Friday 29 June 2012

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: More than 80 Syrians killed on Friday 29/6/2012

56 is the final number of civilian martyrs documented by the SOHR in Syria (Friday 29/6/2012), documentation includes name and reason of death.
-In Reef Dimashq 13 civilian were killed. 2 civilians were killed by the bombardment of the city of Douma in the morning. 1 civilian was killed by a wound he received yesterday in Dareyya by regime gunfire. The body of a man from al-Maliha was found, hi body had signs of torture. 9 were killed by the bombardment of Hammouriya and Beit Sawwa, some of them were armed rebels:
-In Deir Izzor province 10 civilians were killed. 1 civilian was killed when his car was targeted by the Science faculty roundabout in the city of Deir Izzor. 1 civilian was killed by the bombardment of the al-Ummal neighbourhood of the city. 2 women were killed by the gunfire and bombardment in the town of al-Sheheel. 2 sisters, one was a child, were killed by the helicopter bombardment of Khesham. 3 men, from the town of Muhassan, were killed in clashes in the neighbourhoods of Deir Izzor. 1 civilian was martyred when a shell fell on his residence in Masakin al-Hizb area of Deir Izzor.
-In Dera’a province 14 civilians were killed. 2 were killed by gunfire and clashes in the city of Dera’a. 1 civilian was killed by a sniper at dawn in the city of Da’el. 1 civilian was killed by the bombardment of Atman, Reef Dera’a. 1 civilian was killed by border police, he was from the town of Shihab. 1 civilian from Tafs was killed by regime fire. The bodies of 5 insurgents were found in the town of Kafar Shams, which has been witnessing intense clashes, between rebel fighters and Syrian troops, for several days now. 3 civilians, including 2 children, were killed by the nightly regime bombardment of Busra al-Sham.
-In Dimashq province 2 civilians were killed in the Jobar neighborhood. A child was killed by random shots in the neighborhood, the other was killed in A’in Tarma town reef Dimashq that witnessed heavy gunfire today.
-In Hama province 6 civilians were killed. Activists report that 4 civilians were shot by regime fire and armed regime supporters on the Souran-M’an road. A civilian’s body was handed in today after having disappeared for a week, he was forcibly disappeared on the Beit Yashot road. A woman was killed by random gunshots on the Alarb’in neighbourhood.
-In Idlib province 3 civilians were killed. 2 were killed by mortar shells that fell on the Alrayan village that lies east of Saraqib. A civilian was shot by a military checkpoint’s random gunfire in the city of Ma’aret Alnu’man.
- In Aleppo province 4 civilians were killed. A fighter was killed during clashes with regime gunmen in the village of Kafernaha, reef Aleppo. A child was killed in the Salahedinne neighborhood. A civilian was killed under torture after being detained by a military checkpoint near the Manegh town, reef Aleppo. A young man died of earlier wounds he received when he was shot near the Alnayreb area.
- In Homs province 3 civilians were killed. Their bodies were found near on of the military checkpoints in the city of Alrastan, marks of torture were evident on their bodies.
- In Lattakia province a woman was killed in the Jableh city by bombardment on the city of Douma.

No less than 23 members of the Syrian armed forces were killed today. 5 were killed when a military truck was targeted by the Uweinat intersection in the Latakia province. 18 were killed during clashes i the provinces of Deir Izzor, Homs, Reqqa, Dera’a and Reef Dimashq.The nightly protest in Mazzeh, Damascus, in support of the besieged cities in Reef Dimashq -namely Douma- 29/6/2012

Aleppo province: The towns and villages of Bayanoun, Hayan and Andan are being violently bombarded by Syrian forces, who have been conducting military operations in the area for weeks in an attempt to control the area. The civilians in the towns and villages are suffering from terrible humanitarian conditions, there is no electricity and water. Many families have left seeking refuge in neighbouring areas.

Syrian Uprising 2011 Information Centre: SUMMARY (29/06/2012): At least 83 martyrs fell today as Syrians again took to the streets in hundreds of locations across the country. There were 2 massacres – 7 victims in Hamuriyah, Damascus subrbs and at least 8 victims in Suran, Hama province. Deir Ezzor, Idlib, Homs, Daraa, Damascus countryside are all still under shelling especially Duma which was totally ignored by the media. Is it really boring now to know what is happening in Syria ?!! Our sadness doesn’t make us forget to mention the ethnic cleansing in Myanmar where 250 at least have been killed and greetings to our brothers and sisters in Sudan. We are with you. Syria – Friday 29/03/2012 – Google Maps
…
NOW! Lebanon
[local time]  22:08 Amnesty International on Friday urged world leaders at a Geneva conference on the Syrian conflict not to sacrifice human rights for the sake of a political settlement.
 21:57 The death toll in Syria on Friday reached 54 people, Al-Arabiya quoted activists as saying.
 21:15 Nine people were killed by Syrian security forces in the village of Souran in the Hama district, Al-Jazeera quoted activists as saying.
 18:15  UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan said ”external powers” have encouraged violence in Syria as he issued a new plea for unity ahead of a key international meeting on the conflict on Saturday.
 17:10 Anti-regime protests began in Aleppo’s neighborhoods of Al-Khalidiyeh, Al-Hamdaniyeh and Al-Fardous. (S.N.N.)
 17:02 Syrian forces shelled Moadmiya near Damascus injuring several people, Al-Jazeera reported.
 16:25 Russia on Friday called the upcoming Geneva talks on Syria a “positive step” despite fears that the meeting might not go ahead because of disagreements and Moscow’s anger at the absence of Iran.
 16:08 Friday’s death toll in Syria rose to 25 people, Al-Jazeera quoted activists as saying.
 15:56 Regime forces pounded the Damascus suburb of Douma and the central city of Homs on Friday, after one of the bloodiest days of the Syrian uprising in which more than 180 people were killed, a monitor said.
 15:40 An anti-regime protest began in Jableh. (S.N.N.)
 15:39 An anti-regime protest began in Ezaz near Aleppo. (S.N.N.)
 15:38 An anti-regime protest began in Al-Hama near Damascus. (S.N.N.)
 15:37 An anti-regime protest began in Souran near Hama. (S.N.N.)
 15:36 Syrian forces shelled Kernaz near Hama. (S.N.N.)
 15:30 Activists said that Syrian forces shelled Houla in Homs injuring several people, Al-Jazeera reported.
 15:02 An anti-regime protest began in Ain Torma near Damascus. (S.N.N.)
 15:00 Security forces opened fire on anti-regime protesters in Damascus’ neighborhood of Jawbar. (S.N.N.)
 14:51 An anti-regime protest began in Marea and Bazaa near Aleppo. (S.N.N.)
 14:50 Security forces attacked anti-regime protesters in Aleppo’s neighborhood of Salaheddine, Al-Fardous, Al-Chaar and in Deir Hafar near Aleppo. (S.N.N.)
 14:49 An anti-regime protest began in Al-Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus. (S.N.N.)
 14:48 An anti-regime protest began in Aleppo’s Tal Refaat. (S.N.N.)
 14:47 Anti-regime protests began in Andan and Atarib near Aleppo. (S.N.N.)
 14:46 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday shows people protesting against the regime in Amouda. Protesters are chanting: May God curse your soul, Bashar [al-Assad].
 14:45 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday shows people protesting against the regime in Hama’s neighborhood of Al-Arbeen. Protesters are chanting: May God curse your soul, Abu Hafez (Bashar al-Assad).
 14:44 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday shows people protesting against the regime in Hama’s Teebat al-Imam. Protesters are chanting in support of martyrs.
 14:43 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday shows people protesting against the regime in Deir az-Zour’s town of Al-Goura. Protesters are chanting: We have no one but you, God.
 14:42 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday shows people protesting against the regime in Qudsaya near Damascus. Protesters are chanting: Bashar al-Assad is God’s enemy.
 14:41 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday shows people protesting against the regime in Wadi Barada near Damascus. Protesters are chanting: Death and not humiliation and We have no one but you, God.
 14:40 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday shows people protesting against the regime in Hama’s Kernaz. Protesters are chanting: We have no one but you, God.
 14:39 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday shows people protesting against the regime in Hasaka’s Darbasiya. Protesters are chanting in support of Homs, Ras al-Ayn, Deir az-Zour, Daraa and other towns.
 14:38 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday shows people protesting against the regime in a mosque in Daraa’s Basr al-Harir. Protesters are chanting in support of Homs.
 14:37 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday shows people protesting against the regime in Qamishli. Protesters are chanting that they will only kneel before God.
 14:36 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday shows people protesting against the regime in Hasaka. Protesters are calling on President Bashar al-Assad to leave.
 14:35 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday shows people protesting against the regime in Edleb’s Binnish. Protesters are chanting that they will only kneel before God and that martyrdom is there demand.
 14:29 Syrian forces on Friday opened fire on protesters in the Aleppo neighborhood of Salaheddine; killing two people and wounding others, Al-Jazeera television reported.
 14:22 The Syrian army on Friday shelled the Latakia area of Jabal al-Akrad, Al-Jazeera television reported.
 14:17 An anti-regime protest began in Haylayn near Hama. (S.N.N.)
 14:17 Anti-regime protests began in Aleppo’s neighborhoods of Achrafieh, Sheikh Fares, Bustan al-Basha, Al-Maghayer, Al-Fardous, Al-Kallasa and Tareek al-Bab. (S.N.N.)
 14:16 Security forces opened fire on anti-regime protesters in Aleppo’s neighborhood of Salaheddine, injuring a number of demonstrators. (S.N.N.)
 14:15 An anti-regime protest began in Zamalka near Damascus. (S.N.N.)
 14:14 An anti-regime protest began in Damascus’ neighborhood of Al-Tadamon. (S.N.N.)
 14:13 Al-Jazeera television is broadcasting live footage of an anti-regime protest in Hama’s Aleppo Road area.
 14:05 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday shows people protesting against the regime in Edleb’s Kafrouma. Protesters are chanting: Death and not humiliation.
 14:03 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday shows people protesting against the regime in Qamishli. Protesters are calling on President Bashar al-Assad to leave.
 14:01 A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday shows people protesting against the regime in Damascus’ neighborhood of Jawbar. Protesters are chanting in support of freedom.
 13:59 Security forces opened fire and injured a number of people in Edleb’s town of Kansfra. (S.N.N.)
 13:57 An anti-regime protest began in Daraa’s town of Kateeba. (S.N.N.)
 13:56 Anti-regime protests began in Damascus’ neighborhoods of Al-Aasali, Baraza and Kafr Soussa. (S.N.N.)
 13:55 Anti-regime protests began in Daraya and Dameer near Damascus. (S.N.N.)
 13:54 An anti-regime protest began in the Deir az-Zour town of Al-Goura. (S.N.N.)
 13:47 Anti-regime protests began in Damascus’s Al-Qadam and Al-Midan neighborhoods. (S.N.N.)
 13:45 An anti-regime protest began in Yabroud near Damascus. (S.N.N.)
 13:45 Anti-regime protests began in Hama. (S.N.N.)
 13:43 An anti-regime protest began in Ras al-Ayn. (S.N.N.)
 13:40 An anti-regime protest began in Edleb’s town of Darkoush. (S.N.N.)
 13:39 An anti-regime protest began in Aleppo’s towns of Ayn al-Arab, Jerblas, Afreen and Ehtmylat. (S.N.N.)
 13:38 An anti-regime protest began in Ar-Raqqah. (S.N.N.)
 13:37 An anti-regime protest began in Hasaka’s town Ajaja. (S.N.N.)
 13:36 An anti-regime protest began in the Daraa town of Jiza. (S.N.N.)
 13:35 An anti-regime protest began in the Daraa town of Yaduda. (S.N.N.)
 13:33 Syrian forces on Friday killed 13 people, Al-Jazeera television quoted the Syrian Network for Human Rights as saying.
 13:33 Security forces opened fire on anti-regime protesters in the Deir az-Zour town Al-Maydeen and Daraa’s neighborhood of Al-Qousour. (S.N.N.)
 13:32 Anti-regime protests began in Aleppo’s neighborhoods of Al-Hamdeniyeh, Salaheddine and Al-Sakhour. (S.N.N.)
 13:31 An anti-regime protests began in the Latakia neighborhood of Al-Saliba. (S.N.N.)
 13:30 An anti-regime protests began in the Hasaka area of Ghoueiran. (S.N.N.)
 13:29 An explosive device detonated Friday in the Damascus neighborhood of Nahr Aisha, Al-Jazeera television quoted activists as saying.
 13:29 An anti-regime protests began in Deir az-Zour’s Al-Omal neighborhood. (S.N.N.)
 13:28 An anti-regime protest was held in the Edleb town of Sarmin. (S.N.N.)
 13:23 An anti-regime protest began in Kafr Zeita near Hama. (S.N.N.)
 13:22 Syrian security forces opened fire on anti-regime protesters in the Edleb town of Kansfra injuring several people, Al-Jazeera cited activists as saying.
 13:22 An anti-regime protest began in the Daraa town of Jassem. (S.N.N.)
 13:20 An anti-regime protest began in Aleppo’s Al-Chaar neighborhood. (S.N.N.)
 13:12 The Syrian army shelled houses in Daraa injuring a number of people, Al-Jazeera quoted activists as saying.
 13:08 Syrian security forces’ shelling of Harasta near Damascus killed a number of people, Al-Jazeera cited activists as saying.
 13:04 An anti-regime protest began in Abu Kamal. (S.N.N.)
 12:09 Senior officials were making last-minute preparations in Geneva on Friday ahead of a crucial meeting on the conflict in Syria which some diplomats say may still be in doubt.
 12:00 Syria deployed close to 200 tanks north of Aleppo near the country’s border with Turkey late Thursday, a rebel Free Syrian Army officer told Reuters.
 7:31 UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan was battling to save an international meeting on the Syria crisis set for Saturday following Russian objections to his proposed transition plan, diplomats said.
 7:30 MORNING LEADER: Deadly violence raged across Syria Thursday with a twin bombing in Damascus two days before a crucial international meeting that looked threatened late in the day by Russian objections. Turkey reinforced its volatile border with Syria with missile batteries as world powers prepared for talks in Geneva to discuss a plan by peace envoy Kofi Annan for an interim government.
…

REUTERS: Assad forces bombard northern towns, avoid Turkish border

Helicopter gunships bombarded a strategic town in northern Syria overnight and tanks moved close to the commercial hub of Aleppo, rebels said, but kept well clear of new Turkish air defenses installed to curb Syrian action near its frontiers.

Turkish commanders inspected the missile batteries deployed on the border region on Thursday following Syria’s shooting down of a Turkish warplane a week ago, which has sharply raised tensions between the two nations.

The Turkish deployments, a graphic warning to President Bashar al-Assad, coincide with rising violence across Syria and increasingly urgent international efforts to forge a peace deal as the nation slips into full-blown war.

As the Turkish-Syrian dimension ratcheted up further pressure, peace envoy Kofi Annan said on Friday he was “optimistic” that crisis talks in Geneva on Saturday would produce an acceptable outcome, which has so far proved elusive.

Senior officials holding preparatory talks in Geneva on Friday failed to overcome differences on Annan’s plan for a political transition. Western diplomats said Russia was pressing for changes to the text. Russian diplomats said the work continued but they would not “impose” a solution on Syria.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after meeting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over dinner in St. Petersburg that he saw a “very good chance” of finding common ground when the group of foreign ministers met Annan in Geneva.

A senior U.S. State Department official said, however, that differences remained between Washington and Moscow on Syria. Of the chances of an accord when the ministers met again in Geneva, the official said: “We may get there tomorrow. We may not.”

Regional analysts said that while neither Turkey nor its NATO allies appeared to have any appetite to enforce a formal no-fly zone over Syrian territory, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan had made it clear Assad would be risking what he called the ‘wrath’ of Turkey if its aircraft strayed close to its borders.

Erdogan told a rally in the eastern city of Erzurum on Friday, broadcast by Turkish television: “We will not hesitate to teach a lesson to those who aim heavy weapons at their own people and at neighboring countries.”

Recently, there were clashes close to the border between Syrian forces and rebels. Last weekend, Damascus said “terrorists” infiltrating from Turkey were killed and there have been reports of Syrian forces shooting into camps for refugees in Turkey.

The United States, Britain and France have said that Assad is responsible for the violence, which the United Nations estimates has killed at least 10,000 people, and is no longer fit to govern. Russia and China, however, reject what they describe as Western calls for “regime change”.

Turkey, sheltering some 34,000 Syrian refugees and providing bases for the rebel Free Syria Army (FSA), is in the forefront of the efforts to bring down Assad.

SYRIAN TANKS MASS

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 190 people, including 125 civilians, were killed on Thursday.

General Mustafa al-Sheikh, head of the Higher Military Council, a grouping of senior officers who defected from Assad’s forces, said around 170 Syrian tanks had assembled at an infantry school near the village of Musalmieh northeast of the city of Aleppo, just 30 km (19 miles) from the Turkish border.

“They’re either preparing to move to the border to counter the Turkish deployment or attack the rebellious (Syrian) towns and villages in and around the border zone north of Aleppo,” Sheikh told Reuters by telephone from the border.

Omar Abdallah, an activist in Idlib coordinating with the Free Syrian Army said: “After taking hits in rural Aleppo and Idlib, the army is re-grouping … There is speculation that these forces intend to ring Aleppo, starting July 1.”

Rebel sources in Turkey’s Hatay region said Assad’s helicopters attacked Saraqeb, a strategic town deep in Idlib province, but kept away from the area directly along the Turkish border in the rural regions of Idlib and Aleppo provinces.

Neither Turkey, which fears a local clash escalating into a regional sectarian conflagration, nor Syria, has any interest in a confrontation on their shared border.

Ankara, which has the second biggest army in NATO, called an emergency NATO meeting after its warplane was shot down.

Turkey has in the past talked about creating a humanitarian corridor on Syrian territory if refugee flows became dangerously unmanageable or the scale of killing in Syria became intolerable. But it had always said this would require international endorsement.

“NATO just doesn’t look like it’s in the mood,” David Hartwell, Middle East analyst at IHS Jane’s, said. “What you might get is the Turks forcing a de facto no-fly zone.”

SQUARING UP?

Erdogan announced earlier this week that he had issued new rules of engagement to his border troops and said any Syrian military elements approaching Turkish borders and deemed a threat would be treated as a target. But he failed, perhaps deliberately, to specify how close Syrian forces could come to the border before becoming vulnerable.

Rebels sources said they saw two Syrian attack helicopters on Friday, flying about 4 km from the Turkish border in Idlib province and landing at an army base at Bab al-Hawa, close to Reyhanli, one of the places where Turkey has stationed anti-aircraft defenses.

It was the first time aircraft had been spotted close to the border and appeared to test Turkey’s new rules of engagement.

“The Syrians might accept a very narrow zone along the border. Syria will remain very reluctant to get involved in any conflict with Turkey. They would be up against a very serious military foe,” said Malcolm Chalmers, research director at Britain’s Royal United Services Institute.

The world has been accused by Syrian opposition activists of inertia over the bloodshed. Diplomacy has failed to produce agreement between Western powers, backing the opposition, and Russia, which has used its U.N. veto to block Western and Sunni Arab moves to drive Assad from power.

Ahead of Saturday’s meeting, Russia proposed changes to Annan’s plan for a national unity government in Syria, despite initially supporting it, but the United States, Britain and Francerejected the amendments, Western diplomats said.

Russia and the other permanent U.N. Security Council members told Annan this week they supported a transitional cabinet that could include government and opposition members but would “exclude … those whose continued presence and participation would undermine the credibility of the transition and jeopardize stability and reconciliation”, according to Annan’s proposal.

Diplomats told Reuters that Annan’s idea of excluding certain people was clearly referring to Assad.

Although Russia signaled to Annan this week that his plan was acceptable, foreign minister Lavrov reversed course on Thursday, diplomats said. Diplomats said the Russians demanded that Annan remove from his proposal the language about excluding people from a Syrian national unity government.

Annan had made preliminary acceptance of his guidelines for a political transition for Syria a condition for organizing Saturday’s meeting of foreign ministers in Geneva. It is to include Clinton and Lavrov and colleagues from Britain, France, China, Turkey, Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar. Iran and Saudi Arabia, regional powers deeply at odds over Syria, were not invited.

“I think we are going to have a good meeting tomorrow,” Annan told Reuters Television on Friday. “I am optimistic.”

Assad on Thursday dismissed the notion of any outside solution to the 16-month-old uprising against his rule.

“We will not accept any non-Syrian, non-national model, whether it comes from big countries or friendly countries. No one knows how to solve Syria’s problems as well as we do.”

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva, Erika Solomon and Mariam Karouny in Beirut andAndrew Quinn and Liza Dobkina in St. Petersburg; Writing by Ralph Boulton and Peter Millership; Editing by Janet McBride and Alastair Macdonald)

• Russia, U.S. divided on Syria after talks
  4:48pm EDT
• Officials fail to break Syria deadlock: diplomats
  1:00pm EDT

…

Guardian: Syria crisis: Russia and US disagree over political solution in Geneva talks

At Syria’s border, after months of waiting, the weapons arrive: 29 Jun 2012: A village four kilometres from Turkey has become the key hub of arms shipments and defectors joining the Free Syria Army …

…

BBC: Key Syria talks face ‘difficulty’

Areas of “difficulty and difference” remain between Russia and the US ahead of key talks on the crisis in Syria, a US official says.