Wednesday 25 January 2012

Syrian Uprising 2011 Information Centre: SUMMARY (25/01/2012): At least 22 martyrs have fallen today – including 4 defected soldiers, 2 women and a 5 year old child. A Roman Orthodox priest, Father Basilius Nasser, was killed in Hama, and Dr. Abdul Razzaq Jbeiro, the head of the Red Crescent in Idlib, was killed while returning from a meeting in Damascus. This video shows aid that has been sent by the people of Suwayda province in the south to the people of Khattab in Hama province, central Syria – expressing the unity of the Syrian people, regardless of sect. Fighting between the Free Syrian Army and Assad’s forces was reported in many places throughout Syria, including in the eastern suburbs of Damascus. Meanwhile the SNC has said that it will seek to revise relations with Lebanon – “Democracy in Syria is the best support for Lebanon’s independence.” Syria – Wednesday 25/01/2012 – Google Maps

 Khattab, Hama province 24/01/2012

UPDATE (25/01/2012): 11 martyrs have fallen so far as the regime increasingly resorts to indiscriminate shelling of areas they consider to be against them. Today there have been military operations around a number of towns in Qalamoun (the region between Damascus and Homs). The Damascus suburb of Irbin, where the Free Syrian Army has established a presence in recent weeks, is also under attack. The video shows the funeral of the martyr Abdullatif Bakkour, head of the Farmer’s Union in Idlib province, who state media said was killed by terrorists.
 Ma’ret Hermeh, Idlib province 25/01/2012

HAMA (22/01/2012): This translated video shows a Christian lady from Hama talking to the Arab League observers on Sunday about how the regime is “spreading fear among the minorities that the Sunni will slaughter them if ousted”, and how this fear has “paralyzed them”… “We have to fight two beasts at this time, the Syrian regime and sectarian strife.”

 Syria,Hama, Brave and Honest Christian Lady Tells the truth about Assad and his Brutal Regime

British Syrians & Friends in Solidarity with the Syrian Revolution: Jonathan Miller, a channel 4 journalist vows to keep exposing the lies of the Syrian regime & fully supports the Syrian people. He began by saying “…I encountered the vicious reality of life under Gaddafi, nothing however prepared me for what I would later learn from Syrians about what is happening in Syria …”
 Jonathan Miller I encountered the vicious reality of life under Gaddafi but nothing prepared me …

VoA: Russia Opposes UN Moves to Punish Syria – No surprise there!:
 Russia Opposes UN Sanctions on Syria 
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NOW! Lebanon
[local time]  18:43 The Syrian National Council issued a statement saying that it wants to “reconsider the agreements signed between Lebanon and Syria and ink new ones which would take into account the interests of both countries, as well as common benefits,” Italian news agency AKI reported on Wednesday.
 18:25 Syrian state media reported on Wednesday that an “armed terrorist group” killed a Christian cleric.
 17:58 The head of the Syrian Red Crescent in the restive northwestern province of Edleb was murdered on Wednesday by “a terrorist group,” official media reported.
 17:20 Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd called on Wednesday for the UN Security Council to take tough action on Syria to prevent what he termed “murder” on the streets of Damascus.
 17:11 Syrian security forces raided the towns of Erbeen and Harasta near Damascus, killing and injuring several people, Al-Arabiya reported.
 16:51 Syria’s Wednesday death toll has risen to 18, Al-Arabiya television reported.
 16:42 Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Mouallem on Wednesday stressed his government’s commitment to “complete cooperation” with the Arab League observer mission to Syria.
 13:48 Eleven people were killed by Syrian forces’ gunfire on Wednesday, Al-Arabiya television reported.
 13:03 Syrian security forces raked the central protest city of Hama with heavy machinegun fire and explosives on Wednesday for the second straight day, activists said, reporting a number of casualties.
 11:48 Russia said on Wednesday it was “open to constructive proposals” on Syria but remained opposed to any UN resolution requiring all nations to abide by unilateral sanctions imposed by the West.
 8:48 US and Russian diplomats held “very constructive” talks this week in Moscow as part of an effort to resolve differences in the global response to unrest in Syria, the State Department said Tuesday.
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REUTERS: New U.N. showdown with Russia over Syria looms

Britain and France joined forces with Arab allies on Wednesday to push the U.N. Security Council to back an Arab League call for Syrian President , Bashar al-Assad to step aside, setting the stage for a showdown with Syria’s ally Russia.

“The U.N. Security Council must support the Arab League’s courageous decisions which are trying to end the repression and violence in Syria and find a solution to the political crisis,” French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said.

The Security Council could vote as early as next week on a new draft resolution, which delegates from Britain and France are crafting in consultation with Qatar, Morocco, the United States, Germany and Portugalenvoys said. The new resolution replaces a Russian draft Western diplomats said was too weak.

U.S. President Barack Obama said in his State of the Union address on Tuesday that Assad would “soon discover that the forces of change can’t be reversed.”

It remains unclear whether Russia – which together with China vetoed a European-drafted resolution in October that condemned Syria and threatened it with sanctions over its 10-month crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators – is prepared to once again to block council action on Syria.

“We hope Russia won’t use its veto against the Arab League, which is what it would be this time,” a U.N. envoy said. “They’ll put up a fight. There will be negotiations. We’ll see.”

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his country remained opposed to sanctions on Syria and reiterated its opposition to military intervention. But the Western-Arab draft, obtained by Reuters, calls for neither military action nor sanctions, but for the council to support the Arab League.

‘TERRORISTS’

The head of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent in the northern town of Idlib was shot and killed on Wednesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said, in an attack which Damascus blamed on “terrorists.”

State news agency SANA also said a priest was killed by “terrorists” while helping a wounded person in the city of Hama.

The government says it is fighting foreign-backed Islamist “terrorists” who have killed 2,000 soldiers and police. SANA said 30 more were buried in the last two days.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said seven other people were killed on Wednesday. One was killed by soldiers surrounding the Bab Qabli district of Hama and a woman died after a shell landed on her house near the town of Qusair, 10 km (6 miles) from the Lebanese border, it said.

It also reported clashes between army deserters and state soldiers in the rebellious province of Idlib that disabled three armored vehicles and killed or wounded six soldiers.

The revolt in Syria was inspired by other uprisings that have toppled three autocratic Arab leaders over the past year and the bloodletting has battered Assad’s standing in the world.

The Arab League has suspended Syria’s membership.

Russia, one of Syria’s few allies, continues to sell weapons to Damascus, which European and U.S. officials have criticized. Iran, at loggerheads with Western powers over its disputed nuclear ambitions, is also a strong ally of Assad.

GULF ARAB MONITORS LEAVE SYRIA

More than 50 Arab League observers from Gulf Arab states left Syria on Wednesday after their governments said they were certain “the bloodshed and killing of innocents would continue.”

Their colleagues in Damascus, about 120 strong, pledged to continue the monitoring mission, now extended until February 23, to verify Syria’s compliance with an earlier Arab peace plan.

“The departure of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries will not have an impact on the mission’s work. We are all professionals here and we can do the job,” said a senior Arab monitor, who asked not to be named.

“We need more monitors of course and more will come soon to replace those who left,” the monitor said.

Syrian opposition groups have accused the observer mission, which began on December 26, of giving Assad diplomatic cover to pursue a crackdown on protesters and rebels in which more than 5,000 people have been killed since March, by a U.N. tally.

Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby and Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, who heads the League’s committee on Syria, wrote jointly to U.N. chief Ban, setting out their plan for a political solution in Syria and requesting a chance to brief the Security Council soon.

British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant told reporters in New York that the Arab League briefing could take place as early as Monday. Council diplomats said a vote on the new draft resolution could follow shortly thereafter.

The new draft resolution says the Security Council “supports … the League of Arab States’ initiative … to facilitate a political transition leading to a democratic, plural political system … including through the transfer of power from the President and transparent and free elections.”

It falls short of making compliance with the Arab plan legally binding. But it does ask U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to report to the council every 15 days on Syria’s compliance with the resolution, which would formally put it on the Security Council’s agenda.

Russia has repeatedly said it does not want Syria to become another Libya, where Moscow contends that NATO misused a Security Council mandate to protect civilians as a vehicle for “regime change.”

But Western diplomats said that Russia might find it difficult to use its veto against a resolution that is simply intended to provide support for the Arab League initiative.

Red Crescent official shot dead in Syria: ICRC

The secretary-general of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent was shot dead Wednesday as he travelled outside the capital Damascus in a clearly marked vehicle, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.

Doctor Abd-al-Razzaq Jbeiro, also head of the Red Crescent branch in the northern town of Idlib, was on the highway to Idlib from Damascus after attending meetings at Red Crescent headquarters, the agency said in a statement.

“Regardless of the circumstances, the ICRC condemns this very severely,” Beatrice Megevand-Roggo, head of ICRC operations for the Near and Middle East, told Reuters in Geneva.

She added that the “lack of respect for medical services” remained a major issue in Syria.

Syrian state television blamed “terrorists” for the killing, saying he had been “assassinated” in Khan Sheikhoun district.

“The president of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, Dr. AbdulRahman al-Attar, said that he has “officially requested the Syrian authorities to launch an investigation into the death of Dr. Jbeiro,” the ICRC said in a statement.

Jbeiro, born in 1945, had also previously worked as director of Idlib hospital.

The ICRC is the only international agency deploying aid workers in Syria. A local Red Crescent volunteer was killed and three others were injured in the flashpoint city of Homs last September when an ambulance came under heavy fire.

More than 5,000 people have been killed in a 10-month-old uprising against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad, the United Nations said last month.

“REPEATED INCIDENTS”

Megevand-Roggo, who had just returned from a two-week trip to Syria,Yemen and Lebanon, said checkpoints and harassment in Syria prevented ambulances and medical workers from evacuating and treating the wounded, some of whom have died as a result.

“It is very difficult for the wounded, notably those among the opposition forces, to get access to necessary medical care. It is difficult for medical personnel to do their work without being under pressure,” she said. “Lives have been lost.”

“There have been repeated incidents where Red Crescent ambulances have been shot at, our volunteers have been wounded. Their work is very dangerous,” she said.

Gulf Arab monitors headed out of Syria Wednesday after their governments said they were “certain the bloodshed and killing of innocents would continue” and the Arab League pursued U.N. support for a plan to end Assad’s rule.

“Protests started out as non-violent but today the situation is one of widespread violence in the country because many arms are circulating and many people use them, Megevand-Roggo said.

“Our access remains fairly random, we cannot go places with any regularity or frequency, some areas are more problematic than others,” she said. “We’d like to develop a more regular and frequent presence in affected areas, including rural zones.”

The ICRC started visiting prisoners in Syria for the first time last September, including the central prison in Damascus.

But it has been unable to carry out further visits to detention centers due to a disagreement with Syrian authorities over the ICRC’s standard terms, she said.

“The dialogue is difficult, we are in a situation of stagnation regarding the possibility for us to resume our activities and visit other detention centers,” she said.

ICRC terms worldwide include the right to interview prisoners privately about their treatment and conditions of detention and to make follow-up visits.

Syrian authorities say that more than 5,000 detainees were released under Bashar’s latest amnesty this month, although activists say this still leaves many thousands more behind bars.

“There are certainly several thousand detainees. We have very little information on the situation,” Megevand-Roggo said. “The most urgent thing is to be able to tell families where their loved ones are being held and to facilitate contact between them.”

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BBC: Syria crisis: Red Crescent official in Idlib shot dead

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent says its vice-president, Abdulrazak Jbeiro, has been shot dead.

The Red Crescent said he was killed as he drove from Damascus to Idlib – a focal point of the Syrian conflict. It condemned the killing.

Across Syria, 24 people were killed on Wednesday, said activists.

The Syrian army is reported to be on the second day of an offensive against insurgents in the central city of Hama.

‘Severe condemnation’

“[Mr Jbeiro] was shot. Circumstances are still unclear,” Beatrice Megevand-Roggo, head of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) operations for the Near and Middle East, told Reuters news agency.

“Regardless of the circumstances, the ICRC condemns this very severely,” she added.

“The lack of respect for medical services is still a great issue in Syria.”

Anti-government activists the Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC) blamed his death on “security forces”, while Syrian state news agency Sana pointed the finger at “a terrorist group”.

Sana said the shooting occurred in the Khan Shiekoun area.

“The group opened fire with a machine-gun, hitting him in the head. He was taken to hospital where he died,” Sana reported, according to news agency AFP.

As well as being vice-president, Dr Jbeiro was the head official in the northern city of Idlib.

Priest killed

Twenty-four Syrians died on Wednesday, the LCC said - six of them soldiers from the Free Syrian Army in clashes in Damascus suburbs.

In Homs, a woman and her five-year-old child reportedly died when a shell hit their home during clashes between troops and men believed to be defecting soldiers.

In Hama, four people died on the second day of a government bombardment, LCC said.

One of them was a Christian priest, Father Bassilius Nassar, who was helping a wounded man.

Sana said he was killed by “an armed terrorist group”, according to AFP.

But LCC said the priest was “martyred” during “a military campaign conducted by the regime’s forces”.

Death toll

The Syrian regime blames “terrorist gangs”, saying they are part of an international conspiracy against Syria, for unrest that has swept the country since mid-March 2011.

The UN said in early December that more than 5,000 people had died in the Syrian unrest.

Speaking on her way into a Security Council briefing, the UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said more people had been killed since then but her office had not updated the death toll because of difficulties getting information.

“We are experiencing difficulties now because of the fragmentation on the ground,” she said.

“Some areas are totally closed, such as parts of Homs, so we are unable to update that figure. But in my view 5,000 and more is a huge figure and should really shock the international community into taking action.”

As the fighting in Syria continues, diplomats at the UN say European and Arab nations are meeting to try to draft a new UN resolution to address the crisis.

A previous attempt was blocked by Russia and China, and on Wednesday Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he was open to “constructive proposals” to end the violence.

But he reiterated his opposition to the use of force or sanctions.

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 In Syria, many caught ‘in the middle’ – CNN.com: Syria is increasingly polarized, says Nic Robertson, who was on assignment there. That leaves many in the middle who want change but don’t want uncertainty…

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How insane is it that a country with one of the worst human rights record is part of a committee that investigates & deals with global human rights abuses. They were voted into the committee in November!!! 8 months into the revolution! Barely 2 months later, there is an effort to have them removed:
 Bid to oust Syria from UNESCO committee that deals with human rights gains steam

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GAZIANTEP, Turkey (Reuters) – Worry etched across their grizzled faces, truck drivers line up their vehicles at Turkey’s Oncupinar border gate, ready to run the gauntlet on a road they dread taking: south: