"Narrative Summit" Releases 2025 Recommendations to Cement Egypt's Position as a Global Tourism Destination    Egypt, S.Arabia step up trade ties through coordination council talks    Egypt reviews progress on $200m World Bank-funded waste management hub    Egypt urges Israel to accept Gaza deal amid intensifying fighting    Egypt, ADIB explore strategic partnership in digital healthcare, investment    SCZONE, Tokyo Metropolitan Government sign MoU on green hydrogen cooperation    Egypt welcomes international efforts for peace in Ukraine    Al-Sisi, Macron reaffirm strategic partnership, coordinate on Gaza crisis    Contact Reports Strong 1H-2025 on Financing, Insurance Gains    Egypt, India's BDR Group in talks to establish biologics, cancer drug facility    AUC graduates first cohort of film industry business certificate    Egyptian pound down vs. US dollar at Monday's close – CBE    Egypt's FM, Palestinian PM visit Rafah crossing to review Gaza aid    Egypt prepares unified stance ahead of COP30 in Brazil    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Fitch Ratings: ASEAN Islamic finance set to surpass $1t by 2026-end    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Syrian forces kill 11 people during mass protests
Published in Almasry Alyoum on 23 - 07 - 2011

AMMAN, Jordan - Syrian forces shot dead at least 11 people during mass protests on Friday against President Bashar al-Assad, rights activists and witnesses said.
Five civilians were killed overnight in Homs, 165km north of the capital Damascus, when tanks were deployed to halt protests in the besieged city, residents said.
Six more people were later shot dead in protests in the Damascus suburb of Mleeha, in Homs and in the Idlib area in the northwest, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the National Organization for Human Rights said.
"So far we have six martyrs across the country. All six were killed today," said Ammar Qurabi, head of the National Organization for Human Rights.
The 4-month-old uprising, mirroring unrest and dissent elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa, is the biggest challenge to Assad's authority since he succeeded his father 11 years ago and it is spreading.
Rights groups say Assad's forces have killed more than 1400 civilians since the uprising began. UN human rights advisers said on Friday the crackdown might amount to crimes against humanity.
Activists reported protests after Friday prayers in several places - the Medan district of Damascus, Latakia on the coast, Deraa in the south and Deir al-Zor in the east - as well as Homs, the latest focus of the armed crackdown.
"Tanks and armored vehicles have deployed in Homs thoroughfares but in every street adjacent to them there are people in the streets," a resident of Homs, who gave his name as Osama, said by telephone.
Once confined to outlying towns and rural regions, the uprising has now taken a firm hold in cities such as Homs and Hama, scene of a 1982 massacre by the military.
In the first crackdown on Kurds since the uprising began, dozens of people were wounded when police and militia used batons and teargas against protesters in the mainly Kurdish northeastern city of Qamishli, witnesses said.
The protesters demanded political freedoms and an end to state-endorsed discrimination against Syria's one million Kurds. They also voiced solidarity with the protesters elsewhere.
ASSAD'S ISOLATION GROWS
Assad, 45, has described the uprising as a foreign conspiracy intended to sow sectarian strife.
Opponents say he has played on sectarian fears to maintain support of the minority Alawite sect and keep power for his family, which has ruled Syria for 41 years.
Two special human rights advisers to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an "independent, thorough and objective investigation" of events in Syria.
"The scale and gravity of the violations indicate a serious possibility that crimes against humanity may have been committed and continue to be committed in Syria," Francis Deng, adviser on prevention of genocide, and Edward Luck, adviser on the responsibility to protect, said on Friday.
Once courted by the West to break Syria's alliance with Iran and militant groups, Assad is becoming increasingly isolated internationally. Iran's Shia clerical rulers are maintaining their support, to the disquiet of Syria's majority Sunnis.
Rights groups say the killings of civilians are causing a backlash against Assad among the mostly Sunni rank and file in the army.
Activists say several tank crews defected this week and joined protesters in the eastern town of Albu Kamal bordering Iraq's tribal Sunni heartland, prompting the deployment of Alawite forces who surrounded the town and demanded the army defectors be handed over.
Diplomatic pressure on Assad mounted this week after Qatar, previously a supporter, shut its embassy in Damascus and the European Union said it was considering tougher sanctions.
Relations with Qatar deteriorated when Sunni Muslims were among those killed by Assad's security forces, whose leaders, like the president, are Alawites.
Assistant US Secretary of State Jeff Feltman told US based Al Hurra TV that fear of a sectarian crisis was being instigated by Assad to sow fear among the population.
"They are trying to raise the specter of the ghost of a civil war but it's clear from the majority of demonstrations that everyone is protesting without concern about the dangers confronting them for the sake of a better future for Syria," Feltman said.


Clic here to read the story from its source.