Syrian Port Latakia under Heavy Machine-Gun Fire
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Heavy machine-gun fire reverberated Tuesday across the Syrian Mediterranean port of Latakia, which is engulfed by a major military offensive, activists said.
"The heavy machine gun-fire and bullets were intense in areas of Latakia, Ramel, Masbah al-Shaab and Ain Tamra for more than three hours," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Since Sunday, 30 civilians have been killed in Latakia in an offensive that has seen use of gunboats by Syrian security forces for the first time since the start of pro-democracy revolts in mid-March.
Syrian official news agency SANA has denied any maritime operation.
U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the agency for Palestinian refugees, reported that more than 5,000 refugees had fled the Ramel camp in southern Latakia under fire.
The Syrian daily al-Watan said Tuesday Latakia was "under control" of the army.
"The situation (in Latakia) is under control, especially after the army arrested dozens of armed men during a complicated operation," it said.
"Armed men had set up barricades for laying mines to prevent the army from advancing," which "has led to residents fleeing the neighborhoods," the daily added.
Late Monday, a demonstrator was killed and 10 others wounded in the central city of Homs as security forces opened fire on the crowd, activists said.
In the nearby town of Qusayr, around 7,000 people called for the ouster of President Bashar Assad's regime as they marched despite heavy presence of security forces, activists said.
Syria has repeatedly said it is battling "armed gangs" -- a claim denied by rights groups who say the crackdown has killed 1,827 civilians since mid-March, while 416 security forces also died.
The first two weeks of August, since the beginning of Ramadan, 260 people, including 14 women and 31 children have been counted dead by coordinating committees of demonstrators.
16 August 2011, 16:13
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This is a black mark on the entire civilized world that this barbarity is allowed to continue unabated and unsanctioned. The whole world will pay for sitting silent while innocent blood is being shed. We are all degraded as human beings for allowing it.
As Dr. Martin Luther King said, "Injustice allowed to persist anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere".
The West, the civilized world and all who live by and rely upon the rule of law risk everything by allowing the brutality of the Assad Regime against its own citizens to persist.
16 August 2011, 18:09
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ageed with what mowaten said, I will also add that its a shame you bring up Martin Luther king in all of this, for he is turning in his grave right now for what his country has become, the so called "civilized world " you are talkin about,
this media campaign on syria is the largest and some of the most ruthless and most hypocriticall campaign laucnhed against any country, for someone who has been to Syria recently I can tell you what you see on your teli is far from the truth, theres some chaos, however the majority of the people in Syria SUPPORT their president and this oppsoition movement if you wish to call it is mostly made up of fanatics, spies and all the incredibly dirty people you can imagine, some of the poeple in there are inhuman let alone "democratic", Lybia is in civil war and will be for years to come, iraq is gone in the wind, tunisia in deep economic trouble, egypt stepped back 20 years, rest assured Syria will not fall this is the last stronghold, its finished..
16 August 2011, 18:10
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mowaten,
The world is not blind to events in Syria despite regime attempts to stiffle press coverage.Hundreds of thousand are protesting and will continue to for freedom and true democracy. Soldiers are ordered to kill unarmed citizens and those who don't are executed (with joyful help of Hezbollah). Your propaganda has no traction here...
Even this story betrays the lie, yes the Navy is shelling a city because of 'an armed gang' .
16 August 2011, 18:15
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When we learn that the US, EU, Nato, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and/or Israel have been "supporting" the armed groups either with diplomatic cover or active assistance, those Syrians who accepted this "support" will feel regret that they trusted such kindness. Such promises as they have accepted only look good in the darkness of secrecy. I hope money is not involved. I'll bet money is involved.
16 August 2011, 18:16
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@Mowaten: Yes, I'm sure when the Syrian navy shells Latakia randomly they are hitting armed terrorists every time... Obviously the Syrian government doesn't give a damn if they kill civilians because the targets of attack are the civilians.
16 August 2011, 18:32
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@bashir: hundreds of thousands against 26 million,
among those thousands, up to 90 percent don't know the meaning of the word "democracy" in the dictionary, among whom hundreds of thousands are fanatics armed to the teeth, the reason why around 600 police officers/soldiers have been killed and cut to pieces while being shoved into a lake and had their heads cut off in public demonstrations, i'm really impressed by this "democracy" movement who have been living underground all this time coupled with the immense lies and actual footage fabrications by so many news channels and I give myself a pause and say: hey something fishy is going on here..
while halfway around the globe you've got a few teenagers and hippies throwing rocks and sticks at police in London and all hell breaks lose heck even the army is called in to put down these savages in brutal beatings and hundreds of imprisonments, the timing couldn't have been better to show the world the hypocracies we are in today.
16 August 2011, 18:34
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@mowatan the most significant purchaser of the BS you sell is Barak Obama and the United States Government which is #1 when it comes to sitting idly by while this carnage goes on. And we all know that the US is guided in its policies toward the Middle East, first and foremost by the interests of the State of Israel.
So when we see that Saudi Arabia, the emirates of the GCC and other Arab States as well as Turkey has condemned the atrocities being conducted by the Assad Regime, but that the United States and by extension Israel and ironically Hezbollah and Iran all seem to support Assad, does this not clarify matters for you and all other Hezbolli? Do not curse the US anymore or Israel. You are fellow travelers and bedfellows with them in your support of the repression and atrocities being executed by their agent, the Assad Regime of Syria, against the Syrian people.
