World

Syrian Activists Claim Massacres Spreading to More Cities

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian activists said Monday that pro-government gunmen have killed at least 16 people – including children – in a rebel stronghold recaptured by the government in the embattled central city of Homs.

Syrian Activists Claim Massacres Spreading to More Cities

(AP Photo)

The state media in Damascus, which often ignores claims by activists, confirmed killings in Homs but blamed “armed terrorists” as it frequently calls those behind the uprising.

CNN has video of the recent bloody clashes, and a meeting between Assad and Kofi Annan during which Annan requested a ceasefire:

Fresh from stamping out rebel centers of resistance in Homs, government forces are pressing on with new offensives in other parts of central and northern Syria. The reports of the killings add to concerns that the hundreds of civilian deaths caused by the fighting will be compounded by reprisals against opposition supporters in the recaptured towns and neighborhoods.

Al-Jazeera has a video clip here from a reporter embedded with resistance fighters in the city of Idlib:

They will add to the pressure on U.N. Security Council members who are meeting to decide what to do next to stop the violence, as the international community’s current ongoing effort – a peacemaking mission by U.N. envoy Kofi Annan – falters with both government and opposition refusing to talk to one another.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 16 people were killed Sunday night while the Local Coordination Committees said 45 were “murdered.” Both groups said children were among the dead.

They accused gunmen known as “shabiha” who have been playing a major role in crushing the year-old uprising.

The state media in Damascus, which often ignores claims by activists, confirmed the deaths but blamed “armed terrorists” – the phrase normally used for those whom it claims are behind the uprising.

Homs is the Syrian city hardest hit by violence since the uprising against President Bashar Assad’s regime began in March last year. Several Homs, including Karm el-Zeytoun where Sunday’s deaths occurred, were controlled by rebels and retaken by government forces earlier this month.

Karm el-Zeytoun has witnessed intense anti-regime protests in the past months. It is one of several neighborhoods in Homs that have large populations both of Alawites – a Shiite offshoot that dominates the Damascus regime – and of Sunnis – who make up much of the opposition against it.

The Observatory said that after the killings, many people fled Karm el-Zeytoun as well as the nearby neighborhoods of Bab Dreb and Nazihin, for fear pro-government gunmen might carry out similar attacks.

Pictures posted online by activists showed the bodies of five children who were disfigured after being apparently hit with sharp objects. At least six dead adults were covered with sheets.

An amateur video posted online showed men wrapping the bodies of the dead with white cloth in accordance with Muslim tradition before burial.

“This is what they do to us, the Sunnis. The Sunnis are being wiped out, they are the ones who are dying at the hands of Iran and the Shiites,” shouted a man in the background. Shiite Iran is one of the Assad regime’s few remaining allies.

“We tell Bashar that your punishment will be harsh,” the man shouted. The authenticity of the video could not be independently confirmed.

The Observatory called on the United Nations to form an independent investigative committee to find “those committing massacres and have them face justice.”

Syrian Activists Claim Massacres Spreading to More Cities

(AP Photo)

“The regime aims to terrify people and put down the revolution,” said Syria-based activist Mustafa Osso, who also blamed the shabiha for the attack.

He says new protests broke out in several areas around the country to condemn the latest killings in Homs.

The LCC called for a day of mourning Tuesday and urged Syrians to close their shops and abstain from going to work, schools and universities. The group urged citizens to carry black ribbons and flags and wear black shirts in sign of mourning.

Syria’s state-run media quoted an unnamed official as saying that armed groups in some areas in Homs are kidnapping people, then killing and disfiguring them in order to bring international condemnation to the regime.

Assad’s regime blames the uprising on armed groups and terrorists acting out a foreign conspiracy.

The bloody conflict in Syria is likely to dominate public and private talks Monday when key ministers meet at the United Nations on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and challenges from the Arab Spring.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will hold bilateral talks as ministers from the 15 council nations attend an open Security Council meeting to look ahead after last year’s Arab uprisings.

Much attention is likely to be focused on the private meeting between Clinton and Lavrov, which is expected to be dominated by serious differences over how to address the violence in Syria, which the U.N. estimates has killed over 7,500 people.

“We have been used to the escalation by armed terrorist groups before meetings at the Security Council with the aim of inciting stances against Syria,” state-run news agency SANA quoted the unnamed Syrian official as saying.

An international push to end Syria’s conflict has stalled as U.N. special envoy Kofi Annan left Damascus on Sunday without a cease-fire deal.

Western and Arab powers are struggling for ways to stem the bloodshed in the year-old conflict while both the regime and the opposition reject dialogue. Annan appeared to make little progress during two meetings with Assad during his first trip to Syria as the joint U.N.-Arab League envoy.

Annan was seeking an immediate cease-fire to allow for humanitarian aid and the start of a dialogue between all parties on a political solution. After meeting with Assad on Sunday, Annan said he had presented steps to ease the crisis, but gave no details.

Also Monday, SANA reported that an “armed terrorist group” blew up a pipeline that transports diesel from the central province of Homs to the nearby region of Hama, setting it on fire.

There have been several fires and explosions cutting oil and gas pipelines since the uprising began. Damascus blames them on armed groups but the opposition says they are caused by government shelling.

In the northeastern city of Qamishli, hundreds of Kurds marched to mark the eighth anniversary of clashes between Syrian Kurds and security forces that began in the city then spread to the nearby cities of Hasaka and Aleppo. The 2004 violence left 25 killed and 100 wounded.

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. However, since the uprising began they have not taken a major role in anti-Assad activities.

The gathering in Qamishli observed a moment of silence to protest the killings of civilians in Homs, said Osso, who spoke from the area.

Comments (17)

  • canadianproud
    Posted on April 7, 2012 at 10:01am

    those people are taught to hate and murder from birth.Don’t feel sorry here.

    Report Post »  
  • Seede
    Posted on March 13, 2012 at 11:12am

    Arab Rose -
    To the Blaze readers who wonder why Arab Rose Ellen is such a fan of Arab spring movement and such a Palestinian advocate is very simple. Egypt has about 80 -90 % Sunni – Jordan has about 92% Sunni – Iraq has about 95 % Sunni – Libya has about 97 % Sunni, Palestinians have about 75 % Sunni —

    Here is the rub, Iran has about 89 % Shia and only 9 % Sunni, and Syria has about 74 % Sunni.with about 12 % Alawi. Assad, who is Alawite controls the Sunni’s of Syria with the Alawites. Why is it so important to get rid of Assad and his Alawites? Because they cannot get their Caliphate to unify the middle east into one government without the Sunni’s in Syria. Assad must go because he is actually a offshoot of the Shia and Iran is the stronghold of the Shia. That is why they are such stout allies. This is why the Sunni are revolting in Syria.

    What happens when they get rid of Assad and install the Sunni? Then that leaves Iran who the Arabs hope that their enemy, the Jews, will declare war on Iran and kill the last stronghold of the Shia. This leaves the entire Arab nation unified under one Sunni law.

    How does this fit in with Rose Ellen? Rose is a Jew hater by admission. Being a Jew hater, she then must side with her Sunni friends which she calls Palestinians. Simply another way to say that she believes in the Arab Spring of a Muslim Caliphate. This is why she is so upset over the Sunni rebels being killed in Syria.

    Report Post »  
    • Seede
      Posted on March 13, 2012 at 11:39am

      Rose Ellen – continued
      This is why Iran wants the nuclear bomb. Iran knows that they are a vast minority of Muslim Shia and if the Arabs are unified against them they will eventually be wiped out from the face of the earth. If they have nuclear bombs then that would insure their survival just as it has with Israel. So to prevent Iran from getting the bomb is to assure their demise eventually. Russia also knows this and seeks to prevent a Caliphate by helping Iran against the rule of a Caliphate. Naturally in order to do this Russia backs Iran as an ally knowing that once the Arabs are all under the Caliphate they then expand their world domination.

      The United States may be making a big mistake, as they usually do. If America backs the Syrian rebels and wars against Iran, they then are actually helping to establish a Arab Caliphate and a larger thorn in their flesh in the future. Once the Sunni Caliphate is established they will certainly either convert the enemy or wipe them off the face of the earth. Muhammad will then be reborn. This is what Rose is working towards.

      Report Post »  
  • Magyar
    Posted on March 12, 2012 at 8:20pm

    Ignore trolls like Rose-Ellen…. Secular? Muslims killing Muslims is the best news of the day, week, year— Let’em kill each other…fewer for the world to deal with.

    Report Post »  
    • Twobyfour
      Posted on March 13, 2012 at 4:34am

      Their master, Ördög (a.k.a Allah), is pleased, not caring where the blood comes from.

      Report Post » Twobyfour  
  • blackstone22
    Posted on March 12, 2012 at 2:59pm

    My prayers for the innocent civilians of Syria who just want to live their lives in peace and not be victims of the violence perpetuated by this evil political corruption and power grab.

    Report Post »  
    • Minonkman
      Posted on March 12, 2012 at 3:34pm

      No such thing as a innocent Muslim civilian, this is nothing more than a way of life for them. Here we go again pushing our value system on them.

      Report Post » Minonkman  
  • paleoman
    Posted on March 12, 2012 at 2:30pm

    Muslims killing muslems, I don’t care. Maybe 15 years ago I would have cared what happened to the women & children but now I see one less terrorist in the future, sad but true.

    Report Post »  
  • dmerwin
    Posted on March 12, 2012 at 1:11pm

    When they are down to the last dozen people, Jimmy Carter should go monitor their election.

    Report Post » dmerwin  
  • ALL-IN
    Posted on March 12, 2012 at 1:03pm

    This is what is coming for the progressives, marxists communists and muslims that are at war with america. A vast amount of after birth abortions are in their future.

    Report Post »  
  • zoro51
    Posted on March 12, 2012 at 12:52pm

    murdering muslum need i say more.. they are in a MAN MADE CULT there IS no allah its a FALSE GOD STONE IDOL.. there laws MAN MADE UP they are KILLERS of even thier own kind… muslums MURDER fact!

    Report Post » zoro51  
    • rose-ellen
      Posted on March 12, 2012 at 3:02pm

      how can we stand by and watch a nazi like regime[propped by russia] slaughter and torture en mass people who have risen up against it? this is not about islamic fundamentalism but about a repressive crack down against people rising up against a brutal regime.How can we watch this ceaseless genocide taking place and continue to do nothing? where is our humanity?has the anti arab /muslim genocdial propaganda machine so indoctrinated you that you can accept the wholesale, torture and slaughter of men women and children ?is this what what it means to be american in the 21stc?were is your humanity?you buy into this dictators‘ narrative that he’s killing terrorist? like babies and children?and some of you actually call yourselves christian?

      Report Post »  
    • rose-ellen
      Posted on March 12, 2012 at 3:08pm

      religion has nothing to do with this. syria is secular. it’s a police state and this is about non fundamentalistcivilians rising up against a police state dictatorship.to allow this genocide to continue is criminal.God bless mccain and graham who seems to be the only ones with consciences.

      Report Post »  
  • iac
    Posted on March 12, 2012 at 12:44pm

    TOO Funny! Looking at that top photo.
    Typical ragheads praying-&-spraying their weapons; buttstocks folded, shooting like gangbangers.
    I especially like the guy with the 1000 yard scope on the 250 yard AK-47 variant rifle!

    Report Post »  
  • B-Neil
    Posted on March 12, 2012 at 12:41pm

    No ( soul ) No future. I have no pity for a people who’s main purpose in life is to perpetuate hell on Earth. Blockade the whole region and let them eat each other group by group. GOD BLESS AMERICA and INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM

    Report Post »  
  • Mark0331
    Posted on March 12, 2012 at 12:33pm

    Muslims killing each other? …is this new or something? Why do they then ask for help from the ‘infidel’? No one cares any more…Let the OPEC figure it Out? They got the loot and clout to heal all things muslim…

    Report Post » Mark0331  
  • Minonkman
    Posted on March 12, 2012 at 12:21pm

    Keep Americans out of the middle east, and let God sort it out. He is doing a very good job. This will make the world a safer place to be.

    Report Post » Minonkman  

Sign In To Post Comments! Sign In

Sign Up For Our Newsletter!

Glenn Beck Radio

Listen to Glenn Beck 24/7 Listen Now
Restoring Love