A young man’s account of sadistic torture in a Syrian secret prison, and how a girl’s note helped him through his pain. Arrested during a protest in the first days of the Syrian uprising, a young man endured acts of sadism and torture at the hands of Bashar al-Assad’s secret […]
MAJDAL SHAMS, Golan Heights (Agencies) – Israeli troops opened fire on Sunday as protesters from Syria stormed a ceasefire line in the occupied Golan Heights, with Damascus saying 20 demonstrators were killed and scores more were wounded. The clashes, marking the anniversary of the 1967 Mideast war, drew Israeli accusations […]
Residents bury dozens of people killed by security forces during marches on “Children’s Freedom Friday” in Hama Most shops are closed in the central Syrian city of Hama as funerals are held for scores of protesters shot dead by security forces a day earlier, local residents say. The Syrian Observatory […]
By ASSOCIATED PRESS CAIRO: Syrian activists have called for renewed protests in honor of a 13-year-old boy who allegedly was tortured and killed by security forces. The main Facebook page for the protesters said Saturday the boy was “assassinated by treachery.” The image of the child’s body has outraged Syrians […]
By Suleiman Khalili Reuters AMMAN – The young man was dangling upside down, white, foaming saliva dripping from his mouth. His groans sounded more bestial than human. It was one of many fleeting images of human degradation I witnessed during four days as an unwilling guest of Syrian intelligence, when […]
by Abdelhafidh Abdeleli, swissinfo.ch The protests and subsequent government crackdown are dividing opinion among Syrians watching events unfold from Switzerland. While some Syrians feel the protests are a consequence of the Arab Spring sweeping through North Africa, others say wider diplomatic forces are at work. Although all the Syrians who […]
The regular misconception is that Islamic clothes for women are based on ‘old-fashioned’ principles. The truth is that Islamic outfits, whilst being necessarily ‘modest, ‘ does not need to sacrifice elegance, dignity and trend. While common approaches to such clothing may have actually added to this perception, there are a […]
By Mohammad Ben Hussein AMMAN – Human rights activists representing several NGOs gathered near the Syrian embassy in Amman on Monday calling for an end to the bloodshed in the neighbouring country. The three dozen odd protesters, from the Islamic Action Front (IAF) human rights committee, the Arab Organisation for Human Rights […]
Hugh Pope, Transtlantic Academy | 13 May 2011 The Middle East’s season of popular revolts for greater freedoms has thrown a critical spotlight on Turkey’s ambition for a leading role in the region, whether as an actor pursuing a ‘zero problem’ foreign policy or through the gravitational pull of its […]
By Laila Azzeh AMMAN – Calling for an international intervention to stop the “massacres” against civilians in their homeland, several Syrians gathered in front of the UN headquarters in Amman on Saturday. Chanting anti-regime slogans, the protesters called for an end of Baath regime rule and highlighted its “brutal” actions […]
By REBECCA SANTANA | AP BAGHDAD: It’s easy to identify the Iraqis fleeing the violent uprising in Syria as they arrive by bus in Baghdad. They’re the ones carrying a sad array of worldly possessions: blankets and mattresses tied with cord; TVs and curtain rods; boxes once filled with food […]
With Fatah and Hamas joining hands in the occupied territories and Palestinians breaching the Syrian frontier, Israel may feel its situation is more precarious than ever. The latest window of opportunity for peace in the Middle East may be closing, and the popular choice is always to dig in. Yet […]
(CNSNews.com) – Two months after the Arab League won praise for its unprecedented call for international intervention in Libya, the bloc of 22 Arab states is reverting to its customary role of closing ranks, this time around the Assad regime in Syria. At a time of historic change and challenge […]
Damascus- An official source at the Interior Ministry said the number of those involved in riot acts who turned themselves in reached 6131 persons to date from different governorates. According to the source, they were all released after pledging not to repeat any act that may harm the security of […]
DAMASCUS (AFP) – Syrian security forces killed at least four people on Saturday in a border town, witnesses said, as the death toll rose in anti-regime protests despite a no-shoot order, dialogue offer and troop pullouts. “The security forces, who had been encircling Tall Kalakh since the morning, fired machineguns. […]
AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has ordered troops not to fire on pro-democracy demonstrators, a rights campaigner said, ahead of Friday prayers that have become a rallying point for protesters in an eight-week uprising.Louay Hussein said Assad’s adviser Bouthaina Shaaban told him in a phone call on Thursday […]
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel’s law-and-order chief said some Muslims would be denied entry to Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa Mosque compound on Friday when Palestinians begin mourning the creation of Israel. Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch told public radio Thursday that security personnel would “thin out the number of worshippers at […]
BEIRUT — Syrian security forces arrested hundreds of activists and anti-government protesters in house-to-house raids across the country Monday, part of an escalating government crackdown aimed at stamping out the nationwide revolt engulfing the country. President Bashar Assad has dispatched army troops and tanks to crush the seven-week uprising that […]
By CHRISTIAN C. SAHNER It’s Friday and the weekly congregational prayer has just ended at the Umayyad Mosque, Syria’s most famous monument. As the faithful exit, they walk past an unassuming bit of masonry on the mosque’s southern wall: a Greek inscription above a blocked doorway, with a most […]
and: “In case two parties of the believers fight against each other, bring about reconciliation between them. If, however, one of them persists in belligerence and transgresses against the other, bring your collective might to bear upon the one that transgresses to force him until he agrees that his dispute […]