By Adom M. Cooper
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
DAMASCUS, Syria–Deciding that expanding to Deir el-Zour was not satisfactory, the Syrian government ignored Turkish pressure to cease its activities and continued to pummel through towns further east. As recently as today, 11 August 2011, The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that the Syrian army entered the town of Saraqeb in northwestern Idlib province, detaining as many as 100 individuals.
The Local Coordination Committees of Syria, activists whom help organize and catalog the protests, reported explosions and gunfire were heard after the army descended upon the area. A resident of Saraqeb who fled the area relayed these remarks to an Al-Jazeera correspondent.
“Around 14 tanks and armored vehicles entered Saraqeb this morning, accompanied by 50 buses, pick-ups and security cars. They started firing randomly and storming houses.”
On Wednesday 10 August 2011, SOHR reported that the government assault on civilians also had extended to the towns of Taftanaz and Sermin, when 12 tanks and armored vehicles entered both towns. During this expansion, SOHR reported that at least one woman was killed and 13 were injured.
Taftanaz and Sermin are located approximately 30 kilometers (18.64 miles) east from Syria’s border with Turkey. Saraqeb is located approximately 50 kilometers (31.07 miles) southeast of Turkey’s Iskenderun province.
Further in the south of the county, rolling government crackdowns also victimized the central province of Homs. The town of Qusayr saw columns of tanks enter its borders and many activists reported that individuals were desperately trying to escape while communications with the city have been severed.
“Residents fled into the fields and all communications have been cut with the town.”
BBC reported that seven civilians were killed during the invasion, as Syrian security forces carried out mass arrests.
Syrian army units reportedly left central Hama today on 11 August 2011, as the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) conveyed these remarks on the situation.
“The military departed after restoring the security and stability to the city that have been through tough times due to the acts of killing, terrorizing, and sabotage that were done by the armed terrorists groups.”
The Local Coordination Committees of Syria reported that clusters of individuals were killed during a siege that lined up with last week’s start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. After evening prayers on Wednesday 10 August, opposition activists claimed that demonstrators poured into the streets in the southern part of the city. Also, activists claimed that security forces opened fire and killed two people.
Reports of this incident could not be confirmed.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Wednesday 10 August, Turkey’s envoy to Syria, Omer Onhon, journeyed to Hama and was able to confirm that the tanks and heavy weaponry had withdrawn from the city.
The international community continues its efforts to compel al-Assad’s regime to cease its actions. On Wednesday 10 August 2011, the UN Assistant Secretary-General Oscar Fernandez-Taranco briefed the 15 members of the Security Council behind closed doors about the situation. Last week, the UNSC called for an “immediate” halt to the violence, a call that apparently did not reach or did not matter to al-Assad.
Bashar Jaafari, Syria’s ambassador to the UN, said the sovereignty of his country must never be challenged.
“Our sovereignty is a red line that must not be crossed. We know our commitments, our obligations but at the same time we know what are our rights. And our rights do not stem from any political pressure. They stem from our own political will.”
The U.S Treasury Department, taking its own measures, on Wednesday 10 August announced a block of the mobile phone operator Syriatel, the Commercial Bank of Syria, and the Syrian Lebanese Commercial Bank. Also, it declared that Americans are “generally prohibited from engaging in commercial or financial transactions with the companies. It is expected that U.S. President Barack Obama will formally call for al-Assad to step down in the next few days.
Other countries such as Saudia Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait have recalled their ambassadors from Damascus.
The nation-wide crackdowns have claimed some 2,000 lives since the protests began in mid-March, according to various rights groups. But with the restriction on international journalists in Syria, these reports cannot be independently confirmed.
For more information, please see:
Al-Jazeera-Syrian forces ‘storm border town’-11 August 2011
BBC-Syrian security forces ‘kill seven in Homs province’-11 August 2011
CNN-Syrian forces push into Saraqib, death toll escalates, group says-11 August 2011
New York Times-Support for Assad Government Shows Signs of Weakening-10 August 2011
The Guardian-Obama to toughen stance on Syria with call for Assad’s departure-10 August 2011
