01/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

The head of an advisory board to the Arab League called Sunday for the withdrawal of observers from Syria, claiming the mission has allowed Syrian officials to continue a brutal crackdown on protesters.

"What is happening allows the Syrian regime a cover for the exercise of its inhumane practices under the Arab League's watch," Ali Salem al-Deqbasi said in a statement, according to Egypt's state-run MENA news agency. Al-Deqbasi heads the Arab Parliament, an advisory board to the Cairo-based Arab League.

An Arab League official said in a statement Sunday that the observers' field work was going "according to plan," noting that only the organization's official governing council has the authority to stop the fact-finding mission.

As the fact-finding mission continued Sunday, at least 10 people were killed in Syria, according to an opposition activist group.

Three people died in Hama, four were killed in Homs, two were killed in the Damascus suburb of Daraya and one was killed in Idlib, the Local Coordination Committees of Syria said. The organization said a child was among its tally of "martyrs," but did not provide additional information.

[visionary]

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/02/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Syrian tanks have withdrawn from residential areas in cities, but snipers remain a threat and killings are still occurring, the head of the Arab League said Monday.

"There is still gunfire, there are still snipers and we hope that all that will disappear," Nabil el-Araby told reporters in Cairo, adding: "There is gunfire from various directions, which makes it hard to tell who is shooting.

"There is no doubt that killing is ongoing but I can't pinpoint the numbers," he said.

Syrian government tanks have moved to the outskirts of cities, he said after an advance team of Arab League monitors returned from the violence-wracked country and began preparing an initial report.

That report will be completed "in the coming days" and presented to the Arab League's foreign ministers, who will decide on what action to take, el-Araby added. "We will not wait for the mission to end" before taking action, he said.

As the fact-finding mission continued Monday, at least 20 people, one of them a girl, were killed in Syria, according to a network of opposition activists.

Eleven people were killed 11 in Homs, three in Idlib, five in the Damascus suburbs, and one in Hama, the Local Coordination Committees of Syria said. The organization said a child was among the "martyrs."

[visionary]

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0102/Rebels-seize-two-military-checkpoints-in-Syria

Armed Syrian rebels captured dozens of members of the security forces by seizing two military checkpoints on Monday, the opposition said, even as the Arab League chief reported cautious progress in a peace monitoring mission.

The opposition said army deserters also clashed with security forces at a third checkpoint, killing and wounding an unspecified number of troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

The reported attacks on military checkpoints came three days after the anti-government Free Syrian Army said it had ordered its fighters to stop offensive operations pending a meeting with the Arab League delegates.

Rami Abdelrahman, director of the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Monday's operation took place in the northern province of Idlib. It was not immediately clear how many people had been killed or captured by the rebels.

Separately, the Observatory said two people were killed by gunfire in Homs on Monday, and the bodies of another two were handed over to their families. Security forces killed a farmer in Douma, on the northeastern edge of Damascus, as they carried out raids searching for suspects wanted by authorities, it said.

Kinan Shami, a member of the Syrian Revolution Coordinating Union activists group, said from Damascus that people were taking huge risks by gathering in cities where Arab League monitors were expected, in the hope of talking to them.

"People expected them in Daraya yesterday on New Year's day and thousands went to the main square, raised the Independence Flag on a mast and gathered around it. Security forces shot at them and killed two protesters," Shami said.

[PeterMP]

So visionary, do you have an opinion of the final out come there?

Can the current government survive?

If not how long do they last and at what costs to the Syrian people?

Are the "good" (i.e. democracy) Syrian forces strong enough to resist the Iranian "bad" (i.e. authortorian theocracy) that will presumably try and influence the final out come if the current regime fails.

**EDIT**

I like what you are doing here w/ these threads, but I haven't really kept up w/ even your posts much less outside information so was wondering if you could give a general impression based on what you see.

[visionary]

So visionary, do you have an opinion of the final out come there?

Can the current government survive?

If not how long do they last and at what costs to the Syrian people?

Are the "good" (i.e. democracy) Syrian forces strong enough to resist the Iranian "bad" (i.e. authortorian theocracy) that will presumably try and influence the final out come if the current regime fails.

I think the way things are going, Assad and his regime can last for quite some time still.

There is some falling away on the military part with defectors, but he seems to have more than enough left to kill the defectors when they establish bases and attack protesters in other town.

What happens to the regime will depend in my opinion on whether or not the Arab nations and organizations and the UN are willing to put enough pressure on Syria to make the cracks widen enough to make a difference.

Right now Syria's allies in the UN and the lackluster effort from the Arab League are allowing Assad a good bit of wiggle room.

I think eventually Assad and his regime will fall, but it could go on like this for a very lengthy period of time, if things don't change. At the rate it's going, there will be probably around 10,000 dead by the time the anniversery of the start of the protests comes around. (right now it's around 7,000 or so by my guess) That is barring any major massacres or extended increases in deaths per day in the next few months. Over a long period of time the constant killing will increase sectarian tensions and make it even less likely for a good ending/aftermath.

As for Iran...I highly doubt they are going to be favored by the Syrian people if Assad's regime falls.

The people have constantly protested against them (along with Russia) all across Syria.

Now...perhaps if they were to use their influence to push Assad out of power and try to insert themselves into the government somehow, Syrians might be conflicted about Iran.

But I think it's a bit late for that.

I think the Muslim Brotherhood and salifists are potentially bigger worry than Iran if the regime falls.

But I'm unsure how popular they are today there or what they would advocate for Syria's future.

About a theocracy versus a democracy in general...I don't know.

I haven't spent a lot of time looking into what the opposition groups for Syria have been advocating.

I know the Syrian National Council has spoken out against violence (especially sectarian) and extremism.

They seem fairly popular these days, but it's hard to tell how much influence they would have in Syria, if the current regime were gone.

(they mainly work out of Turkey)

(Now keep in mind that I'm no expert on any of this, so I'm just going by what I've been reading in articles and from Syrians on twitter every day.)

Personally I think they will be better off once the regime is gone, but like most of these situations it won't be a smooth ride.

[visionary]

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/Syria

3 hours 39 min ago -

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe has said the Arab observer mission in Syria needs to be "clarified" and complained that Russia was blocking any UN condemnation of the Damascus leadership.

"The conditions under which this observer mission is operating should be clarified," Juppe told French television I-Tele, adding that he was "sceptical" about its progress.

Juppe questioned whether the observers really had free access to information, but said he would await their report, expected in the coming days, adding: "But I do not consider the battle is already lost."

He also insisted again that the UN Security Council "cannot stay silent" on the situation in Syria, and said he regretted that permanent Council member Russia "continues to block" any condemnation of the regime by the UN.

1 hour 51 min ago -

Syrian Revolution General Commission says five people have been killed in protests on Tuesday.

16 min 16 sec ago

The Arab League has called for an emergency meeting to discuss whether to withdraw the group's monitors from Syria after reports that Syrian security forces are still killing anti-government protesters despite the observers' presence.

Deputy secretary-general, Ahmed bin Heli, said on Tuesday that the meeting will take place on Saturday in Cairo. [AP]

[visionary]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/04/us-syria-idUSTRE7BO0B620120104

The commander of Syria's armed rebels has threatened to step up attacks on President Bashar al-Assad's forces, saying he was frustrated with Arab League monitors' lack of progress in ending a government crackdown on protests.

"If we feel they (the monitors) are still not serious in a few days, or at most within a week, we will take a decision which will surprise the regime and the whole world," the head of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Colonel Riad al-Asaad, told Reuters in an interview.

The Arab League said on Monday its monitors were helping to stem bloodshed, 10 months into a popular uprising against Syria's ruling family, and asked for more time to do their job.

But since the team's arrival last week, security forces have killed more than 132 people, according to a Reuters tally. Other activist groups say 390 have been killed.

Eighteen security force personnel were killed in the southern town of Deraa as dozens of deserting soldiers returned fire on police who shot at them as they fled their posts, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Security forces also opened fire and killed two people at a protest in the central city of Hama, the same day that activists met monitors and said the team seemed powerless to help them.

Things are getting more desperate than I thought.

I admire these guys for standing up to Assad and protecting people, but I hope the FSA doesn't get sloppy or go to far.

On the other hand, there may not be any alternative other than full scale fighting back soon.

[visionary]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jan/3/iran-broker-syria-deal-assad-muslim-brotherhood/

A leader of Syria's Muslim Brotherhood says Iran has sought to coax the Islamist group into supporting President Bashar Assad in exchange for four high-ranking positions in the Syrian government.

Mohammed Farouk Tayfour, the top political leader in Syria's Muslim Brotherhood, told The Washington Times on Tuesday that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sent three emissaries to Istanbul in late October to try to broker the deal.

“We refused to meet with them,” said Mr. Tayfour, one of nine members of the Syrian National Council's executive committee, which is leading opposition to the Assad regime. “We told them [through a Turkish mediator] that Iran has been taking sides against the Syrian people.

“When Iran takes the side of the Syrian people, then we are willing to meet with the envoys and talk with them,” he said at the council’s office in Istanbul. “Otherwise, there is no way we can meet with the Iranians when they are assisting in the killing of our people.”

Mr. Tayfour said the [Arab] league’s role in the process “has run out,” noting that Syrian forces have continued killing citizens despite the presence of the league’s monitors in the country.

“Our choice is to stop the killing of civilians, to protect civilians, and if there is no other choice than foreign military intervention like that which happened in Libya, then we have to accept it,” he said.

The Syrian opposition leader said there is “almost a consensus” among his colleagues on seeking international military action, echoing comments of another executive board member.

---------- Post added January-4th-2012 at 12:32 PM ----------

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/04/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

The Free Syrian Army plans to kick off "huge operations" this week against "vital interests" of President Bashar al-Assad's regime, the force's commander said Wednesday.

"We prepared ourselves for this stage," Col. Riad al-Asaad told CNN in Turkey. "We can't force him off with the peaceful demonstrations, so we are going to force him by arms to leave."

But al-Asaad called the Arab League mission a "mockery," with "no teeth" and no pull. Security forces shot at people Tuesday in front of Arab League observers "who did not do anything about it."

"We don't believe in the Arab League mission in Syria. I think they are covering the regime and blocking any international intervention to help the Syrian people," he said.

Al-Asaad called on the international community to provide money and weapons.

"We will keep fighting until we take the regime down," he said. "And this week, the world will see huge operations all over the country and against all the regime's vital interests and army locations."

http://twitter.com/#!/KareemLailah

20 martyrs in Syria today, most of them are in Homs

1 minute ago