Even as the Syrian government, and the Syrian State Television channel SANA, were claiming that the soldiers and tanks were pulling out of Lattakia and Deir Ez Zor, we started to receive video of tanks repositioning to other locations, most notably Homs. Now, there are reports that most of the troops and tanks have not left Deir Ez Zor or Lattakia.
1900 GMT: The number of killed Turkish soldiers has risen to 12. Meanwhile, the so-called "second man" of PKK, claimed to have been captured by Iranian forces, announced that PM Erdogan's "no tolerance" speech is nothing short of a declaration of war! He went further and threatened Ankara:
PM shall know that we have not used even five percent of our forces. We are waging a controlled defensive war now. If we take an official decision of war and order accordingly, then Ankara will be upside down.
1936 GMT: Avaaz is reporting 9 people killed in Lattakia today. Al Jazeera is reporting at least 2 deaths in the Asheera neighbourhood in Homs. "Heavy gunfire has been heard from inside the military academy in Al Wa'ar in the same city."
This is a development that we will watch carefully. With the Turkish foreign minister stating that he does not want to see foreign intervention in the conflict, and with seemingly no will to take up arms against Bashar, the loyalty of the military will remain key in Assad's ability to hold power.
1903 GMT: Abu Kamal protests after Taraweeh prayers. Note the sign, "Down with Iran and Bashar":
Bousr Al Harer, Daraa:
1835 GMT: A demonstration forming earlier today in Hama, Syria:
2104 GMT: James Miller is wrapping up the liveblog (but only because he has to start it again in 5-8 hours).
Our closing thought, the AP has compiled some video of Lattakia, taken today:
2038 GMT: The Local Coordinating Committees of Syria are reporting protests, heavy security, and the use of live ammunition against crowds in Homs, Deir Ez Zor, Aleppo, and the Qadam district of Damascus. Large protests are reported, once again, in almost every corner of Syria.
2025 GMT: Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu expressed his frustration at the situatio today in Syria:
“We are asking Assad to actualize the steps we agreed on in our talks with him,” he went on to say, referring to his meeting with Assad last Tuesday. “He had taken some positive steps in the first few days. Such as the withdrawal of tanks from Hama and providing the transportation of our press members to Hama, but operations have continued in various cities since Friday. It is not possible to condone these operations, which have claimed the lives of many civilians,” he said.
“We have requested an immediate halt of these operations, and we will continue to do so. We are calling on the Syrian administration to be more sensitive to its own people and not to further increase the tension. The necessary steps must be taken immediately. The operations causing civilian losses should be stopped, particularly in this holy month of Ramadan. We will keep on with our contacts in the coming days. The Syrian issue is a matter we have been following very closely; it is a matter we are directly concerned with in every aspect.”
Davutoglu went on to deliver his strongest words yet to Syria's Bahsar al Assad:
“This is our final word to the Syrian authorities: Our first expectation is that these operations stop immediately and unconditionally,” Mr. Davutoglu told a news conference in Ankara, Turkey. “If the operations do not end, there would be nothing more to discuss about steps that would be taken,” he said, without saying what that action might include.
Since Friday, the Syrian regime seems to have a new target, Lattakia, on the coast of Syria, where larger and larger protests have been forming since the start of Ramadan, or even before. On Sunday, between 23 and 25 people have been reportedly killed.
For the third night in a row, civilians in Syria attend their local mosques to pray Taraweeh, part of their Ramadan tradition. After the prayers, the protests begin. We've already received reports of casualties and violence, and we will update this video list as video filters in.
UPDATED Thursday, 0503 GMT: We have received over 50 videos of protests tonight, here are just a sampling. Notice that there has been very little video, or news, out of Hama since this morning, where the military action has only intensified, and most forms of communication have been shut down.
Artillery shelling of Hama on 8-1-2011 before/when people break their fast- Vid was uploaded today
UPDATE 1245 GMT: James Miller here, with two additional updates about this first, and now infamous clip.
The first is that if you compare the audio from the original to the audio of the State TV version, the State TV version is worse (the state TV version starts at about 08:22). They have added a low-level buzz, and then the audio drops out and the buzz swells. As an audio professional in a previous life, I can testify that a battery operated camera will not get an audio buzz, only a broadcast camera, and it never sounds like that. It is our assessment that the Syrian State TV is obviously, and clumsily, doctored.
The second update comes from the Guardian's Paul Owen, who links to us and provides a translation for the video:
Some of (the bodies) seemed to have had their throats slit - (are) being thrown into the Al-A'assi river by Shabiha ("ghosts" – pro-Assad militia). The dead people are described in the caption as "heroes of Hama". The people around the Shabiha can be heard encouraging them, and insulting and cursing the dead people. The Shabiha shout "God is greatest" as they throw the bodies in the river. "Don't film" is also heard.
The video was uploaded on 31 July. The Arabic caption reads: "Is there any crime worse than killing someone and then throwing the body in the river? Where are human rights? Where is world opinion? Where is Amnesty International?" There is no way to properly verify the clip. Many thanks to my colleague Mona Mahmood for translation.
UPDATE 0830 GMT: And now a twist in the tale....
This 11-minute clip from Syrian state TV starts with footage which claimed to be of gunmen in Hama shooting at military from the streets and rooftops.
It is the final minutes, however, that are of immediate interest. The clip uses the same footage, posted by James Miller below, of what has been claimed as pro-Assad "thugs" throwing the bodies of protesters into a river near Hama. On state TV, however, the footage is protesters throwing dead troops over the bridge --- the sound has the men talking about the bodies as "soldiers".
Wednesday, August 17, 2011 at 19:02 |