Russia criticises Syrian 'errors'

BBC News - Syria's leadership making mistakes, says Russia BBC

Accessibility links

Skip to content Skip to local navigation Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation Skip to bbc.co.uk search Help Accessibility Help Middle East Home UK Africa Asia Europe Latin America Mid-East US & Canada Business Health Sci/Environment Tech Entertainment Video 20 March 2012Last updated at 19:52 GMT Share this page Delicious Digg Facebook reddit StumbleUpon Twitter Email Print Syria's leadership making mistakes, says Russia  Russia has supported the Red Cross calls for a daily pause in fighting to allow for humanitarian access Continue reading the main story Syria Crisis Syria turmoil Year of protest 'Assad emails' Opposition failing Syria's leadership is making "a lot of mistakes", Russia's foreign minister has said, in a further sign Moscow may be hardening its stance on Damascus.

Sergei Lavrov said President Bashar al-Assad's regime had "responded incorrectly" from the start, when the protests were peaceful.

He also said Moscow was prepared to support a UN resolution backing its envoy Kofi Annan's peace plan.

It comes a day after Russia called for a daily humanitarian ceasefire.

Earlier on Tuesday, US campaign group Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused elements of Syria's armed opposition of carrying out serious human rights abuses, including kidnapping, torture and execution.

'Continuing efforts'

"We believe that the Syrian leadership responded incorrectly to the very first manifestations of the peaceful protests," Mr Lavrov told Kommersant FM radio in a pre-recorded interview.

"The Syrian leadership - despite the numerous promises it has made in response to our calls - is making a lot of mistakes. Unfortunately this is why the conflict is so acute."

Russia is a key ally of Syria and, along with China, has twice thwarted attempts to agree to a UN resolution condemning Mr Assad's actions.

But observers believe Moscow's patience with Damascus has been wearing thin.

Mr Annan, the UN-Arab League special envoy on Syria, has spent the last few weeks meeting all sides in the conflict - putting forward proposals to try and bring about an immediate ceasefire by both sides, access for humanitarian aid and the beginning of political dialogue.

Mr Lavrov, speaking at a news conference after meeting his Lebanese counterpart, said the UN Security Council should support the proposals, "not as an ultimatum, but as a basis of continuing efforts" by Mr Annan to find a solution to the crisis.

Following talks with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Monday, Mr Lavrov's ministry put out a statement urging the Syrian government "and all armed groups who oppose it" to agree to ceasefires "without delay".

The ministry said it supported the ICRC's demands for a daily pause in fighting to evacuate the wounded from the worst affected areas and allow in food and medicine, and urged the Syrian authorities to give the organisation "access to all detained persons in Syria following the protests".

Meanwhile, HRW has called on Syria's main opposition coalition, the Syrian National Council (SNC), to condemn the abuses carried out by some of its supporters.

According to HRW, abuses include kidnapping for ransom, detention, and torture of security force members, government supporters, and people identified as members of pro-government militias, called Shabiha.

HRW has frequently accused Syria's government of abuse over the past year of conflict.

The UN says more than 8,000 people have been killed in the year-long uprising, while tens of thousands of people have fled their homes.

The Syrian government has been trying to suppress an uprising inspired by events in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. The UN says thousands have been killed in the crackdown, and that many more have been detained and displaced. The Syrian government says hundreds of security forces personnel have also died combating "armed terrorist gangs".  The family of President Bashar al-Assad has been in power since his father, Hafez, took over in a coup in 1970. The country underwent some liberalisation after Bashar became president in 2000, but the pace of change soon slowed, if not reversed. Critics are imprisoned, domestic media are tightly controlled, and economic policies often benefit the elite. The country's human rights record is among the worst in the world.  Syria is a country of 21 million people with a Sunni Muslim majority (74%) and significant minorities of Alawites - the Shia heterodox sect to which Mr Assad belongs - and Christians. Mr Assad promotes a secular identity for the country, but he has concentrated power in the hands of family and other Alawites. Protests have generally been biggest in Sunni-dominated areas.  Under the sanctions imposed by the Arab League, US and EU, Syria's two most vital sectors, tourism and oil, have ground to a halt in recent months. The IMF says Syria's economy contracted by 2% in 2011, while the value of the Syrian pound has crashed. Unemployment is high, electricity cuts trouble Damascus, and critical products like heating oil and staples like milk powder are becoming scarce.  Pro-democracy protests erupted in March 2011 after the arrest and torture of a group of teenagers who had painted revolutionary slogans on walls at their school in the southern city of Deraa. Security forces opened fire during a march against the arrests, killing four. The next day, the authorities shot at mourners at the victims' funerals, killing another person. People began demanding the overthrow of Mr Assad.  The government has tried to deal with the situation with a combination of minor concessions and force. President Assad ended the 48-year-long state of emergency and introduced a new constitution offering multi-party elections. But at the same time, the authorities have continued to use violence against unarmed protesters, and some cities, like Homs, have suffered weeks of intense bombardment.  The opposition is deeply divided. Several groups formed a coalition, the Syrian National Council (SNC), but it is dominated by the Sunni community and exiled dissidents. The SNC disagrees with the National Co-ordination Committee (NCC) on the questions of talks with the government and foreign intervention, and has found it difficult to work with the Free Syrian Army - army defectors seeking to topple Mr Assad by force.  International pressure on the Syrian government has been intensifying. It has been suspended from the Arab League, while the EU and the US have imposed sanctions. However, there has been no agreement on a UN Security Council resolution calling for an end to violence. Although military intervention has been ruled out by Western nations, there are increasing calls to arm the opposition.  Correspondents say a peaceful solution seems unlikely. Syria's leadership seems intent on crushing resistance and most of the opposition will only accept an end to the regime. Some believe the expected collapse of Syria's currency and an inability to pay salaries may be the leadership's downfall. There are fears, though, that the resulting chaos would be long-lasting and create a wider conflict. previous slidenext slide More on This Story Syria Crisis Features and analysisSyria turmoil

Clickable guide to all you need to know to understand the uprising.

Year of protest'Assad emails'Opposition failingGuide: Syria CrisisAnnan's mission: impossible?Syrians divided over crisisHeading for civil warWhat happens next?Q&A: Syria sanctionsHoms: 'Capital of revolution' ProfilesProfile: Bashar al-AssadPresident's inner circleRuling family dynamicsGuide to opposition Around the webBBC Arabic websiteRevolution 2011 on FacebookSyrian state news agency SanaHuman Rights Observatory (Arabic) From other news sites Nine MSN Syria toll rises 21 mins ago Haveeru Daily Online Syria toll rises in Assad "mistakes": Russia 27 mins ago Reuters UK West dilutes U.N. council text on Syria peace bid 1 hr ago France24 Syria toll rises as Russia says Assad made 'mistakes' 3 hrs ago International Business Times UK Syria: Russia Agrees to UN Initiative to End Violence 13 hrs ago About these results Related Internet links Human Rights Watch The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites

Share this page Delicious Digg Facebook reddit StumbleUpon Twitter Email Print More Middle East stories RSSRaid on Toulouse shooting suspect

French police in Toulouse searching for a gunman who killed four people at a Jewish school launch a raid on a bungalow in the city.

Egypt buries Coptic Church leaderW Bank prisoner 'close to death' Top Stories Raid on Toulouse shooting suspect Mitt Romney wins Illinois primary 'No evidence' in Afghan massacre Obama to visit Korea border zone Illegal logging 'worth billions' Features & AnalysisShock 'n' Roll

Why world's first rock concert ended in chaos

Newt alert

Should all new species be kept secret?

Reburying the dead

Pictures as Congo tries to move on from conflict

Iraq horror story

Have reported 'emo' killings in Iraq been blown out of proportion?

Read More

Uploading the Syrian uprising

14 September 2011 Last updated at 22:58 GMT By Mishal Husain BBC News, Beirut Hidden cameras led the way - and satphones followed

Social networking and internet-based communication has been crucial to all the Arab Spring uprisings, including the ongoing struggle in Syria - and Syrian exiles in Lebanon are helping to make it possible.

In cramped, smoke-filled apartments in Beirut, I came to know the two men who, for me, now embody the Syrian uprising.

Both are exiles, escaping from President Bashar Assad's Syria at different times, but now with very similar lives undercover in Lebanon.

It is a strange existence - understandably secretive - for these are the people trying to do everything in their power to end Mr Assad's grip on their country.

Rami seemed to need only his laptop and cigarettes to exist

One is Rami Nakhle, known in the Twittersphere by the pseudonym Malath Aumran. He was forced to flee Syria in January as the security services began to suspect he was responsible for a Facebook page fiercely critical of the regime.

Rami is an intense young man who seems to live and breathe through his laptop, constantly connected to the protests in his country and relentless in his zeal to spread the word about them.

We first met in Beirut just a few weeks into the Syrian uprising.

Unlike many other dissidents, Rami was prepared to be seen on camera and explain the process of gathering the news of Syria and disseminating it to the mass media.

It was a Friday, the day of prayer, and his network of cyberactivists was braced both for protests and for a tough response from the authorities.

The atmosphere in the apartment was heavy with expectation.

Red-rimmed eyes

Within moments of our introduction, I felt as if I had been transported to Damascus.

Rami's whole existence seemed to be devoted to what he called "the Syrian struggle".

He looked as though he had not slept in weeks - his pale, red-rimmed eyes staring at his computer, leaving it only to go live on air when foreign TV and radio asked for interviews.

As I sat with him, watching him monitor Facebook and Twitter, a video clip arrived via email. It was labelled "a martyr from the city of Hama".

Rami said: "I don't usually watch these," but clicked on it nevertheless.

I was prepared to see a body, but the footage showed a man who had just been shot, slumped to the ground as a deep red stain seeped across his clothing. Some of those around him were trying to keep him alive. Others were filming the scenes on their phones.

Both Rami and I were shocked into silence and after a moment he abruptly left the room.

I remained, watching the last, frozen frame.

In any other context, it would be grotesque to think of a scene like this being filmed by onlookers. Here, though, it was if everyone had their task - some to try to save a life, others to capture the evidence.

Later that day, I saw reports that one person had been killed in Hama. This time I could visualise that person as never before.

'So heartfelt'

The other dissident, Omar Edlibi, is a very different but equally compelling character.

Omar Edlibi: "I am a poet, not a politician"

The father of a young son, he is strongly motivated by his desire to create a better Syria for the next generation.

Unlike Rami, he was still in Syria when the uprising began in March, and began agitating and getting people out on to the streets.

He explained how the first gatherings in Damascus began, in solidarity with the people of Egypt and Tunisia. The authorities even encouraged them, ignoring the irony of supporting democracy elsewhere while repressing it at home.

Omar, like Rami, battles with guilt. Some of those he has encouraged and persuaded to join him on the streets have been killed in front of him.

It is clear that he feels their loss - and his responsibility for it - acutely.

What sustains him are his ideals - a Syria that he can be proud of, that can live in peace with its neighbours.

He was so eloquent, so heartfelt, that when the cameras stopped rolling I said he could run for office in a future Syria.

He laughed and shook his head. "No," he said, "I am a poet, not a politician."

Changing passwords

As the protests have continued, wealthy Syrian exiles have begun to play a part, buying satellite phones, that are packaged in Beirut and smuggled across the border.

It is a very risky journey to make, but the phones are a lifeline for activists as they struggle against the regime's efforts to cut them off from each other and the outside world.

The activists share online passwords, so that if one of them is arrested and drops out of contact, the relevant password can be immediately changed - preventing data falling into the hands of President Assad's dreaded security services.

In one of my meetings with Rami, he acknowledged that he had already changed 17 passwords out of the 20 he held - meaning that 17 out of 20 had been arrested.

In the secretive world of Syrian dissidents in Lebanon, I was never sure whether Rami and Omar knew one another.

Neither ever showed any doubts about the outcome of the uprising in Syria. They are perhaps at present no closer to their goal, but both insisted that in the end they would prevail.

View the original article here

Read More

Syrian troops 'in new crackdown'

14 September 2011 Last updated at 15:14 GMT Robert Ford (right) was among several diplomats to join mourners in Damascus Syrian security forces are reported to have launched a new operation against opponents of Bashar al-Assad's regime in the north-west of the country.

Activists said troops entered at least 10 villages or towns in the Jabal al-Zawiya area firing machine-guns.

Security forces had earlier fired tear gas at people who had been mourning the death of a rights campaigner in a suburb of Damascus, activists said.

The US ambassador had joined the mourners shortly before the incident.

Robert Ford was accompanied by other diplomats to mourn the death of Ghiath Matar, a rights advocate who was killed last week, reportedly under torture.

Activists said security forces fired tear gas at a tent where the mourners had gathered, but no-one was hurt.

Earlier visits by Mr Ford and his French counterpart to restive parts of Syria have angered the authorities, who have been engaged in a six-month campaign to quash opposition to Mr Assad's rule.

On Monday, the EU condemned Mr Matar's death "in the strongest terms", calling it "yet another sign of the brutality with which the regime responds to the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people".

It called on Syria to release all detained protesters, "in particular Yahya Sharbaji, Amer Matar, Najati Tayara, Shadi Abu Fakher and Omar al-Assad".

Correspondents say the EU publishes the names in an attempt to protect the detained protesters.

'Roads cut'

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said soldiers swept into villages in the north-west on Wednesday.

"The roads connecting the villages have been cut, checkpoints erected and security forces are making arrests," the group said.

Activists say at least 19 people were killed on Tuesday in raids against anti-government protesters, mainly in the restive city of Hama.

Also on Tuesday, the Arab League called for an immediate end to the bloodshed and appealed to the army to pull out of Syrian cities.

According to the UN, more than 2,200 people have been killed in Syria since anti-government protests began.

The government says hundreds of its personnel have been killed.

Foreign reporters have been severely restricted in their coverage of Syria, so news organisations are largely dependent on unverified amateur video and reports by rights groups.

View the original article here

Read More

Syrian tanks shell Latakia, death toll reaches 34 (Reuters)

AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian forces shelled Sunni Muslim districts in Latakia, residents said, the third day of a military assault on the northern port city aimed at crushing protests against President Bashar al-Assad.

The Syrian Revolution Coordinating Union, a grassroots activists' group, said six people, including Ahmad Soufi, 22, were killed in Latakia on Monday, bringing the civilian death toll there to 34, including a two-year-old girl.

Assad, from Syria's minority Alawite sect, has broadened a military assault against towns and cities where demonstrators have been demanding his removal since the middle of March.

The crackdown coincided with the August 1 start of the Muslim Ramadan fast, when nightly prayers became the occasion for more protests against 41 years of harsh Baathist party rule.

Syrian forces have already stormed Hama, scene of a 1982 massacre by the military, the eastern city of Deir al-Zor, and several northwestern towns in a province bordering Turkey.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told Assad to halt such military operations now or face unspecified consequences.

"This is our final word to the Syrian authorities, our first expectation is that these operations stop immediately and unconditionally," Davutoglu said in Turkey's strongest warning yet to its once close ally and neighbor.

"If these operations do not stop, there will be nothing left to say about the steps that would be taken," he told a news conference in Ankara, without elaborating.

Turkish leaders, who have repeatedly urged Assad to end violence and pursue reforms, have grown frustrated. Davutoglu held talks with the Syrian leader in Damascus only last week.

The Syrian Revolution Coordinating Union said troops also assaulted villages in the Houla Plain north of the city of Homs on Monday, killing eight people as they raided houses and made arrests. The organization said four people were killed in Homs during similar attacks.

FAMILIAR PATTERN

In a now-familiar pattern, tanks and armored vehicles deployed around dissident neighborhoods of Latakia and essential services were cut before security forces began raids, arrests and bombardment, residents said.

"Shelling has renewed on al-Raml al-Filistini (home to Palestinian refugees) and al-Shaab districts. There is heavy machinegun firing on Sulaibeh, al-Ashrafieh, al-Quneines and al-Ouneineh and the citadel neighborhoods," one resident, a business owner who asked not to be named, said by telephone.

"People are trying to flee but they cannot leave Latakia because it is besieged. The best they can do is to move from one area to another within the city," another witness said.

Thousands of people fled a Palestinian refugee camp in Latakia, some fleeing gunfire and others leaving on orders from the Syrian authorities, a U.N. official said.

"Between 5,000 and 10,000 have fled, we don't where these people are so it's very worrying," said Christopher Gunness, spokesman for the UNRWA agency which cares for Palestinian refugees. "We have a handful of confirmed deaths and nearly 20 injured."

The Palestinian presidency in the West Bank city of Ramallah urged Damascus to safeguard the lives of Palestinian refugees in al-Raml camp in Latakia.

A grassroots activist group, the Local Coordination Committees, said it had the names of at least 260 civilians, including 14 women and two infants, killed this month.

It said the actual toll was likely to be far higher with scant information so far from the hard-hit city of Hama, still besieged by troops and secret police.

Syria has expelled most independent media since the unrest began, making it hard to verify reports from the country.

Tanks and navy ships shelled southern parts of Latakia on Sunday, residents and rights groups said.

Nightly anti-Assad rallies after Ramadan prayers have drawn around 20,000 people in different areas of the city, said one witness, a university student.

The official state news agency SANA denied Latakia had been shelled from the sea and said two police and four unidentified armed men were killed when security forces pursued "armed men who were terrorizing residents ... and using machineguns and explosives from rooftops and from behind barricades."

The U.S. State Department said on Monday it was unable to confirm that the Syrian navy had shelled Latakia.

"However, we are able to confirm that there is armor in the city and that there is firing on innocents again in the pattern of carnage that you have seen in other places," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.

ALAWITE ELEMENT

Unlike most Syrian cities, which are mainly Sunni, Latakia has a large Alawite population, partly because Assad and his father before him encouraged Alawites to move from their nearby mountain region by offering them cheap land and jobs in the public sector and security apparatus.

Latakia port has played a key role in the Assad family's domination of the economy, with Bashar al-Assad's late uncle Jamil having been in virtual control of the facility, and a new generation of family members and their friends taking over.

Assad replaced the governor of the northern province of Aleppo, SANA reported, after pro-democracy protests spread to the provincial capital, Syria's main commercial hub.

"The minority regime is playing with fire. We are coming to a point where the people in the street would rather take any weapon they can put their hand on and fight than be shot at or arrested and humiliated," said one activist.

"We are seeing civil war in Syria, but it is one-sided. The hope is for street protests and international pressure to bring down the regime before it kills more Syrians and drives them to take up arms," he added, asking not to be named.

Rights groups say at least 12,000 have been detained during the uprising. Thousands of political prisoners were already in jail. Amnesty International says it has listed 1,700 civilians killed since mid-March. Washington has put the toll at 2,000. Damascus says 500 police and soldiers have been killed.

The assaults by Syrian security forces have drawn increasing condemnation from the West, Turkey and more recently from Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

Washington wants Europe and China to consider sanctions on Syria's vital oil and gas industry. Germany called for more European Union sanctions against Syria on Monday and urged the U.N. Security Council to discuss the crackdown again this week.

(Additional reporting by Tom Perry in Ramallah, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, Reporting by Jonathon Burch, Tulay Karadeniz and Ibon Villelabeitia in Ankara; editing by Michael Roddy)

View the original article here

Read More

Syrian troops storm towns near Turkey, Lebanon

BEIRUT — Syrian forces killed at least 17 people in raids near the Lebanon and Turkey border and in the country's Sunni tribal heartland, activists said, pursuing a military campaign to crush street protests against President Bashar al-Assad.

Assad's forces have intensified assaults on towns and cities across the country since the start of Muslim fasting month of Ramadan to subdue mounting dissent against the ruling family, from Syria's minority Alawite sect, despite threats of new U.S. sanctions and calls from Turkey, Syria's powerful northern neighbor, and Arab nations, to halt the attacks.

Activists and rights campaigners said 11 civilians, including a woman and a child, were killed Thursday when troops backed by tanks swept into Qusair, 85 mile north of Damascus, after overnight protests calling for Assad's removal.

In nearby Homs, activists said Friday three people were killed in an overnight raid on the Byada residential district following protests in the city.

Nightly Ramadan prayers, which follow the breaking of the fast and known as 'tarawih', have presented a venue for more Syrians to march in daily protests against 41-years of Assad family rule across the country of 20 million, activists said.

Syrian authorities have expelled most independent journalists since the five-month uprising, making it difficult to verify accounts on the ground.

In the east, troops and members of the feared Military Intelligence, backed by tanks and armored vehicles, expanded assaults in Deir al-Zor, capital of an oil producing province bordering Iraq's Sunni heartland.

Four civilians were killed in house to house raids in Deir al-Zor Thursday and several shops belonging to families of prominent dissidents in the city were torched, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

One person was also killed in the coastal city of Latakia.

In Saraqeb, a town on Syria's main north-south highway and near the Turkish border, has seen daily demonstrations. Around 14 tanks and armored vehicles also swept into the town. One hundred people were arrested by the security forces, residents said by telephone.

The tanks later withdrew and residents took to streets in a night rally, but security forces fired at the demonstrators, injuring four, the Syrian Observatory said.

Britons ask: What caused the outburst of violence? Four storylines to watch in GOP debate Drug patches pose overlooked danger to kids In Joplin, a diner serves up shelter from the storm Chimp attack victim reveals her new face Grace of a grieving father speaks to a wounded Britain New Starbucks stores popping up again

The U.S. imposed new sanctions on Wednesday, and a flurry of foreign diplomats have rolled through Damascus urging Assad to end a campaign of killing that rights groups say has left about 1,700 dead since mid-March. Turkey's foreign minister, a day after meeting with Assad, on Wednesday renewed his condemnation of the attacks.

The White House said President Barack Obama spoke with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to underscore his deep concern about the Syrian government's use of violence against civilians.

It said the two agreed on Thursday that the violence in Syria must stop and that the demands of the Syrian people for a transition to democracy must be met. Obama and Erdogan agreed to consult closely on the situation in the coming days.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, asked in a CBS interview why the United States has not yet called for Syria's president to step down, said Washington wants other nations to add their voices.

Clinton also said what was really necessary to pressure Assad was to sanction Syria's oil and gas industry, saying "we want to see Europe take more steps in that direction."

The United States has been "very clear" in its statements about Assad's loss of legitimacy, Clinton said.

Story: US slams Syria with fresh sanctions on banks, cellphone firm

Medical facilities attacked
A U.S.-based international human rights groups released a report Wednesday night accusing Syrian authorities of targeting medical facilities, health workers and their patients. It called on the government to safeguard doctors' obligations to provide neutral and ethical care for civilians.

Physicians for Human Rights said security forces control access to hospitals, and many injured civilians in need of critical care are forgoing treatment because they fear being detained and tortured if they seek care at government-controlled medical facilities.

"In addition to the widely reported atrocities committed by the government, PHR has received reports of serious violations of medical neutrality in Syria," a statement by the group said.

It also quoted a group of Syrian physicians as saying 134 doctors have either been detained by the government or have disappeared.

Activist detained
In a continuing nationwide campaign of arrests, Syrian activists said Thursday that security forces detained Abdul-Karim Rihawi, the Damascus-based head of the Syrian Human Rights League. A longtime rights activist, Rihawi had been tracking government violations and documenting deaths in Syria.

Story: Syria defies warnings from friends, launches fresh raids

The attack on Saraqeb is particularly noteworthy because it sits in Idlib, a province bordering Turkey. Intense protests in the area triggered a harsh government response, forcing hundreds of Syrians to flee across the border. The military on Wednesday said it withdrew from residential districts in the area and returned to its barracks.

The military also said this week it withdrew from Hama in central Syria, following a weeklong military siege and military operations in the defiant city.

A group of Turkish journalists who toured Hama for four hours Thursday saw two APCs parked at the main square keeping watch over the city center and soldiers on some streets, but no tanks or heavy weaponry in sight.

"The soldiers and security forces destroyed everything, they didn't leave anything. We are in God's hands," one man they spoke to said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

Another person said everything was calm and urged residents who escaped Hama to return.

The military action came a day after the information ministry ferried local journalists to Idlib. A senior army officer told reporters that troops were withdrawing to their barracks, leaving residential districts in the province's cities.

On the same day, Syrian security forces shot dead at least 15 people in the central flashpoint city of Homs, according to the LCC.

The government justified its attacks on various cities by saying it was dealing with terrorist gangs and criminals who were fomenting unrest.

The uprising was inspired by the revolutions and calls for reform sweeping the Arab world, and activists and rights groups say most of those killed have been unarmed civilians. An aggressive new military offensive that began with the Ramadan at the start of the month killed several hundred people in just one week.

The London-based observatory said authorities on Wednesday night detained opposition figure Hassan Zahra during a raid in a Damascus suburb. Zahra, a 67-year-old member of the Communist Action Front, was detained at least once since the uprising began, it said.

International condemnation over the crackdown has been strong, and growing more forceful.

Turkey calls for peace
In Turkey, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu renewed calls Thursday for an end to the bloodshed and said Turkey would be closely watching developments there.

"Of course, it is difficult to expect this when tensions are so high, but our expectation is that measures are taken to prevent the loss of lives, for civilian losses to end. We will be monitoring closely."

The Obama administration, which announced new sanctions Wednesday, is preparing for the first time to explicitly call for Assad to step down, officials have told the AP. The moves are a direct response to Assad's decision to escalate the crackdown by sending the army into opposition hotbeds.

The new sanctions affect the state-owned Commercial Bank of Syria and its Lebanon-based subsidiary, the Syrian Lebanese Commercial Bank, for what the U.S. says are their links to human rights abuses and to illegal weapons trade with North Korea.

Mobile phone company Syriatel was targeted because it is controlled by "one of the regime's most corrupt insiders," said David Cohen, the U.S. Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

The action freezes any assets the firms have in U.S. jurisdictions and bans Americans from doing business with them. But they may not have much immediate economic impact because the U.S. already severely limits trade and economic ties with Syria.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this story.

View the original article here

Read More

New al-Qaida chief praises Syrian protesters (AP)

CAIRO – Al-Qaida's new leader praised Syrian protesters seeking to topple the regime of President Bashar Assad while trying to portray the uprising as an Islamic battle against American and Israeli interests.

The video message posted on extremist websites Wednesday is Ayman al-Zawahri's first since al-Qaida named him its new leader in June following the death of Osama bin Laden in a U.S. commando raid in Pakistan.

The Egyptian-born al-Zawahri, who long served as bin Laden's top deputy, directly addressed the Syrian protesters who have risen up against Assad's rule despite a bloody government crackdown. The message appeared to be an attempt to place al-Qaida firmly on the side of the anti-government demonstrators.

"You are an example, explaining lessons to your Arab and Muslim nation in sacrifice, steadfastness and the struggle against oppression," al-Zawahri said of the protesters. "How could you not? You are the sons of the Levant, the front for jihad and martyrdom."

In the past, al-Qaida leaders, including bin Laden himself in a video released after his death, have sought to associate themselves with the uprisings sweeping the Arab world this year, offering guidance on how the protests should be led to serve al-Qaida's extremist version of Islam.

Many experts, however, think the uprisings have shown how out of touch the terror group has become with the aspirations of Arab youth who have been the uprising's main activists. Most seek greater freedom from dictatorial regimes, not the Islamic rule al-Qaida advocates.

And in Syria, activists have said religion has played little role in their uprising to topple Assad.

In the video, Zawahri — dressed in a white robe, large glasses and a turban, with an assault rifle at his side — also warned the Syrian protesters not to believe that President Barack Obama and the United States stand with them.

"Tell America and Obama: ... we are waging a battle of freedom and liberation, freedom from corrupt tyrants and the liberation of the religion of the Muslims," al-Zawahri said.

Al-Zawahri claimed that Washington wants to replace Assad with "a new ruler who follows America, protects Israel's interests and grants the (Muslim) nation a few freedoms."

The U.S. administration has toughened its rhetoric toward Assad's regime, declaring recently that the Syrian leader has lost all legitimacy as a leader.

Al-Zawahri also attacked Assad, calling him "the leader of the criminal gang, descendant of the traitors, biggest of those who spread corruption, head of the executioners, America's partner in the war on Islam in the name of terrorism, and border guard for Israel."

View the original article here

Read More

Syrian government passes new political parties law

AMMAN — The Syrian cabinet has approved a law that allows the formation of political parties other than the ruling Baath party, provided they adhere to "democratic principles," the state news agency said on Monday.

The Baath party, which has banned opposition groups since a l963 military coup, has been under pressure to abandon its monopoly on power during a four-month uprising that has called for the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad.

"The establishment of any party has to be based on ... a commitment to the constitution, democratic principles, the rule of law and a respect for freedom and basic rights," the state news agency SANA said, referring to conditions to be met by parties that want to apply for a license to operate legally.

Yasser Saadeldine, an Syrian opposition figure living in exile in the Gulf, said the new law "is designed to show on paper that the regime tolerates dissent while continuing killings and repression."

"Every time the regime comes under international pressure it takes more false reform measures to try and appear as having democratic credentials. But arrests of activists continue and the crackdown deepens," Saadeldine said.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

View the original article here

Read More