Syrians defy crackdown, stage widespread protests

Source: The Washington Post

BEIRUT — Syrian troops used heavy machine guns and artillery to quell anti-government demonstrations in the key city of Homs on Friday in a sharp escalation of their crackdown against regime opponents, as tens of thousands of Syrians again defied the threat of bullets and tanks to take to the streets around the country.

Witnesses reached by telephone in Homs on Friday evening said they could hear what appeared to be pitched battles in several neighborhoods, prompting speculation that some members of the security forces had defected.

Syrian state television reported that 10 members of the security forces had been killed in Homs by “armed gangs,” the term used by the government to describe the protesters. But there have been no indications that any members of the seemingly spontaneous and mostly leaderless protest movement are armed.

At least 26 people were killed when Syrian forces opened fire on demonstrators, with 11 deaths reported in Homs and six in the nearby town of Hama, said Wissam Tarif of the human rights group Insan.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/syrians_defy_crackdown_stage_widespread_protests/2011/05/06/AFH8DB8F_singlePage.html

If the regime were any wiser, they would've deployed distant units to problem areas rather than use the local units, as soldiers in those distant units are less likely to have friends and family among the protesters. This is how China succeeded in crushing student protesters in 1989. The Communist Party encountered a similar problem the House of Assad now appears to be facing.

;)

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-06/european-bid-to-censure-syria-faces-opposition-citing-libya.html


British Foreign Secretary William Hague instructed his government’s UN mission this week to make another attempt at Security Council pressure on Syria’s government, and was backed today by France and Germany, France’s Ambassador Gerard Araud said. British Deputy Ambassador Philip Parham said no decision has been made on what specific action to seek.

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin reiterated his government’s position that the situation in Syria isn’t a threat to international peace and security, which is the standard for UN Security Council intervention. “Things are getting better there, anyway,” Churkin said.

The U.S. and its European allies may have a better chance at derailing Syria’s bid for a seat on the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, according to Puri and other diplomats who said Syria won’t be able to win the 97-vote majority needed for election in the General Assembly on May 20.

Pressure on Syria to drop out increased when the Human Rights Council voted 26 to 9, with 7 abstentions, to adopt a U.S.-draft resolution censuring the Assad regime for its attacks on protesters. Egypt’s Ambassador Maged Abdelaziz said some Arab ambassadors are giving Ja’afari “friendly advice” to withdraw so that the Arabs, who lost one seat on the Human Rights Council when Libya was suspended in March, don’t lose another.