AP – The State Department said Friday it “may have no choice” but to close the U.S. embassy in Damascus and remove all US personnel from the country wracked by a 10-month revolt against the regime of President Bashar Assad unless Assad’s government takes extra steps to protect the mission.
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US considering closing embassy in Syria
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AP – The Obama administration on Monday ratcheted up condemnation of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s violent crackdown on pro-reform protesters, calling on the regime to “stop the slaughter” of its own citizens as security forces shelled cities for a second day in a brutal bid to quell a 5-month-old uprising.
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US tells Syrian government to ‘stop the slaughter’
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At San Francisco Chronicle , ” Syrian Troops Expand Crackdown on Protest While 30 Die in Fight .” Also at Jerusalem Post , ” Syrians clamp down on restive eastern area .” And see Los Angeles Times , ” Syria security forces attack protesters across the country ” (on Friday’s developments). The top video was just posted at a Syrian YouTube page, while the bottom two, which show skirmishes, were posted earlier: Check Haaretz as well, ” Syrian troops arrest dozens in town near Lebanon border .” And at Christian Science Monitor , “S yria opposition unity bid thwarted by Assad regime’s brutal crackdown .”
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Syria Crackdown Widens
On what is being dubbed “Friday of Freedom Prisoners,” Syrian security forces reportedly shot and killed 32 anti-government protesters in various Syrian cities. 23 were reportedly killed in Damascus alone as President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime forged ahead with its crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations. Since Syrian authorities have banned foreign media from entering the country, death tolls cannot be accurately tallied, however various human rights groups say that so far, more than 1,400 people have been killed by Syrian forces since protests began in mid-March.
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Syria: 32 Dead, Anti-Assad Protesters Stage Largest March Yet
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan says two NATO helicopters have killed three gunmen atop a hotel in Kabul after insurgents attacked with suicide bombers, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. Jason Waggoner, a spokesman for the coalition, says the helicopters fired early Wednesday morning on the roof where militants had taken up positions. He says they killed three gunmen and that Afghan security forces clearing the hotel worked their way up to the roof and engaged the remaining insurgents. The helicopters attacked after four massive explosions rocked the Inter-Continental hotel. The Blaze’s earlier story provides details on the suicide bombing attack at Kabul’s Hotel Intercontinental.
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NATO Choppers Kill Three Gunmen on Kabul Hotel Rooftop
Last week, we reported on the shocking revelation that Eman al-Obeidy, the Libyan woman who claims she was gang raped by Gadhafi’s security forces, was deported back to Libya after escaping to Qatar. The international community expressed frustration and worry that the woman may be vulnerable back in her homeland. But now, al-Obeidy is safe once again. CNN has more : On Sunday, a high-level U.S. State Department source told CNN that al-Obeidy was on her way to Malta with her father, and would head to a processing center in Europe before leaving for a final destination. It may take weeks before she gets to that destination. Another U.S. State Department source said Sunday the United States was deeply concerned about her well-being, and worked closely with officials in Europe and Libya to get her safely out of the country. The same source said the U.S. is “prepared to provide whatever help and support Eman may need.” Watch below for more:
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Update: Alleged Libyan Rape Victim Eman al-Obeidy Now in Romania
A Libyan woman who captured global attention this past spring when she claimed that Gadhafi’s security forces gang-raped her finds herself back in harm’s way. On Thursday, after escaping Libya and arriving safely in Qatar, Eman al-Obeidy and her parents were deported back to Libya. CNN has more : In the hours leading to her deportation, armed guards had been posted outside her hotel room , preventing a representative from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees from helping her, al-Obeidy told CNN. The U.N. agency had prepared papers for her departure from Qatar to begin a new life. Al-Obeidy said Qatari authorities then took her and her parents from the Kempinski Residences & Suites in the Qatari capital. She said she was beaten and handcuffed, then forced onto a military plane to Libya. The following video report offers more details on this traumatic story: Fortunately, al-Obeidy is currently in a rebel-held area in Libya, though human rights activists and the U.S. State Department, alike, fear for her safety. After making her story widely known and planning and implementing an elaborate escape, al-Obeidy finds herself back where she originally started.
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After Escaping, Alleged Libyan Gang-Rape Victim Beaten and Deported Back to Libya
AP – Syrian forces kept up a relentless campaign against the country’s two-month uprising Thursday, using tanks to shell a besieged border town as President Barack Obama called on Syria’s president to lead his country to democracy or “get out of the way.”
AP – The White House is welcoming the European Union’s decision to sanction Syrian officials for cracking down on anti-government protesters.
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US welcomes EU decision on Syria sanctions
(AP)
BEIRUT (AP) — A human rights group says the death toll from two days of violence in Syria has reached 120. Syrian security forces fired live bullets and tear gas Friday and Saturday as tens of thousands of people gathered across the country to protest the country’s authoritarian regime. Ammar Qurabi is the head of Syria’s National Organization for Human Rights. He said 112 people were killed Friday and at least eight on Saturday. More than 300 people have been killed in the past five weeks. The violence prompted two Syrian lawmakers to resign in disgust over the killings. The lawmakers are from Daraa, a southern region that unleashed the protest movement in mid-March. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below. BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian security forces fired on tens of thousands of mourners during funeral processions Saturday, killing at least nine people as the mounting death toll prompted two Syrian lawmakers to resign in disgust over the killings. The lawmakers, Nasser Hariri and Khalil Rifai, are from the southern region of Daraa that unleashed the protest movement in mid-March after a group of teenagers were arrested there for scrawling anti-regime graffiti on a wall. “If I cannot protect the chests of my people from these treacherous strikes, then there is no meaning for me to stay in the People’s Assembly. I declare my resignation,” Hariri told Al-Jazeera in an interview. The resignations were exceedingly rare in Syria, where nearly all opposition figures are either jailed or exiled. But the bloodshed so far has only served to invigorate protesters whose demands have snowballed from modest reforms to the downfall of President Bashar Assad. Each Friday, growing numbers of people in multiple cities have taken to the streets despite the near certainty that they would come under swift attack from security forces and shadowy pro-government gunmen known as “shabiha.” Friday was the deadliest day of the uprising, with at least 76 people killed as Syrian security forces fired bullets and tear gas at tens of thousands of protesters across the country. The crackdown signaled that the regime was prepared to turn more ruthless to put down the revolt. The death toll continued to rise Saturday as security forces fired on funeral processions, killing at least nine people. Witnesses said security forces killed four people in Douma, a suburb of the capital. Human rights activist Ammar Qurabi said five people were killed in the southern village of Izraa and the nearby village of Sheikh Miskeen. The witness account could not be independently confirmed because Syria has expelled journalists and restricted access to trouble spots. They spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. “They prevented us from continuing our way to the cemetery,” said the witness in Douma, who said he was among at least 50,000 people taking part in the funerals there.
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Rights Group: Syria Death Toll Hits 120 Over Two Days; Security Fires on Mourners at Funerals
