Sunday 24 June 2012

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: Aleppo province: At least 16 members of the Syrian armed forces were killed during clashes in the province today. At dawn, clashes took place at the missiles battalion in the town of Darat Izzam, clashes also took place by the outskirts of al-Atarib, and by a military checkpoint in the village of Kafar Halab, several from the artillery unit defected during the clashes, taking many munitions with them.

Deir Izzor -city-: 5 people, including a child and 2 armed rebels and 1 defected officer, were killed during the bombardment and sniper fire in Deir Izzor. A Syrian soldier was also killed, he died by the Ghassan Abboud roundabout.

Homs province: 3 citizens were killed after midnight in the city of Homs, one of them was a rebel leader, they died during clashes on the edges of Baba Amr. A civilian from the Wa’er neighbourhood was killed on al-Sitteen street.

Aleppo province: At least 16 members of the Syrian armed forces were killed during clashes by the missiles battalion, in the town of Darat Izza. Clashes also took place by the outskirts of al-Atarib, and by a military checkpoint in the village of Kafar Halab, several from the artillery unit defected during the clashes, taking many munitions with them.

Latakia province: A rebel fighter was killed during clashes with regime forces in the Jabal al-Akrad area.

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The number of civilian martyrs documented by the SOHR in Syria, so far, today (Sunday 24/6/2012), documentation includes name and reason of death, has risen to 53.

-In Homs province 9 civilians were killed. 2 fighters and a civilian were shot in the Baba Amr neighborhood during clashes. 3 fighters were shot by regime forces in the Alsetin, Albayada and Alkrabis street. 3 civilians were killed by bombardments on the village of Alza’faraneh, reef Homs.

-In Deir Izzor province 20 civilians were killed. A child was martyred by mortar shells on the Bekros village. 19 civilians and 2 fighters were killed by bombardments and gun shots in the neighborhoods of the city.

-In Reef Dimashq 2 civilians were killed. 1 was killed by a sniper in the town of Zamalka, the other was shot dead by regime forces after they detained him in Irbeen, Reef Dimashq.

-In Aleppo province 9 civilians were killed. A man and woman were killed by bombardments on the A’ndan town, reef Aleppo. 3 university students were tortured to death after being detained earlier by a regime checkpoint. 2 civilians were shot by the Alzahra’ security checkpoint in the city. A bus driver was shot by unknown gunmen in the Alkhaldieh neighorhood, Aleppo city. A young man was killed in the Saif al-Dawla neighbourhood of Aleppo, while attending the funeral procession of one of those that were tortured to death.

-In Idlib province 10 civilians were killed. A civilian was killed by gunshots on a funeral procession in the village of Balion. 2 civilians were shot by a military checkpoint near the Balshon village,reef Idlib. 7 civilians were killed by mortar shells that targeted farmers in one of the surrounding farms of the Ariha town.

-In Dera’a province a civilian was killed by gunshots fired randomly by regime forces in the Aljiza town.

-In Latakia province 2 fighters were killed. One of them died of wounds he received yesterday during clashes with regime forces, the other was killed during clashes in Jabal Alakrad, reef Latakia.

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-A defected sergeant was shot in the city of Deir Izzor. A defected soldier was killed during clashes in the al-Lijat, Dera’a province.

-At least 27 regime forces were killed. No less than 26 were killed during clashes in the provinces of Idlib, Aleppo, Deir Izzor and reef Dimashq. A syrian soldier was killed by an IED that targeted a military vehicle on the Ariha-Qastoun road.

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NOW! Lebanon
[local time]  15:56 Activists said that Syrian security forces killed 43 people on Sunday, Al-Arabiya reported.
 13:38 British Foreign Minister William Hague on Sunday condemned Syria’s shooting down of a Turkish jet as “outrageous” and said Britain was ready to support stout action against Syria by the United Nations Security Council, Reuters reported.
 13:36 Syrian forces killed 21 people on Sunday, Al-Jazeera television quoted the Syrian Network for Human Rights as saying.
 11:06 Syria shot down a Turkish fighter jet while it was flying in international airspace some 15 minutes after momentarily straying into Syria’s territory, Turkey’s foreign minister said on Sunday.
 10:03 At least 16 government troops were killed on Sunday in clashes with rebel fighters in the northern province of Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
 9:32 A number of parliamentarians from Kuwait, Lebanon and Bahrain announced in Kuwait the establishment of the Parliamentarians for Syria committee.
 9:25 The Philippines said Sunday that at least 14 immigration officers were under investigation for alleged involvement in the human trafficking of poor Filipinos to violence-torn Syria.
 9:21 Iran has urged Ankara and Damascus to show “restraint” over Syria’s shooting down of a Turkish fighter jet, Iranian state media reported on Sunday.
 9:05 Clashes between Syrian rebels and army erupted in West Daraa. A helicopter was reportedly shot down,  the General Commission of the Syrian Revolution said.
 8:00 The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 116 people, 77 of them civilians, were killed in violence across the country on Saturday as regime forces stepped up attacks on towns.
 7:53 UN leader Ban Ki-moon on Saturday raised his “deep concern” about the impact of Syria’s shooting down of a Turkish fighter jet with Turkey’s foreign minister, a spokesperson said.
 7:50 A Russian ship carrying a controversial cargo of attack helicopters that Moscow repaired for Syria has re-entered Russian waters after turning back off Britain, an official said on Saturday.
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BBC: Turkey calls Nato meeting over downed warplane

Turkey’s government calls a meeting of Nato member states to discuss its response to the shooting down of one of its warplanes by Syria…

Clashes ‘kill 16 Syrian soldiers’ 

At least 16 Syrian soldiers have been killed in clashes with rebels in the province of Aleppo, activists say.

The fighting took place in the town of Darat Izza, and at checkpoints outside al-Atarib and Kafr Halab, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

On Friday, officials accused rebels of shooting dead 25 men in Darat Izza. Activists said they were militiamen.

Syria has seen escalating violence in recent weeks, with some 116 people reportedly killed on Saturday.

‘In a war’

The head of the Observatory, Rami Abdul Rahman, told Agence France-Presse news agency the clashes in Aleppo had taken place simultaneously around dawn, at the end of what he called “one of the bloodiest weeks” since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011.

“It’s like we are in a war,” he told the AFP. “Sometimes when two countries are at war, not even 20 people are killed a day. But now in Syria, it has become normal to have 100 killed each day.”

The Observatory said 77 civilians died on Saturday, including a family of six in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, as the military attacked rebel-held areas.

The Syrian military has stepped up its assaults on opposition-held areas, including the city of Homs

Nineteen solders were also killed, while another 10 troops were shot when they tried to defect to the rebel Free Syrian Army, it added.

The Local Co-ordination Committees, an activist network, put the nationwide death toll on Sunday at 131, including 31 in Deir al-Zour.

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent also said one of its volunteers was shot in the head while on duty in the province and wearing a uniform marked with its emblem. It was not clear who was responsible for the man’s death.

Mr Abdul Rahman said at least 644 people had been killed since last Monday.

He said the international community had to reach an agreement on how to resolve the crisis, and criticised the decision of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) to suspend its operations because of the violence.

The mission’s 298 unarmed military observers and 112 civilian staff are in Syria to verify the implementation of the peace plan negotiated by the UN and Arab League’s envoy, Kofi Annan, under which a ceasefire supposedly came into force in April.

“Either go out and observe properly or leave,” Mr Abdul Rahman said.

The UN says at least 10,000 people have died since pro-democracy protests began in March 2011. In April, the Syrian government reported that 6,143 Syrian citizens had been killed by “terrorist groups”.

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Reuters: Syria shells Deir al-Zor for second day, 20 dead: activists

Syrian tanks and artillery shelled the eastern city of Deir al-Zor on Monday, killing at least 20 people in the second day of heavy bombardment in the country’s main oil-producing region, opposition activists said.

“Regime forces have dismantled their roadblocks from inside of Deir al-Zor after incurring heavy losses from rebels. They have withdrawn from residential areas and are now shelling the city from the outskirts. The victims are mostly civilians,” a source at a hospital in Deir al-Zor told Reuters.

Syrian authorities have barred most independent media from the country, making difficult independent verification of events on the ground.

(Reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis, Amman newsroom; Editing byAndrew Heavens)

Turkey turns to NATO over Syrian attack 7:34pm EDT …