Tag Archive | Syria
UN Security Council Condemns Syrian Violence
Written by Margaret Besheer | United Nations As Syrian tanks shelled the flashpoint town of Hama Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council overcame months of division and strongly condemned the on-going violence. The U.N.’s most powerful body expressed “grave concern” at the deteriorating situation in Syria, where some 1,700 people have died and thousands more have [...]
Syrian Raid on Hama Kills 80
Syrian activists say soldiers backed by tanks have fired on citizens during a raid in the flashpoint city of Hama, killing at least 80 people. It is hard to verify accounts of the unrest in Syria because the government has barred most foreign media from reporting and traveling freely in the country. Some estimates say [...]
Activists Report Arrests in Syrian Capital
Syrian rights activists say army units have swept through the capital, Damascus, and detained scores of people. Rights groups say the arrests took place late Saturday. The French news agency quotes activists who say government troops set up roadblocks on routes into the Qabun district and deployed in front of mosques with automatic rifles. AFP [...]
Syrian Protests Ripple Across Nation Despite Crackdown
Tens of thousands of Syrians continued to protest against their government Friday, in spite of a growing crackdown and the deaths of dozens of people during the past week. Reports from Syria say security forces killed at least six more people Friday, after five were killed in clashes overnight. Amateur video distributed by the Associated [...]
Syrian Activists Report Intense Gunfire in Homs
Syrian forces using tanks and other weaponry intensified their crackdown on anti-government protesters in the central city of Homs on Thursday. Residents and activists say tanks moved to block off neighborhoods as government forces conducted raids and made arrests. Shots were heard. Syrian rights activists and witnesses say pro-government forces have killed at least 20 [...]
Syrian Troops Mass Near Border Town as Tensions Mount
Syrian forces have surrounded a town on the Iraqi border as the country’s opposition took a step closer to forming an alternative government that would challenge President Bashar al-Assad‘s grip on power. About 1,000 troops flown in by helicopter and backed by tanks and armored vehicles massed Sunday around the troubled eastern town of al-Boukamal [...]
At Least 32 Killed in Syrian Protests Against Regime
Four months after anti-government demonstrations began in Syria, tens of thousands of protesters marched Friday demanding the release of scores of people jailed during the uprising and calling for an end to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Witnesses and activists in several towns reported that security forces fired at protesters, with at least 32 [...]
Crowds Attack US, French Embassies in Damascus
Pro-government crowds attacked the U.S. and French embassies in Damascus Monday, in the latest escalation of Syrian government anger over foreign moral support for the country’s pro-democracy protesters. At the same time, the government crackdown continued in the central city of Homs. According to reports from Damascus, the crowd at the U.S. embassy breached the [...]
Syria: Bloggers Rally for Anas Maarawi
Anas Maarawi is the latest Syrian blogger to have been imprisoned. He was detained on Friday July 1, 2011, in his neighborhood of Kafarsouseh in Damascus, and nothing has been heard of him since. Anas is a well known blogger in Syria and beyond. Apart from his personal blog, Anas Online, he ran a number [...]
Half a Million Syrians Protest in Hama
Nearly half a million anti-government protesters filled the streets of the volatile Syrian city of Hama Friday. Two senior foreign envoys visited in a show of solidarity. Rights activists say Syrian security forces were tempered by the outside presence in Hama but were attacking people in other cities. Their chanting echoed across the city. Hundreds [...]
Syrians Deserve Access to Communications and Information Tools
With protests raging throughout the country, the Syrian government is responding with deadly force. Citizens seeking freedom are relying on digital tools to organize and communicate — so much so that the government temporarily shut off Internet access. The parallels to the Iranian uprising in 2009 are striking, and they are not lost on the [...]
Syrian Troops Ransack Northern Border Village
Syrian troops have reportedly ransacked a border village that had provided help to thousands of people fleeing a military crackdown on anti-government dissent. Refugees and activists say that soldiers in the village of Bdama set fire to crops and buildings and shut down the village’s only bakery. They say troops were setting up checkpoints to [...]
