Syria: Hundreds of Prisoners Released. Syria on Wednesday released 912 prisoners, while the country's embattled leadership continued with a deadly crackdown on dissent, despite a flood of fresh sanctions.
The government said the released people were involved in the "latest events" but were not linked to what it alleged were "murders" stemming from the opposition uprising and state crackdown. Activists said new clashes in the flashpoint Daraa province killed at least six civilians and seven Syrian troops Wednesday as security forces pushed into the area. The head of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdelrahman, said that fighting erupted in the town of Dael and that witnesses heard a loud explosion as army vehicles were blown up.
The latest violence came as Syria faces a barrage of new international sanctions. Turkey suspended all financial credit dealings with Damascus Wednesday and froze its government's assets. Washington praised Turkey's action. The U.N. Seven soldiers, six civilians dead in Syria. By Douglas Hamilton BEIRUT Thu Dec 1, 2011 1:42am IST.
Bayada Homs injured child to serious injury, Syrian security forces shot dead. NATO Conceals Preparations for Military Action against Syria. The United States has decided to disengage itself from certain obligations under the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty (CFE).
In particular, the USA will no longer inform Russia about plans connected with the redeployment of its forces. Those restrictions are not touching upon any other country. “Today the United States announced in Vienna, Austria, that it would cease carrying out certain obligations under the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty with regard to Russia. This announcement in the CFE Treaty’s implementation group comes after the United States and NATO Allies have tried over the past 4 years to find a diplomatic solution following Russia’s decision in 2007 to cease implementation with respect to all other 29 CFE States.
Since then, Russia has refused to accept inspections and ceased to provide information to other CFE Treaty parties on its military forces as required by the Treaty,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Tuesday. Turkey to impose ‘step-by-step' sanctions on Syria. Turkey has opted to impose step-by-step sanctions on Syria over its brutal crackdown on an eight-month uprising that has claimed thousands of lives as the Arab League endorsed a set of sanctions on Sunday to push the Syrian regime to stop its bloody clampdown.
Turkey says it backs the Arab League decision to impose sanctions but officials said the sanctions that Ankara will impose could be different from those of the Arab League. Ankara has so far not delivered its own sanctions despite Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's promise in September that Turkey would press ahead with sanctions on the Syrian regime. An Arab League meeting agreed on Sunday to impose economic measures -- the toughest against a member state -- that include a travel ban on top Syrian officials and a freeze on assets related to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government. The sanctions will be implemented after Prime Minister Erdoğan approves them. Turkey says Russian missiles no threat, unless they are for offensive ends.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday that his country will deploy missiles to target the US missile shield, meant to protect NATO members in Europe, if Washington fails to assuage Moscow's concerns about its plans.
NATO member Turkey has agreed to host a US radar system on its territory as part of the missile defense project while interceptor missiles are to be deployed in other NATO countries as well as at sea. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, speaking to reporters while returning from a visit to Cairo to attend an Arab League meeting on Syria on Sunday, said the radar to be deployed in Turkey was for defensive purposes only. “If someone would attack Russia, it is their business. Our [radar] does not pose a threat against Russia.
It is, in the end, for defensive, not offensive purposes,” he said. The Russian missiles, Davutoğlu added, are “not a threat to us, as long as they are for offensive purposes.” Syrian rebel ambush said to kill 3 soldiers. Syria's northern neighbour Turkey said it feared there could be an exodus of Syrians if the violence got worse, and that border states might have to create a buffer zone.
Russia in contrast warned major powers against interference. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad faces mounting economic sanctions over what a UN report said on Monday was systematic murder, torture and rape ordered from the top. But he shows no sign of buckling under pressure to end his crackdown on protesters or in the face of armed rebellion by military deserters.
"The security forces vehicle was targeted while driving in the city of Saraqeb in Idlib province by a group of suspected army defectors," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement. Syria's stance against PKK unchanged, Syrian FM says. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem (Photo: AP) The Syrian foreign minister has said Syria remains loyal to the agreements it signed with Turkey concerning the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and that Syria's position against the PKK has not changed.
Speaking at a press conference in Damascus on Monday, Walid al-Moallem said Syria is loyal to all the agreements it signed with Turkey relating to the PKK and that the Adana Agreement, which both Turkey and Syria signed on Oct. 20, 1998, is also still in force. Lebanon Says Banks Not Holding Syrian Funds, Can Handle Freeze. Lebanon’s central bank governor, Riad Salameh, said funds from neighboring Syria haven’t been transferred to Lebanese banks and that the banks are capable of abiding by sanctions targeting Syrian assets, Al-Arabiya television reported.
Neither the central bank nor the government of Syria has funds in Lebanese banks, Salameh told the Dubai-based channel, reiterating remarks he made in October. On Nov. 27, the Arab League issued sanctions against Syria amid growing economic and political pressure for President Bashar al-Assad to end a crackdown against protesters that began in mid-March. The Arab bloc’s unprecedented measures, which follow U.S. and European sanctions, halt dealings with the Syrian central bank and ban financial transactions and trade with the government, excluding basic commodities. Salameh said the central bank is able to monitor all transactions at banks operating in Lebanon, and that they are following banking regulations. Syria: Turkey raises prospect of buffer zone for first time. Vitol sends fuel oil to Syria-traders. LONDON Nov 29 (Reuters) - Trading house Vitol has agreed to sell fuel oil to Syria's increasingly isolated government, and the shipment will likely be used to run the country's power stations, traders said on Tuesday.
The Theodorus IV was due to reach the port of Banias with a cargo of fuel oil on Sunday, chartered by the Swiss-based trading house, according to traders and shiptracking data. Vitol declined to comment. Supplying Syria with refined oil is legal as the European Union (EU) stopped short of banning deliveries for humanitarian reasons. The fuel oil delivery follows a stream of heating oil shipments from rival trader AOT Trading AG, which has consistently provided Syria with crucial fuel supplies needed to keep homes warm this winter. The shipments from AOT have come as a surprise to some of Europe's largest trading houses that have abandoned trade with Syria due to complications over payment and worries about associating with its government. Exclusive: U.N. rights forum poised to condemn Syria. Cat shot by Assad forces - Free Syria. UN report documents Syria’s ‘gross violations of human rights’
The report, by the Independent International Commission on Syria, documents evidence that high-ranking officers across the country issued orders to shoot at civilian residences and unarmed protesters.
It also records evidence of systemic torture and the killing of hundreds of children. The chairman of the commission, Paulo Pinheiro, expressed concern that many crimes committed by security forces were probably going unreported because the government has placed strict limitations on journalists. “There are killings of children, sexual violence, especially against boys. . . . I think we have been able to demonstrate very scary patterns of human rights violations on a scale not always revealed by the international media,” Pinheiro said. “What is driving the violence in Syria now is that the authorities still believe that there is a military option to crush the protesters,” Houry said.
The U.N. report comes as international condemnation of the Assad government grows. (GRAPHIC) Two Unknown Martyrs Murdered by Assad Forces. 18-year-old Syrian woman beheaded, mutilated apparently by gov't forces to pressure activist brother. HO Lina the mother of Syrian pianist Malek Jandali, looks on after her home was stormed by Syrian pro-government gunmen, known as Shabiha, in Homs, Syria. BEIRUT - A young woman was found beheaded and mutilated, apparently by Syrian security agents, underscoring what witnesses and the U.N. human rights office said Friday was a fearsome new tactic of retaliating against protesters' families to snuff out the 6-month-old uprising against the regime of President Bashar Assad.
The slain 18-year-old, Zainab al-Hosni, is believed to be the first woman to die in Syrian custody since the uprising began in mid-March. Amnesty International said Friday she had reportedly been detained by security agents to pressure her activist brother to turn himself in. The violence serves as a grim reminder of how the Assad family has kept an iron grip on power in Syria for more than 40 years by brutally crushing every sign of dissent. At the same morgue, the mother happened to find her daughter's body as well. Uk.reuters.com. Radio Sawt Beirut International - Lebanon news, nightlife, broadcasting latest arabic songs and hits, Latest News, World. Hitler's massacres of Syria and Bashar al-Assad.flv. Afrin Babaamr baby son of the martyr Ahmed Kjk infected Bashzaah 28 10 2011 Moscow gives Syria last chance for reforms. Turkey warns Syria's Bashar al-Assad his days are numbered. Syria's rebel chief calls for air strikes to speed Assad's fall.
By Ezzedine Said NICOSIA – Free Syrian Army chief Riyadh al-Asaad on Thursday called for foreign air strikes on “strategic targets” in Syria to speed up the fall of the regime, in a telephone interview with AFP. “We are not in favour of the entry of foreign troops as was the case in Iraq but we want the international community to give us logistical support,” said FSA chief Colonel Asaad, who is based across the border in Turkey. “We also want international protection, the establishment of a no-fly zone, a buffer zone and strikes on certain strategic targets considered as crucial by the regime,” he said. U.N.: Reports of child torture in Syria. BEIRUT - A U.N. human rights panel expressed alarm at reports it received of security forces in Syria torturing children. The Geneva-based Committee Against Torture says it has received "numerous, consistent and substantiated reports" of widespread abuse in the country.
"Among them are cases of torture and ill-treatment of detainees; rife or systematic attacks against civilian population, including the killing of peaceful demonstrators and the use of excessive of force against them; and the persecutions of human rights defenders and activists," said Claudio Grossman, who currently heads the 10-member panel. "Of particular concern are reports referring to children who have suffered torture and mutilation while detained; as well as cases of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; arbitrary detention by police forces and the military; and enforced and involuntary disappearances," he stressed.
It is not clear who was behind the attacks. Syria- Homs- child and protester badly wounded 23-09-2011 (18+) Syria -Civilian Hit by Tank Fire - Assad Army Atrocity, Homs, Al Houleh 30/8/2011 +18-youtube. Anonymous - Save the Children of Syria [Music] Children of Syria tell their story [HQ] Bashar al-Assad gang arrested children in Syria.flv. A child is captured by Al Assad in Saqba-Damas-Syria-Opposition Unity Fri 23-09-2011.mp4. 18+ 3 11 Homs أوغاريت حمص حي البياضة , الطفل الشهيد محمد شحادة 4 سنوات , هذه هي المبادرة العربية طلقة في الرأس YouTube. Bashar al Assad's troops beat demonstrators in Hama Syria. Syrian revolution - Security kill more children, 13 years old (Rida Ridwan Alawiye) 06-25-2011. Cooper: SYRIA Gov tortures children. May 31. Hamza Al Khatib. Syrian protester gets shot and loses part of face.graphic. Massacres of the Syrian regime Suriye askerleri, polisleri ve Baas cıların insanın kanını donduran işkence ve katliamları Suriyedeki olaylar 7 EmirZai.
Let the world know what happens in Syria. Syria Mother Cries over Son's Body - Killed by Dictator Assad - Baba Amr 10-29-11. Syria, Daraa. A massacre at funeral. Syria, Daraa. Crimes against handicapped . Martyr child Maher Al Zoubi murdered by the Syrian security in Al Rastan in Syria .. 2011-9-20. Syria, Daraa. A videographer Ghassan Al Masalmah dies. Martyr child Ebrahim Mohamed Al Farooh killed by the Syrian security in Hooran in Syria .. 2011-9-18. The message of the martyr Ibrahim Shayban's father to Russia and China Translator. Assad's massacres in Baba Amr neighborhood P4. The massacres of the government of Bashar Assad in Syria ( Torture of children ) 29. Hac injured child from the fire brigades Assad 25/11 Shabiha and Security Forces in Streets. Syria Violence Escalates. By Al Bawaba News The Syrian military vowed Friday to “cut every evil hand that targets Syrian blood,” saying recent attacks on elite security forces marked a dangerous escalation.
According to Friday’s statement, six elite pilots and four technical officers died in an ambush a day earlier in Homs. Meanwhile, human rights sources claimed the Syrian army killed at least 26 civilians on Friday. Some 40 died in Thursday’s violence. In another development, Syria didn’t respond Friday to an Arab League deadline to agree to a plan that would have placed observers in the country. About the author: Al Bawaba News Al Bawaba provides top stories and breaking news about the Middle East and the world. Six killed by Syrian military, say activists. Syria: BBC goes undercover in Homs. UN panel concerned at torture of children in Syria. New York: A UN panel on Friday voiced deep concern about human rights violations in Syria, including the reported torture of children, as President Bashar Al Assad's government continues its crackdown against protesters.
The UN Committee against Torture has reviewed "numerous, consistent and substantiated" reports and information about widespread rights violations in the country, a UN statement said. The violations include cases of torture and ill-treatment of detainees; rife or systematic attacks against civilian population, including the killing of peaceful demonstrators and the use of excessive of force against them; and the persecutions of human rights defenders and activists. Over 3,500 people have died in Syria since protests began in the country against Assad's rule early this year. "These generalised abuses are allegedly conducted under direct orders from public authorities, at their instigation or with their consent or acquiescence," Grossman said.
Syria: 'Foreign-backed' attack kills 10 air force personnel. Pressure mounts as Syria misses observer deadline - World News. عــاجل اطلاق الرصاص الحي على المتظاهرين في سوريا من قبل الأمن السوري firing live bullets at demonstrators in Zablatani 24 نيسان 2011 292 011 always very important to shoot live ammunition at peaceful demonstrators by security forces in Syria 18+ Syria Crime Scene - 3 Brothers Gunned Down by Bashar Assad on Idlib Highway 11-22-11. 18+ Dead Body in Bayada - Assad Genocide of Sunni Syrians Escalates - 26 dead in- Homs 11-24-11. 18+ Syria - Killed by Assad - Dead Syrians lay in Daraa Streets 11-18-11.
18+ Syria - Death in Damascus - 2 Martyrs Shot Killed by Assad lay in Street 11-18-11 Arbeen. Hama Hama 23/11 martyr Abdel Karim Alstov killed under torture. Hama Hama 23/11 martyr Abdel Karim Alstov killed under torture. Homs Homs 24/11 Bayyadah farewell or martyr Abdul Momin Paddy. Syria - Assad Gunfire met by Chants in the Distance as Taftanaz defies Dictator, Idlib 11-20-11.
(18+) Heinous massacre by Al-Assad's militia against three brothers in Idlib in Syria 22.11.2011. Martyr attributed the child Lababidi 11 years 12-9-2011 DAMASCUS MASSACRE 12 / 9 Damascus - always - the child martyr attributed Albabidi. Hula - the child martyr Imad Ben Dean Ismail 22-11-2011 Hula - Child Martyr Abdullah Maher Akadirbn Ruslan 22-11-2011 WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGE #Syria Deir Ezzor #Hero. 18+ 22 11 Abu Kamal, Deir ez Zor أوغاريت البوكمال دير الزور الشهيد المعتقل ماهر الاشعب الذي قتل من التعذيبه على يد الامن ج1. Derbers - Child Martyr Farhan Ibrahim Najjar Deir Ezzor 22-11 child martyr Ahmed Hassan Osman Assad forces use soccer stadiums as barracks - Free Syria. (GRAPHIC) Shabiha and Security Forces Digging Graves for Those They Murdered. Defectors in Syria strike pro-regime office. Free Syrian Army statement affirms defectors group carried out attackAt least 19 deaths reported Thursday across SyriaA U.N. draft resolution is in the works condemning regime's actionsSANA said "armed terrorist groups" killed three citizens (CNN) -- Army defectors in northwestern Syria -- armed with rocket-propelled grenades -- attacked a pro-government youth group office and clashed with Syrian security personnel Thursday, activist groups said.
Security forces also arrested dozens during raids in Harasta, the location of the air intelligence base outside Damascus that was attacked a day earlier by the Free Syrian Army, a band of military defectors confronting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime. Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Bashar al-Assad. Assad graduated from the medical school of Damascus University in 1988, and started to work as a physician in the army. Four years later, he attended postgraduate studies at the Western Eye Hospital, in London, specializing in ophthalmology. In 1994, after his elder brother Bassel was killed in a car crash, Bashar was recalled to Syria to take over Bassel's role as heir apparent. The absolute power of the Assad family - SYRIA. Activists for Syria report... The message from Damascus - Listening Post. In the seven months of unrest in Syria, reporting on the situation there has been near impossible. Foreign journalists are barred from entering the country and much of the local media has been silenced.
The international media has had to rely on amateur mobile phone footage being posted online by citizen journalists but verifying their accuracy has been a challenge. Last week however, President Bashar al-Assad broke his media silence and gave interviews to foreign media outlets, including Britain's Sunday Telegraph and Russia Today. Syrio-Lebanese Border: Clandestine Turf Wars. The rugged mountains and valleys of Lebanon’s Bekaa — the tense border region with Syria — is now a front line for Lebanese groups supporting Syrians against Bashar Assad’s regime.
Arab League plans emergency talks on Syria - Middle East. The Arab League has called an emergency meeting on Syria's failure to implement its peace plan, as forces reportedly killed at least 15 demonstrators after prayers on one of Islam's holiest days. The announcement that Arab foreign ministers would hold another gathering came on Sunday, the fourth straight day of deadly violence since Syria agreed to the league's peace blueprint aimed at ending eight months of bloodshed.
The Arab League said a meeting was called for next Saturday because of "the continuation of violence and because the Syrian government did not implement its commitments in the Arab plan to resolve the Syrian crisis". Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani, Qatar's prime minister, said "if Syria does not respect its commitments, the [Arab)]ministerial committee will meet again and take the necessary decisions".
Syrian tanks 'launch deadly assault on Homs' - Middle East. Syrian tanks have opened fire in the city of Homs, activists say, killing at least five civilians and wounding dozens more, casting doubt on whether an Arab League plan can end months of bloodshed triggered by a popular uprising. The SNC: Following in Libya’s Footsteps. The Syrian National Council (SNC) has called for the “suspension of the Syrian regime’s membership in the Arab League and the provision of international protection for civilians with Arab cover.” It has also appealed for “recognition of the SNC as the representative of the Syrian revolution and people,” while urging “all sons of the people to escalate the peaceful popular revolution until the people’s aspirations are achieved in full.”
Syria.