62 Killed as Syrian Army Sends More Reinforcements to Idlib

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  • W460
  • W460
  • W460
  • W460

Syrian security forces on Thursday killed 62 people across the country, monitors said, as the army sent further troop reinforcements to the northwestern province of Idlib, where activists said they fear an assault similar to the one that devastated the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs.

Fifty-two people were killed in the central province of Homs, including 44 who were summarily executed, two in Idlib province, two in the Damascus suburb of Daraya, three in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, one in the central province of Hama, one in the southern province of Daraa and one in the northern province of Aleppo, the LCC reported.

For its part, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a little girl was killed by gunfire in the Idlib village of Khan Shaykhoun.

Troops also shot dead a man in the province's Jabal al-Zawiya hill district, the head of the Britain-based watchdog, Rami Abdul Rahman, told Agence France Presse.

Two civilians died in clashes in the town of al-Mayadin, in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, and another died in Daraya village, in Damascus province, Abdul Rahman said.

He said security forces were also carrying out raids and arrests in Deir al-Zour city.

In the flashpoint central province of Hama, a 44-year-old man was shot dead by a pro-regime militia in the village of Jarjara, Abdul Rahman added.

In the capital, dozens of people were arrested after a funeral turned into an anti-regime demonstration.

"Security forces have arrested dozens of people in the Mezzeh district of Damascus, who attended the funeral of a young man killed recently," the Observatory said.

In the northern province of Aleppo, explosions hit two security force buildings in the town of Aazaz which was heavily bombarded by troops on Wednesday, the Observatory said.

An activist said the blasts were probably reprisal attacks by the rebel Free Syrian Army.

Almost 8,500 people have died in the government's bloody crackdown on the revolt that erupted in Syria last March, most of them civilians, according to Observatory figures.

Abdul Rahman said the troop buildup in Idlib appeared to indicate a major military operation was imminent given reports in the official press of "armed terrorist groups" in the region.

Milad Fadl, a member of the opposition Syrian Revolution General Commission, said tanks and troops were deploying heavily around the Jabal al-Zawiya district of the province.

"Large numbers of residents from eight villages in that area have fled," Fadl told AFP, adding that residents of the city of Idlib itself were also leaving.

"The government troops have asked members of the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) to surrender their weapons through messages on mosque loudspeakers or through local officials," Fadl said.

"I expect the army to first storm Idlib and then decide from there what to do."

He said one civilian was "executed" Thursday in Jabal al-Zawiya and five homes were burned down to punish the local population for supporting the rebel fighters.

There are concerns that Idlib, a mountainous province near the Turkish border, could suffer the same fate as Baba Amr which was stormed by government troops on March 1 after a month-long blitz.

Idlib is considered strategically important because of the presence of a large number of FSA members, particularly in the Jabal al-Zawiya area.

Abdul Rahman told AFP that clashes were taking place on Thursday between security forces and rebel fighters in the Idlib village of Kfar Nabal.

On Wednesday, the opposition Syrian National Council appealed to the international community and the Arab League to act urgently at all levels to avoid any repetition of what happened in Baba Amr.

Comments 8
Default-user-icon Maguy (Guest) 08 March 2012, 20:56

Thank you Mr Obama. True you can. Better: You did. You did make it possible for a prominent criminal mass murderer to massacre civilians by numbers asking for basic rights. Syria's children and civilians shall engrave your name and your face in their memories. And, I almost forgot: God save your children, Mr Obama. And your career too.

Default-user-icon wondering (Guest) 08 March 2012, 21:41

Reading about all that killing, I was wondering if there is an oil value to a human life that will move the international community to act. So I took the 2009 oil production for Kuwait and divided it by its population and found out that Kuwait produce 0.9 barrel of oil per capita repeated the process for Libya which had a score of 0.29 barrel/capita as for Syria that number is 0.02. I wonder is that too low for the planet to bother with?

Default-user-icon Nighthawk (Guest) 09 March 2012, 00:37

NATO cannot send Airplanes to Siria because, Russian with their GLADIATOR S-300 systems are waiting to shoot them DOWN and get for free USA technology ...

Missing lebcan 09 March 2012, 00:57

May Allah(set) soon grand you justice oh syrian people. Amen.

Missing lebcan 09 March 2012, 00:59

May Allah(swt) soon grant you justice oh syrian people. Amen.

Missing lebcan 09 March 2012, 01:45

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lbYrDCDeKc&feature=related

America=Iran=Zionest=Arab Leaders hypocryites (that includes the Saudi Family)

There is only one ISLAM.

Default-user-icon egnebe (Guest) 09 March 2012, 12:14

RUSSIA=IRAN=HESBOLLAH=killing only for rulling&hatred

Default-user-icon no-more-dictators (Guest) 09 March 2012, 02:42

Walla 7aram... Assad deserves to spend the rest of his days behind bars. One lifetime sentence for what he's done to the Lebanese and one for what he's done to his own people!