Friday 10 February 2012

Syrian Uprising 2011 Information Centre: Summary (10/02/2012): 75 Martyrs at least have fallen today. Baba Amru and Insha’at in Homs, Zabadani and Madaya in Damascus countryside are literally disaster areas, bodies have been buried under the rubble of destroyed houses for days, there is a lack of any medical assessment – “not even bandages.” Meanwhile, once again there were protests in more than 500 different places across Syria. Is Assad going to order his forces to destroy all those places to make them stop? Syria – Friday 10/02/2012 – Google Maps

Marwa Adel Bhar, Assad’s forces thought she does not deserve to live, so they killed her today after arresting her father 6 months ago .. just one of at least 6 children killed today in Syria.
 Karm al-Zeitoun: A child martyr angel 10-02-2012, heartbreaking!!!

UPDATE (10/02/2012): At least 65 martyrs have fallen so far including at least 4 children – in Homs, Zabadani, Madaya, Dumayr, Duma, Aleppo, Boser al-Harir, Inkhel, Dael and Hama. Plus the regime says 25 were killed in the bomb attacks in Aleppo today.

UPDATE (10/02/2012): At least 57 martyrs have fallen including 4 children and 6 women. Dumayr, a town 40km E of Damascus, has come under attack – at least 5 martyrs have fallen there and reports of many injured including many women and children. For the 3rd week in a row there is a massacre in the Marjeh area of Aleppo as security forces open fire directly at protesters. The video shows the protest in Tayyibat al-Imam, a town in Hama province.

 Tayyibat al-Imam 10/02/2012
 Homs, Baba Amru, 10/02/2012

English Speakers to Help The Syrian Revolution: ANDERSON COOPER: KEEPING THEM HONEST: SYRIA’S DEADLY LIES

HOMS & SYRIA REPORT….AND ANDERSON SPEAKS TO SANA’S LIES & compares BBC Paul Woods film of a hurried night time funeral for a child…with the pomp of Regime State funerals.(With Arabic subtitles)
 CNN

HOMS. THE MASSACRE OF WADI ARAB.18+: The first images of the massacre of Sabeel neighbourhood: Three families were slaughtered at the hands of Assad’s Shabeeha in cold blood on February 5th but the bodies of the martyrs could not be extracted until Feb 10th. This is one family of the martyrs slaughtered at the hands of Shabeeha from the pro-gov neighbourhoods.
 Homs Massacre 10/2

TANK FIRE TO DISPERSE DEMONSTRATORS IN DAE’EL DARAA….: How will these soldiers and tank crews ever be returned to human society? They have gone too far to live amongst human beings … their minds distorted by their ever increasing brutality….
 10 2 Dael Daraa

…
NOW! Lebanon
[local time]  21:03 The death toll in Syria has increased to 67 people, Al-Arabiya quoted activists as saying.
 20:48 Syrian security forces’ gunfire killed one and injured others in Edleb’s Khan Shaykhoun, Al-Jazeera reported.
 20:47 The Syrian army stormed Damascus neighborhoods of Al-Qaboun and Al-Hajar al-Aswad, Al-Jazeera reported, adding that some people were injured.
 20:25 US lawmakers introduced a resolution Friday calling for the United States to give “substantial material and technical” aid to outgunned Syrian rebels fighting forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.
 19:34  Syrian activist Ali Ibrahim told Al-Jazeera television on Friday that Zabadani “is being shelled by the Syrian army,” adding that Free Syrian Army members “are preventing” the army from raiding the city.
 19:20 Anti-regime protests began in Daraa’s neighborhood of Al-Qousour. (S.N.N.)
 19:15 Anti-regime protests began in Latakia’s town of Al-Roueisa and neighborhood of Konynes. (S.N.N.)
 19:10 Anti-regime protests began in Rif Hama and Deir az-Zour’ neighborhoods of Al-Maydeen, Al-Mawzfeen, Al-Joura and Al-Hamidieh. (S.N.N.)
 19:07 The Arab League is likely to launch a “Friends of Syria” coalition and appoint a special envoy to the country at a meeting this weekend, a Western diplomat said Friday.
 19:04 Christians could help mediate in the deepening conflict in Syria as a “bridge” between the government and the opposition, Pope Benedict XVI’s envoy to Syria told Catholic media on Friday.
 18:35 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Edleb’s Sarmin shows people protesting against the regime. Protesters burn the Russian flag and chant against Russia.
 18:26 The UN rights office said Friday that Syrian officials responsible for carrying out or ordering crimes against humanity should face prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
 17:58 Around 20,000 people marched in a funeral in Houran’s town of Enkhel. (S.N.N.)
 17:30 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Hama’s Kafr Zeita shows people protesting against the regime. Protesters are chanting in support of other Syrian cities and towns.
 17:27 A protest was held in Wadi Khaled in North Lebanon on Friday in support of the “Syrian people’s revolution,” the National News Agency reported.
 17:23 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Aleppo’s Al-Fardous neighborhood shows people protesting against the regime. Protesters are chanting in support of the Free Syrian Army.
 17:20 The International Union of Muslim Scholars headed by influential cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi organized a rally in Qatar on Friday in support of anti-government protesters in Syria.
 17:19 The opposition Syrian National Council, an umbrella body grouping parties in revolt against Bashar al-Assad’s regime, said Friday it expects to be recognized within days by several Arab states.
 17:18 The European Union has reached an agreement in principle to tighten economic sanctions against Syria at the end of February to further cut funding for the regime, diplomats said Friday.
 17:16 The Syrian forces have restarted shelling Al-Khalidiya and Al-Bayyadah neighborhoods in Homs, Al-Arabiya television reported Friday.
 17:15 Security forces stormed a neighborhood in Qamshili and opened fire on anti-regime protesters. (S.N.N.)
 17:00 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Hama’s Al-Latmana shows people protesting against the regime. Protesters are chanting against President Bashar al-Assad “who destroyed Syria using Russian arms.”
 16:59 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Homs’ neighborhood of Khalidiyeh shows people protesting against the regime. Protesters are chanting in support of other Homs neighborhoods and Syrian cities.
 16:58 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Arbeen, near Damascus, shows people protesting against the regime. Protesters are chanting: “With blood and soul, we sacrifice for you, Homs.”
 16:56 The Syrian security forces have wounded more than 40 people in the Damascus neighborhood of Al-Mezzeh on Friday, Al-Jazeera television quoted activists as saying.
 16:55 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Damascus’ Al-Mezzeh neighborhood shows people protesting against the regime. Protesters are chanting: “Freedom forever despite your will [Bashar] al-Assad.”
 16:52 The Syrian army is raiding the town of Madaya, near Damascus, Al-Arabiya television quoted activists as saying on Friday.
 16:48 An anti-regime protest began in Deir az-Zour’s neighborhood of Al-Joura. (S.N.N.)
 16:41 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Hama’s Kernaz shows people protesting against the regime. Protesters are chanting in support of Homs.
 16:39 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Edleb’s Binnish shows people protesting against the regime. Protesters are chanting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
 16:35 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Houla near Homs shows people protesting against the regime.
 16:33 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Aleppo’s town of Al-Bab shows people protesting against the regime. Protesters are chanting “We will only kneel before God.”
 16:29 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Deir az-Zour’s neighborhood of Al-Mawzfeen shows people protesting against the regime.
 16:27 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Houran’s town of Naimeh shows people protesting against the regime.
 16:28 The Syrian forces have killed more than 60 people on Friday, the General Commission of the Syrian Revolution said on its website.
 16:25 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Damascus’ neighborhood of Al-Qadam shows people protesting against the regime. Protesters are chanting: “Either victory or martyrdom.”
 16:28 Syrian forces have killed 15 people and wounded others in Aleppo on Friday, the General Commission of the Syrian Revolution said on its website.
 16:20 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Damascus’ neighborhood of Al-Qadam shows people protesting against the regime. Protesters are chanting: “Either victory or martyrdom.”
 16:19 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Darabasiya shows people protesting against the regime. A protester is addressing the crowd and saluting all political prisoners.
 16:17 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Hasaka’s Ghouieran shows people protesting against the regime. Protesters are chanting: “The people want to overthrow the regime.”
 16:17 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Houran’s town of Nimr shows people protesting against the regime.

 16:12 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Wadi Barada shows people protesting against the regime. Protesters are chanting that they have no one to support them but God.
 16:07 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Homs’ neighborhood of Bab al-Dareeb shows people protesting against the regime. Protesters are chanting: “The people want to announce the Jihad.”
 16:05 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Aleppo’s Al-Izaa shows people protesting against the regime. Protesters are chanting: “The people want to execute you, Bashar [al-Assad].”
 16:05 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Hama’s neighborhood of Al-Hamidieh shows people protesting against the regime. Protesters are chanting against President Bashar al-Assad.
 16:03 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Edleb’s Kafrouma shows people protesting against the regime. Protesters are chanting in support of Homs.
 16:01 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Deir az-Zour shows people protesting against the regime. Protesters are chanting: “We will only kneel before God.”
 15:59 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Latakia’s Al-Haffa shows people protesting against the regime. Protesters are chanting: “We do not want Bashar [al-Assad].”
 15:50 An anti-regime protest was held in Homs’ neighborhood of Bani al-Sabaii. (S.N.N.)
 15:15 An anti-regime protest was held in Houran’s town of Al-Shajra. (S.N.N.)
 15:11 Anti-regime protests were held in Edleb’s Khan Shaykhun, Al-Habeet, Madaya, Al-Rakaya, Kafr Sajna, Heesh, Maar Zeita, Jabala, Maarat Horma and Kafr Ain. (S.N.N.)
 15:09 More than 150 Syrians demonstrated in Malaysia’s capital Friday to demand the ouster of the government of President Bashar al-Assad over its campaign to violently crush regime opponents.
 15:07 Shabeeha (thugs) militants attacked anti-regime protesters in Hama’s neighborhood of Al-Karama . (S.N.N.)
 15:07 An anti-regime protest began in Homs’ Quryatayn. (S.N.N.)
 15:04 Anti-regime protests were held in Edleb’s Kafr Takhreem, Kelli, Kafr Arouk, Bouzgaz, Kafrkila, Kafrdryan, Hazano, Kafr Yahmoul, Maraat Masreen, Ram Hamdan and Kafr Jales. (S.N.N.)
 14:55 Friday’s death toll in Syria has risen to 53 people, the General Commission of the Syrian Revolution said on its website.
 14:55 A protest began in the town of Sbayneh near Damascus. (S.N.N.)
 14:54 Security forces are shelling the town of Madaya near Damasus with mortars. (S.N.N.)
 14:50 A massive anti-regime protest began in the Damascus area of Al-Qaboun. (S.N.N.)
 14:48 An anti-regime protest erupted in the Homs neighborhood of Bab Hood. (S.N.N.)
 14:46 Several security force vehicles and buses carrying troops entered the Damascus area of Al-Qadam. (S.N.N.)
 14:44 The European Union Council’s president on Friday accused Syria of committing “outrageous” atrocities against its citizens in a brutal crackdown on opponents of President Bashar al-Assad.
 14:40 Friday’s death toll in Syria has risen to 36 people, the General Commission of the Syrian Revolution said on its website.
 14:38 Security forces members are shooting at protesters in the Damascus neighborhood of Al-Mezzeh, and there are reports of more than fifteen casualties. (S.N.N.)
 14:37 Saudi King Abdullah said on Friday that world confidence in the United Nations had been shaken after the world body failed to adopt a resolution against the Syrian regime’s deadly crackdown on protests.
 14:37 An anti-regime protest began in the Homs neighborhood of Jeb Jandali. (S.N.N.)
 14:36 An anti-regime protest began in the Latakia town of Jableh. (S.N.N.)
 14:34 Security forces members threw fired tear gas at protesters in the town of Al-Bouwayda near Damascus. (S.N.N.)
 14:33 Security forces opened fire on protesters in Qamishli. (S.N.N.)
 14:27 Protests began in the Aleppo neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Al-Sokkari. (S.N.N.)
 14:25 Security frces and Shabeeha (thugs) attacked a protest in the Aleppo village of Al-Bazoura. (S.N.N.)
 14:24 Security forces killed four people and injured dozens others in the Aleppo neighborhood of Al-Marjeh. (S.N.N.)
 14:23 Massive protests began in the Homs neighborhood of Al-Khaldiyeh and in the Daraa areas of Kherbet Ghazaleh, Ebteh and Mahajja. (S.N.N.)
 14:22 Security forces are heavily deployed in the Daraa town of Sanameen. (S.N.N.)
 14:20 A protest began in the Edleb town of Ariha. (S.N.N.)
 14:19 Security forces deployed heavily outside mosques across Syria on Friday, firing on worshippers in some areas to prevent protests after the main weekly Muslim prayers, activists said.
 14:14 More than 30 people have been killed in Homs’ neighborhood of Baba Amro on Friday, Al-Arabiya television quoted a local medic as saying.
 13:59 A massive anti-regime protest began in the Daraa town of Mahajja. (S.N.N.)
 13:59 Sounds of explosions can be heard in the Daraa town of Dael. (S.N.N.)

 13:58 A massive protest began in the town of Al-Hama in the district of Damascus. (S.N.N.)
 13:57 Security forces and Shabeeha (thugs) members closed all the roads leading to the Latakia area of Al-Raml al-Janoubi and are preventing residents from leaving. (S.N.N.)
 13:54 A protest began in the Homs neighborhood of Al-Qarabis in support of Homs. (S.N.N.)
 13:53 Syrian forces are shooting at protesters in Homs’ neighborhood of Al-Basateen, Al-Jazeera television quoted activists as saying.
 13:52 Many anti-regime protests erupted in the Edleb towns of Kafr Nabl, Kafrouma, Hass, Bseqla, Hazareen, Kafr Aweed, Al-Fatira and Kafr Moos. (S.N.N.)
 13:50 Security forces and Shabeeha members attacked the Al-Rawda Mosque in Homs’ Al-Waar and launched three nail bombs at people praying in the mosque. (S.N.N.)
 13:49 Security forces opened fire on protesters in the town of Harasta near Damascus. (S.N.N.)
 13:47 Anti-regime Protests began in the Hama town of Karnaz and the neighborhoods of Al-Arbaeen and Al-Sabouniyeh. Security forces dispersed the Al-Sabouniyeh protest with tear gas. (S.N.N.)
 13:46 Protests began in the Aleppo towns of Al-Zeitan and Aktareen as well as in the Latakia neighborhood of Al-Achrafieh and the town of Al-Haffeh. (S.N.N.)
 13:45 Protests began in the Damascus town of Hajjar al-Aswad and neighborhoods of Roken Eddine and Baraza. (S.N.N.)
 13:44 Protests began in the town of al-Qarra near Damascus and in the Daraa towns of Jassem and Dael. (S.N.N.)
 13:43 Protests began in the Edleb towns of Maarrat Masreen, Maarat an-Naaman, Sermeen, Taftanaz, Qaminas, Binnish, Kafr Jales, Ain Sheib and Feiloun. (S.N.N.)
 13:42 The Free Syrian Army denied any involvement in the car bombs that targeted Aleppo on Friday, according to a statement posted on the Syrian National Council’s Facebook page.
 13:40 Anti-regime protests began in the Homs towns of As-Shammas and Al-Qusayr. (S.N.N.)
 13:32 Massive protests against the regime began in the Homs towns of Maheen and Houla and in the neighborhood of Karm as-Shami. (S.N.N.)
 13:31 A protest began in the Homs town of Hasyaa, security forces opened fire on the protesters and caused around nine casualties. (S.N.N.)
 13:30 Anti-regime protests began in the Aleppo towns of Maskana, Kafr Halab, As-Sahhara and As-Sfeira. (S.N.N.)
 13:29 Security forces attacked the Houran town of Basra al-Harir and surrounded Al-Yasaa Mosque, where people were holding prayers. The troops opened fire and heavily injured three of the civilians. (S.N.N.)
 13:29 Anti-regime protests erupted in the Houran towns of Al-Jeeza and Shehab. (S.N.N.)
 13:28 Anti-regime protests began in the Deir az-Zour towns of Al-Qouriya and Al-Mayadeen as well as in the Damascus neighborhoods of Al-Qadam and Al-Assali. (S.N.N.)
 13:27 Anti-regime protests erupted in the towns of Qodsiya and Douma near Damascus. (S.N.N.)
 13:13 The Syrian army and deserters are engaged in a fierce battle in Madaya, activists told Al-Jazeera television.
 13:13 Al-Jazeera television is broadcasting live footage of anti-regime protest in Kfar Soussa near Damascus.
 13:09 Al-Arabiya television is broadcasting live footage of an anti-regime protest in the Syrian city of Hama.
 13:05 Al-Jazeera television is broadcasting live footage of a massive anti-regime protest in Syria’s Daraa.
 13:01 The Syrian army has killed 25 people on Friday, among them 19 in Homs, the General Commission of the Syrian Revolution said on its website.
 12:54 Al-Jazeera television reported on Friday that “gas masks are being distributed to Syrian refugees present in camps” located along the Turkish-Syrian border.
 12:53 Massive protests erupted in the Aleppo towns of Kafr Hamra, Kaljebreen, Menbej, Hayyan, Al-Bab, Meng, Herbel. (S.N.N.)
 12:51 Anti-regime protests began in the Aleppo neighborhoods of Al-Amriyeh, Al-Marjeh and Al-Maysar. (S.N.N.)
 12:50 A protest began in the Houran town of Naseeb. (S.N.N.)
 12:48 Protests began in the Homs towns of Talbeesa, Al-Qousour and in Palmyra. (S.N.N.)
 12:41 Syrian forces open fire on people in the Daraa town of Basra al-Harir, Al-Jazeera television quoted activists as saying.
 12:40 An anti-regime protest erupted in the Aleppo neighborhood of Al-Izaa. (S.N.N.)
 12:39 A massive protest began in the Houran town of Al-Mzeireb in support of Homs. (S.N.N.)
 12:38 Security forces surrounded all the mosques of the Houran town of Kafr Shams to prevent anti-regime protests.
(S.N.N.)
 12:37 Security forces and army troops deployed in the Damascus neighborhood of Al-Qaboun and surrounded all the mosques in the area. (S.N.N.)
 12:36 A massive anti-regime protest began in the Deir az-Zour town of Al-Tayyaneh in support of Homs. (S.N.N.)
 12:35 Security forces opened fire on protesters in the Deir az-Zour neighborhood of Al-Howeiqa.
(S.N.N.)
 12:34 A massive protest began in the Deir az-Zour neighborhood of Al-Aardi. (S.N.N.)
 12:34 A massive anti-regime protest began in the Aleppo town of Al-Ansari in support of besieged cities. (S.N.N.)
 12:33 Syrian authorities said Friday that 25 people were killed and 175 wounded by powerful Aleppo car bombs, Syrian authorities said.
 12:33 Security forces troops are deployed in the Deir az-Zour street of Al-Takaya. (S.N.N.)
 12:32 A massive protest began in the Deir az-Zour neighborhood of Al-Mouwazzafin, near the Abi Zar al-Ghafari Mosque. (S.N.N.)
 12:31 Many protests began in the Aleppo town of Ahtimalat against the rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. (S.N.N.)
 12:30 An anti-regime protest bagan in the Houran town of Nemr. (S.N.N.)
 12:28 An anti-regime protest began in the town of Kanaker near Damascus. Shabeeha (thugs) and security forces are shooting at protesters. (S.N.N.)
 12:25 The Syrian army has opened fire on protesters in the town of Damir, near Damascus, on Friday, Al-Jazeera television reported.
 12:25 An anti-regime protest began in Abu Kamal’s neighborhood of Toueiba. (S.N.N.)
 12:23 A massive anti-regime protest began in Deir az-Zour’s Hamidiyeh neighborhood, outside the Mosaab Bin Omeir Mosque. (S.N.N.)
 12:22 A protest began in Daraa al-Mahatta’s neighborhood of Al-Kashef in support of Homs. (S.N.N.)
 12:20 Security forces surrounded the Al-Kabir Mosque in Damascus’ Al-Qadam neighborhood to prevent anti-regime protests. (S.N.N.)
 12:20 Al-Jazeera television is broadcasting live footage of an anti-regime protest in  the Syrian city of Qamishli. (S.N.N.)
 12:19 A massive protest began in the Hasaka town of Darbassiyeh in support of Homs and all besieged cities. (S.N.N.)
 12:18 An anti-regime protest kicked off in the Aleppo town of Ayn al-Arab. (S.N.N.)
 12:13 An anti-regime protest began outside the Al-Kabir Mosque in Amouda. (S.N.N.)
 12:09 Massive protests began in the Hasaka neighborhoods of Ghoueiran, Al-Kallasa and Al-Mufti. (S.N.N.)
 12:07 An explosion rocked the city of Abu Kamal. (S.N.N.)
 11:43 The United States and Italy back efforts by the Arab League and its plan to send a new observer mission to Syria, Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said in an interview published Friday.
 11:04 Russia on Friday accused the West of being an “accomplice” to the violence in Syria and said the country’s opposition bore full responsibility for ending the ongoing violence.
 11:00 The diplomatic impasse on Syria after Russia and China’s steadfast refusal to back any UN resolution condemning the ruthless repression of protesters could accelerate the militarization of the uprising, analysts warn.
 10:45 Syrian security forces have killed three people in the Damascus district on Friday, the General Commission of the Syrian Revolution said on its website.
 10:34 Syrian Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister Fayssal Mekdad slammed on Thursday the proposed “Friends of Syria ” contact group and said it will serve as a platform for aggression against Damascus, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
 10:07 Tanks stormed a neighborhood in the flashpoint Syrian central city of Homs as soldiers launched a house-to-house sweep of the area to crush regime opponents on Friday, activists said.
 9:51 Three explosions rocked Syria’s second largest city of Aleppo on Friday, activists said, adding that one of the blasts was near a military intelligence building.
 8:28 Free Syrian Army commander Colonel Riad al-Assaad said in remarks published on Friday that his forces have interrogated “a number of Iranian [security forces] members.”
 7:39 The international community cannot afford to watch the “massacre” taking place in Syria without acting, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Thursday during a visit to Washington.
 7:37 Russia must confront “the reality” of the deadly crackdown in Syria, EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said Thursday, after Moscow vetoed a UN resolution condemning the violence.
 7:29 Germany on Thursday backed a proposed joint Arab League-UN mission to monitor the Syrian government’s deadly crackdown on protests, but other major powers were more cautious.
…

Reuters: Syria draft resolution reaches U.N. assembly after veto

Saudi Arabia circulated a draft resolution backing an Arab peace plan for Syria among members of the U.N. General Assembly on Friday after a similar text was vetoed in the Security Council last week by Russia and China, diplomats said.

The new draft appeared as two advisers to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon repeated a warning that Syrian government attacks on civilians could amount to crimes against humanity.

Like the failed council resolution, the assembly draft “fully supports” the Arab League plan floated last month, which among other things calls for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step aside to help end 11 months of violence in the country.

Russia and China cast their vetoes in the council last Saturday saying the draft there was unbalanced and failed to blame Syria’s opposition, along with the government, for violence that has killed over 5,000 people, according to U.N. figures.

There are no vetoes in the General Assembly. The 193-nation body’s resolutions have no legal force, unlike those of the Security Council, but were the Syria text to pass it would add to pressure on Assad and his government.

The assembly is due to discuss Syria on Monday, when it will be addressed by U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay. Diplomats said the resolution was not expected to be voted on then, but that there could be a vote later next week.

The assembly draft, seen by Reuters, broadly follows the one voted down in the council. While calling for an end to violence by all sides, it lays blame primarily on the Syrian authorities, whom it strongly condemns for “continued widespread and systematic violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

The draft urges accountability for those guilty of human rights violations, but makes no specific mention of the International Criminal Court, to which Pillay has said Syrian officials should be sent. Only the Security Council can refer Syria to the court – an unlikely move given its divisions.

In one addition to the council text, the assembly draft invites Secretary-General Ban to appoint a special envoy for Syria – a proposal that Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby put to the U.N. chief earlier this week.

In a statement, Francis Deng, Ban’s adviser on prevention of genocide, and Edward Luck, his adviser on the responsibility to protect, said they were alarmed by Syrian security forces’ “indiscriminate fire” on densely populated areas of the city of Homs.

Reiterating a warning from last July, they said such attacks could constitute crimes against humanity under international law. “The presence of armed elements among the population does not render attacks against civilians legal,” they said.

(Reporting By Patrick Worsnip; Editing by Christopher Wilson)

Bomb blasts bring death to Syria’s Aleppo

Twin bomb blasts hit Syrian military and security buildings in the northern city of Aleppo on Friday, killing 25 people in the worst violence to hit the country’s commercial hub in the 11-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.

Mangled, bloodied bodies as well as severed limbs lay on the pavement outside the targeted buildings, as shown in live footage on Syrian television, which consistently portrays the revolt against Assad as the work of foreign-backed “terrorists.”

No one claimed responsibility for the attacks in Syria’s second city, as officials put the total death toll in the two blasts at 25. But they came as Assad’s forces grow more ferocious in operations to stamp out the popular uprising.

On another front, army tanks massed outside opposition neighborhoods in the western city Homs on Friday morning after a week of bombardments that have killed dozens of civilians and drawn condemnation from world leaders.

Activists in Homs said shelling resumed sporadically in the morning and they feared a big push was imminent to storm residential areas of the city that has come to symbolize the plight of the anti-Assad movement.

The unrelenting bloodshed only highlighted the difficulties that Western and Arab powers faced in trying to resolve the crisis in a country which has a key place in the strategic balance in the volatile Middle East.

Bolstered by Russian support, Assad has ignored appeals from the United States, Turkey, Europeans, fellow Arabs and other governments to halt the repression and to step down.

Foreign ministers of the Arab League, which suspended a monitoring mission in Syria last month because of the violence, will discuss a proposal to send a joint U.N.-Arab mission to Syria when they meet in Cairo on Sunday, a League official said.

EU URGES RUSSIA

The European Union’s foreign policy chief added her voice to international calls for Russia, Syria’s strongest ally, to support a United Nations resolution demanding Assad halt the crackdown. But Russia, with a recent history of sending tanks into its own rebel cities, has said no one should interfere in the country’s affairs.

“My message to my Russian colleagues is that they too need to recognize the reality of the situation on the ground and we can’t go on simply allowing this to happen,” the EU’s Catherine Ashton said during a visit to Mexico.

But having ruled out intervening military, as NATO did decisively in Libya nearly a year ago, the foreign powers arrayed against Assad have few good cards to play.

Many analyst believe that although the uprising has evolved from peaceful street demonstrations into an armed insurgency, Assad can count on a powerful military and a certain degree of popular support to survive for several months before he might join the list of deposed Arab leaders like Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi and Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak.

The fragmented leadership of the revolt also poses problems for those who would support it.

SEVERED LIMBS

The Aleppo blasts contrasted with the carnage in Homs that has gripped world attention in recent days and played into the government narrative that it is only defending the state against violent foes.

In a live television report, a correspondent lifted blankets and plastic sheets which had been laid over corpses on the pavement to show a body with its head blown off. Other bloodied human remains included a limbless torso and a severed foot.

“We apologize for showing these pictures, but this is the terrorism which is targeting us,” the reporter said.

Private Addounia Television said 11 civilians and security force members were killed in the explosion at a military security building and six more at a base for security forces. State television later quoted the Health Ministry saying a total of 25 were killed and 175 wounded in the two blasts.

A concrete wall around one building was badly damaged and its windows were blown out. At least one car appeared blackened and destroyed and several more were damaged.

The TV reporter said children were among the dead, showing a single roller skate left on the pavement.

“Is this the freedom of Hamad and Erdogan?” one man shouted, referring to Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim and Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, who have led the chorus of regional criticism against Assad. “Hamad, you dog,” he said.

Aleppo, Syria’s main commercial city close to the northern border with Turkey, had been spared most of the bloodshed which has hit other parts of the country during the uprising against 42 years of dynastic Assad family. But it has seen increasing protests and violence in recent weeks.

AWAITING AN ONSLAUGHT

Meanwhile in besieged Homs, activists said shelling began again in the morning. Outgunned rebels loosely grouped under the Free Syrian Army were preparing to counter an onslaught.

In a message of defiance during the overnight lull, activists staged a rally against Assad in the Homs neighborhood of al-Bayada. YouTube footage showed hundreds of youths holding hands and dancing to the tune of a songs chanted by Abdelbasset Sarout, a 22-year-old soccer star turned activist.

“You oppressor, go … Great Homs, Syria will be free,” Sarout sang from a makeshift stage while white and green rebel flags fluttered overhead.

Activist Mohammad Hassan said the brief respite in the shelling had allowed him to leave his basement and survey the extent of the damage: “There isn’t one street without two buildings or more that are badly damaged from the shelling,” he said by satellite phone.

Artillery barrages had been directed at Baba Amro, Inshaat, Khalidiya and other districts of the city where rebels have been lying low while mounting hit-and-run guerrilla attacks on the rear of Assad’s troops, he said.

“Four tanks or armored vehicles were destroyed today on the edge of Baba Amro and some bread and medical supplies were delivered there for the first time in days by activists who crossed fromBrazil Street,” Hassan said.

Witnesses said makeshift hospitals in Homs were overflowing in the besieged areas with the dead and wounded from nearly a week of government bombardments and sniper fire.

Medical supplies and food were running out and, in the streets, some of the wounded had bled to death as it was too dangerous for rescuers to bring them to safety.

The Local Coordination Committees, an opposition group in Homs, put the death toll on Thursday alone as high as 110 by nightfall, though it remains impossible to verify such accounts.

(Writing by Angus MacSwan; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)

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BBC:  Syria unrest: Aleppo bomb attacks ‘kill 28′

At least 28 people have been killed and 235 wounded in two bombs targeting security compounds in Syria’s second city of Aleppo, state media report.

State television said the death toll included both civilians and members of the security forces and blamed “armed terrorist gangs” for the attacks.

Within minutes, it broadcast footage showing corpses and mangled body parts.

The rebel Free Syrian Army said it was operating in the area at the time, but was not responsible for the blasts.

Col Malik al-Kurdi, the FSA’s deputy leader, told BBC Arabic that it had been monitoring the activity of security forces personnel and members of the pro-government Shabiha militia inside a Military Intelligence compound and a riot police base in Aleppo on Friday morning.

“When they were gathering in a square to go to the mosques and repress demonstrations, two groups from the FSA targeted the two buildings with small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire,” he said.

• In pictures: Explosions

“After violent clashes, there was an explosion inside the Military Intelligence building. At first we didn’t know what it was, but we think it was the regime trying to stop the operation of the FSA,” he added.

Another FSA spokesman, Col Mahir Nouaimi, told AFP: “This criminal regime is killing our children in Homs and carrying out bomb attacks in Aleppo to steer attention away from what it is doing in Homs.”

Opposition members also blamed the government, accusing it of trying to discredit the uprising.

Izzedine al-Halabi, an activist in Aleppo, told the BBC there had been suspicious activity by security personnel who sealed off the area around the main intelligence compound shortly before the blasts.

“We hold the Syrian regime entirely responsible for this explosion,” he said.

Body parts

A weeping Syrian state TV reporter said the bomb targeting the Military Intelligence compound went off near a park, where people had gathered for breakfast and children had been playing.

Some children were killed in the blast, he said, holding up an inline-skate.

Bulldozers could be seen in the TV footage clearing debris that filled the street, and nearby buildings appeared to have had their windows shattered.

“Civilians and members of the military were martyred and wounded in the terrorist explosions,” the channel reported.

The channel showed similar footage from the site of the second explosion, which the reporter said was the result of a suicide car bombing.

The blast left a crater several metres wide in the road and blew a lorry onto its side.

Emergency workers were shown holding up body parts which they placed in black bin bags.

Aleppo has seen only minor protests and relatively little violence since the uprising against President al-Assad erupted in March, which human rights groups say has left more than 7,000 civilians dead.

On 6 January, 26 people were killed in what officials said was a suicide bombing in Damascus.

Two weeks earlier, 44 reportedly died in twin suicide bomb attacks targeting security compounds in the capital.

Later on Friday, the Local Co-ordination Committees, an activist group that organises and documents protests, said 12 people had been killed by security forces and Shabiha militiamen at a protest in the Marjeh district of Aleppo.

It said another 22 people had been killed nationwide, including 10 in the central city of Homs and eight in the Damascus suburb of Domair.

‘Outrageous bloodshed’

Meanwhile, residents of the central city of Homs say tanks are massed outside several opposition-held districts.

Overnight, tanks entered the district of Inshaat, next to the protest centre of Baba Amr, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

There was also sporadic shelling and gunfire throughout the city on Friday. At least four people were reportedly killed in Baba Amr.

Activists say the intense bombardment of many parts of Homs by security forces since Saturday has left more than 400 people dead. US President Barack Obama has condemned the “outrageous bloodshed”.

The opposition called for nationwide protests on Friday to denounce Russia’s veto of a UN Security Council resolution demanding President Bashar al-Assad’s government stop killing its own people.

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the opposition “bore full responsibility” because it had refused to begin talks with the government and accused Western powers of being “accomplices”.

But Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah criticised Russia’s support of Mr Assad.

“There is no doubt that the confidence of the world in the United Nations has been shaken,” he said on Saudi state TV on Friday. “Unfortunately, what happened in the UN, in my opinion, is an unfavourable initiative.”

Analysis - Jim Muir BBC News, Beirut

Big bomb attacks of the sort normally regarded as terrorism have been slow to appear in the Syrian conflict.

We may never know who is carrying them out. They fall more in the realms of highly clandestine intelligence operations than regular military action or civil dissent.

After the first two bombings near state intelligence buildings in Damascus on 28 December, the government immediately accused al-Qaeda.

But the extremist group, which admitted responsibility for many such attacks during the insurgency in Iraq, denied the charge.

Now the regime is blaming the Aleppo bombings on “terrorists” – the word it uses for the armed fighters it blames for the whole crisis.

After some confused statements, the rebel Free Syrian Army denied that it was involved, but said it had a clash with security forces in the area shortly beforehand.

The regime is telling the UN and other organisations that the Aleppo attacks are part of a campaign against it financed by regional foes.

Activists insist the bombings were staged by the regime itself, to discredit the uprising and distract attention from the crackdown in Homs and elsewhere.

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Guardian roundup:

• The uprising against Bashar al-Assad has turned from a grinding war of attrition into an unforgiving battle to the death, the Guardian’s Martin Chulov reports. Casualties have been streaming out of the besieged city of Homs, which is under heavy bombardment by Assad’s forces. Meanwhile, the Free Syrian Army seems to be getting resupplied, and its numbers are growing. A growing numbers of Syrian Christians and Alawites – members of the same sect as Assad’s family – are also reported to have joined the uprising.

• Today’s death toll has now reached 126, including 107 in Homs according to the Local Co-ordination Committees in Syria. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 63 deaths in Homs. These figures cannot be independently verified.

• Prematurely born babies are dying in Homs because of the lack of incubators, according to Muhammad Al-Muhammad, who claims to be a doctor in the Baba Amr district.

• Britain has no plans to arm the Syrian rebels but cannot rule out getting involved in military action, according to foreign secretary William Hague.

• The US is pursuing plans to help organise the first meeting of the Friends of Syria group, which will coordinate ways to tackle Assad’s regime. Meanwhile Arab League foreign ministers will meet in Cairo on Sunday to discuss establishing a joint mission in Syria with the UN.

• Libya has reportedly ordered Syrian embassy staff to leave the country within 72 hours. In October, Libya became the first country to recognise the opposition SNC as Syria’s legitimate government.