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‘Fresh crackdown’ on Syria unrest
12 August 2011 Last updated at 08:57 ET
Syria allowed the media to film in Hama after its high-profile military withdrawalSyrian forces have renewed their crackdown on protesters, activists say, with operations in Deir al-Zour in the east and Kahn Sheikhun in the north.
They said troops had opened fire on thousands of protesters in Deir al-Zour and attacked Kahn Sheikhun at dawn with tanks and troop carriers.
Protests were expected to intensify after Friday’s noon prayers.
Activists reported eight deaths, taking the death-toll for the past 24 hours to more than 20.
Violence was in the restive central city of Homs, the capital Damascus, and Aleppo and Idlib near the Turkish border.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for wider international sanctions on the Syrian government.
More than 1,700 people have died and tens of thousands of people have reportedly been arrested since the uprising against the the 41-year rule of President Bashar al-Assad’s family began in March.
‘Intense gunfire’
Witnesses and activists said thousands of people had come out to protest on Friday against President Assad after prayers in two mosques in Deir al-Zour.
One witness told Reuters news agency by telephone that soldiers had fired live ammunition as people left the mosques.
He was quoted as saying: “The whole neighbourhood is echoing with the sound of bullets. Worshippers are running to take cover in alleyways.”
Syria-based activist Mustafa Osso confirmed to Associated Press there had been shooting in the city but could give no casualty figures.
Mr Osso said other protests had been reported in Homs and around Hama.
Syrian state television admitted there had been small demonstrations after Friday prayers, but activists say they were far bigger and more widespread, says the BBC’s Jim Muir in Beirut.
International journalists face severe restrictions to reporting in Syria, and it is hard to verify reports.
Abdel Rahman, head of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told Agence France-Presse that there had been a major army assault on Kahn Sheikhun, in north-western Idlib province, at dawn.
“Dozens of tanks, troop carriers and civilian cars were used,” he said. “Intense gunfire was heard.”
He said one woman had been killed.
Activists also reported that one person had been shot dead and others wounded in the Damascus suburb of Saqba.
Our correspondent says although Friday prayers remain a focal point for protests, during the current fasting month of Ramadan opponents of the regime are treating each day like a Friday, and people protesting every night after evening and early-morning prayers.
‘Chorus of condemnation’
The crackdown comes despite a week of international diplomacy to try to halt the violence.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu vid President Assad this week, and on returning to Ankara described the methods used by the Syrian security forces as “unacceptable”.
Mrs Clinton on CBS Evening News: ”What we really need to do… is to sanction the oil and gas industry”
On Thursday, Mrs Clinton called for wider international sanctions on Syria.
In an interview with CBS News, Mrs Clinton said other countries needed to exercise their influence over the regime.
“What we really need to do to put the pressure on Assad is to sanction the oil and gas industry,” she said, citing Europe, China and India as powers with energy investments in Syria, and adding that the US also wanted Russia to stop selling arms to the Assad regime.
When asked why Washington has not called yet outright for Mr Assad to stand down, Mrs Clinton said the US was focusing on “building the chorus of international condemnation”.
“Rather than us saying it and nobody following, we think it’s important to lead and have others follow as well.”
A day earlier, Syria had allowed international media to film as the army withdrew from the severely attacked city of Hama, a move correspondents said had clearly been aimed at appeasing Damascus’s neighbour, Turkey, and other outside powers.
The recent large-scale operations by the army have drawn international condemnation, with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait recalling their ambassadors from Damascus.
Mr Assad has reiterated promises of political reform, while remaining adamant his government would continue to pursue the “terrorist groups” he has blamed for the unrest.
- Syria’s anti-government protests, inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt, first erupted in mid-March after the arrest of a group of teenagers who spray-painted a revolutionary slogan on a wall. The protests soon spread, and human rights activists and opposition groups say 1,700 people have died in the turmoil, while thousands more have been injured.
- Although the arrest of the teenagers in the southern city of Deraa first prompted people to take to the streets, unrest has since spread to other areas, including Hama, Homs, Latakia, Jisr al-Shughour and Baniyas. Demonstrators are demanding greater freedom, an end to corruption, and, increasingly, the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad.
- President Assad’s government has responded to the protests with overwhelming military force, sending tanks and troops into at least nine towns and cities. In Deraa and Homs – where protests have persisted ? amateur video footage shows tanks firing on unarmed protesters, while snipers have been seen shooting at residents venturing outside their homes.
- Some of the bloodiest events have taken place in the northern town of Jisr al-Shughour. In early June, officials claimed 120 security personnel were killed by armed gangs, however protesters said the dead were shot by troops for refusing to kill demonstrators. As the military moved to take control of the town, thousands fled to neighbouring Turkey, taking refuge in camps.
- Although the major cities of Damascus and Aleppo have seen pockets of unrest and some protests, it has not been widespread – due partly to a heavy security presence. There have been rallies in the capital – one with an enormous Syrian flag – in support of President Assad, who still receives the backing of many in Syria’s middle class, business elite and minority groups.
- The Assad family has been in power for 40 years, with Bashar al-Assad inheriting office in 2000. The president has opened up the economy, but has continued to jail critics and control the media. He is from the minority Alawite sect – an offshoot of Shia Islam ? but the country’s 20 million people are mainly Sunni. The biggest protests have been in Sunni-majority areas.
- Although the US and EU have condemned the violence and imposed sanctions, the UN Security Council has been unable to agree on a response. Some fear the country could descend into civil war if the government collapsed, while others believe chaos in Syria ? with its strategic location and its web of regional alliances – could destabilise the entire Middle East.
— ’re ’s , . : A ‘Malign Intellectual Subculture’ – George Monbiot Smears Chomsky, Herman, Peterson, Pilger And Media Lens.
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