Sunday 8 July 2012

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: More than 100 Syrians killed today (Sunday 8/7/2012)

The reported, and documented, number of civilians killed in Syria today has risen to 64 (68 when those killed by unknown gunmen are included)

49 unarmed civilians killed (53 when including those killed by unknown gunmen):

- In Deir Izzor 7 civilians were killed. Two children were martyred by bombardment on the town of Altabia Jazira. 2 civilians, including a child, were killed in the town of Al-Mayadeen, Reef Deir Izzor, which witnessed clashes and bombardment after midnight saturday-sunday. A woman was killed by the bombardment on the town of Subeikhan, Reef Deir Izzor. 2 civilians were killed by the bombardment and clashes in Deir Izzor. 2 civilians, who are under the age of 18, were killed by the bombardment on al-Zer.

-In Dera’a province 7 civilians were killed. 4 civilians, including a little girl, were killed in the Al-Hirak town that witnessed clashes and mortar shells. A child died of wounds received earlier by bombardment on the A’tman village. A civilian was killed by regime fire in the al-Manshiya neighbourhood of Dera’a. A child was killed by sniper fire in Dera’a al-Balad. 1 civilian, from Hamouriya, was killed by a sniper in Zamalka, Reef Dimashq.

- In Hama province 11 civilians were killed. 10 were killed in the Tuweini village. 6 civilians were killed by gunfire. The bodies of 4 civilians, 3 still unidentified, were found in the village, they were shot dead. 1 civilian was shot dead by a sniper stationed at a checkpoint in the Tariq Halab neighbourhood of Hama.

-In Homs 6 civilians were killed. Activists reported that a civilian’s body was found in the city 4 days after he was detained by regime forces. 1 civilian was killed by wounds he suffered yesterday by the bombardment of Bab Siba’. 1 civilian was killed by the bombardment of al-Rastan. The body of a civilian was found in the village of al-Teeba al-Gharbiya (Houla), days after he was forcibly disappeared from the village of al-Ghour. 3 civilians were killed by the clashes and bombardment in the town of al-Qusayr.

-In Reef Dimashq 5 civilians were killed. A woman was killed this morning in the town of Althiabieh by random gunshots. 1 civilian was killed in Qatana. 1 civilian was killed by a military checkpoint in Suhnaya. 2 children were killed, 1 by the bombardment on Madaya, the other was killed when a car he was in was targeted in the town of Ein Terma.

- In Idlib province 4 killed. A child died of wounds he received by helicopter mortar shells on the Alhabit town, reef Idlib. 2 civilians were killed by the bombardment on the town of al-Tamani’a, Reef Idlib. A civilian was killed from wounds he received by the bombardment on the village of Basamis, Reef Idlib. 1 civilian was killed tonight by a sniper while on his way home in Ariha, Reef Idlib. A civilian was killed in Khan Sheikhoun.

-In Aleppo province 3 killed. A little girl was killed, she died from wounds received when a car she was in was targeted yesterday in Reef Aleppo. A civilian was killed by the bombardment on A’zaz. 1 civilian was killed by regime forces in the al-Reshideen neighbourhood of aleppo.

>>4 civilians killed by unknown gunmen: 2 civilians were assassinated by unknown gunmen in the town of Jdeidat Artouz, Reef Dimashq. A doctor was assassinated after midnight, saturday-sunday, by unknown gunmen in the Jobar neighbourhood of Damascus. A pro-regime cigarette vendor was killed by an IED planted in his stand in the al-Salheen neighbourhood of Aleppo.

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15 rebel fighters killed:

-In Reef Dimashq 4 rebels killed. 2 rebels were killed during clashes in the fields of Misraba. 2 insurgents killed in the city of Qatana.

-In Deir Izzor an insurgent was killed in the Almaiadin town, reef Deir Izzor, during clashes.

-In Dera’a province a rebel leader was killed after midnight saturday-sunday during an armed opposition group’s operation in the Ma’arba town, reef Dera’a.

-In Hama province a fighter was killed during clashes in the Altwaini village after midnight Saturday-Sunday.

-In Homs 4 rebels killed. 3 insurgents were killed during clashes with an armed group linked to the regime in the town of Alhusun, reef Homs. A rebel fighter was killed during the clashes and bombardent in al-Qusayr.

-In Idlib province activists reported that 2 fighters were summarily executed by regime forces in the city of Khan Sheikhoun.

-In Latakia province 2 rebel fighters were killed during clashes in Nahiyat Rabee’a, Reef Latakia.

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A defected soldier was killed by clashes and mortar shells on Reef Dera’a. A defected soldier was killed by clashes and the bombardment in Reef Homs.

36 members of the Syrian armed forces were killed by targeted attacks on military vehicles and during clashes in the provinces of Dera’a, Homs, Reef Dimashq, Hama, Aleppo and Deir Izzor.

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[Comment: Kofi Annan's plan is sound - the fact that Bashar al-Assad and the international community failed to support it is not of his making; the failure is not with him!]

UN News: International pressure needed to prevent further escalation of violence in Syria – Ban

8 July 2012 – “The situation has deteriorated significantly, and has become more militarized. Appalling violations of human rights continue to take place. The killings and violence seem to have taken on a very worrying sectarian character. At least 1.5 million people are now in need of urgent humanitarian aid,” Mr. Ban told journalists at the Japan National Press Club.

“It is crucial for the Security Council and the Action Group to pressure the parties to prevent any further escalation of the conflict and advance the prospects of a political transition,” he added.

At its first meeting, held recently in Geneva, Switzerland, the Action Group on Syria forged an agreement outlining the steps for a peaceful transition in Syria, which included the establishment of a transitional governing body that would exercise full executive powers and that would be made up by members of the present Government and the opposition and other groups.

It also called for all parties to immediately re-commit to a sustained cessation of armed violence, to fully cooperate with observers serving with the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS), and to implement the six-point peace plan put forward earlier this year by the Joint Special Envoy for the UN and the League of Arab States on Syria, Kofi Annan.

“The Government of Syria and all parties on the ground must recommit to the six-point plan in its entirety,” Mr. Ban said. “Should the parties continue to flout Security Council resolutions, the Council will have to take the necessary collective action.”

Mr. Annan’s six-point peace plan calls for an end to violence, access for humanitarian agencies to provide relief to those in need, the release of detainees, the start of inclusive political dialogue, and unrestricted access to the country for the international media. In a statement issued separately today, Mr. Annan’s spokesperson said that the Joint Special Envoy had arrived in Damascus on Sunday evening for talks with President Bashar Al-Assad.

In his remarks to the Japan National Press Club, Secretary-General Ban also said UNSMIS was playing an “invaluable role” in reporting objectively on events on the ground, until it was compelled to suspend its operational activities. The head of UNSMIS, Major-General Robert Mood, had suspended his observers’ patrols in mid-June due to an escalation of violence.

The Security Council established the Mission – for three months and with up to 300 unarmed military observers – in April to monitor the cessation of violence in Syria, as well as monitor and support the full implementation of the six-point peace plan. Its authorized three months ends on 20 July, with the Council expected to meet before then to decide on its future.

“I have just reported to the Security Council on the Mission’s posture and role, and I encourage the Council to maintain a Mission presence capable of adapting to opportunities that may arise should the parties move towards a political solution,” Mr. Ban said.

He added that the Syrian people and the region cannot afford more atrocities, suffering and chaos. “President Assad must understand that things cannot continue as they are. Fundamental change is needed,” he said.

In an open letter to the people of Syria today, Major-General Mood reiterated that UNSMIS is not a static Mission.

“It will continually adapt and reconfigure to best serve the needs and aspirations of the Syrian people,” he said, noting that the Security Council will make an assessment as to the future of the mission in the next days or weeks, and that that assessment will be based on subsequent developments in Syria and the response to the results of the Action Group’s recent meeting.

“Whatever the decision maybe, the international community’s continued responsibility to Syria is a moral and political obligation,” the UNSMIS chief said in the letter. “We cannot and will not turn our eyes and ears away from your plight and will continue to work together, with you, to find new paths to political dialogue and peaceful resolution to the crisis.”

Last week, Major-General Mood announced that UNSMIS would restructure itself. Its eight local team site locations, spread out in different parts of Syria, would be reconfigured into regional locations.

The UN estimates that more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Syria and tens of thousands displaced since the uprising against President al-Assad began 16 months ago.

Syrian Uprising 2011 Information Centre: This is Juret al-Shayah in Homs where hundreds of families are still living because the Red Crescent has failed to evacuate them and they cannot leave because of the siege and snipers. This has been the situation there for months – they wake up to shelling and they fall asleep to shelling. The number of martyrs across Syria today has risen to 36. Homs today
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NOW! Lebanon
[local time]  21:56 The European Union’s top diplomat lashed out at Syria on Sunday over its deadly rocket fire along the border that left two girls dead and 10 other people wounded in northern Lebanon.
 20:42 Syrian army shelled on Sunday the city of Qatna near Damascus, killing and wounding several people, Al-Jazeera television reported.
 20:20 Sunday’s death toll in Syria has risen to 52, Al-Jazeera television quoted the Syrian Network for Human Rights as saying.
 20:19 President Barack Obama and his government has been “shameful and disgraceful” in its response to the carnage in Syria, US Senator John McCain said Sunday, slamming Washington’s inaction on the issue.
 19:20 Iran’s deputy foreign minister said on Sunday that forcing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down and go into exile would be a “joke,” warning an attack on his country would be “stupid” and “catastrophic.”
 19:05 Syrian President Bashar al-Assad accused the United States of assisting “gangs” to destabilize his country, in a rare interview with a western television channel to be aired on Sunday.
 18:09 UN-Arab League peace envoy Kofi Annan arrived in Damascus on Sunday, AFP quoted his spokesperson as saying.
 16:40  Syria’s navy staged live fire exercises at the weekend, launching missiles from both sea and land to “simulate the scenario of repelling a sudden attack from the sea,” the state news agency said on Sunday.
 14:30 UN-Arab League peace envoy Kofi Annan is scheduled to visit Damascus on Monday, Syria’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jihad Makdissi told AFP.
 13:06 Casualties reported in the shelling of the town of Al-Talibiyeh in Deir az-Zour, Al-Jazeera quoted activists as saying.
 12:26 Syrian forces killed 30 people on Sunday including five deserters, Al-Arabiya quoted activists as saying.
 10:12 Syrian forces pounded Aleppo and Deir az-Zour provinces as at least 13 people, including 10 civilians, were killed across the country on Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
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BBC: US ‘destabilising Syria’ – Assad - President Assad accuses the US of helping to destabilise his country by providing political protection for “gangs” inside Syria…

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REUTERS: Syria’s Assad says Annan peace plan must not fail

BERLIN – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said U.N. envoy Kofi Annan’s peace plan to end 16 months of bloodshed was being hindered by countries including Turkey and Saudi Arabia providing support for “terrorists”…

Annan arrives in Damascus, Syria tests missiles: 1:56pm EDT

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