Syrian soldiers killed in clash with defectors

BEIRUT (AP) — Dozens of soldiers and security forces were gunned down by suspected army defectors in southern Syria, a deadly ambush that comes as President Bashar Assad increasingly appears unable to manage the crisis, activists said Tuesday.

Monday's hours-long clash in the southern province of Daraa came on a particularly bloody day in Syria, with as many as 90 people killed across the country. The brazen attack by the army defectors suggested a new confidence among troops who have sided with the protesters and highlighted the potential for an armed confrontation to escalate.

Pro-Syrian regime protesters, hold portraits of Syrian President Bashar Assad and shout slogans against the Arab League, as they gather outside the Syrian foreign ministry where Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem helds a press conference, in Damascus, Syria, on Monday Nov. 14, 2011. Syria's foreign minister accused Arab states on Monday of conspiring against Damascus after the Arab League voted to suspend Syria's membership over the government's deadly crackdown on an eight month-old uprising. (AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman)

The U.N. estimates the regime's military crackdown on an 8-month-old uprising has killed 3,500 people in the past eight months. November is shaping up to be the bloodiest month of the revolt, with well over 300 people killed so far.

The latest death toll was compiled by sources including British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Local Coordination Committees activist coalition and morgue officials.

Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of the observatory, confirmed that 34 soldiers were killed in an ambush in Daraa, the birthplace of the uprising that began in mid-March, inspired by successful revolts in Tunisia, Egypt and later Libya.

Although activists say the protests have remained largely peaceful, with demonstrators calling for the regime's downfall, an armed insurgency has developed in recent months targeting Assad's military and security forces.

Assad is facing the most severe challenge to his family's four-decade rule in Syria, with former allies as well as Western nations using increasingly harsh rhetoric in urging him to stop his bloody crackdown. On Tuesday, Turkey said it no longer has confidence in the Syrian regime and warned Assad that his brutal crackdown threatens to place him on a list of leaders who "feed on blood."

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's comments were a blow to Syria, because the countries once cultivated close ties. But Turkish leaders have grown increasingly frustrated with Damascus over its refusal to halt the attacks on protesters.

Adding to the blow, Turkey also on Tuesday canceled plans for joint oil exploration in Syria and threatened to cut electricity supplies after a spate of attacks on Ankara's embassy in Damascus and consulates the cities of Aleppo and Latakia.

On Monday, Jordan's King Abdullah II said Assad should step down for the good of his country, the first Arab leader to publicly make such a call.

That prompted pro-government protesters to converge on Jordan's embassy in Damascus, with three of them scaling the fence and ripping down the Jordanian flag — the latest in a string of attacks on foreign missions. Jordan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Kayed said no one entered the embassy and no injuries occurred.

Monday's bloodiest attacks were in Daraa province, along the Jordanian border, including the attack that killed 34 soldiers. According to the observatory, 12 defectors and 23 civilians also killed in the area.

A resident near the town of Khirbet Ghazaleh in Daraa province said he heard more than four hours of intense gunfire. He asked that his name not be used for fear of government reprisals.

Another witness, who is an activist in the area, said he counted the bodies of 12 people, believed to be civilians killed by security forces' fire.

"I saw two army armored personnel carriers, totally burnt," he told The Associated Press by telephone. He also asked for anonymity out of fear for his safety.

In the restive city of Homs, the morgue received 19 corpses, all of them shot.

Other activist groups had slightly different figures of those killed, a common occurrence because the Syrian government has prevented independent reporting and barred most foreign journalists. Details gathered by activist groups and witnesses are key channels of information.

Syria's crackdown has brought international condemnation, but Damascus generally had been spared broad reproach in the Arab world. That changed Saturday, with a near-unanimous vote by the 22-member Arab League to suspend Syria, and the situation appeared to be spiraling out of Assad's control.

Earlier Monday, Syria struck back at its international critics, branding an Arab League decision to suspend its membership as "shameful and malicious" and accusing other Arabs of conspiring with the West to undermine the regime.

The sharp rebuke suggests Damascus fears the United States and its allies might use the rare Arab consensus to press for tougher sanctions at the United Nations.

Assad says extremists pushing a foreign agenda to destabilize Syria are behind the unrest, not true reform-seekers aiming to open the country's autocratic political system.

Source: The Associated Press

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Syrians protest Arab vote; embassies attacked

BEIRUT (AP) — Tens of thousands of Syrian government supporters poured into the streets Sunday to protest an Arab League vote to suspend the country's membership, as Turkey sent planes to evacuate diplomatic staff and their families after a night of attacks on embassies.

Pro-Syrian regime protesters, carry a giant Syrian flag during a demonstration against the Arab League decision to suspend Syria, in Damascus, Syria, on Sunday Nov. 13, 2011. Tens of thousands of pro-regime demonstrators gathered in a Damascus square Sunday to protest the Arab League's vote to suspend Syria over its bloody crackdown on the country's eight-month-old uprising. Saturday's Arab League decision was a sharp rebuke to a regime that prides itself as a bastion of Arab nationalism, but it was unlikely to immediately end a wave of violence that the U.N. estimates has killed more than 3,500 people since mid-March. (AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman)

Facing growing isolation, the Syrian government called for an urgent Arab summit to discuss the country's spiraling political unrest and invited Arab League officials to visit before its membership suspension was to take effect on Wednesday.

In a significant concession, the government said the Arab officials could bring any civilian or military observers they deem appropriate to oversee implementation of an Arab League plan for ending the bloodshed.

The 22-member bloc's vote on Saturday was a stinging rebuke to a regime that prides itself as a bastion of Arab nationalism and left Syria increasingly isolated over its crackdown on an eight-month uprising that the U.N. estimates has killed more than 3,500 people since mid-March.

The violence continued Sunday, with activists reporting at least 11 people killed in shootings by security forces in several parts of the country.

The Local Coordination Committees activist network said at least four of the deaths occurred in the central city of Hama when security forces fired on a group of opposition protesters who infiltrated a pro-government rally in the area.

Sunday's protests in support of the government drew large numbers in the capital and four other cities — a turnout helped by the closure of businesses and schools.

"You Arab leaders are the tails of Obama," read one banner held by protesters accusing the Arab League of bowing to pressure from the U.S. president.

Thousands of people carried red, black and white Syrian flags and posters of President Bashar Assad in a Damascus square. Similar demonstrations were held in the cities of Aleppo, Latakia, Tartous and Hasakeh.

The Syrian leader asserts that extremists pushing a foreign agenda to destabilize Syria are behind the country's unrest, rather than true reform seekers aiming to open the country's autocratic political system. Sunday's demonstrators accused Arab countries of being complicit with the purported conspiracy.

The government called the Arab League decision "illegal," claiming it was intended to set the stage for foreign military intervention like in Libya.

However, the offer to allow a visit by an Arab League ministerial committee and accompanying monitors appeared to signal some will to try to implement an Arab League-brokered deal for ending the violence that the government has so far seemed unwilling or unable to do. The Nov. 2 deal calls for Syria to halt attacks on protesters, pull tanks out of cities and hold talks with the opposition.

There was no immediate reaction from Arab League officials on the Syrian invitation. Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby, on a visit to Libya, demanded immediate implementation of the Arab peace initiative.

Youssef Ahmed, Syria's ambassador to the Arab League, said the official request for an emergency meeting was on its way to the organization and that Syria was awaiting a response.

Iraq's representative with the Arab League has offered Baghdad as a location for the meeting if it is approved.

Members of the Syrian opposition rejoiced and saw the Arab vote to suspend Syria as a step toward greater recognition for their movement.

"This gives strong legitimacy to our cause. ... We consider this decision to be a victory for the Syrian revolution," Bassma Kodmani, a spokeswoman for the Syrian National Council opposition group, told The Associated Press.

Hours after the Arab League vote, pro-regime demonstrators in Syria assaulted the diplomatic offices of countries critical of the Syrian government, including break-ins at the Saudi and Qatari embassies and attacks at Turkish diplomatic posts across the country.

The overnight embassy attacks are likely to stoke anger in Arab states against the regime in Damascus. Arab disapproval in itself may not seriously damage President Assad's hold on power, but if Syria further antagonizes Gulf states, it risks having them build up the Syrian opposition into a unified body that can win international recognition, as happened during Libya's civil war this year.

Syrian security forces had confronted Saturday night's protesters at embassies with batons and tear gas but were unable to stop a group from breaking into the Qatari embassy and bringing down the Qatari flag and replacing it with the Syrian flag. Others entered Saudi Arabia's embassy compound, broke windows and ransacked some areas, the kingdom's media reported.

The kingdom strongly condemned the attack in a Foreign Ministry statement and said it held the Syrian authorities responsible for protecting its interests.

Saudi King Abdullah, who has condemned Assad's crackdown, had already recalled the Saudi ambassador to Syria in August. Kuwait and Bahrain have also recalled their ambassadors.

Protesters also tried to break into the Turkish Embassy in Damascus Saturday and into the country's consulates in the cities of Aleppo and Latakia, Turkey's state-run Anatolia news agency reported. Turkey is not a member of the Arab League but has also been sharply critical of Syria's crackdown, and Turkey's foreign minister welcomed the League vote.

Turkey on Sunday sent a plane to Damascus to evacuate the families of its diplomats as well as nonessential staff, Anatolia reported. The Turkish Foreign Ministry also said Turkey summoned Syria's charge d'affaires who was given a formal protest note demanding protection for its diplomatic missions.

France also said it had summoned Syria's ambassador to "remind" him of Syria's international obligations, after demonstrators tried to attack an honorary French consulate in Latakia and another French office in Aleppo.

On Sunday, hundreds of baton-carrying Syrian riot police in helmets ringed the U.S., Qatari, Saudi and Turkish embassies — all located in the capital's upscale Abu Rummaneh district. Three fire trucks were parked in front of the Turkish Embassy. The Turkish and Qatari embassies were closed for the day but the Saudi Embassy was operating, an operator said.

Source: The Associated Press

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Syria's Assad says intervention will burn region

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad warned against Western intervention in his country's 7-month-old uprising, saying such action would trigger an "earthquake" that "would burn the whole region."

Assad comments, published in an interview with Britain's Sunday Telegraph, were made against a backdrop of growing calls from anti-regime protesters for a no-fly zone over Syria and increasingly frequent clashes between government troops and army defectors, which left at least 30 troops dead late Saturday.

"Syria is the hub now in this region. It is the fault line, and if you play with the ground you will cause an earthquake," Assad said. "Do you want to see another Afghanistan, or tens of Afghanistans?"

Assad's remarks appeared to reflect his regime's increasing concern about foreign intervention in the country's crisis after the recent death of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was toppled by a popular uprising backed by NATO airstrikes.

Syrian opposition leaders have not called for an armed uprising like the one in Libya and have for the most part opposed foreign intervention, and the U.S. and its allies have shown little appetite for intervening in another Arab nation in turmoil. But with the 7-month-old revolt against Assad stalemated, some Syrian protesters have begun calling for a no-fly zone over the country because of fears the regime might use its air force now that army defectors are becoming more active in fighting the security forces.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a clash Saturday night in the restive central city of Homs between soldiers and gunmen believed to be army defectors left at least 20 soldiers dead and 53 wounded. It also said gunmen ambushed a bus carrying security officers late Saturday in the northwestern province of Idlib, killing at least 10 security agents. One attacker was also killed.

The Associated Press could not verify the activist's accounts. Syria has banned most foreign media and restricted local coverage, making it impossible to get independent confirmation of the events on the ground. Syria's state-run news agency SANA, said seven members of the military and police, who were killed in Homs and the suburbs of Damascus were buried Sunday.

The unrest in Syria could send unsettling ripples through the region, as Damascus' web of alliances extends to Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement, the militant Palestinian Hamas and Iran's Shiite theocracy.

Aware of those concerns at home and abroad, Assad said "any problem in Syria will burn the whole region. If the plan is to divide Syria, that is to divide the whole region."

The uprising against the Syrian regime began during a wave of anti-government protests in the Arab world that toppled autocrats in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. The U.N. says that Assad's crackdown has left more than 3,000 people dead since the uprising began in mid-March.

Facing an unprecedented threat to his rule, Assad is desperate to show that only he can guarantee security in a troubled region where failed states abound.

In a show of support to Assad's regime, thousands of Syrians carrying the nation's flag and Assad posters rallied Sunday in a major square in the southern city of Sweida, some 70 miles (110 kilometers) south of Damascus, near the Jordanian border. There have been two similar massive pro-Assad demonstrations in recent days in the capital Damascus and the coastal city of Latakia.

Assad said that Western countries "are going to ratchet up the pressure, definitely." He was apparently referring to a wave of sanctions that were imposed by the European Union and the U.S.

"But Syria is different in every respect from Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen. The history is different. The politics is different," Assad said.

The Syrian president described the uprising as a "struggle between Islamism and pan-Arabism." He was referring to his ruling Baath party's secular ideology and the Muslim Brotherhood that was crushed by his regime in 1982.

"We've been fighting the Muslim Brotherhood since the 1950s and we are still fighting with them," Assad said.

Assad, speaking to Russia's state Channel One television in an interview broadcast Sunday, hailed the Russian veto of a European-backed U.N. Security Council resolution on Syria that aimed to impose sanctions on Damascus. He added that Syria will count on continued support from Moscow.

"We are relying on Russia as a country with which we have strong historic ties," Assad said.

The measure vetoed by Russia and China earlier this month would have been the first legally binding resolution against Syria since Assad's forces began attacking civilian protesters.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Syria troops fire on protesters, killing 8

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian security forces opened fire on protesters in several parts of the country on Friday, killing at least eight people and wounding scores, while masked gunmen burst into an apartment in the predominantly Kurdish northeast and shot dead one of Syria's most prominent opposition figures.

Another leading opposition figure was beaten up by pro-government gunmen and rushed to a hospital in Damascus, activists said.

The slaying of Mashaal Tammo, a 53-year-old former political prisoner and a spokesman for the Kurdish Future Party, was the latest in a string of targeted killings in Syria as the country slides further into disorder, seven months into the uprising against President Bashar Assad.

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad, center, stands next to Syrian Defense Minister Gen. Dawoud Rajha, right, and Chief of Staff Gen. Fahed al-Jasem el-Freij, left, during a ceremony to mark the 38th anniversary of the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war, in Damascus, Syria, on Thursday Oct. 6, 2011. Syrian troops stormed villages close to the border with Turkey on Thursday, hunting armed military defectors who fought back in clashes that left at least four soldiers and three others dead, activists said. (AP Photo/SANA) EDITORIAL USE ONLY

Tammo, killed by unknown gunmen in the city of Qamishli, was also a member of the executive committee of the newly formed Syrian National Council, a broad-based front bringing together opposition figures inside and outside the country in an attempt to unify the deeply fragmented dissident movement.

Tammo's son and another member of the Kurdish Future Party were wounded in the attack, said Omar Idilbi, a spokesman for an activist group called the Local Coordination Committees.

Qamishli erupted in protests as thousands of outraged people took to the streets and swarmed the hospital were Tammo was taken, many of them shouting "Azadi," the Kurdish word for freedom, said Mustafa Osso, a Kurdish lawyer and activist from the city.

Tammo, a vocal regime opponent, had been instrumental in organizing anti-government protests in Qamishli in recent months.

"The regime is responsible for this killing," Osso said. "Mashaal had no enemies, his only crime was that he was a political activist and a supporter of the revolution," he added.

The killing could spark violent protests in the Kurdish region at a time when Syria's security forces already have their hands full in trying to stamp out dissent across much of the rest of the country. Kurds — the largest ethnic minority in Syria — make up 15 percent of the country's 23 million people and have long complained of neglect and discrimination.

Assad granted citizenship in April to stateless Kurds in eastern Syria in an attempt to address some of the protesters' grievances.

Tammo's assassination was similar to other recent targeted killings in Syria by unknown gunmen, raising concerns the country might be sliding toward civil war. The most recent was the assassination of the son of Syria's top Sunni cleric, who died in a hail of bullets outside the university where he studied earlier this week.

Several academics and physicists have also been shot dead by gunmen in the past month, most of them in the country's restive central and northern regions.

In what has become a weekly ritual of protests and violence, security forces opened fire at Friday rallies by tens of thousands of marchers in the streets of several Syrian cities, towns and villages. At least eight people were killed and scores were wounded, according to various activists.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least four people were killed and 25 were wounded in the central city of Homs, Syria's third largest city. It also reported intense shooting in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour near the border with Iraq, and the Damascus suburb of Douma.

In Douma, the Observatory said at least three people were killed and several were wounded, while five were wounded in the northern town of Maaret al-Numan.

Osso said one person was also killed in the town of Zabadani near the border with Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Riad Seif, a former lawmaker who became a leading opposition figure and outspoken critic of Assad's regime, was beaten up outside a mosque in the central Damascus suburb of Midan, according to two Syria-based activists.

Seif, who suffers from cancer and had been detained earlier this year, was rushed to hospital after the beating, said Osso and Idilbi. Amateur video posted on the Internet showed Seif at the hospital, with bruises to his back and hands.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland lamented the "absolutely gruesome" online footage of Seif being attacked, and the separate shooting that claimed the life of Tammo.

"Both of these guys were opposition advocates, who advocated nonviolence and were peaceful themselves," Nuland told reporters.

The Local Coordination Committees also reported heavy shooting in the village of Jassem in the southern province of Daraa, where the uprising against Assad's regime began seven months ago.

Since mid-March, the Syrian government crackdown has left at least 2,900 people dead, including members of security forces, according to the U.N.'s human rights office. The figure rose by at least 200 since the beginning of September.

Source:

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Syrian troops fire at anti-regime protesters

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian security forces opened fire on protesters Friday as thousands rallied across the country to call for the downfall of President Bashar Assad's regime, activists said. Troops also clashed with armed anti-regime forces in central regions.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said one person was killed in the central city of Hama and at least seven people were wounded in another central area, Homs.

In this citizen journalism image made on a mobile phone and provided by Shaam News Network, Anti-Syrian President Bashar Assad protesters, shout slogans as they protest at al-kessour area, in Homs province, Syria, late Thursday, Sept. 29, 2011. Angry supporters of President Bashar Assad's regime hurled tomatoes and eggs at the U.S. ambassador to Syria as he entered the office of a leading opposition figure and then tried to break into the building, trapping him inside for three hours. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network) EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO SALES, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS HANDOUT PHOTO

The protests spread from the capital, Damascus, and its suburbs to the southern province of Daraa, the northwestern province of Idlib as well as Hama and Homs.

Many of the protesters expressed solidarity with residents of the rebellious town of Rastan just north of Homs, where fighting has been raging for three days between troops and army defectors.

Amateur videos posted online by activists showed thousands of people shouting in support of the rebellion in Rastan, where fighting continued Friday.

"Rastan will overthrow the regime," read one banner waved by protesters in the Damascus neighborhood of Qadam. Many of the protesters there covered their faces with scarves or masks to hide their identities.

The Syrian government has banned foreign journalists and placed heavy restrictions on local media coverage, making it difficult to independently verify events on the ground.

The U.N. says some 2,700 people have already died in the government crackdown against the uprising that began in mid-March.

The protests on Friday followed the week's main Muslim prayer services and were similar to demonstrations held across Syria every Friday for the past six months since the uprising against Assad erupted in the country's south.

A military official said Friday that two days of clashes between Syrian troops and anti-Assad forces in Rastan killed seven soldiers and policemen.

The official said 32 Syrian troops were also wounded in the fighting as government forces conducted a "qualitative" operation on Thursday and Friday in an effort to crush "gunmen" holed up inside the town.

The government describes its armed opponents there as "terrorist armed groups," not army defectors.

The official said the gunmen had terrorized citizens, blocked roads and set up barriers and explosives, and were responsible for the deaths of the seven troops. The comments by the unidentified official were carried by state-run news agency, SANA, on Friday.

Rastan has witnessed some of the fiercest fighting in the six-month uprising against Assad, pitting the military against hundreds of army defectors, according to activists.

The town, from which the Syrian army draws many of its Sunni Muslim recruits, has seen some of the largest numbers of defections to date. A prominent human rights activist estimated there were around 2,000 defectors fighting in Rastan and nearby Talbiseh as well as in the Jabal al-Zawiyah region in the northern Idlib province.

He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

The defectors, as well as reports that once-peaceful Syrian protesters are increasingly taking up arms to fight the six-month old government crackdown, have raised concerns of the risk of civil war in Syria.

Syria has a volatile sectarian divide, making civil unrest one of the most dire scenarios. The Assad regime is dominated by the Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, but the country is overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim.

The report carried by SANA Friday was an acknowledgment of the stiff resistance and ongoing clashes in Rastan.

The military official said the confrontation resulted in the killing and detention of many of the gunmen. He said Syrian troops were still pursuing members of the terrorist groups in an effort to restore security to Rastan.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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EU bans imports of Syrian oil over crackdown

BEIRUT (AP) — The European Union banned oil imports from Syria on Friday in a move that will cost the embattled regime millions of dollars each day as it uses deadly force to try to crush a 5-month-old uprising. The same day, activists said, at least six people were killed in the crackdown. The deaths came as President Bashar Assad's security forces fired on thousands of anti-government protesters and surrounded mosques in southern and eastern cities to prevent worshippers from streaming into the streets to join the rallies, activists said. 

In this citizen journalism image made on a mobile phone and provided by Shaam News Network, anti government protesters hold Arabic placards reading:"The Friday of Death Rather Than Humiliation", center right, and "We want the free media to enter and reveal the truth", center left,during a demonstration against the Syrian regime, at Andan village, in Aleppo province, Syria, on Friday Sept. 2, 2011. Syria faced international calls for tougher sanctions as anti-government protesters vowed Friday they will choose death over humiliation at the hands of the regime. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network) EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO SALES, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS HANDOUT PHOTO

The U.N. estimates some 2,200 people have been killed since March as protesters face a barrage of shells and sniper fire. The regime is in no imminent danger of collapse, but the protesters are determined, leading to concerns violence could escalate. On Friday, Syrian protesters marched under the slogan "Death Rather Than Humiliation." The EU oil ban follows other international sanctions and blistering worldwide condemnation. The EU ban covers the purchase, import and transport of oil and other petroleum products from Syria. The EU also has banned European banks from opening credit lines for such sales, and prohibited insurance companies from insuring the cargos. In addition to the oil ban, four more Syrian individuals and three entities were added to a list of those facing an EU asset freeze and travel ban. Over the past few months, the EU has imposed travel bans and asset freezes against 35 Syrian government officials and military and police commanders, including Assad himself. Syria exports some 150,000 barrels of oil per day, generating $7 million to $8 million daily, according to David Schenker, director of the Program on Arab Politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The vast majority of that oil goes to the European Union. Without that revenue, Syria will likely burn through foreign reserves far more quickly. It had $17 billion in reserves at the start of the uprising. Still, some analysts believe Syria is getting financial assistance from Iran, which would cushion the EU blow. Syria gets about 28 percent of its revenue from the oil trade and sells fuel to France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. The EU has in the past been reluctant to ban Syrian oil and gas imports for fear of the impact on the Syrian public and small businesses. The EU oil embargo will bring the 27-nation bloc in line with the latest U.S. moves to isolate Assad's regime, including a ban on the import of petroleum or related products. In Poland, foreign ministry spokesman Marcin Bosacki told The Associated Press that the embargo is taking effect on Saturday. He said that EU foreign ministers meeting in the Baltic Sea resort of Sopot, in Poland, were to discuss the situation in Syria later Friday. Some EU nations have been lobbying for other sectors to be added to the sanctions regime, including telecommunications and banking. Recent weeks have seen a subtle change in tone among some activists, who are calling on Syrians to take up arms and inviting foreign military action like the intervention that helped topple the government of Libya. "The possibility of conflict in Syria entering a new phase is becoming more likely following almost six months of largely peaceful protests ... and growing external pressure," according to a briefing by Maplecroft, a British-based risk analysis company. Syrian troops fanned out Friday in cities including Daraa in the south and the eastern city of Deir el-Zour, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Syria has banned foreign journalists and restricted local coverage, making it difficult to independently confirm events on the ground.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Syrians mourn the dead as opposition seeks change

BEIRUT (AP) — Tens of thousands of Syrians shouting "We want freedom!" carried slain protesters through the streets Saturday as opposition figures meeting in Turkey called for a united front to bring down the 40-year ruling dynasty of the Assad family.

Lebanese protesters shout slogans as they carry banners in Arabic that read:" you are in heaven my son," center, "the martyr Hamza el-Khatib," left, and " Daraa mass graves," right, during a rally in solidarity with Syrian anti-government protesters in the northern city of Tripoli, Lebanon, Friday, July 15, 2011. Syrian security forces fired on protesters in the capital and other major cities Friday, killing at least 14 people as hundreds of thousands gathered for some of the largest anti-government rallies since the uprising began in March, witnesses and activists said. (AP Photo)

Syrian security forces killed at least 28 people Friday during the largest protests since the uprising began more than four months ago, activists said. Hundreds of thousands of people poured into the streets nationwide, but they were met with gunfire and tear gas.

"The regime has kidnapped the entire state, and we want it back," said Haitham al-Maleh, one of Syria's most prominent dissidents, who led Saturday's opposition conference in Istanbul. The 80-year-old lawyer spent years in Syrian prisons for his political activism.

Syria's crackdown on the protests has led to international condemnation and sanctions. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday that President Bashar Assad had dashed hopes of reform.

"What's happening in Syria is very uncertain and troubling because many of us had hoped that President Assad would make the reforms that were necessary," she said in Istanbul. "The brutality has to stop, there must be a legitimate sincere effort with the opposition to try to make changes."

"Yesterday we witnessed the largest demonstrations to date in Syria, an effort to try to convey directly to the government the pent-up desire of the Syrian people for the kind of reforms that they have been promised," she added.

Activists say the government's crackdown has killed some 1,600 people since March, most of them unarmed protesters. But the regime disputes the toll and blames a foreign conspiracy for the unrest, saying religious extremists — not true reform-seekers — are behind it.

Saturday's conference was an attempt to form a unified movement that can offer a realistic alternative to Assad, whose supporters argue that he is the only force who can guarantee stability in a region bedeviled by civil wars and religious strife.

Although Assad's regime is shaken, he still draws from a significant well of support from the middle classes, business community and religious minorities.

Still, the uprising appears to be gaining momentum.

Witnesses told The Associated Press that tens of thousands from Damascus and the suburbs held funerals for slain protesters Saturday, carrying the bodies overhead on stretchers and shouting "God is Great!" and "We want freedom!"

Like most witnesses in Syria, they spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

Witnesses also said security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters in the eastern border town of al-Boukamal near Iraq's border, killing at least one protester and wounding others.

State-run Syria TV contested that, however, and said gunmen killed two police officers in al-Boukamal and armed groups stormed a police headquarters and confiscated weapons.

The government has banned most foreign media and restricted local coverage, making it difficult to independently confirm accounts on the ground.

A small group of activists in Damascus also took part in Saturday's opposition meeting, but they had to join by telephone. The opposition had planned to hold dual meetings in Damascus and Istanbul, but the location in Syria was besieged by security forces on Friday, forcing them to scale back their plans. Activists say 14 protesters were killed Friday in the Damascus neighborhood of Qaboun, where the conference was to be held.

Opposition figure Mashaal Tammo, addressing the conference by phone from Damascus, said Assad had lost his legitimacy to rule and called on him to step down.

"The existence of the regime is no longer justified," he said.

Source: The Associated Press

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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A video of Syrian regime police

Here is a video of Syrian regime police & army officers attacking & kicking arrested peaceful protesters. An officer in the video says: "This kick is for your freedom request. & this kick is for Alshaheed (Martyr)". The officers then gather to stand on top of arrested protesters to take a photo shot!

Source: We are all Khaled Said

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Syrian Internet is restored, but Anonymous pledges retribution for outage

Yesterday saw Internet access withdrawn across Syria as the government looked to quell widespread protests in the country.

In the past few hours, Google’s Transparency Report tool shows that access has been restored, with traffic levels currently back at the level they were at before yesterday’s disconnection. However, it appears that the Syrian state has faces retribution for its actions in the form of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on the websites of its embassies, starting with those in France and Saudi Arabia.

In a note posted to Pastebin, the gathering of Internet activists swore to remove Syrian Embassy websites from the internet, stating that it would also use Black Fax and E-Mail Bomb campaigns. The note followed an earlier message from Anonymous, criticising President Assad’s regime.

Anonymous’ DDoS attacks on the Syrian websites were due to begin at 9.30am Syrian local time. It’s unclear whether the attacks actually took place or are still ongoing. At the time of writing, five and a half hours after this, the website for Syrian embassy in France is slow to load but is reachable, while the Saudi site appears stable. Other Syrian embassy sites we’ve checked appear up.

Anonymous has also been actively attacking the Iranian government in recent days. We’ll update with any additional news as it emerges.

Source: The Next Web

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ATTENTION PEOPLE OF #SYRIA - Let the world know! Here is how! #telecomix #emcom #rev11info #killswitch

00492317299993, User=telecomix,Pass=telecomix

004953160941030, User=telecomix,Pass=telecomix

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Source: Link

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More gunfire, arrests reported in Syrian crackdown

BEIRUT (AP) — Residents of the southern Syrian city of Daraa braved sniper fire Tuesday to pull the bullet-riddled bodies of the dead from the streets and hide them from security forces, a day after a brutal government crackdown on the popular revolt against President Bashar Assad, witnesses said.

As heavy gunfire reverberated through Daraa, a Syrian human rights group said authorities detained dozens of people across the country, mainly in several Damascus suburbs, including the town of Douma and in the northern coastal city of Jableh.

This video image taken from amateur video released by Sham News Network, a Syrian Freedom group, shows a man throwing an object at a tank in Daraa, Syria Sunday April 24, 2011. An eyewitness says at least five people have been killed in the southern Syrian city of Daraa during a security crackdown. Syrian troops in armored vehicles and tanks stormed the southern town of Daraa early Monday April 25, 2011 and opened fire. It was the latest bloodshed in a five-week uprising against President Bashar Assad's authoritarian regime. (AP Photo/Sham News Network via APTN) AP HAS NO WAY OF INDEPENDENTLY VERIFYING THE AUTHENTICITY OF THIS VIDEO

A relentless crackdown since mid-March has killed more than 400 people across Syria, with 120 dead over the weekend, rights groups said. That has only emboldened protesters who started their revolt with calls for modest reforms but are now increasingly demanding Assad's downfall.

The Syrian army, backed by tanks and snipers, launched a deadly raid before dawn Monday on Daraa, where the uprising began more than a month ago, and on the towns of Douma and Jableh. At least 22 people were killed in Daraa.

World leaders expressed concern at the mounting bloodshed, with the United States starting to draw up sanctions against Assad, diplomats hoping to send a strong signal to Damascus from the United Nations, and the prime minister of neighboring Turkey telephoning the Syrian leader to urge restraint.

The assault on Daraa appeared to be part of new strategy of crippling, pre-emptive action against any opposition to Assad, rather than reacting to demonstrations.

It took more than a day for residents of Daraa to start pulling many of the bodies off the streets of Daraa, with rooftop snipers and army forces firing on people who dared to leave their homes. One man, Zaher Ahmad Ayyash, was killed as he tried to retrieve the bodies of two brothers, Taysir and Yaser al-Akrad, said a resident, who asked to be identified only as Abdullah for fear of reprisal.

The corpses were hidden away after they were retrieved from the streets, Abdullah said, suggesting that residents might face reprisal if troops discovered they had taken the bodies. As he spoke on the phone, gunfire popping in the background.

"We can't bury the dead in the cemetery because it's occupied by Syrian soldiers," said Abdullah. "We are waiting to find another place to bury them."

Snipers also targeted water tanks on rooftops in Daraa — the last source of clean water for many desperate residents of the parched region of 300,000 people, Abdullah said.

Even as the military crackdown intensified, Abdullah said there was quiet, defiant resistance. He said some soldiers were disobeying orders and allowing residents to pass through military checkpoints.

Palestinian refugees — generally the most hardscrabble of all Syrian residents — smuggled flour, water, bread and canned food into town. "We are so grateful to them," the resident said.

Earlier in the day, another resident said Syrian special forces were in the streets of the impoverished city, and tanks had opened fire in the city.

"We are being subjected to a massacre," another resident screamed over the telephone above the sound of gunfire. "We have been without electricity for three days. We have no water."

The witness, contacted via a Jordanian cell phone, spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, as did other witnesses and residents contacted across Syria.

Scenes similar to those in Daraa took place in Jableh, with residents hiding their dead from Friday's assault and then furtively burying them in private plots of farmland — some as late as Tuesday — out of fear that the families of those killed might be arrested, a resident said. Also like Daraa, gunmen had shot holes in water storage tanks on rooftops in a form of punishment, he added.

In a continuation of the crackdown, hundreds of people were arrested Tuesday, he said.

Syria has banned nearly all foreign media and restricted access to trouble spots since the uprising began, making it almost impossible to verify the dramatic events shaking one of the most authoritarian, anti-Western regimes in the Arab world.

In Douma, which saw an intense crackdown Monday, houses were raided again at dawn Tuesday, with forces detaining anyone suspected of participating in demonstrations. Soldiers at sandbagged checkpoints also held men deemed suspicious. Phone service was cut off, a resident said.

The streets of Douma were almost empty, with schools and most shops closed and uncollected garbage piling up. Security was heavy, with agents at checkpoints asking people for their identity cards.

Another resident said authorities closed the private Hamdan Hospital after ordering all families of patients there to take them home. No reason was given for the closure, and three doctors there were detained, the resident said.

In the seaside city of Banias, divided between Sunni Muslims and Alawites — the sect of the ruling Assad family and many key officials — thousands of men and women gathered in the streets for a demonstration, according to three residents. With the noise of chanting in the background, they said they wanted to show support for Daraa.

Life was almost back to normal in the central city of Homs, except for intense security, a witness said. A few hundred people demonstrated there Monday in support of Daraa, the witness said

Daraa has seen some of the worst bloodshed in the past five weeks as the uprising gained momentum. Recently, the city has absorbed many rural migrants who can no longer farm after years of drought.

The White House has stepped up its condemnation of Assad's regime, but stopped well short of demanding his ouster. U.S. officials said Washington has begun drawing up targeted sanctions against him, his family and his inner circle to boost pressure on them to halt the repression.

Washington was conferring with European countries and the United Nations about options.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Britain also was working with other members of the U.N. Security Council "to send a strong signal to the Syrian authorities that the eyes of the international community are on Syria." The U.N. will discuss Syria later Tuesday.

In Rome, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi and French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed concern over the crackdown. Sarkozy said the current situation was "unacceptable."

The United States told all its nonessential staff and the families of all its embassy workers to leave the country, but kept the facility open for limited services. It also advised all Americans to defer travel to Syria and advised those already in the country to leave. On Sunday, Britain urged its citizens to leave Syria.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Assad and urged him to show "restraint." Turkey's ambassador met Syrian Prime Minister Adel Safar to express "deep concern and sorrow" over the many lives lost, the prime minister's office and the Turkish media reported.

The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdul-Rahman, who provided the death toll of more than 400 people since the uprising began last month, said that figure did not include those killed in the raids on Daraa and the Damascus suburb of Douma. It also did not include the number of Syrian troops killed, he added.

Abdul-Rahman couldn't provide a precise figure for those arrested Tuesday because it was difficult to get through to Daraa after authorities cut telephone service in the city 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of Damascus, near the Jordanian border.

The uprising was touched off by the arrest of teenagers who scrawled anti-government graffiti on a wall, with protesters inspired by uprisings elsewhere in the Arab world.

Last week, Assad fulfilled a key demand by abolishing nearly 50-year-old emergency laws that had given the regime a free hand to arrest people without cause. But he coupled the concession with a stern warning that people would no longer have an excuse to hold mass protests, and any further unrest would be considered "sabotage."

When protesters defied his order and held demonstrations Friday — the main day for rallies around the Arab world — they were met with a gunfire, tear gas and stun guns.

The attack on Daraa was by far the biggest in scope and firepower. Video purportedly shot by activists showed tanks rolling through streets and grassy fields with soldiers on foot jogging behind them.

State-run television quoted a military source as saying army units entered the city to bring security "answering the pleas for help by residents of Daraa."

Syria has a pivotal role in most of the flashpoint issues of the Middle East — from the Arab-Israeli peace process to Iran's widening influence. Instability has thrown into disarray the U.S. push for engagement with Damascus, part of Washington's hopes to peel the country away from Hamas, Hezbollah and Tehran.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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