Bodies killed by government military shelling are lined up in the city of Douma 

Syria death toll spirals: 170 killed in one day

By REUTERS

06/29/2012 14:03

Activists say more than 50 of those killed died in Douma in one of the deadliest days in Syria's 16-month uprising.

http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=275732

BEIRUT - Syrians in the besieged city of Douma wrapped mangled and bloodied corpses in white burial shrouds early on Friday, according to video posted online, after 190 people were killed in one of the deadliest days of Syria's 16-month-old uprising.

Activists said more than 50 of those killed on Thursday died in Douma, about 15 km (9 miles) outside the capital Damascus.

Video published onYouTube showed rows of shrouded bodies lining what activists said was a street in Douma. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 41 people had died in the city, while other activists placed the toll at 59 or higher.

"Douma, the morning of June 29, 2012. This is the massacre committed against the people of Douma. God is our savior. Two whole families are here (among the dead) ... God help us," said the man filming the scene.

One man held up the limp body of a girl, her pink blouse drenched in blood.

"This is another massacre of the massacres by Assad and his secret police," he said. "This is another massacre of the massacres by the international community, of all the great nations that have conspired against our people."

Douma has been under siege for weeks by security forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Activists say rockets have been raining down on the city for days amid heavy fighting between rebels and government forces. Video showed homes whose roofs had caved in and clouds of dust rising from crumbling buildings.

An activist called Mohammed Doumany told Reuters by Skype that 22 people from a single family had been killed.

"Dozens of the victims are still waiting to be buried, as cities continue to be under fire," said a statement from activists posted online. Many of the injured were in critical condition.

Syria's revolt has grown bloodier in recent weeks.

Rebels, apparently getting access to heavier weapons that can be used against tanks, have inflicted higher losses on Assad's forces.

The army has also intensified its onslaught, using helicopter gunships to attack rebels and laying siege to rebellious towns.

Opposition activists accuse the international community of inaction. Diplomacy has failed to produce an agreement between Western powers, who favor the opposition, and Russia, which has used its veto power at the United Nations Security Council to block Western and Sunni Arab moves to drive Assad from power.

Syria carnage persists on eve of Geneva meet

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Jun-30/178851-syria-carnage-persists-on-eve-of-geneva-meet.ashx - axzz1zE99d6nw

BEIRUT: Syrian troops bombarded a rebellious suburb of the capital with tank and artillery shells Friday, killing dozens of people during two bloody days across the country which saw over 190 people killed, activists said.

The violence is part of a fierce government offensive aimed at regaining control of parts of Damascus suburbs where rebels operate and came on the eve of a major meeting of world powers in Geneva Saturday to try to hash out a political transition plan for Syria.

It’s difficult to get an accurate death toll in tightly controlled Syria, where journalists and human rights groups are either banned or severely restricted. But two opposition groups that compile and document casualties reported the death of more than 125 civilians in fighting across the country Thursday alone.

Death tolls take several days to compile due to communication difficulties.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Thursday’s toll included more than 60 soldiers. If confirmed, it would be one of the highest death tolls on a single day since the start of the uprising against President Bashar Assad in March 2011.

Activists said at least 43 were killed in more than two days of shelling in the Damascus suburb of Douma, which has been a hotbed of dissent and has put up strong resistance to the Assad regime. The dead included three children and five members of a single family.

A local activist who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons said the shelling had been “relentless’’ throughout Thursday, and exploding shells had killed people in their homes.

“They [government troops] are trying to bring Douma under control, but they are being met by fierce resistance,’’ said Rami Abdul-Rahman, the observatory director. He said most of the dead were civilians.

The Local Coordination Committees network said 59 people had been killed in Thursday’s shelling of Damascus suburbs, most of them in Douma. The difference in tolls could not be reconciled.

The state-run SANA news agency said troops continue to pursue “terrorist groups’’ in Douma, raiding their hideouts and destroying their communications and other equipment.

Amateur videos posted by activists online showed bloodied bodies lying on blankets in a room and others shrouded in white sheets and placed on stretchers. “A new massacre by Bashar Assad,’’ cried a man holding a dead girl in a pink blouse, a large gash on her face.

The Syrian General Revolution Commission Friday reported 25 people killed, most of them in central Homs.

Overnight Thursday, Syrian rebel sources in Turkey’s Hatay region said Assad’s helicopters attacked Saraqeb, a strategic town in northern Idlib, but kept away from the area directly along the Turkish border in the rural regions of Idlib and Aleppo provinces. Turkey has deployed missile batteries along the border region following Syria’s shooting down of a Turkish warplane a week ago, which has sharply raised tensions between the two nations.

General Mustafa al-Sheikh, head of the Higher Military Council, a grouping of senior officers who defected from Assad’s forces, said around 170 Syrian tanks had assembled at an infantry school near the village of Musalmieh northeast of the city of Aleppo, just 30 km from the Turkish border.

“They’re either preparing to move to the border to counter the Turkish deployment or attack the rebellious [Syrian] towns and villages in and around the border zone north of Aleppo,’’ Sheikh told Reuters by telephone from the border.

Omar Abdullah, an activist in Idlib coordinating with the Free Syrian Army, said: “After taking hits in rural Aleppo and Idlib, the army is regrouping ... There is speculation that these forces intend to ring Aleppo, starting July 1.’’

Their claims could not be independently verified.

Much of the violence that has gripped Syria has been sanctioned by the government to crush dissent. But rebel fighters are launching increasingly deadly attacks on regime targets. A bomb blast rocked central Damascus Thursday near a busy market and the country’s main justice complex, wounding at least three people and sending a cloud of black smoke into the air.

The latest carnage came as world powers show new urgency to resolve the crisis, which so far has resisted international efforts.

A ministerial meeting of world powers aimed at salvaging a failed peace plan brokered by international envoy Kofi Annan will go ahead Saturday in Geneva, the former U.N. chief’s spokesman said, despite deep differences between world powers over a proposal for political transition in the country.

Annan expressed optimism ahead of the meeting of representatives from the U.S., Russia, Britain, China, France, Iraq, Qatar, Turkey and Kuwait, but diplomatic signals emerging Friday were less than positive.

Annan’s plan, obtained by AFP, said an interim government could include Assad officials and the opposition “but would exclude ... those whose continued presence and participation would undermine the credibility of the transition and jeopardize stability and reconciliation.’’

But Russia proposed changes Thursday, despite initially supporting it, objecting to a proposal that could limit membership of the transitional government in Syria, diplomats said.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Thursday said Assad’s fate “must be decided within the framework of a Syrian dialogue by the Syrian people themselves.’’

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rejected any suggestion that Annan was proposing a transition imposed from outside, saying Thursday that Annan’s transition document “is a Syrian-led transition, but you have to have a transition that complies with international standards on human rights, accountable governance, the rule of law.’’

Following preparatory meetings between Clinton and Lavrov in St. Petersburg late Friday, Lavrov told reporters there was a chance that world powers would find common ground on how to resolve the conflict in Syria at talks Saturday, but warned that it would be counterproductive to try to impose the outcome of the political transition process in advance.

“We have a very good chance to find common ground at the conference in Geneva tomorrow,’’ Lavrov said.

One Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Russian delegation pressed its own proposed amendments to Annan’s text during the talks.

“The Russians are being difficult. We’re still hoping for a positive outcome from the meeting tomorrow.’’

Russian diplomats told Reuters after the meeting that Moscow could not agree to a political solution imposed on Syri

Syria shelling kills dozens in rebel town

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/06/29/syria-shelling-kills-dozens-in-rebel-town/

BEIRUT –  Government troops rained tank and artillery shells down on a rebellious suburb of the Syrian capital of Damascus Friday, killing at least 43 people over two days, opposition groups and activists said.

The barrage is part of a fierce government offensive aimed at regaining control of parts of Damascus suburbs where rebels operate, particularly Douma, a sprawling suburb that has been a hotbed of dissent against President Bashar Assad's regime.

A local activist who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons said the shelling was "relentless" throughout Thursday, and exploding shells killed people in their homes.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 41 people died in all-day shelling of Douma Thursday, including three children and five members of a single family. At least two more were killed Friday morning.

"They (government troops) are trying to bring Douma under control, but they are being met by fierce resistance," said Rami Abdul-Rahman, the group's director. He said most of the dead were civilians.

The Local Coordination Committees network said 59 people were killed in Thursday's shelling of Damascus suburbs, most of them in Douma. The difference in tolls illustrated the difficulty of verifying information coming out of tightly controlled Syria, where journalists and human rights groups are either banned or severely restricted.

Amateur videos posted by activists online showed bloodied bodies lying on blankets in a room and others shrouded in white sheets and placed on stretchers. "A new massacre by Bashar Assad," cried a man holding a dead girl in a pink blouse, a large gash on her face.

The violence around the capital's suburbs mirrored fighting across many parts of Syria that killed dozens of other people Thursday, according to the groups.

Activists say more than 14,000 people have been killed since the uprising began in March 2011.

Much of the violence that has gripped Syria has been sanctioned by the government to crush dissent. But rebel fighters are launching increasingly deadly attacks on regime targets, and several huge suicide bombings this year suggest al-Qaida or other extremists are joining the battle. A bomb blast rocked central Damascus on Thursday near a busy market and the country's main justice complex, wounding at least three people and sending a cloud of black smoke into the air.

The latest carnage came as world powers show new urgency to resolve the crisis, which so far has resisted international efforts.

World powers will meet Saturday in Geneva for talks on Syria, but few observers expect a breakthrough. Syria has the protection of Russia, a veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council, and has so far been impervious to international pressure.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow will not endorse a call on Assad to give up power.

"We are not supporting and will not support any external meddling," he said. "External players must not dictate ... to Syrians, but, first of all, must commit to influencing all the sides in Syria to stop the violence."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday it was "very clear" that all the participants at the Geneva meeting -- including Russia -- are on board with a transition plan created by international envoy Kofi Annan. His plan calls for the formation of a national unity government that would oversee the drafting of a new constitution and elections.

Clinton told reporters that the invitations to Saturday's meeting in Geneva made clear that representatives "were coming on the basis of (Annan's) transition plan."

Lavrov said it was "obvious that a transitional period is needed to overcome the Syrian crisis," but insisted the major powers in Geneva must focus on convincing the opposition groups to soften their demands.

Diplomatic hopes have rested on Russia to agree to a plan that would end the Assad family dynasty, which has ruled Syria for more than four decades. Russia is Syria's most important ally, protector and supplier of arms.

There are few options besides keeping up diplomatic pressure, as an international military intervention is all but ruled out in the near future. Few countries are willing to get deeply involved in such an explosive conflict, and Russia and China have pledged to veto any international attempt to intervene militarily.