SYRIAN RESISTANCE: Syria Forces Extend Siege on Hama as Toll Rises!

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By NADA BAKRI, nytimes.com / Published: August 6, 2011.

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian security forces tightened their siege on the restive city of Hama on Saturday, and human rights activists said that at least 24 people had been killed on Friday during demonstrations against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

Hama has been under heavy assault for a week. Mr. Assad ordered his troops, backed by hundreds of tanks, to roll into the city last Sunday in an attempt to crush an uprising there that he feared could gain momentum and embolden an opposition movement that has sought the downfall of his government since mid-March.

The military operation was mounted amid growing regional and international condemnation. Joining a chorus of countries criticizing the crackdown on democracy advocates, oil-rich Arab states called Saturday for Syria to bring an “immediate end to violence.”

In a statement, the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — urged Syrian leaders to “resort to wisdom and introducing serious and necessary reforms that would protect the rights and dignity of the people, and meet their aspirations.”

The statement followed promises by the United States and European countries to consider new sanctions against Syria.

Human rights activists say that at least 200 people have been killed in Hama since last Sunday, when tanks started shelling neighborhoods. Telephone lines, water and electricity have also been cut off for the past week, and no bakeries have opened in that time. Some residents reported shortages of food, an activist said several days ago, raising fears of a humanitarian crisis that could be severe.

Activists also said that the death toll could be much higher, but that a comprehensive and accurate count was almost impossible, given the state of communications in the city, the siege and the difficulty of moving around.

Full Story at,

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/world/middleeast/07syria.html?_r=1

SYRIAN RESISTANCE: Activists say 24 killed in Syria’s latest protests!

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AP / The Hindu / BEIRUT, August 6, 2011. 

Lebanese protesters hold a rally in solidarity with the Syrian people in Tripoli - AP.

The Syrian military tightened its suffocating siege on the city of Hama on Saturday, and activists said security forces killed at least 24 civilians the day before in a nationwide crackdown on anti-government protesters.

A Hama resident said tanks shelled the city on Friday night, which resulted in several casualties. He said there were reports that at least one of the hospitals in the city had been targeted. Authorities have imposed a media blackout on Hama and the reports could not be immediately confirmed.

The resident sneaked out of besieged Hama on Friday to try and get supplies, and spoke to AP by phone on Saturday from the city’s outskirts.

“I am trying to get back but it’s impossible, they’ve tightened the siege even more, not even an ant can go in or out today,” he said.

Syria’s government has broadcast images of buildings and empty rubble-strewn streets in Hama, the epicentre of the protests, claiming the military was putting an end to an armed rebellion launched by “terrorists.”

The brutal crackdown has sparked international outrage, and a group of Gulf Arab countries on Saturday broke their silence on the bloodshed, calling for an immediate end to the violence and for implementation of “serious” reforms in Syria.

In a statement posted on its website, the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council expressed deep concern and regret for “the escalating violence in Syria and use of excess force.”

Full Story at,

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2330894.ece

Syrians pour into the streets despite deadly siege!

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AP / The Hindu / BEIRUT, August 5, 2011.

In this image made from amateur video released by ‘Ugarit News’ and accessed via ‘The Associated Press Television News’ on Tuesday, protesters carry the body of a man during a funeral ceremony in the city of Homs, Syria - AP.

Tens of thousands of protesters have poured into the streets across Syria calling for the downfall of President Bashar Assad's regime, defying a deadly military siege on the city of Hama.

Friday’s protests spread from the capital, Damascus, to the southern province of Daraa and Deir el-Zour in the east. Other demonstrations were reported in Qamishli in the north to Homs in the centre, activists said.

The protests come as Syrian troops kept bombing Hama, which has become the epicentre of the country’s uprising.

Full Story at,

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2327998.ece

U.N. Condemns Syria (Video and Tweets)!

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thedailybeast.com / Aug 3, 2011 11:23 PM EDT.

As the regime’s tanks stormed rebellious cities during the holy month of Ramadan, killing dozens, the United Nations turned up the diplomatic pressure. 

See video of the latest clashes.

After days of wrangling, the U.N. Security Council adopted a statement Wednesday condemning the violence in Syria, which, in its latest outburst, killed 45 people in Hama on Thursday. The statement “condemn[s] widespread violations of human rights and the use of force against civilians by the Syrian authorities.” China and Russia originally blocked the motion because they said they feared it could pave the way for a military intervention like the one in Libya; they only agreed to it after language was added urging both sides to resist violence.

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http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/03/syria-crackdown-see-tweets-photos-videos-from-hama.html

Israel-Palestinian Politics: Netanyahu: PA's UN statehood bid stalls talks!

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Attila Somfalvi / Published: 06.14.11, 20:43 / Israel News.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Photo: EPA.

Netanyahu says reigniting Israeli-Palestinian peace process while Fatah still mulls unity government with Hamas impossible

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that an appeal by the Palestinian Authority to the UN General Assembly to recognize a Palestinian state would only prevent the resumption of negotiations with Israel and would increase the rift between the parties.

Is closed-door conversations, Netanyahu noted that so long as Fatah was negotiating with Hamas over the establishment of a unity government, negotiations with Israel would remain stalled.

Israelis should understand that as they themselves deserve a Statehood, Palestinians too are entitled to their own.

Full Story at,

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4082206,00.html