At least 20 anti-government protesters reported killed across Syria

[News_Editor]

At least 20 anti-government protesters reported killed across Syria

2011-06-25 22:54:50 GMT+7 (ICT)

DAMASCUS (BNO NEWS) -- At least 20 anti-government protesters were killed across several Syrian cities on Friday, CNN said Saturday citing a Syrian activist group.

Clashes were reported in the cities of Al-Kisweh, Daraa, Homs, Al-Qusayr and Hama as tens of thousands of people continued protesting against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The Local Coordination Committees of Syria, which is documenting the protests, said five youths, including three 17-year-olds, were among those killed.

Meanwhile, the state-run SANA news agency said only seven civilians and law-enforcement personnel were killed during Friday's protest.

CNN, however, could not immediately verify the reported death tolls. Recently, the government granted access to CNN journalists, but they were assigned government "minders" to accompany them on video shoots.

As the government crackdown continues, the European Council condemned the nation Friday, saying the "regime is calling its legitimacy into question" by opting for a "path of repression instead of fulfilling its own promises on broad reforms." The statement came after the Council of the European Union voted Thursday to expand sanctions against Syria by freezing the assets of seven people and four businesses with connections to the regime.

On Monday, President al-Assad addressed the citizens of Syria and said that the recent events in the country are a conspiracy against national unity. Syria has repeatedly claimed that the violent acts have been instigated by terrorists who use military uniforms and weaponry to pose as soldiers while attacking citizens.

Despite the claims of the Syrian government, the EU, the United Nations and other international agencies have reported the killing of innocent protesters due to the violent crackdown on demonstration by security personnel.

More than 1,600 have died since the unrest in Syria began, Rami Abdelrahman, head of the London-based Syria Observatory for Human Rights, said Saturday. He said 1,337 protesters and 341 soldiers and security forces have been killed, and about 10,000 people have been jailed. Nadim Houri of Human Rights Watch placed the death toll at 1,350.

In mid-March, pro-democracy demonstrations began in Syria and have continued across the country, which has been ruled by the Baath Party since 1963. Protesters are demanding the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, who took over his father in 2000.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-06-25

[Steely Dan]

The middle east war I've been predicting is getting closer. The good news is Turkey are back onside after a recent disturbing trend of trying to cozy up to Iran and Syria. I believe now regime change is judged as inevitable in Syria but Iran will fight tooth and nail to support their terrorist proxy state. Bring it on, if something is unavoidable there can no longer be procastination or appeasement.

http://www.debka.com/article/21061/

Obama and Erdogan agreed that Bashar Assad's reign was over although both their intelligence agencies gave him another four to six months to hang on. To hasten his end, they decided on a two-part campaign: the US and Europe would step up sanctions on Syria and Turkey would raise the military heat.

[Ulysses G.]

I really do find it amazing that the posters who constantly attack Israel and claim that they are concerned about "human rights" just ignore how Syria is slaughtering its own people and has been every day for months. Where are their sanctimonious complaints on threads like this one?

Edited June 26, 2011 by Ulysses G.

[Scott]

This thread is about Syria. It is NOT about Israel.

There is limited and unverified information that is getting out of Syria at this time. Until the press is allowed free and unfettered access to the country, information will continued to be countered by disinformation.

My guess is that intelligence agencies have a pretty good idea of what is going on, but they aren't likely to say much and if they do, it will only be the information to support whatever plan they have on the drawing board.

[fritter1970]

This guy Assad is the ultimate in scum. I saw a report on a family whose young son was taken away then his corpse returned to them some days later - minus his genitals which had been cut off as part of a brutal torture session. A lot of money has been spent developing cruise missiles, drones, apache helicopters etc etc. Let's rock and roll. Enough is enough.

[Credo]

That's an option that is best kept open at this time. I think it might bring about consequences that are far reaching and may ultimately do more harm than good. I don't know if Iran would approve.

There is no doubt that a significant number of civilians would be killed and that would be counterproductive.

[maidu]

This thread is about Syria. It is NOT about Israel.

There is limited and unverified information that is getting out of Syria at this time. Until the press is allowed free and unfettered access to the country, information will continued to be countered by disinformation.

My guess is that intelligence agencies have a pretty good idea of what is going on, but they aren't likely to say much and if they do, it will only be the information to support whatever plan they have on the drawing board.

There's only one entity that refutes the steady stream of ugly news that's coming Syria in the past 2 months, and that's the little group that's shielding Assad and his murderous associates. The same group that applauds every time Assad smirks. The same group that knows their asses will be in the grinder when the junta crumbles.

I think a dump load of disgust should be directed to the Arab states in that region who can sit idly, sucking their hukka tubes, while Syrian regular people get killed each day. It's proof, if ever there were any needed, that Saudis and all the other Arabs and Shiites and Sunnis really don't give a rat's ass for anybody else's suffering. They're like the Chinese - big on righteous talk and out to lunch on any decent action.

[geriatrickid]

The big fear of everyone in the region is what happens if Assad falls. Turkey is now at the point where it faces a refugee crisis and the civil insurrection spilling over into its borders. Israel has had to watch people sent to its border to try and provoke a confrontation. Jordan has to worry about the spread of anger. Even Iran has to worry about the instability. The one positive thing to come from the troubles is that it has shown that Israel and Turkey are capable of restraint, If this had been one of the Gulf states, neighboring states would have intervened. Both Turkey and Israel have held back. An moves by the two would be sure to provoke Iran acting in its own national interests and it does have legitimate interests too. No matter how gloomy the peace situation may look, it seems there may still be hope. Sadly, this looks to drag on as thousands are made homeless and civilians die. It would be nice if the Arab nations did something concrete to help the refugees.