Syria Watch

Syrian Human Rights Violations Report: 3 June 2012

Homs | Arrastan

Smoke still rises from residential buildings that were burned following a massive shelling campaign by regime forces.

 

Aleppo | Al-Sha’ar

Protestors carry a man who was wounded when regime forces opened fire on them.

 

Hama | Al-Arba’een

A man is wounded and when another tries to pull him to safety, a sniper fires on the second man.

 

**WARNING: VIDEOS CONTAIN GRAPHIC IMAGES**

Rural Damascus | Daria

Regime forces launches a severe campaign, killing 10 Syrians.  They tortured and burned them, like the victim in the video, and then abducted most of the bodies.

 

Casualty Report

53 confirmed casualties killed by the regime in Syria on Friday, 1 June 2012.

Damascus and Rural Damascus: 22
Homs: 12
Aleppo: 7
Dar’aa: 4
Hama: 4
Idleb: 3
Deir Ezzor: 1

 

Videos and Statistics Courtesy of:

Syrian Network for Human Rights – Casualty Report – 1 June 2012

Syrian Network for Human Rights – Violations Report – 1 June 2012

 

Syrian Revolution Digest – Saturday 2 June 2012

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

*WARNING VIDEOS MAY CONTAIN GRAPHIC IMAGES*

The War for Syria!

Saturday June 02, 2012

Today’s death toll: 33. Cities & Towns under fire: Misraba, Kafar Sousseh, Assaly, Qadam, Douma , Arbeen, Hamouriyeh (Damascus), Kafar Zeiteh (Hama), Homs City, Qaryatein, Rastan, Qusayr (Homs Province), Ariha (Idlib).

Turkish authorities report that 400 more refugees crossed the border today, all but 4 are from Idlib Province.

News

Op-Eds & Special Reports

Video Highlights

In the town of Douma, Damascus Province, and following days of pounding by pro-Assad militias http://youtu.be/MMireivrI3A , http://youtu.be/I6jSGsVaWtY an attempt to enter city http://youtu.be/Jn_L7RWhI7Q , http://youtu.be/mtUeZm2aVOA ,http://youtu.be/h9J89WECw2U  was repelled by local resistance membershttp://youtu.be/YCKWByruA2U in an operation that left 3 tanks, a sweeper and 4 buses destroyed as well as a number of loyalist soldiers http://youtu.be/yBZ43lUPiWc ,http://youtu.be/5lqwFPjMFDU Destroying a tank http://youtu.be/ViZMfj1uFcI The operation also led to the capture of a number of loyalist troops http://youtu.be/wovaf2A_or0As well as few rockets http://youtu.be/4yljB0x-z7k Martyr http://youtu.be/nZK7ZZtWfks

Meanwhile, the nearby town of Misraba was pounded by loyalist troopshttp://youtu.be/hhjSUL6s3X0 So did Arbeen http://youtu.be/_q41MaJk0Ac andHamouriyeh http://youtu.be/1LrMbS2HEN8 , http://youtu.be/4pBWnGpZTHk and Ain Terma http://youtu.be/6_VXugHWVOo Victims from the town of Arbeenhttp://youtu.be/kSGSAz0OlE0 Pulling bodies from the streets http://youtu.be/67I8A0XlqpY

The pounding of Old Homs continues http://youtu.be/-T4DGhMD1SI ,http://youtu.be/OBMGKMELyaw , http://youtu.be/kurB4abde_Q Jouret Al-Shayah dead bodies, victims of the pounding, lie in the streets http://youtu.be/boIhgk1Z7-E KhaldiyehHomes catch fire http://youtu.be/6U8fHNbgo98 , http://youtu.be/yakzaN2XTvg Bab Al-Sibaa http://youtu.be/bKmp6RXrlZc Qoussour http://youtu.be/Mnpo27D14NQHamdiyeh Assessing the damages http://youtu.be/OzoRHnB3IM0

In the town of Talbisseh, Homs Province, an attack by pro-Assad militias on a civilian bus left a number of injured http://youtu.be/jBPyCVUh8GY and a number of deadhttp://youtu.be/afQ3Mv8SZ0k

The pounding of the town of Qaryatein leaves several dead http://youtu.be/n7_mVdsfGZ8

The town of Kafar Zeiteh, Hama Province, comes under fire at night and after UN monitors leave the city http://youtu.be/xzzW0ILYCKw and into the nighthttp://youtu.be/2hliZD_f-Ls Earlier, the U monitors paid a visit to the city and talked to the local inhabitants http://youtu.be/ZrI3kdo_3qM , http://youtu.be/6pBNMFKZd0c ,http://youtu.be/169FEK0XCcU

The pounding http://youtu.be/WZikl6rnMfw of the town of Ariha, Idlib Province, leaves this building on fire http://youtu.be/_AvRGo9bPo0 After a direct hit by a rockethttp://youtu.be/IFvWDDvXM5Q Loyalist troops stand at the outskirts of townhttp://youtu.be/1n4G-FuS-6c They try to storm the town http://youtu.be/7mE3FhykSfQWomen and children are forced to evacuate parts of the city http://youtu.be/VYTNgzTioFMPeople try to run for safety http://youtu.be/NO1Os6PjbY0 But the local resistance fought back and destroyed two tanks http://youtu.be/ULQmclc-wmw a local martyrhttp://youtu.be/NqHl1uFemVI

Protesters in Aleppo City come under fire: Salaheddine http://youtu.be/EfUTit_SuOQ ,http://youtu.be/tTwiNKyacMg But they remain defiant http://youtu.be/ah464I439tU

In the town of Tseel, Daraa Province, UN monitors assess damage done to one of the houses http://youtu.be/ymW_qQSM7Nc

Syrian Network for Human Rights: Statistics of Syrian Revolution Victims

 

Total Death Toll (March 18, 2011 — May 29, 2012): 14,093

Children: 1,012 (777 males and 235 females)
Women: 865
Death Under Torture: 545
Military Personnel: 1,148

Victims by the Various Regions:

Homs: 5,144
Idleb: 2,245
Hama: 1,942
Daraa: 1,446
Rural Damascus: 1,086
Deir Ezzor: 558
Damascus: 495
Aleppo: 479
Latakia: 325
Al-Hasaka: 103
Tartous: 70
Raqqa: 59
Qunaitera: 50
Swuaida: 14

 

For the full report, please see:

Syrian Network for Human Rights — Syrian Revolution Victim Summary — 2 June 2012

Syrian Revolution Digest — Friday 1 June 2012

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

*WARNING VIDEOS MAY CONTAIN GRAPHIC IMAGES*

The Debate!

So long as the debate over Syria still revolves around the issue of whether to intervene rather than how to intervene, delusion will continue to rule the day and disaster will keep inching its way to fulfillment.

Friday June 01, 2012 – A day dedicated to the children of Houla

Today’s death toll: 50. The Breakdown: 21 in Damascus and suburbs including 2 children who were summarily executed, 12 in Homs province including 3 children and 1 defected soldier, 6 in Aleppo including 3 children, 4 in Daraa including 2 women, 3 in Idlib including 1 child, 3 in Hama and 1 in Deir Ezzor.

The Syrian Chargé d’Affaires in Yemen announces his defection and support for the Syrian Revolution.

News

Op-Eds & Special Reports

Leaked video shows tanks driven by pro-Assad militias crushing the body of a local activist in Al-Barrah Village, Idlib Province http://youtu.be/eX5rU_DBFAY

Highlighted Articles

What needs to be done is quite straightforward: Under the auspices either of NATO or a coalition of the willing, Washington should pursue air strikes against select targets, especially the columns of tanks and heavy artillery that are bombing restive towns indiscriminately.

The U.S. and its allies should provide arms to local resistance fighters, enabling them to secure their communities. They should create safe havens across the Turkish and Jordanian borders. And they should encourage high-level defections by offering amnesty to Assad’s key military, security and political figures.

Washington should build a coalition of peacekeepers who can maintain order in the country, and work with opposition groups to piece together an interim governing body that can take over once Assad’s regime has fallen.

It won’t be easy, and it won’t be cheap, but the cost of non-intervention will be much higher.

Comment: If the Russian Church truly wants to protect Syria’s Christian communities, then removing Assad should be Item Number 1 on its agenda, for it is Assad and his family who have paved the way to the current situation and it is their dabbling with Al-Qaeda that brought it to our backyard. Putin and his advisers know that pretty well, and could have informed the patriarch of the Russian Church. Instead, they play them like puppets and motion them to express for Assad and his regime. But, the naivety and/or duplicity of Russian patriarchs notwithstanding, one thing should be clear: Putin and his advisers care as much about the future of Christians in Syria as they do about the concerns, aspirations and basic rights of Russia’s own opposition groups.

Putin’s gambit is clear and simple: he wants to rebuild the foregone imperial prestige of the good old Soviet Union even at the expense of our aspirations for freedom. And yes, many of the experts I met during my recent visit to Moscow reiterated elements of the argumentbelow:

What if the line in the sand that Mr Putin wants to draw is not about Russia’s prestige and role in the Security Council? What if his plan is far grander: halting, at the gates of Damascus, what he sees as the green tide of Sunni Islamism stretching from Morocco, through North Africa and the Levant to Turkey and thence almost to Russia’s unstable southern border? If that is the case then to prosecute a civil war in Syria, far from being a disaster, is both necessary and desirable – like the one he fought in Chechnya.

Meanwhile, Putin’s dear old friend, Bashar Assad, continues to unleash his thugs so they can bombard the churches of Old Homs and to prevent a Christian family in Damascus from holding a proper funeral for her martyred son. After all, he was killed while documenting the atrocities of pro-Assad thugs.

“Defections in Deir Ezzor City and surrounding areas have increased dramatically over the last few days,” said Ammar Abdulhamid in his daily Syrian Revolution Digest. “Most of the city and the larger province seems to have fallen under the control of the local resistance.”

Abdulhamid, who has been a leading pro-democracy activist in exile from his native Syria, also commented in an email, “Increased death and suffering with an end-game in sight is something most Syrians would accept at this stage, because by now the only choice we have is to get to the other side no matter how high the cost will be. It’s the combination of death and abandonment that fuels extremism and kills hope.”

Abdulhamid also reported that authorities and pro-Assad militias in Damascus prevented a funeral for the Christian activist Bassil Shahada in order to avoid what he called “an embarrassing show of anti-Assad sentiments” by the city’s large Christian community. “Assad and his supporters are still trying to portray the revolution as an exclusively radical Sunni phenomenon, but, in truth, discontent with Assad rule is endemic to all communities in Syria,” Abdulhamid said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that she would talk about Syria during Putin’s visit, which had been scheduled to focus on economics. “A disaster is taking place in Syria, and we will do everything we can to alleviate the suffering of the people,” Merkel told reporters in Stralsund, Germany. “There’s growing demand to do something,” said Stefan Kornelius, foreign editor of the German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung. “But nobody knows what that something would be.”

Video Highlights

In the town of Hamouriyeh, Damascus, a family of two women and two children is found slaughtered. Local blame roving pro-Assad death squads which have been operating in the area for a while http://youtu.be/7GyzIVNCVb4 , http://youtu.be/xQ0_W7bN2iM

Tens of thousands of local residents in Aleppo City march towards the central square chanting for freedom and the Free Syrian Army http://youtu.be/RoysSRWz06s ,http://youtu.be/P4RogxTDHag Different rallies come from different parts of town before converging on Saadallah Al-Jabiri Square http://youtu.be/BOC5uF7SSz4 ,http://youtu.be/9GiJTRi4obg , http://youtu.be/dG-1zplNlnA ,http://youtu.be/KTLtKXHFetA But the moment they arrive at the Square, pro-Assad militias open fire on them http://youtu.be/CkJjiYUqAhk But some protesters hold their ground on the outskirts of the Square and throw stones at the militias http://youtu.be/3QXoglUZ55k InSakhour suburb, protesters come under fire before they leave the neighborhoodhttp://youtu.be/ZoVIQJFCsos Rescuing the injured http://youtu.be/UCR7nKmMPzo Some children are killed http://youtu.be/J-rG3-TZD-g

The pounding of Homs City continues from morning (Jouret Al0-Shayah)http://youtu.be/F1boBrIvQB8 , http://youtu.be/jd-H9R26dNw ,http://youtu.be/8E3sjV4sRHw way into the night http://youtu.be/2tPT4j9m7DQ Setting whole buildings on fire Qoussour http://youtu.be/UWGkB41byBI Malaabhttp://youtu.be/LePuYnP-rV8 Khaldiyeh http://youtu.be/sgMY2rZrHig ,http://youtu.be/2mPOjennRFw Martyrs http://youtu.be/R5JGKP68Ikg ,http://youtu.be/oar2MAPBYa4
Tanks continue to pound the town of Rastan http://youtu.be/26QvL217Hrw while others pound Houla http://youtu.be/SXJeMVo1m1c , http://youtu.be/6cd_M8cUoTc And InQusayr where shelling kills several http://youtu.be/UczJu4B-7qA The shelling was meant to break up this rally http://youtu.be/wSeCwRHLJho

Eastern Bouyadah, Homs Province: UN monitors pay a visit to the site of Thursday’s massacres perpetrated by pro-Assad death squads  http://youtu.be/CxkEloj0_gU ,http://youtu.be/vrnSSMLf0j0 , http://youtu.be/smkS3D8CtHM

The town of Al-Atarib, Aleppo Province comes under heavy poundinghttp://youtu.be/UGLSd3BsUK0

Protesters in the neighborhood of Salhiyeh in Central Damascus come under firehttp://youtu.be/cDmbWzu_5cU The town of Douma, east of Damascus, comes under heavy pounding http://youtu.be/WREOxgQlTRA The Damascene suburb of Daraya comes under pounding http://youtu.be/pVHZ2oKypLU

Despite the violent crackdown, hundreds of rallies took place across the country, even in Houla and many other communities that have witnessed massacres and still witness bombardments and attacks by pro-Assad militias and death squads.

Deir Ezzor Procvince: Albou Kamal http://youtu.be/8DJIJOdrHVA Jbeilehhttp://youtu.be/7LkMt_mqxaE Deir Ezzor City http://youtu.be/7Pg8RomeXoo

Lattakia: Hiffeh http://youtu.be/CGXX9G6JboE

Syrian Revolution Digest — Thursday 31 May 2012

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

*WARNING VIDEOS MAY CONTAIN GRAPHIC IMAGES*

Liberty & Death!

 

Increased death and suffering with an end-game in sight is something most Syrians would accept at this stage, because by now the only choice we have is to get to the other side no matter how high the cost will be. It’s the combination of death and abandonment that fuels extremism and kills hope.

 

Thursday May 31, 2012

 

Death toll: 51, most of whom fell in Homs Province in Qusayr, Rastan and Homs City.

 

Most neighborhoods and bazars in the suburbs of Damascus and Aleppo and many local neighborhoods continue to observe the call for general strike.

 

Defections in Deir Ezzor City and surrounding areas have increased dramatically over the last few days. Most of the city and the larger province seems to have fallen under the control of the local resistance.

 

Authorities and pro-Assad militias in Damascus prevent a funeral for the Christian activist Bassil Shahada in order to avoid an embarrassing show of anti-Assad sentiments by the city’s large Christian community. Assad and his supporters are still trying to portray the revolution as an exclusively radical Sunni phenomenon, but, in truth, discontent with Assad rule is endemic to all communities in Syria.

 

News

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Op-Eds & Special Reports

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While USA Today’s own editorial cautions against military intervention in Syria at this stage, I was given the opportunity to express the opposite point of view, arguing that “The time for action has come.” People can actually vote on whether they agree with the arguments made or disagree.

 

Highlighted Articles

 

 

While many respondents supported religious values in public life, only a small fraction strongly favored Shariah law, clerical influence in government, or heavy emphasis on Islamic education. A large majority (73%) said it was “important for the new Syrian government to protect the rights of Christians.” Only 20% said that religious leaders have a great influence on their political views…

 

Just 5% had even a mildly positive view of Saudi Arabia as a political model. In contrast, 82% gave Turkey a favorable rating as both a political and economic model (including over 40% extremely favorable). The U.S. earned 69% favorable ratings as a political model, with France, Germany and Britain close behind. Tunisia rated only 37% and Egypt 22%. Iran was rated lowest of any country included in the survey, including Russia and China: Not even 2% of respondents had positive views of Iran as a political model. Fully 90% expressed an unfavorable view of Hezbollah, including 78% with the most negative possible attitude…

 

The survey demonstrates that the core of the Syrian opposition inside the country is not made up of the Muslim Brotherhood or other fundamentalist forces, and certainly not of al Qaeda or other jihadi organizations. To be sure, a revolution started by secularists could pave the way for Islamists to win elections, as has occurred in Egypt. But the Syrian opposition is solidly favorable to the U.S. and overwhelmingly negative toward both Hezbollah and Iran.

 

 

“If the Americans are serious about adopting the Yemeni solution and pointing everybody in this direction, then they must do more than negotiate and consult because al-Assad will not accept any deal until after the Yemeni solution is no longer applicable and it is impossible to implement. We must accelerate the arming of the Syrian opposition and support them to besiege the regime until al-Assad accepts stepping down from power via a deal that represents the bare minimum that he has offered others. Unless al-Assad feels that he is being militarily besieged, he will never step down, rather he will accept more and more support from Hezbollah and Iran to create even more chaos, pushing Syria towards a sectarian war, for this is precisely what he wants, as he believes this will allow him to retain control of some parts of Syria, remaining as president of the regions that are – in terms of sectarianism – affiliated or allied to him.”

 

 

By Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International’s senior crisis researcher.

 

“Every protest I observed during three days in Aleppo ended the same way: with the army, security forces and shabiha – the infamous militias who do some of the government’s dirty work – opening fire on non-violent demonstrators who posed no threats to them (or to anybody else).”

 

Video Highlights

 

In the village of Eastern Bouaydah near the town of Qusayr in Homs Province, 14 laborers fell victims to summary executions by pro-Assad militiashttp://youtu.be/T0eP4K2Tibs , http://youtu.be/0nZcaV1WxFI , http://youtu.be/bcFD1-7PNJk

 

In Qusayr itself, the pounding continues http://youtu.be/JiRImmprk-8 and claims the life of local activist involved in filming and documenting the crackdown against the protesters in his area http://youtu.be/45Tg7lMgLlk Doctors and the field hospital come under fire even as they scurry to treat the injured http://youtu.be/LRPLh9wxfa8 Some of today’s martyrshttp://youtu.be/1dFvUskVWAM

 

In Homs City, the pounding of the old neighborhoods continueshttp://youtu.be/BHZtlskgi_M  , http://youtu.be/ub5PH78dQnQ Nighttime pounding left many buildings on fire: Qoussour http://youtu.be/1pcGUFOJWTA Hamidiyeh a historic house converted into restaurant is destroyed by the pounding http://youtu.be/CnS-E5fPkGUHome catches fire http://youtu.be/BKyt6C4r5Cc A local church is hithttp://youtu.be/rSOgu9CnrC8 Khaldiyeh: homes catch fire http://youtu.be/RbcgPKvjBZw, http://youtu.be/6ZrAL3cGN7A Siraj Mosque catches firehttp://youtu.be/E6BmkL14W9Y

 

The nearby town of Rastan is pounded again http://youtu.be/fZQOo_MMaMU ,http://youtu.be/HarxR6hd7-Q , http://youtu.be/GBKv1EHf9gg ,http://youtu.be/S9gn8zGVnVE , http://youtu.be/xWjel4NN3zI An activist from the local documentation team is killed http://youtu.be/l_AGxEmdAV4 Clouds of black smoke rise above the town http://youtu.be/pRPe8JrRPn4 Some buildings catch firehttp://youtu.be/fjv6LVszO3o

 

In the town of Dar Azzah, Aleppo Province, choppers take part in bombarding the historic church of St. Simeon http://youtu.be/MMPIV-IPUK8 , http://youtu.be/7SL7AefbPeo

 

The town of Marei is pounded using choppers destroying many homeshttp://youtu.be/u1Ceq7odwao , http://youtu.be/ArpHYfYBrwA One of today’s martyrshttp://youtu.be/FSrPjZtII1k The chopper that took part in the poundinghttp://youtu.be/gSO1uK0YgXI

 

The town of Ma’arrat Al-Nouman, Idlib Province, is poundedhttp://youtu.be/dxFpY7d8Rlo

 

The town of Daraya, Damascus Province, is pounded http://youtu.be/hSR2LZg-Jhg

 

The Massacre of Eastern Bouaydah Village, Town of Qusayr, Homs Province

The Current Counts