Syria Watch

Syrian Revolution Digest – Wednesday 8 July 2012

The Nightmare!

As more of our towns and neighborhoods get turned into wastelands and as we pull the pieces of our dying dream from under the rubble, it’s difficult not to be angry at a world that stood by and let it happen. All of this was foretold, the warning signs were clear, everything was taking place in full light of day, yet they all watched, while some gambled and hedged their bets by backing the killers, as the dream was slowly transformed into a nightmare. All demons are loose now, and heaven only knows when and how we could put the country back together. Still, we go on, going back has never and can never be a legitimate option.

Wednesday August 8, 2012

Today’s Death toll: 150.

Cities & Towns Under Shelling: Harasta, Arbeen, Moadamiah, Harran Al-Awameed, Deir Al-Asafeer, Ain Terma, Zabadani, Madaya, Eltal, Dmeir, Hameh, Yelda, Rankous, Qarrah (Damascus Suburbs), Sit Zeinab, Al-Qadam, Midan, Tadamon, Al-Hajar Al-Aswad, Yarmouk, Kafar Sousseh, Mazzeh, Qaboun, Barzeh, Salhiyeh, Ruknaddine, Dafelshawk (Damascus City), Daraa City, Khirbet Al-Ghazaleh, Tafas, Bostra Al-Sham, Na’eemah, Mseifrah, Jimreen, Hraak (Daraa), Rastan, Talbisseh, Houla, Tal Kalakh, Al-Qusayr, Al-Hosn, Al-Ghanto, Al-Bouaydah, Old Homs (Homs Province), Hreitan, Elbab, Eizaz, Marei, Bayanoun (Aleppo Province), Haffeh, Jabal Al-Akrad (Lattakia), Deir Ezzor City, Mouhassan, Albou Kamal (Deir Ezzor Province), Kafar Zeiteh, Hawash, Shahshabo, Hama City (Hama Province), Jabal Al-Zawiyeh, Ma’rrat Al-Nouman, Saraqib, Maar Shoureen, Ariha, Kafroumah, Al-Rami, Khan Shaikhoon (Idlib).

News

White House official says Syria no-fly zone not off table “rest assured that various options that are being talked about in the press, and sometimes being advocated, these are things that the United States government has been looking at very carefully, trying to understand the implications, trying to understand the advantages and the disadvantages,” he said.

In Syria, Potential Threat to Government Air Power Emerges For the first time since the conflict in Syria began last year, an activist opposed to President Bashar al-Assad has publicly presented possible evidence that the antigovernment forces have obtained a heat-seeking, shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile.

Russian general denies reports he was killed by rebels in Syria Vladimir Petrovich Kuzheyev meets reporters in Moscow after video statement from rebel group shows copy of his Syrian-army issued ID.

Syria military launches assault on key district in Aleppo Reports conflict on whether Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces or Syrian rebels have control of the Salahuddin district of Aleppo.

Al-Qaida fighters infiltrate Syria At least 262 al-Qaida militants are now operating in the border area between Turkey and Syria and rebels say another group of fighters are living in a tented camp just outside Aleppo, Syria’s largest city. NBC’s Richard Engel reports.

Seized Iranians in Syria Are Army Retirees, Salehi Says “We rejected reports saying these individuals are part of the Revolutionary Guards and explained that a number of retired individuals from several ministries and the guards had signed up to make the pilgrimage,” Salehi said. “Pilgrimage trips to Syria had been interrupted but resumed recently as we can’t stop people from visiting the holy shrine.”

Neighbors pull dead from Syria house rubble Rebels have said Assad’s forces have been attacking rural areas in an effort to put pressure on those opposition fighters who have rural backgrounds.

Syria border standoff a new front in Iraq-Kurdish rift The standoff, for a moment last week so close to confrontation, is the most dramatic illustration of a growing rift between Baghdad and the autonomous northern region of Kurdistan. Frictions over oil revenues are exacerbated now by conflicting views of the Syrian rebellion and by territorial disputes that pose questions about the unity of Iraq.

Op-Eds & Special Reports

Malcolm Rifkind, former Britain’s defense minister and foreign secretary under Prime Minister John Major, writes: A Call to Arm Syria’s Rebels The longer war drags on, the more likely a legitimate struggle for self-determination will descend further into a cycle of communal violence, poisoning the possibility of a mutually acceptable political settlement. Without such a settlement, Syrian and regional violence will continue — whether the Ba’athist regime survives or not.

The Washington Post Editorial Board explains how to “Get… around a dead-end in Syria” The only workable policy in Syria is one that aims at ending the civil war as quickly as possible with a victory for the opposition. A coup by regime elements that removes Mr. Assad may still be possible, but only if generals perceive that the war is lost. That means supplying the rebels with the arms they need to stop the tanks and planes of the Assad forces. To protect civilians, safe zones can be established along Syria’s borders with Turkey and Jordan, with help from Turkey or NATO.

Echoes of Syria’s War in the Golan Heights With close-knit families and clans here already divided, there is fear on both sides that a slide into bloodshed would be disastrous. Druse community leaders have acted quickly to broker understandings and restore calm.

Syria rebels see future fight with foreign radicals Some fighters who have come to Syria are idealists who believe in jihad, or holy war, for oppressed Muslims, and would probably return home in a post-Assad era. But others are al Qaeda-linked fighters who may want a base in Syria. Their numbers are still low, but enough to worry countries fearing Iraq-style bloodshed in Syria, a country straddling the lines of most ethnic and regional conflicts in the Middle East.

“We could not endure anymore,” Aleppo refugee says Some 2,400 Syrians reached Turkey overnight, the state-run Turkish Anatolian news agency said on Wednesday, adding to the 45,000 who have fled to Turkey since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad started 17 months ago.

Two days in Aleppo: Snipers, temporary graveyards and stairwell bedsAccount of what Wedeman saw in Aleppo, including his harrowing trip into the city past snipers, street vendors selling their wares as bombs fall, and a lack of enthusiasm for the rebels’ battle among many civilians.

Assaults on Aleppo come in response to Syrian defections The massive bombardment of rebels in Syria’s largest city aims to prove to supporters of Bashar Assad that his regime is in control despite defections of top officials, activists and experts said Wednesday.

Video Highlights

In Da’el, Daraa Province, helicopter gunships take part in the poundinghttp://youtu.be/dElNKypDUp0 , http://youtu.be/jttXWC0XiO4 A mortar round falls on a funeral for local activists http://youtu.be/UCfyAEQTwd4 People rush to pull bodies from under the rubble http://youtu.be/aM-rWFocNsY

In Homs City, many neighborhoods lie now in rubble after months of indiscriminate shelling http://youtu.be/E8GdERCtlN0 http://youtu.be/f-rz03vx3Kg ,http://youtu.be/b8ISXLDJgUU With this, 500,000 people, the overwhelming majority of whom Sunni Muslims who are now scattered all over the country, have effectively been deprived their homes. This makes the Alawites and Christians, with close to 250,000, the new majority population in town. The remaining Sunnis constitute around 50,000. But the pounding of their neighborhoods continues http://youtu.be/gfqjgVclJLM

In Tal Rifa’at, Aleppo Province, the pounding by fighter jetshttp://youtu.be/MX5Dlpkz2y8 left a home in rubbles, and its owners trapped underneath http://youtu.be/S11UAJgG6f4 Pulling bodies and body parts from under the rubble http://youtu.be/y6eRJz3CBlI , http://youtu.be/hEU9IG1ZaWo ,http://youtu.be/HO–c8uSKf0 , http://youtu.be/EhTIVfSs2k0 ,http://youtu.be/2T1QxSjtZrk A local school was left in ruinshttp://youtu.be/zLozXJJqTxI , http://youtu.be/sbpiDJLPCpE

  The pounding of Aleppo City by fighter jets continueshttp://youtu.be/kzyWwQA1ud0 , http://youtu.be/fb_lb1UGnqc There were clasheshttp://youtu.be/8x09se8U03w Trying to take on a chopperhttp://youtu.be/3rRHbwvlAHw But many neighborhoods remain clearly under rebel control http://youtu.be/Bt-KRhQgfe8

Rebels in Idlib are mounting a methodical campaign on tank convoys going to Aleppo. Tank parts lie in piece along the highway http://youtu.be/xFuoXlohr1w

Inhabitants of Kafrenbel, Idlib Province, rush to save their wounded following a round of pounding by pro-Assad militias laying siege to their townhttp://youtu.be/VPk_ySxqdts The shelling leaves many homes on firehttp://youtu.be/kH69AMHjpWc The tanks taking part in the pounding are stationed outside Kafrenbel closer to the town of Ma’arat Al-Noumanhttp://youtu.be/HfyYGP4_-CE Other nearby villages in Jabal Al-Zawiyeh were also pounded http://youtu.be/yJwfkckbSks

In Lattakia, the pounding of the village of Salma, a summertime resort in Al-Akrda Mountain continues http://youtu.be/aX1nqo1p_Kw , http://youtu.be/Jm06nfgayhU ,http://youtu.be/5OzUNK_iS74

The pounding of Talbisseh, Homs Province, continueshttp://youtu.be/XNaRj3ke72M , http://youtu.be/F0T9rGMoU-4 Nearby Houla gets pounded as well http://youtu.be/udYAhS030yQ , http://youtu.be/XSOTzMeU6KoRastan is pounded as well http://youtu.be/uiYlJeKtpJM

The pounding of Zabadani, Damascus City, continueshttp://youtu.be/cMU_3v1NwV0 Helicopter gunships are taking part in the pounding as well http://youtu.be/qgTTr3-hD6I

In Midan Neighborhood, Damascus City, local rebels destroy a tankhttp://youtu.be/9Jsu89GY7uU

Clashes in Karnaz, Hama province, leaves several local deadhttp://youtu.be/hbamuCzI-LY

Syria Revolution Digest – Sunday 5 August 2012

THE COMMENTARY IN THIS PIECE DOES NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF IMPUNITY WATCH.  

*WARNING VIDEOS MAY CONTAIN GRAPHIC IMAGES*

The Ever-Thickening Plot!

 

With all the focus on Aleppo, the real story is still unfolding in Damascus City and Suburbs, as the daily death toll and the military operations which continue to spread to more and more neighborhoods clearly show.

 

Sunday August 5, 2012

 

Today’s Death toll: 139 (Saturday) 125 (Sunday). The Breakdown: the toll includes 6 women and 9 children. 59 killed in Damascus and Suburbs (including 20 in a massacre in Irbeen), 25 in Aleppo, 14 in Idlib, 11 in Daraa, 5 in Homs, 5 in Deir Ezzor and 5 in Hama.

 

Cities & Towns Under Shelling: Harasta, Arbeen, Moadamiah, Harran Al-Awameed, Deir Al-Asafeer, Ain Terma, Zabadani, Madaya, Eltal, Dmeir, Hameh, Yelda, Rankous, Qarrah (Damascus Suburbs), Sit Zeinab, Al-Qadam, Midan, Tadamon, Al-Hajar Al-Aswad, Yarmouk, Kafar Sousseh, Mazzeh, Qaboun, Barzeh, Salhiyeh, Ruknaddine, Dafelshawk (Damascus City), Daraa City, Khirbet Al-Ghazaleh, Tafas, Bostra Al-Sham, Na’eemah, Mseifrah, Jimreen, Hraak (Daraa), Rastan, Talbisseh, Houla, Tal Kalakh, Al-Qusayr, Al-Hosn, Al-Ghanto, Al-Bouaydah, Old Homs (Homs Province), Hreitan, Elbab, Eizaz, Marei, Bayanoun (Aleppo Province), Haffeh, Jabal Al-Akrad (Lattakia), Deir Ezzor City, Mouhassan, Albou Kamal (Deir Ezzor Province), Kafar Zeiteh, Hawash, Shahshabo, Hama City (Hama Province), Jabal Al-Zawiyeh, Ma’rrat Al-Nouman, Saraqib, Maar Shoureen, Ariha, Kafroumah, Al-Rami, Khan Shaikhoon (Idlib).

 

Newsflashes: *** Syria first and only cosmonaut, Major General Muhammad Faris, defects and crosses the border into Turkey http://youtu.be/jAEKtby9YmkGen. Faris has lived in Aleppo City. He went as Research Cosmonaut on Soyuz TM-3 to the Mir space station in July 1987 *** Reports by The Daily Telegraph that the Muslim Brotherhood is forming and arming its own militias inside Syria have been confirmed by spokesman for the Brotherhood, Molham Aldroubi, in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat (Arabic). Activists on the ground have making similar claims for months saying that Brotherhood members and supporters have been stockpiling weapons, saying they are meant for use to maintain order after the fall of the Assad regime.

 

News

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Muslim Brotherhood establishes militia inside Syria The Muslim Brotherhood has established its own militia inside Syria as the country’s rebels fracture between radical Islamists and their rivals, commanders and gun-runners have told The Daily Telegraph.

 

Syria looks bleak, admits William Hague William Hague has described the situation in Syria as ‘bleak’ and said that a peaceful solution to the 17 month-long crisis is now unlikely.

 

Iranian pilgrims kidnapped on trip to Syria Dozens are seized by gunmen in the Damascus area, prompting Iran’s foreign minister to ask Turkey to intervene. Meanwhile, fighting continues in the Syrian city of Aleppo.

 

Syrian leader Assad’s planes pound vital prize of Aleppo President Bashar al-Assad’s forces used artillery, planes and a helicopter gunship to pound rebel positions in Syria’s biggest city, witnesses said, in a battle that could determine the outcome of the 17-month uprising.

 

Equestrian: Syrian rider says Olympic effort for “all Syrians” His father Mohamed Hamcho was added to the European Union sanctions list in March and the U.S. Treasury Department sanctions list a month later.

 

Rebels fill Aleppo power vacuum, some disapprove …those found guilty of killing civilians or rebel fighters will be sent to “courts” in Azaz to be judged by the top commander of the Amr bin al-Aas brigade, identified only as Ahmed. “We use Sharia (Islamic law) to judge our prisoners,” Ahmed says in Azaz. “We use a number of judges who are have studied Islamic law and a number of witnesses and judge them accordingly.”

 

Photojournalists captured by Islamist militants in Syria feared beheadingJohn Cantlie and Jeroen Oerlemans faced constant death threats and were shot while trying to escape.

 

Turkey training rebels, says FSA fighter There is a special training programme based in Turkey at secret camps run by the Turkish military, she says. “The Turkish people are really helping us. Lots of people are getting training in those camps.” “The training is really professional. You can only sleep four hours a day. “You have to climb mountains, you get weapons training. It’s hard work.”

 

Dozens reported killed in Damascus as Syria rebels try to halt advance on Aleppo Free Syrian Army fighters told CNN that two large columns of government troops were heading toward Aleppo, the Middle East nation’s most populous city. One is moving from Latakia on the Mediterranean coast and the other from Damascus.

 

Op-Eds & Special Reports

 

 

State Department and Pentagon Plan for Post-Assad Syria The administration’s efforts have been driven by a bleak prognosis shared by most officials: Mr. Assad’s fall would be likely to set off a grave, potentially violent and unpredictable implosion in a country strained by even more tribal, ethnic and sectarian divisions than Iraq, possibly in the midst of a presidential election campaign at home.

 

Turkish bloggers divided over policy on Syria Secular and nationalist critics accuse the government of openly supporting the Syrian opposition, risking a regional war, a new rift between Sunni and Shiite sects and opening the way for the creation of Islamist and Kurdish states in Turkey’s neighborhood. The AK Party government, on the other hand, blames the opposition for supporting the atrocities of the Assad regime.

 

As Syria War Roils, Unrest Among Sects Hits Turkey As Syria’s civil war degenerates into a bloody sectarian showdown between the government’s Alawite-dominated troops and the Sunni Muslim majority, tensions are increasing across the border between Turkey’s Alawite minority and the Sunni Muslim majority here.

 

Victory closer, divisions deepen in Syria opposition “Several opposition groups have adopted an increasingly fundamentalist discourse and demeanour, a trajectory that mirrors the conflict’s gradually deadlier and more confessional turn (and) popular loss of faith in the West,” the International Crisis Group said in a report.

 

Russian rubles for Damascus? Like China, Russia wants to lessen the influence in the region of the West and its allies such as Saudi Arabia. That’s why Moscow not only supports Syria, it also cooperates with Iran, Syria’s closest ally. Russia quite obviously doesn’t have a problem with the human rights violations perpetrated by the Assad regime, so it seems plausible that Russian rubles will continue to flow to Damascus.

 

Robert Fisk: Syria’s ancient treasures pulverised So the looting and destruction lies at the door of all sides in the Syrian conflict, along with the thieves who move in on all historic sites when the security of the state evaporates. In truth, Syria has always suffered – and the regime always tolerated – a limited amount of theft from historical sites, to boost the economy in the poor areas in the north of the country and to enrich the regime’s own mafiosi. But what is happening now is on an epic and terrifying scale.

 

 

The likelihood of a prolonged stalemate, however, does not mean that we should cease thinking about possible outcomes in a post-Assad Syria. And it is important for policy makers in Washington and in other capitals to divest themselves of what might be called the “Bosnia fallacy.”

 

As Yugoslavia was imploding, the Bosnia fallacy was the belief that the various ethnic and sectarian groups in Bosnia still would give their first loyalty to an amorphous idea of “Bosnia” and would trust “national” institutions to represent them and protect their interests. …

 

Some believe that in the event of Assad’s death (or a significant weakening of his power), different groups in Syria might reach out to the opposition to discuss a transition of power. One easily could envision a future meeting in Istanbul that would lay the groundwork for replacing the current Syrian Republic with a Syrian Union, based on resurrecting some of the entities that existed during the first part of the French mandate (1920–1936), including separate Alawite and Druze states as well as regional cantons based on Aleppo and Damascus.

 

Saudi Arabia helped broker an end to the devastating civil war in Lebanon with the Taif Accords in 1989; in principle, a similar agreement, which would recognize Sunni ascendancy in Syria but institutionalize a series of protections for other groups, could be viable and in line with stated Saudi interests and concerns.

 

A Lisbon-style agreement such as the initial plan for Bosnia might not satisfy the Sunni majority—which might hope to exercise control over all of Syria based simply on sheer numbers—and minorities might have to accept smaller cantons and less influence in a post-Assad Syria. But given that similar results emerged in places such as Bosnia and Iraq only after years of fighting, might not Syrians themselves be willing to accept such compromises, albeit reluctantly?

 

The success of any such agreement also would require the outside powers—including the West, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States—to support such a process. If a deal can be facilitated along these lines—however imperfect it may be—then it may be possible to minimize the problems that inevitably will arise in a post-Assad Syria.

 

 

We are hopeful the rebels will ultimately prevail, but it remains a deeply unfair and brutal fight, and the speed and manner by which it is won matter enormously. All evidence suggests that, rather than peacefully surrendering power, Assad and his allies will fight to the bitter end, tearing apart the country in the process. America’s disengagement from this conflict carries growing costs — for the Syrian people and for U.S. interests…

 

The U.S. reluctance to intervene in Syria is, first of all, allowing this conflict to be longer and bloodier, a radicalizing dynamic. Contrary to critics who argue that a greater U.S. role in Syria could empower al-Qaeda, it is the lack of strong U.S. assistance to responsible fighters inside the country that is ceding the field to extremists there…

 

First, we can and should directly and openly provide robust assistance to the armed opposition, including weapons, intelligence and training. Whatever the risks of our doing so, they are far outweighed by the risks of continuing to sit on our hands, hoping for the best. American help should go to those groups that reject extremism and sectarianism in both word and deed. As in Libya, the relationships we build with armed groups inside Syria now will be indispensable going forward.

 

Second, since the rebels have increasingly established de facto safe zones in parts of Syria, the United States should work with our allies to reinforce those areas, as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton suggested last week. This would not require any U.S. troops on the ground but could involve limited use of our airpower and other unique U.S. assets.

 

Video Highlights

 

The Battle for Damascus continues despite regime’s claims of “victory.” Now, parts of Damascus City are being shelled at night from positions on top of MountQasayoun http://youtu.be/t97sWAEQc60 On Saturday, nighttime shelling touched the neighborhoods of Salhiyeh (where the tomb of medieval Sufi master Ibn Arabi is located) and Ruknaddine http://youtu.be/CLlAhr1mKbg ,http://youtu.be/Mt9FSETTU2g

 

Pro-Assad militias stormed the Palestinian camp of Yarmouk in Damascus City and carried out a number of Summary executions http://youtu.be/CoJw_kLkC4U ,http://youtu.be/9e_bv2hrkqo In nearby Tadamon, locals keep finding bodies in the streets http://youtu.be/fSkbR-2gXjc , http://youtu.be/n9YIHKDkX8Y ,http://youtu.be/0lSllhyzlu0 , http://youtu.be/njzfuUVNLfE Most are obviously the victims of summary executions http://youtu.be/GujCHFd64h8

 

And suburbs around Damascus are under constant pounding: Artouzhttp://youtu.be/w7kwYJ2ckFE Deir Al-Asafeer http://youtu.be/cY2m2Gcf0qMKafar Batna http://youtu.be/hjp0xoIO-zc , http://youtu.be/iibnM94Ek0wHamouriyeh http://youtu.be/kf9Ov2vHoMg

 

Helicopter gunships continue to be deployed: Deir Al-Asafeerhttp://youtu.be/M5SLd1gC7iY

 

Al-Tawhid Brigade in Aleppo succeeds in destroying a fighter jet as it was landing in Aleppo’s Airport. But we only see thick black smoke rising up in the background http://youtu.be/2QpDuQaub3s Local activists report that in addition to MiGs, the regime is also using Czech made L-39 fighter jets. The make of the fighter jets notwithstanding, they are still being deployed in the fight against rebels in neighborhoods around the city http://youtu.be/e2qAiVCbQh4 ,http://youtu.be/eY3mjVUx-hQ

 

Meanwhile, back in Aleppo City, Assad’s fighter jets targeted areas near the ancient citadel http://youtu.be/egdEUMm2CiM Clashes took place in different parts including: Hanano http://youtu.be/UqKPPlQEnms ,http://youtu.be/QMGUaK98l28 Shaar http://youtu.be/er-NndilDmU ,http://youtu.be/369wkLwCM3s , http://youtu.be/BV4Qk3Lzy3w Buildings catch fire http://youtu.be/18M1uQNG0tY Sukkari http://youtu.be/STHrDdAekxs Bab El-Hadid http://youtu.be/ip-GxscqWRY

 

The neighborhood of Salaheddine gets pounded as wellhttp://youtu.be/URuv7xWiIZs , http://youtu.be/BqL4ayUIlZk Members of the FSA patrol the neighborhood http://youtu.be/GrVHXs1eqYE ,http://youtu.be/KLTTTK07zJM Elsewhere in the neighborhood, other rebel fighters raid a supply center for the local security forces and mange to get some much needed supplies http://youtu.be/GrVHXs1eqYE Rebel reinforcements arrivehttp://youtu.be/NYvxfKaebSg , http://youtu.be/kMldbkfQFJI Clashes ensuehttp://youtu.be/U4oYSXtLVsc A report from the first line of battlehttp://youtu.be/lmIgF1Dzgio When needed rebels become firefightershttp://youtu.be/Q0Bt_4z24Y4

 

An eight-minute drive through the neighborhood of Bab El-Hadid, Aleppo Cityhttp://youtu.be/lnjvJ5bDsCw  An FSA convoy drives throughhttp://youtu.be/oiznlM8zKYs

 

Brigadier General, Mustafa Al-Shaikh, head of the High Military Council, pays a visit to the liberated town of Dar Azzah http://youtu.be/gWBHC55PHhE Earlier, Brig. Gen. Al-Shaikh, paid a visit to the town of Taftanaz, Idlib province, deeper into Syrian territory http://youtu.be/hi4RFp0ilGA

 

An FSA unit based in the Province of Qunaitra managed to arrest the local security chief, General Hussam Haidar. Here, one of their members conducted an interview with him, I which the General says that he hasn’t done anything wrong, and that he was unable to defect on account of his bad health. He then, encourages his family members to refrain from doing wronghttp://youtu.be/Bsbp2jBcpis

 

In Homs City, parts of Baba Amr Neighborhood catch fire on account of the constant shelling http://youtu.be/YlPmYNo8JB0 In Khaldiyeh, local activists find 6 unidentified bodies in the nearby fields, obviously the victims of summary executions http://youtu.be/WxvN7RF_E3U And the pounding continueshttp://youtu.be/rSZBXaDAGbY

 

The pounding of the nearby town of Talbisseh continueshttp://youtu.be/1dM00D61ohg And Rastan http://youtu.be/c5L2GmnoE9Y ,http://youtu.be/wn7mckWHU-A , http://youtu.be/iQg5intEL90

 

In Lattakia, tanks taking part in the indiscriminate pounding of Al-Akrad Mountain http://youtu.be/KW6L5dbQ-tY , http://youtu.be/0jdrjP0A490

 

The siege and pounding of Deir Ezzor City continueshttp://youtu.be/gWfW8wR33KQ

 

In Hama Province, the pounding of the village of Zor Al-Heesahhttp://youtu.be/Xq__MxPgIr4 leaves many dead http://youtu.be/kCuyTfYgvpw In Hama City, clashes took place in Hadir http://youtu.be/pJ0_ulZmGYo Qoussourhttp://youtu.be/atW5YfHuDYw Hamidiyeh http://youtu.be/IapCryjx83I

 

The heavy pounding of the town of Marribeh, Daraa Province, continueshttp://youtu.be/DVEqli0n_R0

 

Syrian Prime Minister Defects from Assad Regime, Joins Revolt

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria — Two months after being appointed as Syria’s Prime Minister, Riad Hijab fled the country last Monday, and defected from President Bashar Al-Assad’s government to join “the revolution,” his spokesman says.

Syrian Prime Minister Riad Hijab defected from the Assad regime last Monday. (Photo Courtesy of Al Arabiya)

The former prime minister arrived in Jordan after being smuggled across the border.

“I announce today my defection from the killing and terrorist regime, and I announce that I have joined the ranks of the freedom and dignity revolution.  I announce that I am from today a soldier in this blessed revolution,” Hijab said in a statement read in his name by spokesman Muhammad el-Etri.  “This defection was not a matter of days or weeks, it was in the pipeline for two continuous months through a trusted cell close to the prime minister made up of rebels and aides.”  El-Etri stated that Hijab’s escape was planned in conjunction with the Free Syrian Army.

El-Etri denied a Syrian state television report that claimed Hijab was fired from his position, saying that the government made the announcement of his dismissal after officials realized that the prime minister had fled the country.  Hijab–who, like much of the opposition, comes from Syria’s Sunni majority–was not part of Assad’s inner circle.  But as prime minister and the most senior civilian official to defect, his departure dealt a symbolic blow to an establishment rooted in the president’s minority Alawite sect.

Hijab will leave for Qatar within days, following the example of other high-profile defectors, el-Etri told the AFP News Agency.  “Hijab will go to Doha, where international media are based.  He will leave for Qatar tomorrow, the day after or after a few days,” he said in the Jordanian capital of Amman.

A member of the Syrian opposition in Jordan said that Hijab will travel to the Qatari capital “in the coming few hours.”  Speaking on the condition of anonymity, he said “[w]e are currently co-ordinating to facilitate the departure of Hijab to Doha in the coming few hours, most probably at 2200 GMT.  Seven of his brothers will stay in Jordan.  We understand the sensitivity of this issue for Jordan. We do not want to create problems for the kingdom, which already has tense relations with the Syrian regime.”

The White House stated on Monday that Hijab’s defection is a crippling blow to the Assad regime, calling it a sign that the Syrian government is “crumbling from within.”  It repeated its calls for Assad to step down and end the violence gripping the country.

“This is a sign that Assad’s grip on power is loosening.  If he cannot maintain cohesion within his own inner circle, it reflects on his inability to maintain any following among the Syrian people that isn’t brought about at the point of a gun,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told a news briefing.  “The momentum is with the opposition and with the Syrian people.  It’s clear that these defections are reaching the highest levels of the Syrian government and Assad cannot restore his control over the country because the Syrian people will not allow it,” he said.

For further information, please see:

Al Arabiya — Defection of Syrian PM Shows Assad ‘Crumbling From Within:’ White House — 6 August 2012

Al Bawaba — Syria: Defected PM Slams “War Crimes and Genocide” Carried out by Assad Regime — 6 August 2012

Al Jazeera — Syrian PM Defects From Assad Government — 6 August 2012

BBC News — Syria Prime Minister Riad Hijab Defects — 6 August 2012

Reuters — Syrian Prime Minister Defects, Fighting Goes on — 6 August 2012

SNHR and DCHRS Reports

Report on Extrajudicial Killings of Children

Report on Extrajudicial Arrest and Torture

 

Report provided by:

Syrian Network for Human Rights

Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies

Syrian Revolution Digest – Thursday 2 August 2012

THE COMMENTARY IN THIS PIECE DOES NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF IMPUNITY WATCH.  

*WARNING VIDEOS MAY CONTAIN GRAPHIC IMAGES*

Spiteman!

After the assassination of his brother-in-law, and regardless of the uneasy nature of their relationship, the struggle in Syria for Bashar Al-Assad became that much more personal. The mixture of spite, contempt and vindictiveness that has always colored his view of dissent and dissidents will now drive him to commit even more massacres and spread more mayhem. Going gently into that good night has never been a favorite choice of Middle Eastern dictators. Spite, rather than bravery, has made it so. Assad is but a case in point.

Thursday August 2, 2012

Today’s Death toll: 145. The Breakdown: 50 in Damascus City and Suburbs (including 20 in Yarmouk Neighborhood), 30 in Daraa Province (including 4 children and a woman), and 17 in Homs, 7 in Hama and 5 in Aleppo.

Cities & Towns Under Shelling: Harasta, Arbeen, Moadamiah, Harran Al-Awameed, Ain Terma, Zabadani, Madaya, Eltal, Dmeir, Hameh, Yelda, Rankous, Qarrah (Damascus Suburbs), Sit Zeinab, Al-Qadam, Midan, Al-Hajar Al-Aswad, Yarmouk, Kafar Sousseh, Mazzeh, Qaboun, Barzeh(Damascus City), Daraa City, Khirbet Al-Ghazaleh, Tafas, Bostra Al-Sham, Na’eemah, Mseifrah, Jimreen, Hraak (Daraa), Rastan, Talbisseh, Houla, Tal Kalakh, Al-Qusayr, Al-Hosn, Al-Ghanto, Al-Bouaydah, Old Homs (Homs Province), Hreitan, Elbab, Eizaz, Marei, Bayanoun (Aleppo Province), Haffeh, Jabal Al-Akrad (Lattakia), Deir Ezzor City, Mouhassan, Albou Kamal (Deir Ezzor Province), Kafar Zeiteh, Hawash, Shahshabo, Hama City (Hama Province), Jabal Al-Zawiyeh, Ma’rrat Al-Nouman, Saraqib, Maar Shoureen, Ariha, Kafroumah, Al-Rami, Khan Shaikhoon (Idlib).

More clashes have been reported along the Syrian-Jordanian borders. President of Iraqi Kurdistan, Massoud Barzani, met with SNC leader, Abdulbassit Seida, to discuss the situation in Kurdish areas in the region, and the prospects of unifying the Syrian Kurdish opposition.

News

Op-Eds & Special Reports

Rebels give inside account of Damascus fighting “We never had enough ammunition to capture the entire city, so how could that have been our plan? We withdrew when we received the order, not because we were forced.”

After Assad Falls: When his regime ends, will a new slaughter begin?Syria is a mosaic of ethno-religious communities. Good fences will be required to make them good neighbors. Start with Syria’s Kurds, who have been aloof from the fighting, relatively safe in their northeastern territories. In a post-Assad Syria, they’ll want substantial autonomy. They should have it within a federal Syria that guarantees minority rights — to Alawites, Christians, Druze, and other groups. Al-Qaeda won’t like that, Iran and Hezbollah won’t like that, and some in the Sunni majority won’t like it either. But those who hope to rebuild Syria as a decent country, independent and at peace within its borders, should readily grasp the benefits.

Washington, get ready for more Iranian influence after Bashar al-Assad falls in Syria After the fall of Bashar-al Assad in Syria, Iran will compensate for its lost ally by strengthening its influence in Lebanon alongside its affiliate Hezbollah – the Shiite militant group that now dominates the country. To prevent this, Washington must take a leadership role in the Lebanon.

Resigning as Envoy to Syria, Annan Casts Wide Blame …“without serious, purposeful and united international pressure, including from the powers of the region, it is impossible for me, or anyone, to compel the Syrian government in the first place, and also the opposition, to take the steps necessary to begin a political process.”… “It is clear that President Bashar al-Assad must leave office,” Mr. Annan wrote. “The greater focus, however, must be on measures and structures to secure a peaceful long-term transition to avoid a chaotic collapse.”

Leading from behind? Syria’s invisible president “Until the regime feels it has the upper hand, I don’t think we will see him again,” he said. “His style and personality is one that only engages, whether with his own people or the international community, from a position of strength.”

How to stop al Qaeda in Syria “The number is relatively small now,” Benjamin said. “I would put the numbers in the dozens to a hundred, a hundred plus. We don’t have that much granularity that we can say with any certainty how many there are.”

Syrian human rights activist Ammar Abdulhamid, with the Washington-based Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, says his contacts in Syria tell him there is no evidence of a surge in aid to the rebels. “I do not really see any intensification of these efforts.  I see a lot of leaks, it seems to me, that were sort of primed to show that something is being done.  But the reality is, so far on the ground, we have not detected any real involvement by the U.S. in the ongoing military operations in the country,” Abdulhamid said… Human rights activist Ammar Abdulhamid says he expects much of the new aid to go to refugees in camps in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq, as well as to those trapped in Syria. “But I will also imagine that they will try to send some aid to local communities who are cut off and have been cut off because of the fighting, and where food supplies are getting more and more scarce,” Abdulhamid said.

Aleppo’s Berri Clan and Summary Justice

While we have every reason to be appalled by the summary executions that have taken place in Aleppo, we still have the responsibility to put things in perspective. For such acts of retribution remain pretty isolated and have been widely condemned by opposition groups and known dissidents and activists. More importantly, it’s important to point out that the victims were not some randomly chosen individuals, nor was the motivation involved sectarian in nature.

The three victims of yesterday’s execution, as reported by local activists, were high ranking members of the Berri Clan, including its leader Zeino Berri. The Clan is Sunni and is known for its involvement in drug-trafficking and gun-running, among other illicit activities. The Clan is known as well for its affiliation with Maher Al-Assad and, before him, with his late brother, Bassil. This connection has served to guarantee Berri elders at least one spot in the parliament, and has allowed them to make a mockery out of the legal system in Syria for decades. In fact, many of their members have multiple death sentences issued against them. Naturally, the sentences were never carried out. The worst thing that has ever happened to a Berri clansman, before yesterday, was spending few months in prison for offences that by law warrant execution. Zeino Berri himself is known to have had three death sentences issued against him. It was the fourth one that finally killed him.

Early in the revolution, members of the Berri Clan went to Damascus where they met Bashar Al-Assad and pledged their loyalty. Almost every member of the delegation had at least one sentence of one type or another hanging over his head. That didn’t seem to bother Assad who is said to have given a carte blanche to the Berris in Aleppo. On their return, the Berri Clan became more vicious than ever and served as the de facto pro-Assad militia in the city, spreading terror by jailing, torturing and killing activists, as well as extorting local businessmen and merchants. By the time the rebels entered Aleppo City and clashed with the Berris, the level of popular animosity against the Clan was simply too high. Commanders of Al-Tawhid Brigade were simply ill-prepared to deal with such volatile situation.

The positive thing, however, is that FSA commanders have now become aware that simple assertions and exhortations are not enough to deal with such eventualities, and have promised to establish special courts and prisons for dealing with likes of Berri in the future.

Should the U.S. and other western powers become more closely involved in supporting the FSA, their ability to prevent similar occurrences in the future and to encourage the adoption of a more institutional and legal approach to captured pro-Assad militias will increase dramatically. Crying foul from the sidelines has not stopped the Assad and will not affect the rebels. Only friends and allies can influence the rebels’ behavior. Considering the identity of current backers of the rebels, preventing such scenarios in the future will not constitute a priority for them. By continuing to stand on the sidelines, the U.S. and E.U. will have little influence in this matter. Their condemnations will ring hollow and hypocritical and will have little effect. The more they balk from intervention the worse the situation will get and the more necessary and complex intervention will become.

Damascus

The indiscriminate shelling http://youtu.be/vs1fnoXZ7qI of the Yarmouk Neighborhood, Damascus City, leaves 20 locals deadhttp://youtu.be/GvV4OnNuiN4 and scores woundedhttp://youtu.be/w4889Te2waw , http://youtu.be/5cgpbxvE8lI

The pounding http://youtu.be/6hf77KZlSo4 of nearby Tadamon Neighborhoodleft several dead as well http://youtu.be/PFm1QqS8HWE , http://youtu.be/-D35-CJX9L4 , http://youtu.be/XjT73WhoWNU

The suburb of Zamalka came under intense gunfire during the dayhttp://youtu.be/9QJqC2csbmA Clashes left a number of casualtieshttp://youtu.be/fS70-dT7-JI

The shelling of the town of Zabadani to the West continueshttp://youtu.be/YfuRUhk1u1g , http://youtu.be/-Ir6IFhzLTU ,http://youtu.be/G29XxzhvHeg , http://youtu.be/7FwXh_8MaT0

Elsewhere in the province, rebels form a new fighting unithttp://youtu.be/CqQB0498w3Y

Homs

The pounding of Talbisseh continues http://youtu.be/cTjURKknV-U  And Rastanhttp://youtu.be/mADhw4D2I_8 In Qusayr, the pounding left 7 dead that were buried in a hasty funeral http://youtu.be/67QMERZrjEg

Aleppo

Pounding Aleppo City with MiGs continues http://youtu.be/ZV5UMeWauTUHelicopter gunships are also taking part http://youtu.be/iVBkS-9hM8Y

Colonel Ammar Al-Wawi, recently interviewed by the Daily Beast while on a stop in Turkey, is taking part of the battle in Aleppo City with his brigade, Al-Ababeelhttp://youtu.be/Oks0ixZVemU , http://youtu.be/izsE6Od_xXI

Hama

In Treimseh, the pounding resumes, and local FSA members rush to save the civilian inhabitants http://youtu.be/wbPFvJVRNHs

Raqqah

Local defectors form a military council for the provincehttp://youtu.be/yNRaMsy7QRI

Deir Ezzor

Locals in the town of Asharah form a new fighting unit under the banner of the FSA http://youtu.be/4GOxhY8UXxc More to the east, closer to the border with Iraq, another group is formed http://youtu.be/BZUCZ25b2ns