Egipt nadal nie jest bezpiecznym miejscem dla turystów. W nocy w Kairze miały miejsca gwałtowne starcia protestujących z policją. Kilkadziesiąt osób jest rannych - informuje tvn24.pl.
Według BBC starcia z policją rozpoczęły się gdy siły bezpieczeństwa przegoniły protestujących spod budynku państwowej telewizji. Zebrali się tam, by demonstrować przeciwko - ich zdaniem - zwlekaniu z rozliczeniem funkcjonariuszy dawnego aparatu bezpieczeństwa z popełnionych zbrodni. Wielu z nich to członkowie rodzin tych, których zabito podczas zamieszek w lutym tego roku.
Manifestanci przeszli przed budynek ministerstwa spraw wewnętrznych i obrzucili go kamieniami. Krzyczeli "Precz z juntą!". Policjanci zablokowali ulice wokół budynku i zaatakowali demonstrantów gazem łzawiącym.
W nocy starcia przeniosły się na plac Tahrir - ten sam, na którym tysiące Egipcjan domagały się w lutym ustąpienia prezydenta Hosniego Mubaraka. Podczas wielodniowych zajść zginęło wówczas 850 osób.
Demonstranci rzucali kamieniami w policję, ta odpowiedziała gazem łzawiącym. Dziesiątki osób zostały ranne - wywożono ich z placu na motocyklach.
Musiało dojśc do ataku na ambasady USA i Francji w Syrii, by Departament Stanu po raz pierwszy imiennie potępił Baszara Assada. Mimo że krwawe tłumienie rewolty trwa już kilka tygodni, dopiero wczoraj Hillary Clinton oświadczyła, że prezydent tego kraju Baszar el-Asad nie jest niezastąpiony i stracił prawo do rządzenia. Szefowa amerykańskiej dyplomacji potępiła ataki zwolenników Asada na ambasady USA i Francji w Damaszku. Do ataków doszło w proteście przeciwko ubiegłotygodniowej wizycie ambasadorów tych państw w zbuntowanym mieście Hama na zachodzie kraju. Damaszek uznał tę wypowiedź za "prowokacyjną".
Dwa dni temu zwolennicy prezydenta Syrii Baszara el-Asada zaatakowali ambasady Stanów Zjednoczonych i Francji w Damaszku w proteście przeciwko ubiegłotygodniowej wizycie ambasadorów tych państw w zbuntowanym mieście Hama na zachodzie kraju. Na terenie ambasady USA napastnicy wybili okna, wciągnęli syryjską flagę i umieścili na murach obelżywe napisy, w których nazwali ambasadora "psem". Następnie opuścili teren placówki i udali się pod ambasadę Francji, gdzie przypuścili szturm na budynek. Ochrona placówki zmuszona była do użycia ostrej amunicji, strzelając w powietrze. Trzech pracowników ambasady odniosło rany.
Amerykański urzędnik zapowiedział, że Departament Stanu USA zamierza wezwać wysokiego rangą dyplomatę syryjskiego w Waszyngtonie, by złożyć skargę w związku z atakiem. "Wezwiemy syryjskiego charge d'affaires, żeby złożyć skargę - oznajmił. - Uważamy, że nie dopełnili (obowiązku ochrony amerykańskich dyplomatów). Potępimy ich powolną reakcję". Nieoficjalnie Amerykanie uważają, że służby Assada reżyserowały te wydarzenia a ich winą jest nie tyle brak reakcji, co sprowokowanie ataku na terytorium USA i Francji.
Wygląda na to, że napięcie będzie wzrastało. Barack Obama i Nicolas Sarkozy mieli ustalić wczoraj kolejną akcję dyplomatyczną, czyli wyjazd ambasadorów Roberta Forda i Erica Chevaliera do miasta Deir al-Zour na granicy z Irakiem. Tam także mają się spotkać z reprezentantami opozycji a niewykluczone, że z represjami ze strony armii lub służb Assada. Waszyngton i Paryż pomimo iż zdają sobie sprawę z ryzyka tej eskapady postanowili rzucić wyzwanie dyktatorowi Syrii, spodziewając się najwyraźniej kolejnych gwałtownych reakcji. Wobec zablokowania przez Rosję i Chiny jakiejkolwiek rezolucji RB ONZ wobec Syrii, droga sprowokowanego napięcia wydaje się obecnie najkrótszą droga do obalenia Assada
Syrian tanks stormed the Syrian city of Hama early on Sunday, residents said, after nearly a month of surrounding the town which has seen some of the biggest demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad's rule.
One of the residents, a doctor who did not want to be further identified for fear of arrest, told Reuters that at least one civilian, a youth called Fares al-Naem, was killed in shelling by tanks in Bab Sbahi area in the northern quarter of the city.
"Tanks are attacking from four directions. They are firing their heavy machineguns randomly and overrunning makeshift road blocks erected by the inhabitants," he said by phone, the sound of machinegun fire crackling in the background.
At least 24 civilians have reportedly been killed and dozens of others wounded after Syrian tanks stormed the city of Hama, shooting indiscriminately, residents said.
The attack on Sunday morning came nearly a month after Syrian forces besieged the city, following some of the largest demonstrations against Bashar al-Assad's rule since protests began in March, the Reuters news agency reported.
One of the residents, a doctor who did not want to be further identified for fear of arrest, told Reuters that the tanks were attacking from four different direction and "firing randomly".
"They are firing their heavy machine guns randomly and overrunning makeshift road blocks erected by the inhabitants," he said by phone, the sound of machine gun fire crackling in the background.
He said that there were 51 people wounded at Badr hospital alone, which was running short of blood for transfusions. He said tanks had surrounded another main hospital, al-Horani.
Another resident said snipers had climbed onto the roofs of the state-owned electricity company and the main prison, and that electricity had been cut in eastern neighbourhoods.
Assad is attempting to crush an uprising against his 11-year rule that broke out in March, inspired by "Arab Spring" revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, and has spread across the country.
Syrian authorities have expelled most independent journalists, making it difficult to verify reports of fighting.
Hama was the scene of a massacre in 1982 when Assad's father, the late president Hafez al-Assad, sent his troops to crush an Islamist-led uprising, razing whole neighbourhoods and killing up to 30,000 people in the bloodiest episode of Syria's modern history.
International concern
Robert Ford, the US ambassador to Syria, visited the city earlier this month in a gesture of international support for what he described as peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, and once a staunch ally of Assad, said in May that "we do not want to see another Hama massacre", and warned the 45-year-old president that it would be hard to contain the consequences if it were repeated.
The Syrian leadership blames "armed terrorist groups" for most killings during the revolt, saying that more than 500 soldiers and security personnel have been killed.
An activist group, Avaaz, said in a report last week that Syrian security forces had killed 1,634 people in the course of their crackdown, while at least 2,918 had disappeared.
Another 26,000 had been arrested, many of whom were beaten and tortured, and 12,617 remained in detention, it said.
Syria-based rights activist Mustafa Osso said the regime had detained more than 4,000 people in raids over the past week as it tries to contain the situation.
"The regime is trying to suppress the uprising because it knows that the opposition will try to hold protests between sunset and sunrise," Osso said.
He called the week of raids the "strongest security campaign since the uprising began".
'Intense shooting'
Meanwhile, Syrian forces killed at least six civilians during shelling in the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor late on Saturday, as government forces intensified a pre-Ramadan crackdown against protests.
Deir ez-Zor, the capital of a province that carries the same name, is an oil hub but also one of the country's poorest regions.
"More tank columns are heading to town. By using heavy weapons, security forces are waging war against their own people," the Syrian Revolution Co-ordination Union grassroots activists' group said.
Rami Abdul-Rahman, the director of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said about 60 vehicles filled with reinforcements from the northern city of Raqqah reached Deir ez-Zor after noon.
"Intense shooting could be heard in the western parts of the city," he told The Associated Press news agency by telephone.
"Residents have placed barriers in the streets in order to obstruct advancing troops."
The tribal region, which borders Iraq, has been witnessing intense protests, calling for the downfall of Assad's regime.
The Deir ez-Zor raid followed a night-time attack by government forces on the capital, Damascus, and the eastern city of al-Boukamal on the border with Iraq.
Activists have predicted that demonstrations will escalate during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which begins on Monday, as both sides try to tip the balance in the more than four-month uprising.
Since the uprising against Assad's regime began, Fridays have witnessed the most intense protests as Muslims leave mosques after the weekly prayers and march in the streets.
Świat oburzony masakrą w Syrii. "Doniesienia są przerażające"
Prezydent USA Barack Obama oświadczył, że jest oburzony ofensywą syryjskiej armii w mieście Hama, gdzie zginęło ok. 100 osób. Wydarzenia w tym położonym na zachodzie Syrii mieście potępił też przewodniczący Parlamentu Europejskiego Jerzy Buzek.
"Doniesienia z Hamy są przerażające i ukazują prawdziwą twarz syryjskiego reżimu" - głosi oświadczenie opublikowane przez Biały Dom. Obama podkreślił, że "Syria będzie lepszym miejscem, gdy dojdzie tam do demokratycznych przemian".
"W najbliższych dniach Stany Zjednoczone będą kontynuować naciski na syryjski reżim i współpracować z innymi na rzecz odizolowania reżimu (prezydenta Baszara) el-Asada" - zapewnił Obama. (...)
-Syria jest krajem rozwijającym się z gospodarką opartą w głównej mierze na sektorze przemysłowo - naftowym i rolniczym.
-Syria posiada złoża ropy naftowej i gazu ziemnego, fosfatów, rud chromu i manganu, rud żelaza, asfaltu, soli kamiennej, gipsu i marmuru.
The last major violent flare-up along the Israeli-Lebanese border was during the Nakba Day protest in May [Reuters]
Israeli and Lebanese troops have exchanged fire along the countries' border, officials say.
The Israeli and Lebanese sides offered different accounts of Monday's incident, which did not appear to have caused casualties.
The Israeli military said its army unit was on a routine patrol within Israeli territory when it received fire on Monday morning from over the border in Lebanon near Ghajar, a disputed village which straddles a strategic corner where boundaries between Syria, Israel and Lebanon meet.
It said UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force stationed on the border, was informed of the incident, which took place at dawn.
A Lebanese army official told the media that the incident occurred when Israeli solders crossed the Blue Line, the UN-drawn border with Lebanon which was established in 2000.
"An Israeli patrol in the Wazzani area crossed the Blue Line and went beyond it about 30m," the official told various news agencies on condition of anonymity.
"Lebanese troops stationed in the area fired warning shots," he said. "The Israeli patrol retreated and then fired at Lebanese army posts."
Unclear violation
Neeraj Singh, the UNIFIL spokesman, confirmed the incident but did not elaborate on whether Israeli troops had violated the Blue Line or not.
"We can confirm that at around 7am this morning there was a brief exchange of fire between the Lebanese army and the Israeli army along the Blue Line in the general area of Wazzani," Singh said.
"UNIFIL peacekeepers immediately responded to the location in order to contain the situation and prevent any escalation.
"The firing has since ceased and the situation in the area is quiet. No casualties have been reported".
Singh said the UN force had opened an investigation into the shooting.
Speaking in front of parliament's defence and foreign affairs committee, Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said "Israel is not looking for an escalation on the Lebanese border".
"Israel is not looking for an escalation on the border with Lebanon," Netanyahu said on Monday, according to sources who were present at the scene.
"There was an incident, the soldiers acted as they should and needed to have reacted, but we are not looking for an escalation."
Michel Suleiman, the Lebanese president, praised his country's troops for defending the border against provocation from the "Israeli enemy".
"The Israeli enemy tried today to again attack and provoke the Wazzani [area] and you stood in guard," Suleiman told Lebanese soldiers.
Record of violence
The last act of violence on the Israeli-Lebanese border was in May when Israeli soldiers fired on Palestinian demonstrators who swarmed the Lebanese frontier in an act of protest to commemorate the Nakba, the 1948 displacement of 700,000 Palestinians during the creation of Israel.
Monday's fire exchange also came almost exactly a year after the two countries' troops traded fire, leaving two Lebanese soldiers and a journalist killed along with a senior Israeli officer.
Israel fought a war in 2006 war against the Lebanese Shia political and military group, Hezbollah.
In an another incident of violence on Monday, two Palestinian men were killed during an arrest raid on Qalandiya refugee camp in the West Bank's south.
One man was shot in the head and the other in the abdomen. The Israeli army claimed the men were involved in stone-throwing and scuffles with Israeli solders.
Syrian forces intensify assault
UN council revives Syria debate as more attacks on civilians are reported across the country.
Syrian forces killed at least six civilians early on Tuesday in an assault on the eastern Damascus suburb of Erbin, residents told Reuters news agency by phone.
"Tens of people are wounded. Six are dead, of whom three have been identified," an activist in the suburb said.
The latest report comes after activists said at least 150 people were killed across the country in the last two days.
Reacting to the violence, European powers on Monday relaunched a dormant draft UN resolution to condemn Syria, circulating a revised text at the Security Council.
Following the hour-long closed-door meeting, several diplomats said that after months of deadlock over Syria in the council, the fresh violence appeared to be pushing the divided members towards some form of reaction.
But envoys disagreed over whether the 15-nation body should adopt the Western-backed draft resolution or negotiate a less binding statement.
On Monday, six people were reported killed in Hama amid shelling by army tanks, with two more killed in Al-Bukamal and Deir ez-Zor in the east.
Residents of Hama say the military resumed indiscriminate shelling and firing as residents were breaking their daily dawn-to-dusk fast on the first day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
The attacks appeared aimed at preventing mosque gatherings during special evening prayers, which
security forces feared could trigger large anti-government protests.
A witness in Deir ez-Zor told Al Jazeera that government forces launched fresh attacks on the town early in the morning.
"Military forces stormed the city from the west side and 25 people are killed and more than 65 injured," the witness said.
"Artillery and anti-aircraft weapons are being used. The situation in the city is very bad, and medical and food supplies are low."
Deir ez-Zor, Syria's main gas and oil-production hub in the east, has become a rallying point for protests along with Hama.
Activist group Avaaz cited unconfirmed reports on Monday that the resort town of Zabadani near the Lebanese border was also under seige by the army.
They said the military had surrounded the area and was preventing people from entering or exiting the area with checkpoints throughout the town.
Diplomatic pressure
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday urged UN Security Council holdouts to condemn Syria over its deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.
"We call on those members of the United Nations Security Council who have opposed any Security Council action that would call on Assad to stop the killing to reconsider their positions," Clinton said in a statement.
A resident from Deir ez-Zor said fresh attacks were launched on Monday morning
Russia, Syria's key European ally, urged Damascus on Monday to immediately stop the use of force and repression against civilian protesters, in its strongest criticism yet of the government's crackdown on demonstrations.
The foreign ministry in a statement expressed "serious concern" over Sunday's violence.
"The use of force against both peaceful civilians and representatives of state structures is unacceptable and should be stopped immediately," the foreign ministry said.
"We are calling on the Syrian government and the opposition to demonstrate the utmost restraint, renounce provocations and repressions and observe the rule of law and respect for international human law."
Sergei Strokan, political editor at the online newspaper Kommersant, told Al Jazeera the statement was "the most strong-worded criticism [of Syria] ever voiced by Russian officials, but it is carefully worded".
"Russia found itself in quite a difficult position after this crackdown," Strokan said.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul expressed "shock" over Syrian security forces' use of heavy weapons, including tanks, to quell civilian protests in the central Syrian city of Hama.
"The recent developments in Syria have deepened our already existing concerns," Gul said. "The footage from yesterday's events has horrified us."
The European Union also condemned the latest violence and expanded its sanctions against Syria on Monday, imposing asset freezes and travel bans against five more military and government officials.
The EU decision brings the number of individuals targeted by the EU to 35, including President Bashar Assad.
Four government entities are also on the list. The EU said it would release the names of the new additions to the list on Tuesday.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said, "I wish to remind the Syrian authorities of their responsibility to
protect the population.
"The brutal violence creates a serious risk of escalating tension and factional divisions and is not consistent with broad reforms.''
Hama 'massacre'
Sunday's attack on Hama was one of the "deadliest days" since the protests erupted, Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said.
Death tolls provided by the observatory and other human rights groups showed at least 142 people were killed across Syria on Sunday, with at least 100 of them in Hama.
"The number of those wounded is huge and hospitals cannot cope, particularly because we lack the adequate equipment," Abdel Rahman quoted a Hama hospital source as saying.
He said the crackdown on Hama came after more than 500,000 people rallied in the city on Friday following Muslim prayers during which a cleric told the congregation "the regime must go".
The Syrian authorities have consistently accused "armed gangs" and fundamentalist Salafi Muslims of stirring the unrest and aiming to sow chaos in the Sunni-majority country.
Syria has banned most foreign media and restricted coverage, making it difficult to confirm events on the ground.
Tanks occupy the centre of Hama in a government offensive aimed at quelling the uprising
Syrian troops have killed at least 45 civilians in a tank assault to occupy the centre of Hama, according to an opposition activist, as President Bashar al-Assad seeks to crush a five-month-old uprising against his rule.
Armed men in plain clothes were randomly shooting people in the city's streets, forcing families to bury their loved ones in gardens at home for fear of venturing out to cemeteries, a resident said on Thursday.
Phones, internet and electricity have been cut or severely hampered for days.
The resident, who spoke by phone on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, told the Associated Press news agency that people are being forced to ration food to get by during the holy month of Ramadan.
"People are being slaughtered like sheep while walking in the street," the resident said.
"I saw with my own eyes one young boy on a motorcycle who was carrying vegetables being run over by a tank."
He said he left Hama briefly through side roads to smuggle in food supplies.
The resident said around 250 people have been killed since Sunday.
The claims could not be independently verified as Syria is not allowing journalists into the country to cover the uprising.
Hozan Ibrahim, of the Local Co-ordination Committees which tracks the crackdown on protesters, said up to 30 people may have been killed in Hama on Wednesday based on reports from fleeing residents. But neither of those numbers could be immediately verified.
Families have resorted to burying their loved ones in home gardens or roadside pits "because we fear that if we go to the cemetery, we will end up buried along with them", the resident said.
Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said up to 1,000 families have fled Hama in the past two days, most of them to the village of Mashtal Hilu and al-Salamieh.
History of dissent
Hama, a city of 800,000 with a history of dissent, had fallen largely out of government control since June as residents turned on the government and blockaded the streets against encroaching tanks.
But Syrian security forces backed by tanks and snipers launched a ferocious military offensive that left corpses in streets on Sunday and sent residents fleeing for their lives, according to accounts.
In 1982, al-Assad's father, Hafez al-Assad, ordered the military to quell an uprising by Syrian members of the Muslim Brotherhood movement there, killing between 10,000 and 25,000 people, rights groups say.
Al-Assad has sought to deal with the revolt against his family's 40-year-dynasty through deadly force, but has also acknowledged the need for reform.
He issued two legislative decrees on Thursday that will allow the formation of political parties alongside the Baath Party and enable newly formed parties to run for parliament and local councils.
Both draft bills were endorsed by cabinet last month, and were key demands of the opposition movement.
But opposition figures now dismiss the moves as manoeuvring tactics and insist they want regime change.
Russian advice
Even longstanding allies of Syria are becoming wary of uncritically backing al-Assad. Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, has called the situation in Syria "dramatic" and expressed "enormous concern" over the deadly violence in the country.
"Unfortunately, people die there in large numbers. This arouses enormous concern from us," he said in an interview given to Russian media in the southern resort Sochi on Thursday.
Al-Assad needs to "carry out urgent reforms, come to terms with the opposition, restore peace and create a modern state", Medvedev said as quoted by the Interfax news agency.
"If he cannot do this, a sad fate awaits him, and in the end we will have to take some decision. We are watching the way the situation develops. As it changes, some of our perspectives also change."
Medvedev's remarks followed a foreign ministry statement on Monday strongly criticising the Syrian government's crackdown on demonstrations in a sign of a possible shift in Russia's rigid position.
Russia supported the Security Council statement on Wednesday which condemned "the widespread violations of human rights and the use of force against civilians by the Syrian authorities".
However, it did not support stronger action rebuffing efforts by Western powers to agree on a resolution over fears that it might pave the way for another military intervention like the one against Muammar Gaddafi's rule in Libya.
Germany will ask the UN to send a special envoy to Syria to increase pressure on Damascus over its crackdown on civilian protesters, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on Thursday, a move aimed at adding weight to the Security Council's statement.
"Together with our partners, I will urge the UN to name a special envoy for Syria who will start work immediately, carrying the international community's clear message to Damascus and adding authority to the demands of the Security Council," Westerwelle said in a statement.
For its part, the US government warned on Thursday that al-Assad had placed Syria and the Middle East on a "dangerous path".
President Barack Obama's spokesman, Jay Carney, said Syria would be a "better place" without al-Assad and said people in Syria and around the world were making plans for a future without him.
Saudi Arabia calls for Syrian reforms
King Abdullah recalls ambassador from Damascus amid widening condemnation of deadly crackdown by Syrian security forces.
Saudi Arabia's king has condemned a brutal crackdown on protests in Syria, recalling the country's ambassador to Damascus and calling on the Syrian government to implement political reforms.
"What is happening in Syria is not acceptable for Saudi Arabia," King Abdullah said in a written statement on Monday.
"Syria should think wisely before it's too late and issue and enact reforms that are not merely promises but actual reforms," he said. "Either it chooses wisdom on its own or it will be pulled down into the depths of turmoil and loss."
The Saudi monarch's comments came a day after the Gulf Co-operation Council urged Syria to "end the bloodshed" and the Arab League, which had been silent since the uprising began, said it was "alarmed" by the situation and called for the immediate halt of all violence.
The US envoy to Damascus, Robert Ford, who returned to Syria on Thursday, also said in a US television interview on Sunday that Washington would "try to ratchet up the pressure" on Assad's regime.
Ali al-Ahmed, director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs in Washington, told Al Jazeera the decision to recall the Saudi ambassador was "a watershed moment" and "foretaste of things to come".
"Saudi Arabia has been supporting elements in the Syrian uprising since the beginning, but now this role has been made public, it was secret until recently, now the Saudis are basically increasing the heat on the Syrian regime and this will result in an increase in clashes and protests inside Syria," he said.
"The Syrian regime is really scared of losing Saudi Arabia as a friendly nation."
However, Ahmed said Saudi Arabia was "not in a position to give such advice to Syria in terms of reform".
"Saudi Arabia itself lacks these reforms and has invaded Bahrain to stop a revolution and so it does not have that legitimacy. However, Saudi believes this is the right moment to publicly intervene and give the uprising a huge boost because they now see the success of this uprising to be real, especially after the Turkish position, the GCC and Arab League statements, all of which were preludes to the Saudi position," he said.
Joseph Keshishian, an expert on Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, said the Riyadh's decision to step up pressure on the Syrian regime was sparked in part by the growing power struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran in the region.
"The greater picture is the struggle that exists right now between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Obviously Iran is providing a great deal of assistance to the Syrian government," he said in an interview with Al Jazeera.
"The Saudis are reacting to the incursions that the Iranian government seems to be perpetually engaged in throughout the heartland of the Arab world."
He also said the Saudi condemnation was made in reaction to mounting public frustration in the Gulf kingdom over the Syrian government's efforts to crush peaceful protests.
"The Saudi government is essentially starting to realise that unless they take the leadership position against the Syrian government within the GCC, their public will turn against them.
"The Saudis are very aware and conscious of public opinion inside the country."
Intensifying crackdown
Syrian activists said the eastern city of Deir az-Zor came under new artillery fire on Monday morning, after Syrian troops raided the city a day earlier, reportedly killing at least 50 people.
Some activists say more than 300 people have died in the past week, the bloodiest in the five-month uprising against Assad.
"The city was bombed by all types of heavy weapons and machine gun fire before troops started entering," an activist in Deir az-Zor said on Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
"Humanitarian conditions in the city are very bad because it has been under siege for nine days," the activist said. "There is lack of medicine, baby formula, food and gasoline. The city is totally paralysed."
Syria's state news agency cited an official military source dismissing claims that the army was shelling Deir az-Zor, insisting that up to Sunday, no tanks had entered the city.
However, "the source pointed out that some army units were commissioned to remove roadblocks set up by the armed terrorist groups at the city's entrances", SANA reported.
The government's crackdown on protesters demanding political reforms and an end to the Assad family's 40-year rule has left more than 1,700 dead since March, according to activists and human rights groups.
Assad's government disputes the toll and blames a foreign conspiracy for the unrest, which at times has brought hundreds of thousands of protesters into the streets.
The regime intensified the crackdown a week ago on the eve of Ramadan, the holy month in which many Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, then eat meals and gather in mosques for nightly prayers. The government has been trying to prevent the large mosque gatherings from turning into more anti-government protests.
Growing Arab criticism
Arab League has said it is "alarmed" by the situation in Syria and called for an end to violence [Reuters/YouTube]
In Cairo on Sunday, Arab League Chief Nabil Elaraby called on Syrian authorities to "immediately stop all acts of violence and security attacks and for a speedy adoption of necessary steps in this regard to preserve the national unity."
Last month, Elaraby visited Syria and said the country had entered a new era on the road to reform.
Neighbouring Jordan, a staunch US ally like Saudi Arabia, on Sunday said Syria's crackdown on protests was "worrisome, unfortunate and sad", urging dialogue and reforms.
Turkey, which borders Syria and until recently was a close ally and a major trade partner, said it would send its foreign minister to Damascus on Tuesday to deliver a strong message against the crackdown.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country's patience was running thin and that Turkey could not remain a bystander to the violence.
Assad has brushed off months of criticism and sanctions, blaming armed gangs for the violence, and his government's reaction to Turkey's criticism was quick.
State-run TV quoted Assad adviser Buthaina Shaaban as saying that Turkey's foreign minister "will hear stronger words because of Turkey's stance that did not condemn until now the brutal killings of civilians, members of military and police".
23 hours 52 min ago - Syria
Ian Black, the Guardian's Middle East editor, reported that: "The United States is poised to shift its position on Syria by calling on President Bashar al-Assad to step down because of the violence he has inflicted on his own people and his failure to implement meaningful reforms for the last five months."
Cytat:
14 hours 44 min ago - Syria
The United Nations Security Council met on Wednesday to discuss the deteriorating situation in Syria. Following the briefing, Britain's Deputy Permanent Representative at the UN told reporters that if Syria failed to heed calls for political reform, the council "must look at taking further steps to keep up the pressure on the Syrian regime".
Miguel Berger, Germany's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, said it wasn't an issue of "how long" reforms might take.
"The issue is: stop the killing now," he said. "Stop the killing now of peaceful demonstrators and engage in a serious dialogue."
Cytat:
9 hours 45 sec ago - Syria
Syrian armoured forces on an offensive to crush popular unrest stormed an important town on the main highway in a northern province near the border with Turkey and at least 100 people were arrested, a resident and local activists said.
"Around 14 tanks and armoured vehicles entered Saraqeb this morning, accompanied by 50 buses, pick-ups and security cars.
They started firing randomly and storming houses," said the resident, who fled the town in Idlib province, 50 km southeast of Turkey's Iskenderun (Hatay) province.
Cytat:
2 hours 35 min ago - Syria
Avaaz, the international human rights organisation, has reported:
At least 11 people were killed today in Qusayr, a town near Homs.
In Saraqeb, in the Idleb province, army troops have stormed into the city.
In Hama, two people were killed and security forces have erected blockades and checkpoints throughout the area.
In Der-Ez Zor army artillery shelled the neighbourhoods of Al-Hamidiya and Al-Omal. There is also a heavy presence of tanks in the neighbouring areas.
Security forces attacked the town of al-Mousaifara at dawn today, in Deraa.
AFP reports that four suspected al-Qaeda members have been killed by army fire outside the southern city of Zinjibar, most of which has fallen under the control of Islamist fighters, a local official said on Thursday.
The suspects were killed when their positions were hit by army shells in the villages of Al-Khamla and Bajdar outside Zinjibar, the capital of the lawless Abyan province, the official told AFP requesting anonymity.
Fierce clashes erupted Wednesday between the army's 25th Mechanised Brigade and Islamist fighters who are said to be members of the "Partisans of Sharia (Islamic law)," witnesses said.
Hundreds of armed men belonging to the Al-Qaeda-linked group took control of most of Zinjibar in late May and laid siege to base of the 25th Mechanised Brigade.
On August 1, officials claimed that 15 suspected members of Al-Qaeda were killed in army raids in and around Zinjibar.
6 hours 7 min ago - Yemen
The Associated Press reports that a Yemeni official says the country's president objects to key issues of a US-backed deal that has him transferring power to the country's opposition in return for immunity from prosecution.
The official says Ali Abdullah Saleh spoke during a meeting with his top party officials in the Saudi capital Riyadh, where he is recuperating from severe burns sustained in a June attack on his compound in Sanaa.
The official says Saleh objects to the mechanism of implementing the deal.
The official attended Thursday's meeting. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk to the media.
Yemen's state TV aired a brief footage of the meeting, showing Saleh with medical gloves covering his burnt hands.
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/Yemen _________________ Uwaga - Wypowiedzi autora posiadają jedynie wydźwięk satyryczny celem obnażenia ludzkich lęków i obsesyjnych zachowań społeczeństwa.
Canada said on Saturday that it had expanded sanctions on Syria to protest against the government's brutal crackdown on demonstrations.
The new sanctions include travel bans on four officials and freezing the assets of the state-run Commercial Bank of Syria, and Syriatel, the country's largest mobile phone company.
The US imposed sanctions on the two firms earlier in the week, and has joined European allies in sanctioning top officials close to President Bashar al-Assad.
Canada's sanctions came after US President Barack Obama spoke with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the UK and all three called for an immediate end to the Syrian government's crackdown on protests.
Obama and Saudi King Abdullah "expressed their shared, deep concerns about the Syrian government's use of violence against its citizens," the White House said in a statement.
"They agreed that the Syrian regime's brutal campaign of violence against the Syrian people must end immediately, and to continue close consultations about the situation in the days ahead."
Similar language was used in a statement after a separate Obama conversation with British Prime Minister David Cameron.
"Bashar al-Assad doesn't seem to be listening at all," El-Shamayleh said.
"He is not listening to some of his friends, let alone the United States, Canada and European countries."
USA i sankcje dla sektora energetycznego Syrii:
(swoją drogą, ciekawa zbieżność czasu z przejęciem przez "rebeliantów" libii rafinerii Az Zawiyah)
Cytat:
New sanctions
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton later addressed the worsening situation in Syria in a televised address, saying a new round on US sanctions, targeting Syria's energy sector, would "strike at the heart of the regime".
"These actions strike at the heart of the regime by banning American imports of Syrian petroleum and petroleum products and prohibiting Americans from dealing in these products," she said.
Clinton expressed hope other members of the international community would "amplify" the US action by stepping up their pressure on Syria's leadership "in word and action".
Syria is not a huge source of oil for the US, but if European allies join the effort, it could significantly affect
one of the government's top sources of revenue. Syrian crude oil exports go mostly to European countries such as Germany, Italy, and France, according to the US Energy Information Agency.
Shortly after Obama issued his statement, the European Union also called for Assad to step down and warned of further sanctions.
"The EU notes the complete loss of Bashar al-Assad's legitimacy in the eyes of the Syrian people and the necessity for him to step aside," foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement.
Separately, the leaders of the UK, France and Germany issued a joint statement urging Assad to leave.
"We call on him to draw the consequences of the total rejection of his regime by the Syrian people and to leave power, for the greater interest of Syria and the unity of his people," they said.
Rada ONZ wszczęła dochodzenie dotyczące min. zbrodni przeciwko ludzkości w Syrii, natomiast UE zamierza zaostrzyć im sankcje naftowe do końca tygodnia.
Wszystko oczywiście po to by doprowadzić do "demokratycznych przemian"
Kolejny krwawy dzień w Syrii. Siły bezpieczeństwa zabiły 47 protestujących przeciwko reżimowi - informuje tvp.in
Oni strzelają na oślep - opowiada telewizji Al-Arabija jeden z syryjskich obrońców praw człowieka.
W prowincji Idlib, przy granicy z Turcją, w piątek zginęło 21 osób. 6 osób zabito w mieście Hama, w którym armia "poluje" na dezerterów. 10 osób zabito w Damaszku i Hims.
Od marca, gdy w Syrii wybuchły pierwsze protesty, zginęło już 2,6 tys. osób.
Nie wiem czy gdzieś się to już przewaliło na forum. Jak tak to mnie poprawcie.
Powtórka z rozrywki. Skąd my to znamy?
Tak w skrócie:
W 2007 roku Izraelskie myśliwce wysadziły w powietrze syryjski obiekt, który rzekomo był "tajnym obiektem jądrowym". Sprawa w maju nabrała lekkiego rozrostu. Stany uważają, że Syria współpracowała z Koreą Północną. MAEA chce przeprowadzić śledztwo w tamtym miejscu w celu wykrycia działań jądrowych.
IAEA: Target of Israeli Raid Likely A Syrian Nuke Facility
Well, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency has come out and said that it strongly thinks that Syrian target blown up by Israeli fighter jets in 2007 was a secret nuclear plant.
While the IAEA hasn’t yet presented hard proof that the site was a nuke facility, it did find prelimary evidence of a nulcear program (uranium particles that Syria claims are from Israeli missiles) when it visited in 2008; after which it was banned from returning by the Syrians who could face action from the UN if found to have had a nuclear program. Keep in mind the U.S. has also come out and said that it thinks the site may have been a Syrian nuke facility being built with North Korean help.
From the AP:
The finding by the International Atomic Energy Agency backs U.S. findings and sets the stage for potential U.N. Security Council action against Syria.
Syria says the nearly finished building had no nuclear uses. It has repeatedly turned down IAEA requests to revisit the site after allowing an initial 2008 inspection that found evidence of possible nuclear activities.
Diplomats have told The Associated Press that a strong IAEA opinion that the Syrians were trying to build a nuclear reactor secretly would likely result in a Western push to report Syria to the Security Council.
A senior Western diplomat said Tuesday that push would come next month at the next meeting of the 35-nation IAEA board, with the initiative likely to get majority backing
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Temat postu:
Russia and China block UN resolution on Syria amidst fears it could mean another Libya-style intervention
By Madison Ruppert
Today Russia and China vetoed a United Nations resolution that could have opened the door to sanctions and/or military intervention in the spirit of Libya.
Unsurprisingly, the United States expressed serious disappointment with those who abstained and vetoed.
The U.S. was a major proponent of the Libyan intervention and has flown the majority of combat flights and provided the majority of firepower for the regime change in Libya that has yet to be a total success.
The resolution was blocked with a total of nine votes in favor, two votes against (Russia and China) and four abstentions.
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Temat postu:
Wygląda na to że "pokojowa rewolucja" w Egipcie jeszcze się nie zakończyła.
Cytat:
Krwawe starcia w Egipcie. Dojdzie do drugiej rewolucji?
Demonstranci, domagający się, by rządzący obecnie Egiptem generałowie oddali władzę, odparli dzisiaj kolejny atak policji, która usiłuje usunąć ich z kairskiego placu Tahrir - informują naoczni świadkowie.
Policjanci użyli gazu łzawiącego i zaatakowali prowizoryczny szpital polowy. Demonstranci rzucali w funkcjonariuszy kawałkami płyt chodnikowych. Według najnowszych danych resortu zdrowia, od niedzieli w starciach w Kairze zginęło 20 osób. Jest też ponad 1700 rannych.
January 27, 2012: Egypt is preparing for an Israeli pre-emptive strike by conducting its largest military exercise since before the Arab Spring. The exercise, known as Nasser-6, consisted of various units from Egypt’s air force, air defense, and army. The exercise focused on coordinating ground and air units and defending the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt’s military exercise comes during a time of rising tensions between Israel and Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood’s recent electoral success. The Egyptian military has long used announcements of imaginary Israeli attack plans to deflect attention from the corruption and misbehavior of the Egyptian military.
With Iran refusing to halt its nuclear program in spite of the recent assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist and oil embargo by the EU, Israel has not taken the pre-emptive strike option, to counter Iran’s nuclear program, off the table. Israel could attack Iranian nuclear facilities, like it did to Iraq’s nuclear facility in 1981. Egypt’s nuclear program is also ramping up with four announced nuclear power plants (...)
Właśnie jestem w Egipcie. Jechałem samochodem z Kairu do Abu Redies. Ogólnie nie widać żadnych problemów w porównaniu do tego co było dwa lata temu. Na ulicach nadal stoi wojsko wozami opancerzonymi, czasami czołgami. Drogi jednak są przejezdne, tylko przed każdym większym miasteczkiem jest zrobione prowizoryczne przejście przez wojsko które sprawdza przejeżdżające samochody.
Na ulicach widać sporo ich samochodów z towarami typu złom lub owoce. Po zmierzchu jak zwykle funkcjonują małe ryneczki z jedzeniem.
Rozmawiał em z kierowcą. Mówi, że są zadowoleni z nowej władzy w 1/3. Nie znam dokładnie ich struktury. Policja jest na ulicach ale się nie wtrąca w życie. Twierdzi, że w nocy lepiej nie jeździć bo około 60% społeczeństwa jest bardzo biedna i kradną. Nie stać ich na jedzenie. Policja nie interweniuje, bo się boi.
Widzi jednak, że wszystko wraca do normy i jest zadowolony z kierunku zmian.
Animatorzy "arabskiej wiosny" zmykają w obawie przed eksplozją wdzięcznością egipskiego ludu
Cytat:
Americans Take Refuge In At U.S. Embassy In Cairo CAIRO — Three American citizens barred from leaving Egypt have sought refuge at the American Embassy in Cairo amid growing tensions between the two allies over an Egyptian investigation into foreign-funded pro-democracy groups.
The White House said Monday it was disappointed with Egypt's handing of the issue, which U.S. officials have warned could stand in the way of more than $1 billion in badly needed U.S. aid.
The growing spat between the two longtime allies reflects the uncertainty as they redefine their relationship nearly one year after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak following an 18-day popular uprising.
Mubarak was a steadfast U.S. ally, scrupulously maintaining Egypt's peace treaty with Israel and while seeking to mediate between Israel and the Palestinians – a clear American interest.
Now, Egypt's council of ruling generals, who took power when Mubarak stood down last Feb. 11, often accuse "foreign hands" of promoting protests against their rule.
At the same time, members of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, which dominates the new parliament, have suggested that they could seek to re-negotiate parts of the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty, causing alarm in Israel and concern in Washington over the possibility that Egypt will no longer serve as its solid anchor in the Middle East.
Największa masakra od początku powstania. 350 zabitych w Syrii
Setki rannych po ostrzale miasta.
W czasie ostrzału syryjskiego miasta Hims zginęło ponad 350 osób, a setki zostało rannych. Wśród ofiar są kobiety i dzieci - informuje Sky News.
O ataku na miasto, które stanowi bastion opozycji wobec prezydenta Baszara al-Asada poinformowali przedstawiciele Syryjskiego Obserwatorium Praw Człowieka z Londynu.
Według ich relacji, w szpitalach brakuje lekarstw i krwi, a do rannych leżących na ulicach strzelają snajperzy.
Reżimowe władze Syrii twierdzą, że to nie one są odpowiedzialne za ostrzał, a "uzbrojone bojówki". Państwowa agencja SANA ostrzega, że doniesienia o ataku syryjskiej armii podburzają ludzi do stosowania przemocy.
ciekawe że ta "masakra" zbiegła się w czasie,wraz z wetem Rosji i Chin :
Cytat:
Upadła rezolucja ONZ ws. ustąpienia prezydenta Syrii. Weto Rosji i Chin
Rosja i Chiny zablokowały w sobotę w Radzie Bezpieczeństwa ONZ przygotowaną przez państwa arabskie i zachodnie rezolucję w sprawie Syrii. Poprzednio oba te kraje w październiku ub. r. zawetowały projekt rezolucji potępiający akty przemocy syryjskiego reżimu.
ku przestrodze...
jak piszecie swoje przemyślenia miejcie na uwadze to, że ta strona służy do zbierania informacji o nastrojach i o was...
_________________ "Podobało Mu się narodzić w ubóstwie, przyjąć na siebie słabość dziecięcego wieku, a w obrzezaniu piętno grzesznika" - Historya Młodości Jezusa (1825r)
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