Syrian unrest - TheNewTopical.com - current events, politics, culture, ethics, economics discussion forum

FredFredson · #1 (**permalink**) 25-04-11, 02:14 PM

25 April 2011 Last updated at 07:52 ET

Syrian army 'attacks protest city of Deraa'

BBC News - Syrian army 'attacks protest city of Deraa'

Unverified amateur video showed troops advancing on Deraa

Syria's army has advanced into the southern city of Deraa, using tanks to support troops amid an intensified effort to curb popular protests.

One activist was quoted as saying that security forces were "firing in all directions", and at least five people were reportedly killed.

Witnesses also said security forces had opened fire in a suburb of Damascus.

A prominent human rights campaigner said President Bashar al-Assad had launched a "savage war" on protesters.

There have been numerous reports of crackdowns and arrests around Syria over recent days, despite the lifting of an emergency law last week.

On Sunday, at least 13 people were reported to have been killed in the north-western city of Jabla, while dozens of protesters died on Friday.

Deraa is the city in which protesters, many of whom are now demanding that President Assad step down, began calling for political reforms last month.

It is just a few miles from the border with Jordan, which has been closed by the Syrians, according to Jordan's information minister.
'Electricity cut'
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
image of Owen Bennett Jones Owen Bennett Jones BBC News, Beirut

This is a big move by the government, an attempt to sort this out once and for all I think. We'll now have to see if the protesters are going to be forced back into their homes, or whether they will remain defiant despite what's happened.

This is a one-party state and it has been extremely repressive in the past. The last time this happened was 1982 when there was an insurgency in just one town, Hama. The father of the current president sent in troops and they killed possibly 10,000 people and razed a whole quarter.

That is the history of this government. We may not be seeing anything on that scale but we are seeing something of that character, with troops being moved in to make sure the government remains the government.

One activist told the BBC that in Deraa tanks had surrounded al-Omari mosque in the old city and security forces were removing dead bodies from the street.

AFP news agency quoted an activist as saying that an estimated 3,000 members of the security forces had entered Deraa, and snipers had been firing from roofs.

Another activist, Abdullah al-Harriri, told AFP: "The men are firing in all directions and advancing behind the armour which is protecting them," he said.

"Electricity is cut off and telephone communications are virtually impossible."

Several reports said that at least five people had been killed.

Foreign journalists have been prevented from entering the country, making information hard to verify.

But the BBC's Owen Bennett-Jones in neighbouring Lebanon says the use of tanks has not been reported elsewhere in Syria, and would mark a scaling up in the government's response to protests.

It appears from the latest reports that the government is absolutely determined to use force to suppress the protest movement, he says.

A leading Syrian campaigner, Suhair al-Atassi, said authorities had launched "a savage war designed to annihilate Syria's democrats".

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay denounced the escalation of the crackdown.

"The violence and ongoing repression of activists... indicates that either the Government is not serious about those reforms or it is unable to control its own security forces," she said.
Wave of arrests

Opposition activists in recent days have been describing Deraa as liberated territory, and two members of parliament and a local religious official resigned on Saturday to protest against the killing of demonstrators there.
Map showing Syria

In the Damascus suburb of Douma, where there have also been big demonstrations, witnesses said authorities had raided the neighbourhood, firing and making sweeping arrests.

The unrest in Jabla on Sunday came after security forces moved into the Sunni old city following a protest there the previous day.

Witnesses said they were still patrolling the streets on Monday morning.

Many in the north-western town of 80,000 are members of the same Alawite minority as President Assad, and they have generally avoided joining protests until now.

The authorities have reacted erratically to demonstrations - sometimes promising to allow more democracy and freedoms, and other times opening fire on demonstrators.

At least 95 people were reported killed across Syria on Friday and a further 12 on Saturday, as mourners came under fire.

In total, more than 350 people have been killed since demonstrations started in March, activists say.

FredFredson · #2 (**permalink**) 05-05-11, 09:45 PM

Syria protests: Rights group warns of 'Deraa massacre'
5 May 2011 Last updated at 13:19 ET

BBC News - Syria protests: Rights group warns of 'Deraa massacre'

A Syrian human rights group has accused the government of carrying out "10 days of massacres" against protesters in the southern city of Deraa.

The Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies (DCHRS) says snipers and anti-aircraft machine guns are being used to fire on unarmed civilians.

Recent amateur video appears to show dozens of unarmed protesters being shot and bleeding to death on the streets.

The government is trying to quell seven weeks of protests that began in Deraa.

In cities across the country, protesters are calling for greater political rights and personal freedoms. Some are calling for the downfall of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

On Thursday, the US and Italy condemned the "brutal crackdown" by the Syrian government on its people.

[Warning: We have included an image lower down this page which some readers may find distressing.]

More than 500 Syrians are thought to have been killed and at least 2,500 others detained. Rights groups say the figure could be much higher.
Continue reading the main story

At the scene
Wyre Davies BBC News, Syria-Jordan border

The images coming out of Syria are desperate and distressing. A video that we're pretty sure is from Deraa shows nothing short of a massacre - dozens of people killed in the streets, people shot through the head, others bleeding to death on the ground.

They appear to be mostly young and unarmed people who took part a few weeks ago in nothing more than a protest for change.

The few people managing to get out of Syria and across the border into Jordan are very frightened and wary of speaking out. But one man who came out this morning told me three members of his own family had been killed.

He says the army is now in Deraa literally washing away the blood from the streets. This is in anticipation of a visit by a UN human rights delegation in the next few days.

All of these images are being seen in Syria, because as far as we are aware, internet and phone networks are still largely working.

Given what's happening in many parts of the country, it is difficult to see how the president can come back from this with any degree of credibility or support.

Despite the violence, activists have vowed to stage a "Day of Defiance" on Friday.

The unrest poses the most serious challenge to four decades of rule by the Assad family in one of the Arab world's most repressive countries.

Foreign journalists are not allowed to enter the country, so it is difficult to verify the reports.

Tanks and snipers

The southern town of Deraa had been a hotbed of protest until troops backed by tanks took control of the city 10 days ago.

In a statement titled "ten days of massacres" the DCHRS says army units have been using anti-aircraft machine guns to shell houses in central neighbourhoods, such as al-Mahata and Daraa al-Balad.

Snipers have been stationed on the rooftops of high buildings and are targeting any moving persons, it adds.

"Dead bodies remain in the streets for more than 24 hours and then disappear," an eyewitness told the DCHRS.

The organisation said 244 bodies had been transferred to the Tishreen Military Hospital in the capital, Damascus, over a two-day period. Many were children, it said, quoting a medic at the hospital.

The source also said 81 bodies of soldiers and army officers had been received. Most were killed by a gunshot to the back.

DCHRS says it strongly suspects that the soldiers were killed for refusing to shoot civilians.
Still image from 26 April YouTube video, thought to show a peaceful protest in Deraa A still image from an amateur video that appears to be from a recent protest in Deraa

The government says it is taking action against "elements of terrorist groups... to restore security, peace and stability".
'Traitors and dogs'

Amateur footage uploaded on YouTube on 26 April appears to show tanks firing indiscriminately on unarmed protesters. The BBC has not been able to contact the person who shot the video, but it appears to be credible.

The men are heard screaming for ambulances and shouting "You dogs, you traitors, you child-killers, Assad you dog".

The crackdown is not confined to Deraa. In other developments reported by activists and human rights:

Hundreds of Syrian troops stormed the Damascus suburb of Saqba overnight - breaking into houses and arresting about 300 people, witnesses say. In Douma, there were reports that government-backed "thugs" and security forces had raided two hospitals - Hamdan and Noor. And At least 30 people were arrested in the Damascus district of Tal on Wednesday, including men in their 70s or 80s.
Elsewhere in the country, troops and tanks are reported to have been sent to the town of Rastan near the central city of Homs, and Baniyas on the coast

Despite the crackdown, small anti-government demonstrations are still being held in several areas, including the central cities of Homs and Hama, and the Damascus suburb of Deraya.

On Wednesday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on President Assad to end the clampdown on opposition supporters.

The US has denounced the crackdown as "barbaric" and tightened its sanctions against senior Syrian officials.

Speaking during a visit to Rome on Thursday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Europe and the US had to work together in the interests of the Syrian people.

"Together we have to show the Syrian government that there are consequences for this brutal crackdown that has been imposed on the Syrian people."

FredFredson · #3 (**permalink**) 07-05-11, 04:12 PM

Syrian Tanks Enter Coastal Town of Banias

Margaret Besheer | Beirut May 07, 2011

Syrian Tanks Enter Coastal Town of Banias | News | English

Rights activists say that Syrian troops and tanks entered the coastal city of Banias early Saturday, a day after clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters left at least 31 people dead.

Activists told news agencies that electricity and communications were cut in Banias before the troops entered the city from three directions, heading to Sunni Muslim areas and avoiding those neighborhoods where residents from the country's ruling Alawite minority live.

Syrian security forces also entered the city in mid-April as well. It has been a center of anti-government protests and it is also the home to one of Syria's two oil refineries.

The move comes after tens of thousands of protesters shouting anti-government slogans and calling for freedom participated in demonstrations Friday in several major towns and cities, including Banias.

Syria's state news agency said Saturday that the Interior Ministry said a "subversive group" terrorized citizens and attacked property Friday in Hama governate, injuring 25 police officers.

Bashar al-Assad's government has portrayed its crackdown on protesters as trying to quell violence perpetrated by armed gangs and infiltrators.

Human rights groups say more than 600 protesters have been killed and thousands more arrested since the anti-government demonstrations began on March 15. Most foreign media have been banned from the country, so independent verification of reports has been difficult.

Despite international condemnation of the crackdown, Syria appears to be moving ahead with its candidacy for a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council.

Nadim Houry, director of Human Rights Watch's Beirut office, says it would be outrageous for the Human Rights Council to have Syria as one of its members, especially after it suspended Libya.

"It is a disgrace for Syria, but it is also a real problem for the institution of the Human Rights Council," said Houry. "Because what would be the signal that they are sending? That on the one hand the Human Rights Council meets like they did last week, calls for an international investigation into Syria, condemns Syria's practices, and then somehow welcome it to the club. That just does not add up."

The U.N. General Assembly will vote on May 20. Currently Syria's candidacy is unopposed.

FredFredson · #4 (**permalink**) 11-05-11, 01:40 PM

11 May 2011 Last updated at 07:31 ET

Syria tanks 'shell' protest city of Homs

BBC News - Syria tanks 'shell' protest city of Homs

Syrian soldier patrols Damascus street - 8 May Damascus and Aleppo have so far been free of major protests

Syrian army tanks have been shelling the third biggest city of Homs, as security forces continue their nationwide crackdown on weeks of anti-government protests.

Several reports say the residential district of Bab Amro came under attack in the early hours of the morning.

Towns around Deraa in the south have been raided and a western suburb of the capital Damascus has been cut off.

Thousands have reportedly been arrested and hundreds killed in the crackdown.

The Syrian government insists it is pursuing "armed terrorist gangs".

It says it has seized arms and ammunition as well as 150 motorbikes it says the "terrorists" were using to launch attacks.

Meanwhile, diplomats at the United Nations say international pressure following the crackdown has caused Syria to drop its plans to run for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council.

There has been no official confirmation of the move.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on Syria to take a softer line.

"I urge again President [Bashar al-]Assad to heed calls for reform and freedom and to desist from excessive force and mass arrest of peaceful demonstrators," he told journalists.

Analysis
image of Jim Muir Jim Muir BBC News, Beirut, Lebanon

Any kind of protest in a country as rigidly controlled as Syria is dangerous, and the authorities are very worried about the fire spreading to all areas. Indeed there have been signs of protest and revolt in practically every part of the country.

However, the big cities - Aleppo and Damascus itself - have not been fully caught up in this revolt. There have been some little protests there, very quickly stifled - the security is all pervasive there. But the population has not risen up as in Cairo or Tunisia, they haven't come out in their hundreds or thousands and until that happens the regime won't be mortally threatened.

But it is facing its biggest threat in more than 40 years of rule by the Assad family and the Baath party, and it's taking no chances.

He said he was disappointed that Syria had not yet allowed an international aid assessment team access to Deraa, where the unrest began in March, despite assurances from Mr Assad.

Under siege

The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut, the capital of neighbouring Lebanon, says that despite the crackdown, solidarity demonstrations are being reported from many parts of the country.

It seems that as soon as the flames are stifled in one area, they break out somewhere else, he adds.

One resident in Homs told the BBC that Bab Amro district had been under siege for four days, with no water, electricity or access to medical care.

He said there had been clashes between security forces and residents, who resisted troops with hunting rifles.

It has not been possible to verify the account.

Reports said heavy shelling began in Bab Amro at about 0530 (0230 GMT) on Wednesday, and that hundreds of troops were moving into the area.

One eyewitness reported seeing three dead bodies in the centre of the district.

Another said there had been a "cautious calm" in the area since 0700, "only interrupted by occasional sounds of gunfire".

A third eyewitness told the BBC security in Homs was extremely tight.

"Always when we go on the streets, around our jobs and the city centre we find the tanks on the bridges," he said.

"They divided the city into three or four regions ... and inspect everybody who comes in. Nobody can go out.

"We see the tanks with [many] soldiers, fully armed, and we hear the sounds of firing from inside these regions. But we have no ability to go there to see what's happening or to give food or to give help to the injured people."

There are reports of theft and looting, and that the main shopping centre in the area has been badly damaged by bombing.
Situation 'normal'

In the town of Jassem, north of Deraa, mass demonstrations continued into the night even as the troops and tanks started to move in.
Anti-government protests in Homs, Syria (6 May 2011) Homs reportedly has no water, electricity or medical care

Jassem and other towns in the area have been surrounded by security forces for several days, declaring their defiance through frequent peaceful protests.

Nearby Deraa has been cut off by troops and tanks for over two weeks, with dozens killed and hundreds arrested.

The government says the situation there is now normal, but it has not allowed UN relief missions in.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says 621 civilians and 120 security personnel have been killed since demonstrations pro-democracy protests began in March. Another Syrian rights group, Sawasiah, says more than 800 civilians have been killed.

Officials dispute the civilian toll and say about 100 soldiers have died.

Foreign journalists have not been allowed to enter Syria, so reports from the country are difficult to verify independently.

FredFredson · #5 (**permalink**) 11-05-11, 01:48 PM

Hmmm...

Tricky this one. Very similar situation to Libya with one big difference, a real very professional and well equipped army.

I'm surprised at the relative silence of the western media frankly. Here is a state, on the border of Iraq, Israel and Lebanon, that has interfered with it's neighbors for years and that may even have proto WMD and nobody seems to be worried?

Of course it's not a major oil producer...

F

FredFredson · #6 (**permalink**) 15-05-11, 10:05 PM

Donkeys Take Over From DSL as Syria Shuts Down Internet

Sunday, 15 May 2011 17:10

Donkeys Take Over From DSL as Syria Shuts Down Internet

RAMTHA, Jordan (TML) - The Facebook revolution has retreated from this dusty Jordanian town on the Syrian border.

In a bid to quash a rebellion now entering its third month, the Syrian government, perhaps one of the world's most Internet-unfriendly, has shut down pretty much all electronic communications inside the country and to overseas. Cut off from the World Wide Web, protestors, journalists and human rights activists have resorted to communications networks from another era.

And for that, Ramtha, a Jordanian town of about 100,000 people 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the capital of Amman, has become a virtual switchboard for news coming out of Syria, not to mention a swarm of refugees seeking to flee the carnage that has taken some 800 lives across the country, according to a United Nations estimate released last Friday.

Facebook and other social media have been widely lauded as the fuse that lit the unrest exploding across the Arab world. But Internet use in Syria has always been severely constrained and the number of people with access to it is very small - about 17% of the country had it in 2010, according to Internet World Stats - even if the government dropped its long-standing ban of Facebook weeks before the unrest broke out.

Just across the border from Ramtha, the Syrian town of Dara'a is the birthplace of the Syria rebellion. That began in mid-March when dozens or more youths were detained by security forces for spraying anti-government graffiti. Since then, despite the massive presence of troops and attacks on the city's main mosque, Dara'a remains in turmoil.

To get the news outs, activists have been smuggling videos to Jordan through the desert and across a nearly 80-kilometer border Jordan shares with Syria. Some risk approaching the border with Jordanian cellphones to report to the outside world and send clips. It's a dangerous task because the Syrian and Jordanian armies traditionally have the area under heavy surveillance to prevent the smuggling of drugs and weapons into the kingdom or further to the Gulf states.

But desperate Syrians have been using a helping hand from smugglers to cross the border, either by walking or on the backs of donkeys, according to residents from Ramtha. Locals have centuries if not millennia of experience eluding officials.

"The two cities are connected more than anyone could think. For hundreds of years, the residents of Ramtha and Dara'a have been moving between the two towns easily through the farms and desert area. Now they rediscovered these ancient routes," says Ahmed Kareem, a Jordanian taxi driver from Ramtha.

Kareem says several Syrian families escaped the wrath of the military by walking for nearly 24 hours before they were received by residents from Ramtha. The majority are being housed in a public school for the sake of their safety, and away from prying eyes of the media.

"We prepared the schools to welcome as many refugees as possible, but the problem is that many want to come but are unable due to the closure," said Kareem.

Syria says it has been forced to close the border to prevent foreign elements, who it has blamed for inciting violence, from infiltrating into its territory. Syrian officials indirectly accused Jordan of facilitating entry of foreign elements to stir the public against Bashar al Assad regime. Syria also accused Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood movement of coordinating with its Syria's counterpart to topple the al Assad regime.

Those allegations have yet to be proven, but the closure limits the flow of news about what has been taking place in Dara'a, said Abu Abdullah, a Syrian rights activist who spoke to the Media Line by telephone from the city.

Syria refuses to allow foreign press into its territories, while those who leave refuse to go on camera for fear of retribution. Last month a Reuters correspondent was arrested after he was found covering the uprising in Dara'a. Dorothy Parvaz, an Al-Jazeera television correspondent, was detained by Syrian authorities and has since reportedly been transferred to Iran.

As a result, scores of journalists have flocked to the border point near Ramtha in the hope of catching news on the military operation taking place. But it is not proving to be easy, according to journalist stationed near Jordan's border point.

Syrian activists who try to reach the outside world take a serious risk. Abu Abdullah, who asked not to be identified by his real name, uses a Jordanian mobile number to place calls, but to do so he has to get close to the Jordanian border at the risk of getting killed. Among the Jordanian cellular operators, activists say Umnia has the best reception in Dara'a.

"As I talk, people are trying to protect me from snipers by holding barrels and other items. This is very dangerous. We are unable to tell the world what is happening," Abdullah said last week as he gave an account of an attack on civilians, including women and children.

"As I walked to this spot, I saw three people dead -- a woman, a man and a girl. Nobody was able to save them because of the snipers stationed on rooftops," he said.

Activists in Jordan say Syria has arrested a number of Jordanians as they tried to cross into its territories through the regular border crossings. Abdullah Zubi, a Jordanian driver arrested three weeks ago on the border, says Syrian police had one idea about the events.

"They asked me to confess that Jordan's intelligence service is behind the attacks. They prepared a confession about role of Jordan's secret service and wanted me to sign it," he told The Media Line a day after he was released on May 11.

According to Zubi, Syria has arrested dozens of Jordanians during the past weeks as part of its crackdown on Dara'a.

Ramtha residents are concerned that the crisis will have severe economic implications for a city reliant on trade. Ramtha sees dozens of vehicles crossing into Syria or coming into the kingdom laden with goods heading to the kingdom's market or to the oil rich Gulf states. The border crossing has helped thousands of Jordanians make a living.

But since Syria sealed the border with Ramtha, the city's streets are void of traffic. It's a double-blow for Ramtha residents, who are also feeling the impact of higher food and energy prices and a slowing Jordanian economy.

Many residents say they will have to look some where else to earn a living. For a start, this week, the government has now allowed taxi drivers from Ramtha to operate in other routes in light of continued closure of the borders.
Article © AHN - All Rights Reserved

FredFredson · #7 (**permalink**) 14-06-11, 12:19 AM

Truth about 'massacre' stays buried as fight for border town goes on

What really happened in the restive town of Jisr al-Shughour? Justin Vela reports

Tuesday, 14 June 2011

Truth about 'massacre' stays buried as fight for border town goes on - Middle East, World - The Independent
An image from Syria's state television allegedly of a mass grave of security forces killed by rebels

AFP/GETTY

An image from Syria's state television allegedly of a mass grave of security forces killed by rebels

* Photos enlarge

From the moment that news broke of a "massacre" in the town of Jisr al-Shughour, it took six days for the Syrian military to rumble into the restive north-west and crush any remnants of opposition in the near-empty town.

The operation – which was over by Sunday night – was brutal, left homes and livelihoods destroyed and marked a significant new phase in the three-month uprising, with regime soldiers apparently defecting in significant numbers for the first time.

The operation has heightened international anger over the crackdown and put further pressure on the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Critics included Turkey, which has received some of the thousands of fleeing citizens.

The first indication of the crushing operation came on 6 June when Syrian authorities claimed 120 soldiers and security personnel had been killed by "armed gangs" in Jisr al-Shughour in Idlib province, a hotbed of demonstrations against the regime.

State media said 80 were killed in the town's security headquarters. The dead were mutilated and some thrown into a river. Some witnesses claimed the deaths came when the military turned their guns on soldiers who refused to fire on unarmed protesters.

In the following days, state media and ministers warned that the military was coming. "The state ... will not stay arms folded in the face of armed attacks on the security of the homeland," said Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim al-Shaar. The warnings were enough to trigger the start of a rush to the Turkish border.

The "security operation" was launched by the Syrian army's infamous 4th Brigade, commanded by Maher Assad, the brother of dictator Bashar. As 200 vehicles, including tanks, and thousands of soldiers moved north, the brigade conducted a scorched-earth policy. Refugees who fled from in and around the town said their animals were killed and their crops burned. Homes were torched – allegedly with civilians inside – and hundreds were arrested, mostly men aged between 18 and 40.

The army arrived outside the town on Friday and attempted to seal it off. They defused bombs attached to bridges that had been set to try to delay them, according to state media. Some locals stayed behind and set up roadblocks to give the few people who remained behind time to flee. "We waited to get about 10 per cent of the population out. The remaining 90 per cent had already managed to leave," defector Lieutenant-Colonel Hussein Harmoush told online Ugarit News.

The Syrian forces began the attack on Friday. Tanks fired indiscriminately at the town; helicopter gun-ships flew low and fired on fleeing residents, refugees told The Independent.

Buildings were destroyed and cars burned, refugee Mohammed Amr told The Independent. One resident, known as Bassem, left Jisr al-Shughour on Saturday afternoon. "I wanted to stay there and look after my house. My family had already gone away and my wife did not want me to stay on. I put what I could into the car and took it to my uncle's house in a village.

"All night we could hear big explosions. I took my uncle's motorcycle and came here on that. My wife and children are in the mountains."

By the time the Syrian military took control of the town on Sunday, it was nearly empty.

That night, state television broadcast images of what it said was a mass grave in the town, allegedly containing the mutilated bodies of security forces killed by the opposition.

The one-sided fighting continued yesterday as the military pursued armed groups who had fled.

FredFredson · #8 (**permalink**) 14-06-11, 12:24 AM

The Soldier Who Gave Up on Assad to Protect Syria's People
By Rania Abouzeid / Outside Khirbet al-Jouz, Syria Monday, June 13, 2011

The Soldier Who Gave Up on Assad to Protect Syria's People - TIME

An image grab from footage aired on Syria's state television on June 13, 2011 shows what the official media reported the discovery of a mass grave in the town of Jisr al-Shughour containing the mutilated bodies of uniformed men.

The Syrian colonel sat cross-legged on a patch of moist soil, in a borrowed plaid shirt and pale green trousers, surrounded by dozens of men who had fled from the besieged northern Syrian city of Jisr al-Shughour to an orchard a few hundred meters from the Turkish border. He says his name is Hussein Harmoush, and shows TIME a laminated military ID card indicating that and his title. Everyone around calls him moqadam, the Arabic for his rank. A colonel with the 11th Armored Division of the army's 3rd Corps, the 22-year military veteran said he burnt his uniform in disgust more than a week ago, starting with the rank designated on his epaulettes, and then the rest of it.

"I defected from the Syrian Arab army and took responsibility for protecting civilians in Jisr al-Shughour," he says. "I was late in taking this decision." His lower lip quivers. He struggles to maintain his composure. After a long pause, and several deep breathes, the man with the thinning salt-and-pepper hair resumes: "I feel like I am responsible for the deaths of every single martyr in Syria." (See tales of Syria's wounded refugees.)

There have been growing reports of Syrian military defections in recent weeks, after regime loyalists escalated their attacks in the northwest of the country. On June 5, units of the army reportedly defected en masse in Jisr al-Shughour, and used their weapons to defend unarmed protesters. Some 120 security personnel were killed in the mutinous clashes with loyalists, according to residents and rights activists, although Damascus denies a mutiny and says the deaths were at the hands of "armed gangs" wearing stolen military uniforms.

Although foreign journalists are banned from reporting in Syria, TIME managed to get across the Turkish border along steep mountainous terrain to reach thousands of refugees, most from Jisr al-Shughour, staying in open fields and orchards on the outskirts of the Syrian town of Khirbet al-Jouz.

Harmoush, a native of the Syrian city of Homs, some 160 kilometers from the capital Damascus, says his orders were clear. His division was told to leave its base in Homs and "sweep the towns," starting at al-Serminiyye and continuing five kilometers north to Jisr al-Shughour. "We were told that we were doing this to capture armed gangs, but I didn't see any. I saw soldiers indiscriminately shooting people like they were hunting, burning their fields, cutting down their olive trees. There was no resistance in the towns. I saw people fleeing on foot to the hills who were shot in the back."

The refugees — who have just spent a chilly night in an open field under pouring rain — listen carefully, respectfully as Harmoush recounts his tale. They crouch in the mud, forming layers of concentric circles around the officer. He said he had been growing disillusioned with the military and the governing regime of President Bashar al-Assad for years, but like most Syrians raised on fear, he remained silent. The Sunni Muslim said that officers from Assad's Alawite sect were given preference when it came to promotions, and that some 85% of places in the officer cadet corps were reserved for the president's co-religionists, the other 15% had to be shared among the rest of Syria's multi-sectarian and ethnic patchwork society. Assad has surrounded himself with Alawite loyalists as well as people from other sects, including Sunnis, who comprise the elite merchant class.

For Harmoush, the government's spin on events in the southern city of Dara'a, where anti-government protests first erupted in mid-March, was further proof that the system he swore to protect was corrupt. "I know Dara'a. I lived in Dara'a. There are no Salafists or terrorists there. The people of Dara'a were slaughtered," he said. He furtively watched dissident videos, taking care to make sure none of his soldiers saw him. He followed Arabic satellite news channels, seeking another perspective to the sycophantic Syrian press. (See the story of a journalist sneaking into Deraa.)

On Friday June 3, in al-Serminiyye, Harmoush says he decided enough was enough. "When we saw them shelling the town, shelling it indiscriminately, I decided to defect. I knew my men. They are largely conscripts. I know that if given the chance, and a guarantee that they won't be shot for defecting, three-quarters of them will leave, but fear keeps them in their place. I told them I took an oath to protect my people and my country, whoever wants to do the same and is a man of honor, follow me. Thirty did immediately."

According to Harmoush, the soldiers headed toward nearby Jisr al-Shughour. More soldiers joined them. Soon, Harmoush says he had 120 men under his command, including a lieutenant called Mazin who joined him along with his unit. They were there after June 5, the day hundreds of people gathered in a public garden were shot. "In Jisr al-Shughour we decided to defend the people until the last moment, but we had light weapons, rifles; they had tanks. We set up traps, an ambush. That brought us some time to evacuate civilians."

At one point, he recalls, about three dozen soldiers approached the defectors, claiming they wanted to join them. Instead, they opened fire on the defectors, killing many. "I tell you, I wouldn't have made that mistake," he says bitterly of the decision to let them join, "shouldn't have made it, but things were crazy, the shelling was so heavy, the civilians were all around us, I didn't have time to think. So some of the soldiers were martyred, others fled into the hills, and some came over near the Turkish border."

For the past few days, Harmoush and a handful of his men have been helping residents of Jisr al-Shughour trek across the hills toward the safety of the Turkish border. His own family is now safely in Turkey. He wouldn't divulge if he still had his weapon, nor if there were other defectors among the refugees out in the fields, although many residents said there were. Harmoush is grateful for the opportunity to help his people, but is haunted by some of the atrocities he says he has witnessed committed by the Syrian security forces. Tears quickly well up in his eyes when he's asked if there's an episode that sticks out in his mind. A man sitting next to him puts his arm around the colonel, who is now crying. At least half a dozen other men, most with graying hair and weathered faces, also begin to silently sob. These are rural Arab men, from a conservative community, openly crying, their grief overpowering their pride. The colonel doesn't answer the question. Instead, his voice cracking, he makes a plea: "I call on people of conscience, on people with humanity, please help the Syrian people."

Gilles de Rais · #9 (**permalink**) 15-06-11, 09:56 AM

Originally Posted by FredFredson

Tricky this one. Very similar situation to Libya with one big difference, a real very professional and well equipped army.

Here is a state, on the border of Iraq, Israel and Lebanon, that has interfered with it's neighbors for years and that may even have proto WMD and nobody seems to be worried?

Of course it's not a major oil producer...

I am not in on the secret thinking of our elected leaders but I think you pointed one reason, besides oil (and Libya is not a major producer, by any standards), as to why western powers would be careful about Syria...

If it takes a Gulf War 1 build-up to 'degrade' the Syrian military before we can 'safely' invade/take out the gvt, then it's not particularly surprising we aren't trying...

Furthermore, tangling with Syria means tangling with Iran. It's obviously a positive but only if you think Iran can't fight back one way or another...

FredFredson · #10 (**permalink**) 18-06-11, 08:22 PM

June 17, 2011
Violent Clashes as Thousands Protest in Cities Across Syria
By ANTHONY SHADID

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/18/wo...gewanted=print

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Thousands of protesters poured into the streets in the suburbs of Damascus, Syria, and in three of the country’s five largest cities on Friday, in a weekly show of defiance that came days before President Bashar al-Assad was expected to address Syrians for the first time in two months. Activists said at least 19 people were killed and dozens wounded.

Security forces fired on protesters in Homs, one of Syria’s most restive locales, and the police and protesters fought in Deir al-Zour, a large city in the east. But thousands were permitted to demonstrate in Kiswa, a town south of Damascus, where demonstrators carried banners that read, “Leave!” and “The people want the fall of the regime.”

Some opposition figures had speculated that the government might try to bring down a death toll that surged past 100 on one Friday in anticipation of Mr. Assad’s speech, which may come as early as Sunday. Syrian officials have portrayed the address as significant, though many in the opposition said their expectations were low.

As the day wore on, the toll approached 22, the number killed last Friday.

“We want freedom and dignity but not under President Bashar,” said a 30-year-old farmer in Kiswa who gave his name as Abdel-Rahman. “He keeps promising for three months on reforms but all we see is more killing and suffering.”

The government’s crackdown has forced nearly 10,000 refugees across the northern border with Turkey and, on Friday, its repercussions spilled into Lebanon, where rival groups clashed after a protest against Mr. Assad in the northern city of Tripoli.

Three people were killed there, including an off-duty soldier, the police said. The clash erupted in a part of Tripoli that has often witnessed trouble between Sunni Muslims and Alawites, a minority heterodox sect that serves as the backbone of Mr. Assad’s rule.

The crackdown has brought international condemnation of a leadership that has ruled Syria for more than four decades. Diplomats have spoken of growing pressure on Mr. Assad, who has taken steps that have so far proved largely superficial, and Syrian officials have suggested that a more serious dialogue may ensue with opposition figures.

On Thursday, in a symbolic but humiliating episode, the country’s richest businessman, Rami Makhlouf, a reviled cousin of Mr. Assad, was forced to announce that he would devote himself to charity and avoid any new deals that brought him profit.

“You can’t do charity with the millions you stole from us,” read a banner carried by hundreds of demonstrators on Friday in Zabadani, a town on the outskirts of Damascus, the capital.

Since the start of the uprising in mid-March, the government and opposition have cast it in a different light. At times, government officials have acknowledged some of the protesters’ demands as legitimate, while insisting that armed groups have hijacked the movement. The opposition says the government is exaggerating the threat posed by armed groups and contends that the demonstrations are overwhelmingly peaceful.

Syrian state television said a policeman was killed and more than 20 were wounded when armed groups opened fire on them. It said six police officers were also wounded when gunmen attacked a police station in Deir al-Zour. Nawaf al-Bashir, an opposition figure in the city, said security forces killed two civilians there and wounded nine people.

The government has barred most foreign journalists from reporting in Syria, and it was almost impossible to reconcile the typically contradictory accounts.

Activists said the worst violence on Friday occurred in Homs, Syria’s third largest city and a center of the uprising, and the province of Idlib, a conservative Sunni Muslim region in the north that military forces have sought to return to the government’s control.

Activists said protests also occurred at the university in Aleppo and in other parts of the city, Syria’s second largest and a linchpin for the government’s durability. So far, the city has remained relatively quiescent, but activists said one protester had been killed there.

On the Turkish border, 200 refugees living in a makeshift tent city staged their own protest against the government, raising a banner that read “We hate you: Get away” and chanting “The people want the fall of the regime,” a cry voiced across the Arab world. Scores of children participated, waving branches plucked from the trees.

There were conflicting reports about the posture of the Syrian military, which has deployed to town after restive town. Some activists said that, in contrast to past weeks, the military did not participate in the crackdown on Friday, leaving the task to security forces and paramilitaries. Mr. Bashir said they had withdrawn from Deir al-Zour, where they had deployed just last week. Other activists said that they remained there and that additional military forces had begun an assault on the town of Dael, in southern Syria.

Hwaida Saad contributed reporting from Beirut, and Liam Stack from Guvecci, Turkey.