Wednesday 26 September 2012

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: Final death toll for Wednesday 26/9/2012: More than 300 Syrians were killed. 26/9/2012 marks the single bloodiest day so far since the beginning of the uprising. The dead include: 189 unarmed civilians (13 were children) , 22 rebel fighters, 4 defected soldiers, and 49 regular soldiers.

55 were killed in Reef Dimashq (40 bodies were found in several parts of the Thiyabiya town, the SOHR has documented 29 names so far, they include women and children*); 44 were killed in Deir Izzour province (20 civilians and 3 rebels were killed when regime forces stormed the al-Joura neighbourhood*); 26 were killed in Damascus (17 civilians were killed by pro-regime gunmen in Harat al-Turkman , Barzeh neighbourhood, the dead include 8 women and 3 children); 30 killed in Aleppo province (5 civilians were killed when a rocket landed on the regime-loyal al-Sleimaniya neighbourhood); 14 were killed in Hama province; 7 in Dera’a province; 8 killed in Idlib province; 27 were killed in Homs province (13 men were shot and killed by regime forces in the al-Bayyada neighbourhood).

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NOW! Lebanon
[local time]  21:50 A Syrian rebel commander and a group of fighters told an opposition meeting on Wednesday they had decided to abandon the insurgency against President Bashar al-Assad and return to the regular army.
 21:34 Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron said Wednesday that the blood of children killed in the Syria conflict had become a “terrible stain” on the UN reputation.
 19:56 Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki on Wednesday said his country would support an Arab peacekeeping force in Syria, as nations struggle to find a solution to the conflict.
 19:52 Jordan said on Wednesday it is building a school complex to teach around 4,000 Syrian children at a northern desert refugee camp, where classes are due to start next month.
 19:29 Tunisia said it backs sending an Arab peacekeeping for to Syria, AFP reported.
 19:25 An Islamist rebel group claimed responsibility for a twin bomb attack on Wednesday on the heavily guarded army headquarters in the heart of Damascus.
 18:45 Syria’s Wednesday death toll increased to 258 people, Al-Arabiya quoted activists as saying.
 18:39 Turkey blames Syrian support for Kurdish separatists for an explosion of violence in the country, but some observers argue it springs from the state’s failure to reach a political solution.
 18:19 Prisoners of their homeland’s conflict, Syrian refugees have been crammed for weeks in shelters in a border village just meters away from the Turkish border waiting for a green light to cross.
 16:49 Four troops guarding the military headquarters in Damascus were killed on Wednesday when twin blasts blamed on suicide bombers targeted the building, state television cited a military official as saying.
 16:49 The Syrian military on Wednesday said that four guards were killed in the Damascus bombings that targeted the Syrian military headquarters, AFP reported.
 16:29 Syrian regime forces summarily executed 21 people in the Deir az-Zour neighborhood of Al-Joura, activists reported.
 15:51 The death toll in Syria has risen to 192 people on Wednesday, Al-Arabiya quoted activists as saying.
 15:39 A Syrian rebel commander has accused the West of being complicit in the “unprecedented massacres” committed by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces by refusing to arm the rebels with anti-aircraft weapons.
 14:42 Syrian regime forces’ helicopters shelled the town of Tafas in Daraa, Al-Arabiya quoted activists as saying.
 13:48 Wednesday’s death toll in Syria reached 115 people, Al-Arabiya quoted activists as saying.
 12:28 Syrian commanders all escaped injury in twin bombings that struck near army headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday, the military said.
 12:24 The Free Syrian Army claimed the twin blasts in Damascus, Reuters reported.
 12:20 Wednesday’s death toll has increased to 80, Al-Jazeera quoted activists as saying.
 12:02 Deadly fighting erupted inside the headquarters compound of the Syrian army in the heart of Damascus on Wednesday following twin bombings around the heavily guarded complex, a human rights groups said.
 12:00 Snipers in Damascus killed the correspondent for Iran’s Press TV and wounded the network’s bureau chief on Wednesday as they reported from the site of twin bomb blasts near Syrian army headquarters, the channel said.
 11:59 The bodies of 40 people who had been summarily executed were discovered in the town of Al-Ziyabiya in the Damascus district, Al-Jazeera reported.
 10:42 Syrian security forces backed by shabiha members torched a number of houses in the neighborhood of Meshaa al-Arbain in Hama, Al-Jazeera reported.
 10:36 US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s point man for Syria, Fred Hof, is stepping down at a crucial time as world powers seek to end the conflict in the Arab nation.
 9:50 Syrian security forces killed 25 people on Wednesday, Al-Jazeera television reported.
 9:31 Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi told state television on Wednesday that “the terrorist explosions [that hit Damascus early in the day] were caused by two bombs but the only damage was to property.”
 9:21 Pro-government militiamen executed at least 16 civilians in their homes in Damascus before dawn on Wednesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
 8:48 French President Francois Hollande declared on Tuesday that Iran’s material support of Bashar al-Assad’s regime amounted to an unacceptable interference in Syria’s bloody civil war.
 8:44 The United States is set to unveil more aid for the Syrian opposition this week to help the rebels “protect themselves and defend themselves,” a senior US official said Tuesday.
 7:52 Twin blasts hit near the headquarters of the army general staff in the heart of Damascus early on Wednesday, state television said, without giving any immediate word on any casualties.
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Reuters: Lack of access in Syria hinders humanitarian aid: EU

UNITED NATIONS – Escalating violence in Syria and limited access to civilians in need hinder the distribution of humanitarian aid in the country, the European Union’s crisis chief said on Wednesday.

An 18-month uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s rule has killed approximately 27,000 people, according to Syrian activists. The revolt has escalated into an armed insurgency with sectarian overtones that could drag in regional powers.

The European Union estimates 2.5 million Syrians need humanitarian assistance, compared to 1 million in March. They include 1.2 million people forced from their homes.

“To do more, we need more access in Syria,” EU humanitarian affairs commissioner Kristalina Georgieva said after talks on the issue with heads of U.N. and other international aid agencies at the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

“This is an urban war, which makes it difficult for aid to be distributed.”

Georgieva said there was an urgent need for more high-level discussions to allow aid workers to get to those in need.

“With no end to the fighting in sight, with serious food and medicine shortages, and with the winter approaching, it was high time to discuss at the highest possible level what the needs are and how we can bring help to people who need it,” she said.

The European Union provided $287 million for humanitarian efforts in Syria, Georgieva said, but only 38 percent of a U.N. funding appeal has been met.

“Although the EU has made very generous donations, we still need more donations to match the escalation of needs,” she said.

Georgieva reiterated remarks she made last month that all sides in the conflict have an obligation under international law to allow humanitarian aid workers access to combat zones to evacuate civilians and the wounded.

(Reporting by Amena Bakr; Editing by David Brunnstrom and Stacey Joyce)

Syrian rebels bomb army command in Damascus:

An 18-month uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s rule has killed approximately 27,000 people, according to Syrian activists. The revolt has escalated into an armed insurgency with sectarian overtones that could drag in regional powers.

The European Union estimates 2.5 million Syrians need humanitarian assistance, compared to 1 million in March. They include 1.2 million people forced from their homes.

“To do more, we need more access in Syria,” EU humanitarian affairs commissioner Kristalina Georgieva said after talks on the issue with heads of U.N. and other international aid agencies at the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

“This is an urban war, which makes it difficult for aid to be distributed.”

Georgieva said there was an urgent need for more high-level discussions to allow aid workers to get to those in need.

“With no end to the fighting in sight, with serious food and medicine shortages, and with the winter approaching, it was high time to discuss at the highest possible level what the needs are and how we can bring help to people who need it,” she said.

The European Union provided $287 million for humanitarian efforts in Syria, Georgieva said, but only 38 percent of a U.N. funding appeal has been met.

“Although the EU has made very generous donations, we still need more donations to match the escalation of needs,” she said.

Georgieva reiterated remarks she made last month that all sides in the conflict have an obligation under international law to allow humanitarian aid workers access to combat zones to evacuate civilians and the wounded.

(Reporting by Amena Bakr; Editing by David Brunnstrom and Stacey Joyce)

Syrian death toll now tops 30,000: activist group

BEIRUT – At least 30,000 people have died in Syria’s 18-month-old uprising, a British-based Syrian monitoring group said on Wednesday, and more than half of the victims counted were killed in the past five months…

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BBC: ‘Suicide attack’ on Syria army HQ

Four military guards were killed after suicide attackers drove vehicle bombs into the military HQ in the heart of Damascus, Syrian officials say.

State TV contradicted earlier official accounts that no-one had died. It quoted army sources saying that 14 others were hurt in the attacks.

The rebel Free Syrian Army and an Islamist group called Ansar al-Islam both said they carried out the attack.

State TV broadcast footage of a minibus slowing before exploding at the HQ.

Gunfire reverberated around the city for hours after the bombings, as rebels fought with soldiers at the compound.

Official media said “terrorist attackers” had opened fire inside the perimeter of the compound and in nearby streets, and security forces had confronted them.

As well as this attack, Ansar al-Islam has also said it was behind another assault on a school on Tuesday it said was being used by security forces and militiamen.

State TV said those killed were guards at the compound, and both civilian and military personnel had been wounded.

Witnesses said the blasts ignited a fire that engulfed much of the main building that houses the army’s General Staff.

State media insisted earlier that no senior officers were hurt.

The blasts happened early in the morning close to one of the city’s busiest areas, Umayyad Square, which is dominated by government buildings.

Roads leading to the area were blocked off as the authorities dealt with the aftermath.

Diplomats living close to the area said the blasts were the biggest they had heard for months.

Buildings more than 1km (half a mile) away shook violently under the force of the explosions.

Shattered windows

The BBC’s Rafid Jabboori in Damascus says the target and timing are very significant.

The staff command compound represents the heart of the Syrian army, he says.

And the attack comes days after the Free Syrian Army announced it had moved its command from Turkey to Syria in an apparent attempt to bolster its fight against regime forces.

BBC cameraman Phil Goodwin was in a hotel nearby when the attack struck.

“The first blast shook the entire building I was in and sent a huge plume of smoke in the sky,” he said.

Damascus resident Jean-Pierre Duthion told the BBC that his building also shook and windows were shattered.

Cameron urges UN efforts on Syria

Prime Minister David Cameron has urged world leaders to do more to stop the “atrocities” of president Bashar Assad’s government in Syria.

In the keynote speech to the United Nations General Assembly, he cited a recent report documenting torture and murder of children by regime forces.

It was a “stain on those who have failed to stand up” to Syria, he said.

Mr Cameron also urged leaders to back the emerging democracies of the Arab Spring.

Addressing Syria, Mr Cameron said: “If anyone was in any doubt about the horrors that Assad has inflicted on his people, just look at the evidence published by Save the Children…

“The blood of these young children is a terrible stain on the reputation of this United Nations.

“And in particular, a stain on those who have failed to stand up to these atrocities and in some cases aided and abetted Assad’s reign of terror.

“If the United Nations Charter is to have any value in the 21st century, we must now join together to support a rapid political transition.”

‘Bang the drum’

He also pledged a further £7.4m ($12m) in UK humanitarian aid for civilians caught up in the civil war in Syria.

Russia and China have vetoed UN Security Council resolutions which could have led to sanctions on Syria but Mr Cameron did not refer to the countries by name in his speech.

Turning to the Arab Spring, Mr Cameron said it “represents a precious opportunity for people to realise their aspirations for a job, a voice and a stake in their own future”.

He added: “We in the United Nations must step up our efforts to support the people of these countries as they build their own democratic future.”

Before his address to the General Assembly, Mr Cameron held talks with Libyan President Mohamed Yousef el-Magariaf.

He also met Egypt’s first democratically-elected leader, President Mohamed Mursi, of the Muslim Brotherhood, at New York’s Waldorf Astoria hotel.

He was expected to offer Britain’s advice on how to manage the area of the Sinai, which has seen recent clashes between security forces and militants.

Chief of the Defence Staff Sir David Richards is due to take part in discussions about security in the Sinai when he visits Cairo later in the year.

The UK prime minister also promised to help repatriate about £100m of Egypt’s assets – stolen by ousted president Mubarak and frozen in the UK during last year’s upheavals – with a new task force supporting Arab Spring countries.

Under EU sanctions still in place, Britain cannot inform Cairo about exactly what assets are being held.

Mr Cameron also took part in talks with Afghan president Hamid Karzai and Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari.

The two leaders agreed to work together on a framework for co-operation following the withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan in 2014.

Later, Mr Cameron is due to appear on one of American’s best-known television talk shows, the Late Show with David Letterman.

He is expected to use his appearance to “bang the drum” for investment and tourism in Britain.

He will be the first serving British prime minister to be interviewed on the late night talk show – a fixture on US screens for 30 years which attracts a daily audience of about three million.

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Guardian: Turkey is in the mood to take a tougher line with Syria

Growing fears that Syria’s civil war is spilling over into neighbouring countries are driving urgent discussions involving Turkey and Arab states about a tougher, joint response, including possible military intervention. A focal point is this weekend’s Turkish ruling party convention in Ankara, which several Arab leaders are expected to attend. But old grudges, current weakness, and a tendency to say, “After you, Claude” when it comes to actual fighting seem likely to continue to undermine effective regional action.

Unlike in Libya – where Nato took the lead after the Arab League disowned Muammar Gaddafi – Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and other Arab governments that are demanding Assad’s departure have been left to their own devices by the west. Barack Obama repeated his demand at the UN this week that the Syrian “dictator” stand down, but made no new move to achieve it. Hopes that Obama will take a tougher line if he is re-elected in November remain just that: hopes.

Paralysing divisions within the UN security council, where Russia and China have repeatedly blocked calls for harsher measures, show no sign of easing. Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, spoke of a “regional calamity with global ramifications”. Ban added: “The international community should not look the other way.” But despite fine speeches, and reminders of the UN’s legal “responsibility to protect”, this is exactly what is happening.

Anger at this sorry state of affairs was voiced recently in Tehran by President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt, who insisted, to his Iranian hosts’ discomfort, that the world had a “moral duty” to stop the Syrian slaughter. Speaking this week, Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Hamad al-Thani, went further, proposing a military intervention.

“The security council failed to reach an effective position. In view of this, I think that it is better for the Arab countries themselves to interfere out of their national, humanitarian, political and military duties and do what is necessary to stop the bloodshed in Syria,” Hamad told the UN general assembly. Countries should provide “all sorts of support”, presumably including arms, to the opposition.

Direct military intervention in Syria by Arab countries remains extremely unlikely at present. But indirect, covert means are already being applied, and militarily weak governments continue to push others to act on their behalf. It was reported in July, for example, that Saudi Arabia and Qatar had induced Turkey to set up a secret “nerve centre” in Adana to direct military, intelligence, logistics and communications aid to Syrian rebels. This supposed operation may also have tacit CIA support. All the countries mentioned deny supplying arms.

Yet despite evident reluctance to get involved directly, the political temperature is rising as Syria’s civil war spreads like an ink stain across a parchment map of the Middle East. Lebanon and Jordan fear political and social destabilisation amid an inexorable refugee tide. Reports from Iraq speak of repeated incursions into its land and air space by Syrian combatants. Syrian mortar shells landed in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday.

Among all the neighbours, it is militarily formidable Turkey that is suffering the most, principally as a result of Assad’s decision to offer Syrian bases and backing to Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) fighters in their ongoing separatist struggle in and around south-east Turkey. Damascus’s move followed the decision by the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to break ties with Syria, condemn the bloodshed and demand Assad’s removal. In an interview last week, Erdogan said: “This regime will go. Bashar is politically dead”.

The price of such enmity is high. PKK-related violence inside Turkey has now reached a 10-year high and is spreading, according to recent reports. Tuesday saw another attack in which six Turkish soldiers and one civilian were killed. Iran, Syria’s ally, is covertly supporting Assad’s Kurdish strategy, and this has led in turn to new strains in its relations with Ankara.

Turkey is being pressed by France to create and defend “liberated zones” along its border with Syria, an idea harking back to the Iraq “safe havens” of the 1990s and from which the US and Britain have so far distanced themselves. But while Erdogan will not act on the French proposal without UN or at least US and Nato backing, he may well be in the mood to hit back at Assad over his provocative support for the PKK. This weekend, several regional leaders opposed to Assad, including Egypt’s Morsi, will attend Erdogan’s ruling party bash. Expect ever more urgent plotting on the theme: Get Bashar.