Syrian Forces Step Up Raids in Damascus Suburbs

Source: New York Times

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Backed by tanks, Syrian security forces raided a restive Damascus suburb Thursday morning, arresting scores of people in a broad campaign that targeted men between the ages of 18 and 50, human rights groups and activists said.

Security forces swept through hundreds of houses in Saqba, a hardscrabble town on the capital’s outskirts that was the scene of a sprawling demonstration last week against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad, who inherited power from his father, Hafez, in 2000. Human rights groups put the number of arrests there at 286.

Wissam Tarif, executive director of Insan, a human rights group, said at least 800 people were also arrested over the past two days in Tal, another Damascus suburb, and that a prominent opposition figure, Walid al-Buni, had been missing for 24 hours.

In all, the group said, as many as 8,000 people have been reported to be in custody or missing since the protests erupted across the country. In most locales, Mr. Tarif said, the raids appear to be carried out by elite forces, with the military’s help.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/06/world/middleeast/06syria.html?_r=1&hp

---

My biggest suburban complaint is the guy who mows his lawn at 7 AM on Saturdays. We take way too much for granted in this country.

Minority christians who have lived there for centuries. Women travel where they want, when they want, dressed as they want with no harrassment. Two female relatives live alone in a neighborhood with muslims (arabs and kurds) and can sleep at night with the windows opened and doors unlocked. You can walk the streets at midnight and not worry. They adore Assad. Not surprising, really. People will give up a lot for security, as we've seen here. I'm not a fan of the dictatorship there, but I'm a realist; the fall of the Syrian government would look less like Tunisia or Egypt and much more like Iraq.