Syria warns West against intervention

5 September 2012 Last updated at 18:23
Syria troops 'bombard Aleppo districts'
The UN refugee agency says more than 100,000 Syrians fled the country in August
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Syria conflict

• The story of the conflict
  
• War in watercolour
  
• Lakhdar Brahimi: 'No illusions'
  
• Alawites stand firm
  

Security forces have shelled parts of Syria's second city of Aleppo, killing at least 19 people, activists say.

Troops began to bombard the districts of Bustan al-Qasr, Marjeh and Hananu before dawn. Many of those killed were reportedly women and children.

One opposition activist network put the morning's death toll in Aleppo at 54.

Meanwhile, Egypt's new leader has said President Bashar al-Assad must "take lessons from recent history" and step down before it is too late.

"Don't take the right step at the wrong time... because that would be the wrong step," Mohammed Mursi warned his Syrian counterpart in a speech at a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo.

Mr Mursi also said that a quartet of regional states - Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Egypt - would meet to discuss the Syrian crisis.

Later, the Egyptian-owned Nilesat satellite channel ceased coverage of Syrian state TV.

The channel was seen on Nilesat early on Wednesday, but reception was lost around 11:30 GMT.

Iran's Al-Alam TV said Nilesat had stopped the transmission of Syrian channels "at the request of Arab foreign ministers".

Turkey's Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, separately accused President Assad of creating a "terrorist state" in Syria.

The UN refugee agency said on Tuesday that more than 100,000 Syrians fled the country in August - the highest monthly total since protests against President Bashar al-Assad erupted in March 2011.

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“Start Quote

Those who provide arms to either side are only contributing to further misery - and the risk of unintended consequences as the fighting intensifies and spreads”

End Quote Ban Ki-moon UN Secretary General
More than 230,000 people are now sheltering in neighbouring states.

There are also thought to be more than 1.2 million internally displaced people in Syria, and 2.5 million in need of humanitarian assistance.
'Situation deteriorating'
Many of the recent influx of refugees into Turkey have come from Aleppo, where the military recently launched a major offensive to regain control of rebel-held areas.

Opposition activists said more than 13 districts of the northern city came under heavy bombardment before dawn on Wednesday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based anti-Assad group, said 10 civilians died in the southern area of Bustan al-Qasr, while nine bodies, including those of children, had been found in the Marjeh and Hananu districts.

The Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC), an activist network, reported that at least 15 people had died in the shelling of Marjeh, including 10 members of a single family. Seven children and three women were also killed in Bab Nairab, a southern district, it added.

The LCC put the nationwide death toll at 75, including 54 in Aleppo. At least 135 were killed across the country on Tuesday, it said.

The bodies of nine men were also found on Wednesday morning in Jobar, a north-eastern district of Damascus. Opposition activists said they had been shot dead by pro-government militia.

On Tuesday, the new UN and Arab League envoy to Syria warned that the situation across the country was "deteriorating steadily".




UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi: "The death toll is staggering"

"The death toll is staggering, the destruction is reaching catastrophic proportions and the suffering of the people is immense," Lakhdar Brahimi said in his first address to the UN General Assembly since his appointment.

"The future of Syria will be built by its people and none other," he added. "The support of the international community is indispensable and very urgent. It will only be effective if all pull in the same direction."

Mr Brahimi said he would travel to Damascus in the next few days.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon meanwhile accused countries who sent arms to Syria of "only contributing to further misery - and the risk of unintended consequences as the fighting intensifies and spreads".

He did not name any country, but Russia is the Syrian military's main arms supplier.

Senior US officials have also told the New York Times that Iran has resumed shipping military equipment over Iraqi airspace.

Experts told the newspaper that the flights had enabled Iran to provide supplies despite Syrian rebels seizing several land border crossings.

The White House has pressed Iraq to shut down the air corridor, with Vice-President Joe Biden reportedly raising the issue with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki in a telephone call in August.

An Iraqi government spokesman said Tehran had assured Mr Maliki that the flights contained only food and other humanitarian aid.

7 September 2012 Last updated at 16:02






Bomb explosions in Damascus 'kill at least five'


There has been a series of bombings in the Syrian capital since the uprising began in March 2011
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Syria conflict

• The story of the conflict
  
• Voices from Jordanian camp
  
• Desperate plight of civilians
  
• War in watercolour
  

Two bombs have struck the Syrian capital Damascus, according to state media and opposition activists.

A motorcycle bomb in the Rukn al-Din area killed at least five members of the security forces, state TV said.

Hours later, a car bomb struck the district of Mazzeh, near the Ministry of Information. It is not clear whether there were any casualties.

The blasts came as opposition activists said 55 people had been killed in fighting across the country on Friday.

Earlier on Friday the head of the international Red Cross said his talks with President Bashar al-Assad had been "positive".

Peter Maurer said they had focused on the need to reduce barriers to delivering aid and ensure aid workers could gain access to detainees.

"What we have today is commitments, what we have is a mechanism to implement those commitments," he added. "But we will have, of course, to witness whether commitments and mechanisms are producing results."
UN worker killed
Officials said the first bomb targeted people as they left a mosque after Friday prayers in Rukn al-Din, a residential area not far from the centre of Damascus.

But the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the blast had been aimed at a security patrol.

In addition to the five dead, six members of the security forces were wounded, several of them seriously, the UK-based activist group said.

The Associated Press said the bomb went off across the street from the mosque and damaged a clinic as well as six cars.

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“Start Quote

The needs are growing while the violence is expanding”

End Quote Peter Maurer International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Pictures on Syrian state TV, apparently from the site of the second explosion in Mazzeh, showed firefighters and security forces tending several scorched and mangled cars as passersby looked on.

Windows in nearby buildings had also been blown out.

There have been a series of bombings in the capital since the uprising against President Assad began in March 2011. Officials have blamed "terrorists". Opposition activists, however, maintain that the security forces planted the bombs to discredit the peaceful protesters.

Elsewhere in Damascus on Friday, activists reported heavy shelling by government forces in the southern districts of Daf al-Shouk, Tadamon, and the densely-populated Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp.

The Local Co-ordination Committees, an activist network, said at least 16 people had been killed in the violence, including five in Yarmouk. On Thursday, a staff member of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) and his son were killed in their home when it was hit by a shell.

"UNRWA deplores the tragic loss of life and expresses the view that these outcomes could have been avoided," a statement said.
'Non-lethal assistance'
The European Union has said it will increase humanitarian aid to Syria by an extra 60m euros ($76m;£48m), bringing the total spent by the bloc on relief efforts during the crisis to more than 200m euros.

The extra money was pledged at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Cyprus on Friday.

At the meeting UK Foreign Secretary William Hague also expressed determination to help anti-government fighters in Syria by working around an EU arms embargo on Syria.

"It's not possible or legal for any EU nation to send weapons to anybody in Syria and therefore our chosen route - and it's the same route for France and the United States - is to give non-lethal assistance and we're doing that," Mr Hague told reporters.

Mr Hague also said that Britain was considering sending some form of protective clothing which does not breach the terms of the EU embargo.

Earlier on Friday, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva revealed that he had visited rural areas around Damascus earlier this week and been shocked by "horrific accounts of armed attacks".

These left him in no doubt that Syria was engulfed in civil war since "all features of armed conflict are unfolding in front of us", he said.

"The needs are growing while the violence is expanding. Many men, women and children who could be saved are dying on a daily basis because they lack access to medical care."

The UN refugee agency said at least 246,267 Syrians had now fled to neighbouring countries. Of those, 81,000 are registered with the UN in Jordan, more than 78,000 in Turkey, almost 65,000 in Lebanon and nearly 22,000 in Iraq.

There are also thought to be more than 1.2 million internally displaced people in Syria, and 2.5 million in need of humanitarian assistance.

Meanwhile, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad accused Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi of "signing the death warrant" for his proposed meeting of a quartet of regional powers to discuss solutions to the crisis in Syria.

On Wednesday, Mr Mursi warned President Assad that he had to "take lessons from recent history" and step down before it was too late.

6 September 2012 Last updated at 11:39

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Syria crisis: Refugees' voices at Jordan's Zaatari camp



Continue reading the main story

Syria conflict

• The story of the conflict
  
• Desperate plight of civilians
  
• War in watercolour
  
• Lakhdar Brahimi: 'No illusions'
  

According to the UN High Commission for Refugees, the number of people fleeing the conflict in Syria has risen sharply. More than 100,000 people asked for asylum in August alone, bringing the total number of refugees fleeing Syria to more than 235,000.

Neighbouring countries like Jordan say about 1,000 Syrians are crossing the border every day. The Zaatari refugee camp in northern Jordan opened at the end of July, providing temporary accommodation to about 500 refugees. There are now up to 26,000 living there.

Many have fled the conflict in Deraa, just a few kilometres away in southern Syria. The BBC's Yolande Knell and Jeannie Assad met some of the refugees.

Abdul Salaam Refaie



I have my whole family here - my wife and my kids. We've been in the camp for 18 days.

We had to leave Syria to escape the bombings and the killings. We had two young men killed from our extended family when the fighter planes were attacking us.

Lots of people fled but the journey to reach Jordan was very difficult and dangerous. We left at night because that was the way to do it and we got smuggled out but still we had to walk for four hours to get here.

The situation here in the camp is really difficult. I mean look at us - we're living in a tent on the ground. Most of the food we get is spoiled.

They won't allow us to leave the camp and they won't allow anyone to visit us. We just stay put as you see and do nothing.

Who knows how it's going to be here in the winter. Will they provide heaters or caravans?

There are different reports each day. We are living with uncertainty.

Fatima



I've been at the camp since [the Islamic festival of] Eid, just over two weeks ago.

We had to run away from Syria. We had to run from Bashar's bombings. He destroyed our homes. Now we have no homes.

We ran away from being slaughtered. We just ran with our kids. We took them and fled.

We're living like animals here. The dust and the sun are unbearable. Just look at these children! How do they take it?

We have no clothing, we hardly have enough water and sometimes there's no electricity.

There are not enough bathrooms for everyone. Sometimes we have to stand in line.

We ask if we can leave the camp to buy things and they won't let us leave. Each day there is the same food: chicken and rice.

This is no way to live.

Hajja Aisha



I've been here for a month with my daughters and my sons-in-law. We ran away from our home because we feared we'd be killed.

Bashar is killing us. But this is an unbearable life here in the camp. It's like we're dead.

Just look at the dust and the dirt. I can't see any more from the dust. We sit in the dust, we eat in the dust and we sleep in the dust. It's not a comfortable existence at all.

I really, really want to go home, back to my own country. This is the only thing that I ask of God.

I want to go home but there's nothing to go back to. They destroyed all the houses in our neighbourhood.

Where are we supposed to go?

Abdullah, 16-year-old unaccompanied minor


I'm here alone. All of my family is still in Syria - my mother and father and my brothers.

I'm worried about them. I fear for their lives. They were supposed to follow me but when they heard that the situation in the camp was like this they changed their minds.

They don't want to come. If we were allowed to go somewhere else they probably would have come.

I don't want to stay here by myself. I just want to go back to my family.

I asked the camp administration if I could go home. At first they wouldn't allow me but now they say I can. I might go tomorrow.

They take us in a bus to near the border. I'm not afraid any more. If we die, we die.

If my family had come here with me, I'd probably stick it out here but since the situation is so bad, I will just go back.

Bushra



We left because of the shelling and the bombing and the oppression of Bashar in Syria.

It was really becoming intolerable, but here in the camp life is really difficult too. It's hot and we don't have water all the time.

They won't let us return to Syria and they won't let us leave the camp to try to find another place to go.

I guess I would rather go back to Syria instead of living like this, even though it's still dangerous.

At least it's my home and we have our house there. My only wish now is that we can go back to our home in Syria and return to a normal life.

Umm Hassan



I was crying, begging for one of these new caravans and then we finally moved in yesterday.

It's a bit better than being in the tent. Now we're trying to make it feel as much like a home as possible.

My husband and I are getting help from our nine kids. The problem is still the dust. Every time we clean, the dust comes back.

We fled Syria because of the children. All this suffering is for them because we needed to get them out of danger.

We've been in the Zaatari camp for a month now and before that we were in the Beshabsha transit camp in Jordan.

My husband has been trying to bring in a little income by opening a small store here but it's very difficult. The Jordanians strictly control the goods coming in.

Even visitors aren't allowed. The other day my brother was here from morning until midnight trying to enter but he couldn't. It's like a prison.

More than anything we want to go home. We're really tired. It's not easy living like this.

FSA HIRED A TURKISH GRAPHIC DESIGNER TO DESIGN A LOGO

Second Car Bomb Rocks Damascus Ministries


4:02pm UK, Friday 07 September 2012



Video: Syrian Capital Hit By Car Bomb
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A second car bomb within a day has exploded in the Syrian capital Damascus, the country's state television has reported.

Syria TV said a "terrorist explosion" hit an area between the city's main courthouse and its ministry of information. No casualties had yet been reported.

"A terrorist car bomb attack hit the Mazzeh area (west of Damascus), in a street between the justice palace and the ministry of information," the state broadcaster said.

It comes after a bomb packed into a motorbike exploded as worshippers were leaving a mosque in the northern district of Rokn Eddin in Damascus. Both state television and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the first blast killed five soldiers.
Anti-Assad demonstrations have been taking place since March 2011
Meanwhile, in commercial capital Aleppo in the north, one rebel was killed in clashes with the army in the embattled Salaheddin district, according to the London-based Observatory.

Rebels launched an offensive against Aleppo on July 20 and quickly seized several districts including Salaheddin, but the army later retook the district and other areas held by the Free Syrian Army.

Protests against President Bashar al Assad's regime have been held in towns and cities across Syria every Friday following weekly Muslim prayers since the March 2011 outbreak of an uprising.

This week's protests were held under the slogan of 'Besieged Homs is calling us', a reference to the central Syrian city that has been under army siege for several months.

President Assad's regime has blamed "armed terrorist groups" backed by the West and several Gulf countries for violence in Syria.

The blast comes as EU foreign ministers, in their first talks since the summer break, called for a massive boost in aid to Syrian civilians amid mounting fears the humanitarian crisis could impact on security in Europe.

As Brussels announced an extra 50m euros (£40m) for civilians trapped in the conflict, EU ministers at a two-day informal meeting held just 60 miles from Syria warned that the humanitarian crisis was reaching tipping-point.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "Humanitarian needs are rising rapidly. We need additional contributions to the human effort urgently. I want to put the proposal to my colleagues that other EU nations need to do more."

Syria today: Iraq denies role in the conflict



From the CNN Wire Staff
September 6, 2012 -- Updated 2210 GMT (0610 HKT)



Hillary Clinton: "We haven't agreed on how to handle Syria, but we haven't stopped talking about what should be done."


STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: At least 134 people were killed Thursday, an opposition groups says
  
• Iraq says it is not allowing Iran to use its air space to transport weapons to Syria
  
• Russian President Vladimir Putin warns the West that its stance on Syria is 'dangerous'
  

(CNN) -- Three U.S. lawmakers traveled to Baghdad to meet with Iraqi leaders over the worsening crisis in Syria amid reports that Iraq is allowing Iran to use its airspace to deliver weapons to embattled President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

Al-Assad has been under intense international pressure to step down and end a civil war that began 18 months ago.

Here are the latest developments for Thursday:

Stern warning part one: From the United States

Iraq disputes reports that it is allowing Iran to deliver weapons to Syria. The denial follows word that several U.S. senators traveled to Baghdad to warn against such an act.









Rebels battle for 100 feet in Aleppo









Erdogan: U.S. lacks initiative on Syria

CNN.expElements.expand36Store=mObj;








Girl hit by sniper bullet in Aleppo








Red Cross: Syria conflict must end
"Iraq will not allow any country to supply weapons or fighters through its lands or airspaces to the conflicted parties in Syria," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Thursday.

A day earlier, a U.S. State Department spokesman said that "Iranians are doing little to hide their hand" in supporting the Syrian regime.

More: Baby only survivor in Syrian onslaught

"And so we've expressed some concerns to our Iraqi partners, and Iraq has taken steps in the past to meet their international obligations," Patrick Ventrell, an acting deputy spokesman, said Wednesday.

"... It's something that's a matter of ongoing discussion between us and our Iraqi partners."

Ventrell declined to comment on whether the United States is convinced that Iran is transporting weapons to Syria through Iraqi airspace. "This is an issue we've raised with our Iraqi partners, I'm not going beyond that," he said.

But Ventrell's comments came as news broke that U.S. Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina were meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari.

Al-Dabbagh declined to detail the meetings, which were confirmed by Lieberman and McCain in posts on Twitter.

Lieberman said Washington must "make real our strategic partnership" with Baghdad, especially as the Syria crisis worsens," according to a Twitter post. He also called for a no-fly zone in Syria.

More: Slain Japanese journalist's partner tells of grief

Shiite-dominated Iran is closely allied with Syria's Alawite minority-controlled government. Al-Assad belongs to the Alawite religious group, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

Stern warning part two: From Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Thursday that the West's position on the Syrian crisis is "fraught with dire consequences."

The comments -- made in an interview with the state-run RT news channel -- came as tensions between Russia and the United States, the European Union and members of the Arab League have mounted over the Syrian crisis.

"Today some want to use militants from al Qaeda or some other organizations with equally radical views to accomplish their goals in Syria," Putin said in the interview. "This policy is very short-sighted and is fraught with dire consequences."

Putin compared alleged Western funding of militants to topple al-Assad to U.S. support for Afghan rebels after the 1979 Soviet invasion.

"At that time, our present partners supported a rebel movement there and basically gave rise to al Qaeda, which later backfired on the United States itself," he said.

More: Life inside a Damascus suburb

Russia -- a key trade ally with Syria -- and China have blocked any international efforts at armed intervention in the United Nations Security Council.

"How come Russia is the only one who's expected to revise its stance? Don't you think our counterparts in negotiations ought to revise theirs as well?" Putin said during the interview.

"Because if we look back at the events in the past few years, we'll see that quite a few of our counterparts' initiatives have not played out the way they were intended to."

Regional friction

The Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned calls by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy for al-Assad to leave power and for Syria to enter a transitional phase.

"Morsy has made it clear and beyond any doubt that his statements reflect the views of a group that has no relevance to the real common history of the two peoples of Syria and Egypt," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement released Thursday.

Morsy made the comments Wednesday while addressing a meeting of Arab League foreign ministers in Cairo.

Syria accused Morsy of participating in a "media incitement" aimed at fueling the violence that al-Assad's government blames on armed terrorists bent on destabilizing the government.

Al-Assad has refused to acknowledge the civil war that the opposition claims has killed more than 23,000 people.

In the statement, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said Morsy was no different from the leaders of other governments "that support the terrorist armed groups with money, weapons, training and shelter, and that make them partners in the Syrian bloodshed."

More: The Syrian crisis by numbers

Morsy's support of the Syrian opposition reflects his solidarity with the people who took to the streets during the Arab Spring, the popular label for the pro-democracy movements that swept across the Middle East and North Africa last year.

Another bloody day

At least 134 people were killed Thursday across Syria, according to the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria.

Among the dead were 79 people in Damascus and its suburbs, where fighting has reportedly raged in recent weeks as rebels attempt to wrest control of portions of the capital from government forces, the LCC said.

Shelling was reported in the flashpoint Damascus neighborhood of Tadamun as well as in suburban Bebila.

Another 58 people drowned as they tried to flee by boat to Turkey, the LCC said.

At least 258 people died in fighting across Syria on Wednesday, it said.

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CNN's Saad Abedine, Moni Basu, Ash Gallagher and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.

Angelina Jolie Meets Syrian Refugees In Jordan


One of Hollywood's biggest stars flies in to offer her support to people displaced by the violence in Syria.


1:02pm UK, Tuesday 11 September 2012

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  The UN refugee agency's special envoy, actress Angelina Jolie, has spent time at the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan.
  
  
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Gallery: Jolie Visits Syrian Refugee Camp

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Angelina Jolie has met Syrian refugees who have fled the violence - and their homes - and crossed the border into Jordan.

The Hollywood star, who has donated $5m (£3.1m) to UN efforts to help refugees, visited the Zaatari camp which is home to around 27,000 men, women and children displaced by the 18-month long conflict.

Jordan has sheltered more than 185,000 Syrian refugees - the largest number in the region - and this camp is said to have become a sprawling tent city.

UN refugee chief Antonio Guterres and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh accompanied the actress on the visit, during which she met some of the refugees and asked them about their experiences of conflict and of leaving their homes.

Mr Guterres said the camp "needs massive international funding", adding "conditions are still not acceptable".

Jolie was previously a goodwill ambassador for the UN, before being appointed a special envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in April.

This is not the first time she has visited Syrian refugees.

In June 2011, Jolie flew to Turkey, which has also received thousands of people fleeing the violence in Syria.

The star took boxes of toys to children who live with their parents at a camp near the city of Altinozu.
Jolie spoke to the refugees about their experiences

International envoy meets Syrian president in Damascus



By the CNN Wire Staff
September 15, 2012 -- Updated 1617 GMT (0017 HKT)



Lakhdar Brahimi replaces Kofi Annan as the U.N. envoy to Syria.


STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• President says other nations funding "terrorists"
  
• Lakhdar Brahimi makes his first visit to Damascus as U.N. envoy
  
• He replaced Kofi Annan, who resigned from the role in August
  
• He met with the president and also held "candid" talks with Syria's foreign minister
  

(CNN) -- President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday said he is committed to resolving the crisis in Syria as long as the peace efforts are conducted in "neutrality and independence," state media reported.

He addressed the conflict during a meeting in Damascus with Lakhdar Brahimi, the new international envoy to Syria.

"The success of the political work is linked to pressing the countries which fund and train the terrorists, confiscate weapons into Syria to stop such acts," the president said, according to SANA.

Brahimi replaced Kofi Annan as the U.N.-Arab League point man for the conflict. He highlighted the need for both sides to find a resolution, reiterating that the Syrian people are his first priority.

"I believe that the president is more aware than me of the scope and seriousness of this crisis," Brahimi said of his impression of his meeting with al-Assad.

U.N. envoy Angelina Jolie visits Syria refugees in Iraq

For now, Brahimi has no plan for bringing an end to the Syrian conflict, he said.

"We, however, will set the plan that we will follow after listening to all internal, regional and international parties, hoping that such a plan will manage to open channels towards ending the crisis, and will be also accompanied by a clear strategy," he said.

Brahimi will open an office in Damascus, and al-Assad told him the government would enable him to carry out his duties.

The initial talks came on a day where at least 72 people were killed across Syria, according to the opposition Local Coordination Committees.

The envoy also held "candid and comprehensive" talks with Foreign Minister Walid Moallem, the United Nations said in a statement.










Syrian refugees pour into Jordan









Photojournalist describes Syria bombing



Syria accused of using 'barrel bombs'
"Mr. Brahimi emphasized that, as he said before, he would spare no effort to help find a solution to the crisis," the statement read. "His only masters in this endeavor were the Syrian people, whose welfare and security were his prime concern."

Brahimi, a former Algerian foreign minister and U.N. envoy to Afghanistan, plans to meet opposition figures and other groups during his visit.

Brahimi was named to the post after Annan resigned in August, blasting the Syrian government for not implementing a cease-fire he negotiated in April and complaining about the "escalating military campaign" of the opposition.

Zawahiri messages underline al Qaeda's focus on Syria

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Syria is being demolished and no end in sight. I have just watched a T.V. Report from Jordan where thousands have fled from the bombing of their Country. One heartbreaking report was about a Syrian Family whose home was demolished by a shell and they fled to Jordan. The Parents are O.K. but the 3 children in the bedroom were burned. the 6rd old Boy, not seriously, nor one of the daughters, but the 3 yr old daughter is very badly burned, her face and hands. she is in Hospital in Jordan receiving treatment where Doctors say she will need a lot of Surgery. The rest of the Family are living in one room of an Hotel.

When will the U.S. and it's British lapdog Britain learn to keep out of the Middle East ???????

17 September 2012 Last updated at 12:06
UN draws up new list of Syria war crimes suspects
Mr Pinheiro said there was an "increasing and alarming presence" of Islamist militants in Syria
Continue reading the main story

Syria conflict

• The story of the conflict
  
• Voices from Jordanian camp
  
• Desperate plight of civilians
  
• War in watercolour
  

A UN commission investigating human rights abuses in Syria says it has drawn up a new secret list of Syrians and units suspected of war crimes.

Lead investigator Paulo Sergio Pinheiro said they had gathered a "formidable and extraordinary body of evidence".

He also urged the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch has said armed rebels are torturing detainees and carrying out summary executions.

But violations by government forces were more widespread, it added.
'Alarming' Islamist presence
The Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria was set up by the UN Human Rights Council last year following an escalation of violence.

In August, the commission reported that systematic violations, including murder, torture and sexual violence, had been authorised at the highest levels of the Syrian government.

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“Start Quote

The commission considers it improper to publicly release the names due to the lower standard of proof employed by commissions of inquiry as compared to a court of law”

End Quote Paulo Sergio Pinheiro UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria
Opposition forces were also guilty of war crimes, it found, but not of the same gravity or on the same frequency or scale as those blamed on government forces.

It also concluded that government forces and pro-government militiamen had been behind the massacre of 108 people at Houla in May.

On Monday, the commission told a meeting of the Human Rights Council in Geneva that it had drawn up a "second confidential list of individuals and units believed to be responsible for violations".

Asked why the investigators would not name the suspects, he explained: "The commission considers it improper to publicly release the names due to the lower standard of proof employed by commissions of inquiry as compared to a court of law."

Another list was submitted to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, in February.




Paul Wood witnesses an air strike in the Syrian city of Aleppo

The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, has urged the Human Rights Council to act, but it is not able to impose sanctions or order peacekeeping missions.

Mr Pinheiro also said there was an "increasing and alarming presence" of Islamist militants in Syria, some of whom were operating as part of the Free Syrian Army and others operating independently.

"Such elements tend to push anti-government fighters towards more radical positions," he added.
'Summary executions'
As Mr Pinheiro spoke, Human Rights Watch reported that rebel groups had carried out extrajudicial or summary executions in the north-western provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, and Idlib.

The group said a research mission sent to Syria last month had documented 12 cases of extra-judicial and summary executions. In particular, it focused on the alleged killing by the Free Syrian Army of four members of the al-Barri family.

Human Rights Watch said it was time for opposition leaders to condemn abuses by rebel fighters
Two members of the Aleppo Province Revolutionary Council claimed a local judicial council had tried and sentenced the men to death, but HRW said the haste with which they were executed made a fair trial appear impossible.

When confronted with evidence of extrajudicial executions, three opposition leaders told HRW that those who killed deserved to be killed, and that only the worst criminals were being executed.

"Declarations by opposition groups that they want to respect human rights are important, but the real test is how opposition forces behave," said Nadim Houry, HRW's deputy Middle East director. "Those assisting the Syrian opposition have a particular responsibility to condemn abuses."

Meanwhile, Der Spiegel reports that the Syrian army has been testing carrier systems for poison gas grenades in the desert south-east of the city of Aleppo.

The German magazine cited witnesses as saying that five or six empty grenades intended for chemical combat agents had been fired by tanks and planes at a facility near Safira. Iranian military personnel were flown in to observe the tests, the witnesses added.

On Monday, the head of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IGRC) for the first time publicly acknowledged that it was operating in Syria.

But Gen Mohammad Ali Jafari said that members of the IRGC's elite overseas operations arm, the Quds Force, were serving only as advisers and it did not mean Iran was not conducting military activities there.

TODAY THERE HAS BEEN A BIG EXPLOSION AT ARMY HQ IN DAMASCUS AND THEN A 3 HOUR GUN BATTLE

27 September 2012 Last updated at 18:14

Assad-supporting village Watch02:48

Amid violent conflict Watch02:26

Business as usual Watch01:04

Reporting from Syria Watch02:53

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For much of the past 18 months rebel groups have been fighting against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Activists estimate more than 27,000 people have died in the violence.

Repeated efforts by the international community to find a diplomatic solution have foundered because of a deep divide at the UN Security Council.

Late on Wednesday US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the Security Council was "paralysed" and urged the members to overcome their differences

28 September 2012 Last updated at 09:19

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Clashes in Aleppo after rebels launch 'decisive' battle


Rebels said the offensive in Aleppo involved hundreds of fighters
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Syria conflict

• Turkey seeks Syria action
  
• Grim determination in Assad heartland
  
• Bombed from above
  
• School in a time of war
  

Fierce fighting has been reported in Syria's second city of Aleppo, a day after the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) said a "decisive" battle had begun.

Both residents and activists described the clashes as "unprecedented", and said rebel fighters were attacking government positions on several fronts.

The fighting had spread to previously peaceful districts, they added.

On Thursday, the UN said the number of Syrians fleeing to other states could exceed 700,000 by the end of the year.

More than half a million are believed to have already crossed into Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq, but only 294,000 have registered with the UN.

UN agencies and other humanitarian groups have issued a funding appeal for $488m (£300m) to help them meet the needs of the refugees.
'Regain control'
Activists said the start of the rebel offensive in Aleppo was announced in calls from mosques at about 16:00 (13:00 GMT) on Thursday.

In interviews with foreign media and videos posted online, members of the Tawhid Brigade said a "decisive" battle for control of the city had begun. The offensive involved hundreds of rebel fighters attacking government positions on several fronts, they added.

"We wanted to surprise the Syrian army which had started to creep forward towards the southern neighbourhoods," Bashir al-Haji, the Tawhid Brigade's commander, told the Guardian newspaper.

"There are 6,000 fighters of the Tawhid Brigade taking part in the battle now, in addition to a few other brigades like al-Fatah and Ahfad al-Fatihin for the Turkmen."

He denied the FSA had declared "decisive" battles for Aleppo before.

"We are not aiming to liberate the whole of Aleppo with this battle but to regain control of most of the city and get back as many neighbourhoods as we can."

The rebel claims could not be immediately verified, but activists and residents reported heavy clashes and shelling in the districts of Izaa, Saif al-Dawla, Sulaimaniya, on Thursday night and Friday morning.

"The fighting is unprecedented and has not stopped since Thursday," said Rami Abdul Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based activist group, told AFP news agency.

"The clashes used to be limited to one or two blocks of a district, but now the fighting is on several fronts

28 September 2012 Last updated at 16:52
Syria 'moving chemical weapons to safety' - Panetta
Fierce fighting is continuing in Aleppo
Continue reading the main story

Syria conflict

• Turkey seeks Syria action
  
• Grim determination in Assad heartland
  
• Bombed from above
  
• School in a time of war
  

The Syrian government has moved some of its chemical weapons to safety as it battles rebel forces, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta says.

He said there was intelligence that there had been "limited movement" to secure the chemicals, but that "the major sites still remain in place".

Syria has admitted to having a large stockpile of chemical weapons.

US President Barack Obama has warned Damascus it would be held accountable if it uses them.

Mr Panetta told a news conference at the Pentagon on Friday: "We continue to have a concern about the security of the CBW (chemical and biological weapons) sites."

But he said the major sites "still remain secured by the Syrian military".

Mr Panetta added: "There has been some intelligence that with regards to some of these sites that there has been some movement in order for the Syrians to better secure... the chemicals."

Continue reading the main story
Syria's chemical weapons

• The CIA believes Syria has had a chemical weapons programme "for years and already has a stockpile of CW agents which can be delivered by aircraft, ballistic missile, and artillery rockets"
  
• Syria is believed to possess mustard gas and sarin, a highly toxic nerve agent
  
• The CIA also believes that Syria has attempted to develop more toxic and more persistent nerve agents, such as VX gas
  
• A report citing Turkish, Arab and Western intelligence agencies put Syria's stockpile at approximately 1,000 tonnes of chemical weapons, stored in 50 towns and cities
  
• Syria has not signed the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) or ratified the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC)
  

Sources: CSIS, RUSI

• Could US remove Syria chemical weapons?
  

Syria, which has not signed the Chemical Weapons Convention, is believed to possess mustard gas and sarin, a highly toxic nerve agent.

The CIA has said those weapons "can be delivered by aircraft, ballistic missile, and artillery rockets".

However there is no evidence that it has used them in the 18-month conflict with rebel forces.

In the latest fighting, fierce fighting has been reported in the second city, Aleppo. The rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) said on Thursday that a "decisive" battle had begun in the city.

Residents and activists described the clashes as "unprecedented", saying rebel fighters were attacking government positions on several fronts.

Syrian state media reported some unusual mortar fire onto south-eastern parts of Aleppo that have so far been relatively untouched.

Attacks by rebels had been repulsed in several places, and heavy losses had been inflicted by government forces, they said.

For more than a month, the struggle for control of Aleppo has been at a stalemate, with government forces unable to dislodge the rebels, and the latter unable to take complete control, the BBC's Jim Muir in neighbouring Lebanon says.

Meanwhile, several north-eastern and southern districts of Damascus which were supposedly recaptured by the army weeks ago also saw further violence on Friday, with troops and militia moving back in.

29 September 2012 Last updated at 07:27








Syria rebels struggle in fresh Aleppo assault


An injured rebel fighter is seen here being helped to safety in Aleppo
Continue reading the main story

Syria conflict

• Turkey seeks Syria action
  
• Grim determination in Assad heartland
  
• Bombed from above
  
• School in a time of war
  

There has been heavy fighting in Syria's biggest city of Aleppo, with state media saying rebels have suffered big losses in their latest assault.

Rebel commanders had announced a major offensive on Friday to secure control of the whole of the city.

Both sides reported clashes across Aleppo but state media said counter-attacks had inflicted heavy losses.

Activist groups say 150 people were killed across Syria on Friday, 40 of them in Aleppo.

The signs are that the rebels simply lack the firepower and the manpower to score a significant breakthrough, the BBC's Jim Muir reports from Beirut.

By contrast, the government side has made full use of its heavy weapons, tanks and monopoly of air power, our correspondent says.

Activists estimate more than 27,000 people have died in the violence since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began last year.
'Non-stop'
State television reported attacks on what it called "terrorist centres" in 10 different locations, saying heavy losses had been inflicted.

Residents of Aleppo neighbourhoods previously spared the worst of the fighting told AFP news agency on Friday that the violence was unprecedented.

"The sound from the fighting... has been non-stop," said a resident of the central district of Sulamaniyeh, who identified himself as Ziad.

"Everyone is terrified. I have never heard anything like this before."

Abu Furat, one of the leaders of the rebels' al-Tawhid Brigade, admitted fighters had had to retreat from because they were out-gunned.

"To win a guerrilla street war, you have to have bombs and we don't," he said.

Despite all their advantages, government forces have clearly not been able to dislodge the tenacious rebel fighters from many parts of the city, where the destruction has been massive as the stalemated struggle goes on, our correspondent adds.

• Fighting in Damascus
  
• Fighting in Aleppo
  
• Refugee camps
  

Syria conflict: Aleppo's souk burns as battles rage


The souks are part of Aleppo's Old City, a Unesco world heritage site
Continue reading the main story

Syria conflict

• Turkey seeks Syria action
  
• Grim determination in Assad heartland
  
• Bombed from above
  
• School in a time of war
  

A blaze has swept though ancient markets in Aleppo, activists say, as rebels and government forces seek to gain control of Syria's largest city.

Reports say hundreds of shops in the souk, one of the best preserved in the Middle East, have been destroyed.

Unesco, which recognises Aleppo's Old City as a world heritage site, described the damage as a tragedy.

On the third day of a rebel offensive, battles broke out in the Old City and the Arkub district, reports said.

The fire, believed to have been triggered by shelling and gunfire, began on Friday but was still burning on Saturday, reports said.

"It's a big loss and a tragedy that the old city has now been affected," Kishore Rao, director of Unesco's World Heritage Centre, told the Associated Press.
'Disaster'
The market stalls lie beneath the city's towering 13th Century citadel, where activists say regime troops and snipers have taken up positions.

Rebels were using a Turkish bath, or hamam, in the souk as a base
Activists quoted by Reuters news agency said that the presence of snipers was making it difficult to approach the Souk al-Madina, once a major tourist attraction.

Reports estimate that between 700 and 1,000 shops have been destroyed so far.

"It's a disaster. The fire is threatening to spread to remaining shops," one activist, Ahmad al-Halabi, told AP.

He said the Syrian authorities had cut off the water supply, making attempts to control the fire more difficult.

Rebels and civilians were working together to limit the fire with a few fire extinguishers, he added.

The fire took hold with speed, fuelled by the many shops' wooden doors and the clothes, fabrics and leather goods sold inside.

Heavy clashes erupted at several military sites in the city on Saturday evening, Reuters reports.

Fighting was reported at the Neirab military base as well as Bab Antakya, a stone gateway to the Old City.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the focal point for fighting was Salaheddin, a rebel stronghold on the south-west side of the city.

State television reported attacks on what it called "terrorist centres" in 10 different locations on Saturday, saying heavy losses had been inflicted.

The BBC's Jim Muir, in Beirut, says that though both sides have reported clashes in different parts of the city, the signs are that the rebels simply lack the firepower and the manpower to score a significant breakthrough.

"No-one is actually making gains here, it is just fighting and more fighting, and terrified people are fleeing," one activist told Reuters.

Activists estimate more than 27,000 people have died in the violence since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began last year.

• Fighting in Damascus
  
• Fighting in Aleppo
  
• Refugee camps
  

Fresh attacks, but few answers in Syria



By the CNN Wire Staff
September 30, 2012 -- Updated 2217 GMT (0617 HKT)



Rebel fighters hold their position 50 meters away from government troops during fighting in Aleppo on Thursday.


STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: At least 154 die in Syrian violence Sunday, an opposition group says
  
• State news reports "massacre" leaving 17 dead in Homs province
  
• At least 30,000 have died since the conflict began, a human rights group says
  
• The world has done "literally nothing" to stop the carnage, Turkey's foreign minister says
  

(CNN) -- Hours after world leaders painted a grim picture of the Syrian war, a new wave of attacks erupted Sunday. The bloody conflict rages -- as internal and international political initiatives make little apparent headway in the face of continued violence.

Here is the latest in the Syrian uprising.

Opposition: 30 found dead in Damascus basement

City dwellers fled from a Damascus neighborhood Sunday as mortar shells rained down in an intense attack by government forces, the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria said.

Nationwide, the group claimed at least 154 were killed Sunday -- about half of them in and around the Middle Eastern country's capital.

The LCC reported the discovery of 30 bodies in a Damascus basement and another eight at a military hospital in Damascus. In another incident at a hospital in a Damascus suburb, government forces stormed a building and seized a number of wounded, the LCC said.

The group also said regime forces executed a family in Deir Ezzor, including two men, a woman and four children. They were among at least 41 reported killed in the eastern Syrian province.

State news: 'Terrorist group' kills 17 outside Homs

The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that "an armed terrorist group" killed more than 17 people and kidnapped "a number of" others in what it characterized as a "massacre" in the village of al-Haidariaya in Homs province.

Men, armed with machine guns and mortar shells, launched the attack early Sunday and, after it, looted parts of the village, according to SANA.

The same report pointed to clashes with members of a "terrorist group" in two neighborhoods in the city of Homs, with government forces killing an unspecified number of "terrorists."

The government has consistently referred to anti-government forces as terrorists.

State media reported that government forces also targeted "terrorists and their vehicles" in Aleppo, including launching attacks near a retirement home and a local athletics institute in the northern Syrian city. SANA said that those killed include "a Turkish terrorist who led an armed terrorist group."

An unnamed military source said, according to SANA, that armed forces uncovered opposition weapons in old irrigation canals near a mill in Harasta, in the Damascus countryside. "Terrorists" converted an underwear factory in the same city into a base, the source said.

And in the city of Qamishli, on Syria's border with Turkey, a car bomb explosion left four civilians dead and "many others" injured, SANA reported.

U.S. warns Iran: Stop arming Syria

Diplomatic efforts: Sympathy, but no answers

Diplomats attending the U.N. General Assembly worked the sidelines last week in New York to seek solutions to the Syrian crisis.

"What has the international community done to stop this carnage?" Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu asked. "Literally nothing. We have yet to see a single effective action to save innocent lives."

Turkey is providing shelter for 90,000 Syrian refugees.

Germany also slammed the U.N. Security Council for failure to act. The failure has led Western and Arab nations, including the United States and Turkey, to form a "Friends of Syria" initiative.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced $30 million for humanitarian aid and $15 million for communications gear and training for unarmed Syrian opposition groups.

Background: The toll of Syria's civil war -- so far

The Syrian conflict broke out in March 2011 after unarmed protesters, inspired by the success of popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, took to the streets demanding political reform.

The movement devolved into an armed conflict after a brutal and continuing crackdown by government forces.

Since the unrest began, more than 30,000 people have died, the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.


Syrian rebels claim knowledge of WMD sites

Diplomat to U.N.: Security Council has failed in Syria

if(typeof CNN.expElements==='object'){CNN.expElements.init();}

CNN's Hamdi Alkhshali contributed to this report.

30 September 2012 Last updated at 22:17








Syria conflict: Al-Nusra Front 'captures' Yemen troops


Islamist groups like al-Nusra have claimed responsibility for numerous attacks on government targets in Syria
Continue reading the main story

Syria conflict

• Turkey seeks Syria action
  
• Grim determination in Assad heartland
  
• Bombed from above
  
• School in a time of war
  

The al-Nusra Front, an Islamist group fighting government forces in Syria, has reportedly posted a video saying it has captured five Yemeni soldiers sent to help quell the uprising.

The video shows five men asking Yemen to stop supporting Bashar al-Assad.

The four-minute video's authenticity has not been verified.

A Yemeni rights group said five Yemeni officers had been studying at a military academy in Aleppo but went missing in August, Reuters reported.

They had reportedly disappeared en route to Damascus from Aleppo on their way home after completing their studies, Reuters quoted the Hood group as saying.
'Cut all ties'
The four-minute video, which was posted on jihadist forums, shows the identity cards of five men, one of whom appears to be a lieutenant colonel, as well as pictures of them in military uniform.

The five are pictured sitting below a black flag emblazoned with "al-Nusra Front" in Arabic.

The video includes an interview with one of the men who says the group were sent to Damascus to help quell the uprising.

The man, who identifies himself as Mohammed Abdo Hezam al-Meleiky, says: "I ask the Yemeni government to cut all logistical and military ties because Bashar al-Assad's regime is a regime that is killing its people and that is what we saw with our own eyes when we came here."

The al-Nusra Front - or The Front for the Defence of the Syrian People - says it comprises jihadis who have returned from other wars to fight in Syria. It has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks on pro-government targets.

Activists estimate more than 27,000 people have died in the violence since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began last year.

Yemen's government - which is battling its own Islamic insurgency at home - has refused to criticise Mr Assad's tactics to quell the uprising in Syria.

Last November, it was one of just three Arab League states - along with Syria and Lebanon - to vote against suspending Syria from the bloc over its crackdown.

Aleppo has seen days of fighting as government forces and rebels seek to gain control of Syria's largest city.

Latest update: 02/10/2012
- diplomacy - Popular revolt - Syria - United Nations - unrest



France and US fund ‘terrorism’, says Syrian envoy




Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem told the UN on Monday that the United States, France and several Arab states support "terrorism" by backing anti-regime rebels with arms and aid in "blatant interference in the domestic affairs of Syria".







Syria accused the United States, France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey on Monday of hijacking the country’s 18-month conflict between government forces and pro-democracy rebel groups by supporting “terrorism” with arms, money and foreign fighters.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem told the U.N. General Assembly that outside calls for President Bashar al-Assad to step down were a “blatant interference in the domestic affairs of Syria, and the unity of its people and its sovereignty.”

Earlier on Monday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with Moualem and strongly criticized the Syrian government for killings, rights abuses, aerial and artillery attacks, and expressed frustration that the conflict was worsening.

Speaking on the final day of the annual gathering of the 193-nation assembly, Moualem said that Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United States, and France “clearly induce and support terrorism in Syria with money, weapons and foreign fighters.”

“Under the pretext of concepts such as the ‘Responsibility to Protect,’ drums of war are beaten, and sedition and unrest are spreading and damaging the structure of national societies,” Moualem said.

He was referring to a concept about governments’ responsibility to protect civilians that has become increasingly popular in Western diplomatic and academic circles. The concept was used to justify last year’s military intervention in Libya.

“Worst of all is to see permanent members of the Security Council, who launched wars under the pretext of combating terrorism, now support terrorism in my country,” Moualem said.

Russia, backed by China, repeatedly vetoed Western- and Arab-backed council resolutions that criticized the Syrian government and threatened it with sanctions, saying the United States, Europe and Gulf Arabs were seeking regime change.

Ban “raised in the strongest terms the continued killings, massive destruction, human rights abuses, and aerial and artillery attacks committed by the government,” his spokesman said in a statement.

“He stressed that it was the Syrian people who were being killed every day, and appealed to the Government of Syria to show compassion to its own people,” the spokesman said.

Syria: Aleppo Bombings Kill More Than 30


State media says bombings in Syria's second city caused huge destruction - a week after opposition fighters intensified fighting.


1:37pm UK, Wednesday 03 October 2012



Video: Syrian state TV shows the aftermath of the attacks in Aleppo
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More than 30 people have been killed in a wave of suicide bombings in the Syrian city of Aleppo.

The attacks occurred in a series of three car bombings near an officers' club in the north of the country.

State media say the bombing caused massive destruction, further trapping scores more under the rubber. The number of dead is expected to rise.

One shaken resident told state-run Ikhbariya TV: "It was like a series of earthquakes. It was terrifying, terrifying."

Local activist Mohammad Saeed said the explosions went off minutes apart at one of the city's main squares. He said the blasts were followed by clashes and heavy gunfire.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the attacks, adding a fourth car bomb went off in the Bab Jnein area near the Chamber of Commerce, causing an unspecified number of casualties there.

The conflict in Syria has now been going on for 18 months - with opponents to President Bashar al Assad's regime targeting security agencies and soldiers more regularly.

There had been unsubstantiated rumours that Mr Assad had been in the city.

Last week Syrian opposition fighters launched a new more intense campaign to take Aleppo, the commercial hub of Syria as well as its largest city.

BREAKING NEWS..........Syria attacked Turkey today with Mortar Bombs killing 3 people including a 6 yr old Boy. Turkey has retaliated and Hilary Clinton is trying to calm things down.

A couple of months ago Syria shot down a Turkish Plane, Turkey did not retaliate then , but this is quite differnet the loss

of three lives including a 6yr old Boy. However, Turkey will not act any more without NATO getting involved, this is a blatant act of aggression and Turkey is caring for many thousands of Refugees fleeing Syria.

NATO MEETING ABOUT THIS ATTACK