45 Syrian Protesters Killed by Army Soldiers in Various Syrian Cities, February 1, 20145 Syrian Protesters Killed by Army Soldiers in Various Syrian Cities, February 1, 2012

45 Syrian Protesters Killed by Army Soldiers in Various Syrian Cities

February 1, 2012

11 gunmen killed in clashes with Syrian gov't troops

DAMASCUS, Feb. 1, 2012 (Xinhua) --

Clashes between the Syrian army and "armed rebel groups" on Wednesday in the southern province of Dara'a left 11 "rebels" killed and two others injured, state- run SANA news agency reported.

The clashes erupted when the group ambushed a bus carrying food supply to one of the military units at the suburbs of Dara'a, said SANA, adding that the clashes also led to the killing of a sergeant and the wounding of two others.

About 13 Russia-made guns, a BKC gun and some sniper rifles were seized from the group.

Separately, the specialized authorities arrested Wednesday an " armed terrorist" group in Damascus' suburb of Arbeen, according to SANA.

Three field hospitals and a drugs store of the group were found in the area, it said, adding that a large quantity of weapons and explosives were seized.

A first lieutenant was wounded during the raid on the gunmen's hideouts, and a number of terrorists were captured, according to SANA.

In the Damascus suburb of Saqba, the authorities discovered a factory used by armed terrorist groups to prepare explosives, SANA said.

On the opposition side, the Local Coordination Committees, an activist group, said that a total of 45 people were killed across Syria on Tuesday.

The report could not be independently verified.

The Syrian government said more than 2,000 army and security personnel have been killed during the months-long unrest, while the United Nations put the death toll in the country at more than 5,400.

Fierce fighting continues around Damascus

BEIJING, Jan. 31, 2012 (Xinhuanet) --

Syria continues to be plagued by fierce fighting. Government troops have pushed back rebel forces from suburbs on the outskirts of Damascus, and shelled the restive city of Homs.

An amateur video showed plumes of smoke rising from several districts in the capital, amid the sound of heavy gunfire. Activists reported at least dozens of civilian deaths on Monday. The central city of Homs also came under heavy shelling by government troops.

While state media reported that an "armed terrorist group" blew up a gas pipeline, which carries gas from Homs to an area near the border with Lebanon.

Syrian president Bashar Assad’s government’s intensified assault against opposition forces comes as the West pushes for a UN resolution demanding a halt to the violence.

Over the past three days, government forces have been fighting to take back a string of suburbs on the eastern edge of Damascus, where army defectors who joined the opposition had seized control.

(Source: CNTV.cn

Pressure mounts on Russia to end Syria stalemate at UN

By Lucy FIELDER (video) News Wires (text)

France 24, Date created : 01/02/2012

REUTERS -

Russia signalled on Wednesday it would veto a draft U.N. resolution calling on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down unless it explicitly ruled out military intervention in the bloodshed touched off by protests against his rule.

Escalating violence in Syria has killed thousands of people and activists say Assad’s forces have stepped up operations against opposition strongholds across the country this week, from the Damascus suburbs to the cities of Hama and Homs and the border provinces of Deraa and Idlib.

Arab and Western states urged the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday to act swiftly on a resolution calling for Assad to delegate powers to his deputy and defuse the 11-month-old uprising against his family’s dynastic rule.

But Moscow’s envoy to the European Union, Vladimir Chizhov, said there was no chance the Western-Arab draft text could be accepted unless it precisely rejected armed intervention.

The draft “is missing the most important thing: a clear clause ruling out the possibility that the resolution could be used to justify military intervention in Syrian affairs from outside. For this reason I see no chance this draft could be adopted,” said Chizhov, Russia’s envoy to the European Union.

Russia and China, both veto-wielding Security Council members, have resisted a Western push for a resolution condemning the Syrian government’s crackdown on unrest.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the resolution could not be used to authorise military intervention and his French counterpart Alain Juppe said such an idea was a myth.

But Chizhov’s remarks suggested Moscow, a close strategic ally and important arms supplier to Syria during its 42 years in the grip of the Assad family, would not accept such assurances.

Russia says the West exploited fuzzy wording in a March 2011 U.N. Security Council resolution on Libya to turn a mandate to protect civilians in the North African country’s popular uprising into a push for regime change - backed by NATO air strikes - that led to the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.

"Concrete economic pressure"

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim, who has led the Arab League’s efforts to tackle the Syrian crisis, attempted to allay Moscow and Beijing’s objections, saying it was trying to avoid a Libyan-style foreign role.

“We are not calling for foreign intervention,” he said. “We are advocating the exertion of concrete economic pressure so that the Syrian regime might realise that it is imperative to meet the demands of its people”.

But he also warned the 15-member Security Council that Syria’s “killing machine is still at work”.

Syrian insurgents said Assad’s forces extended a military sweep overnight around Damascus to counter a rebel threat that had reached the gates of the sprawling capital.

A statement by a local rebel group in Damascus province said more troops and armour were moving into eastern suburbs and in the mountainous Qalamoun area north of Damascus, which Assad’s forces took over this week.

There were army snipers in the suburb of Misraba, which has had no electricity or water for a week. Activists reported shops closed, a lack of basic supplies, and tanks in the streets.

North of Damascus, armoured troops controlled the town of Rankous and began extending their control into farmland surrounding it, bombarding the village of Telfita overnight, according to opposition activists.

In the Wadi Barada area on the edge of the capital, four people were killed in a tank bombardment on Wednesday morning to flush out rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) units operating near the capital, activists said.

It was not possible to verify the reports as Syria restricts access for independent media.

“The Free Syrian Army has withdrawn but will be back,” said Fawaz Tello, a Syrian opposition figure who left for Cairo a few days ago. “The crackdown will only swell its ranks of professional soldiers (and) conscripts.”

Call for action

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby called on the U.N. Security Council to take “rapid and decisive action” by approving the resolution.

“Do not let the Syrian people down in its plight,” he said.

The United States strongly endorsed the appeal from the Arab League and Qatar for “rapid and decisive action”, but China reiterated its reservations.

“China is firmly opposed to the use of force to solve the Syrian problem and resolutely opposes pushing for forced regime change in Syria, as it violates the United Nations Charter and the basic norms guiding the practice of international relations,” Xinhua news agency quoted Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations Li Baodong as telling the Security Council.

Syrian U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari rejected the suggestion his government was responsible for the crisis, and accused Western powers of dreaming of “the return of colonialism and hegemony” in the Middle East.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the policy of isolation and seeking regime change risked igniting a “much bigger drama” in the Middle East.

“The people who are obsessed with removing regimes in the region, they should be really thinking about the broader picture. And I’m afraid that if this vigour to change regimes persists, we are going to witness a very bad situation much, much, much broader than just Syria, Libya, Egypt or any other single country.”

SYRIA Clinton urges support for UN resolution on Syria

SYRIA Western powers press Russia on Syria resolution

SYRIA Syrian troops retake control of Damascus suburbs

Free Syrian Army turns to urban guerilla tactics

France 24, 01/02/2012 / SYRIA

Protesters showed off the opposition's flag after the Free Syrian Army reportedly won a battle against the regular army.

As the UN Security Council weighs possible action against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the situation on the ground is becoming increasingly violent. The Syrian Free Army, an armed group comprised mostly of military deserters, has stepped up its campaign against Assad’s forces, engaging in urban guerrilla warfare.

After more than ten months of a deadly crackdown on anti-government protests in Syria, members of the Free Syrian Army – out-armed and out-numbered by Syrian military forces - are now engaging in a classic military manoeuvre by drawing their enemy into urban areas they know well. In neighbourhoods where the population is on their side, fighting in the streets works to their advantage, as they can easily hide inside homes. FRANCE 24 has tried to reach the Syrian embassy in Paris for comment, but did not receive a response by the time of going to press.

This video shows a shootout between fighter from the Free Syrian Army and soldiers from the regular army. Contributors

“The Free Syrian Army lured the soldiers into neighbourhoods they were more familiar with”
Abou Said is a spokesperson for the revolutionary council in Erbin, just seven kilometres outside of Damascus. Sounds of fighting could be heard throughout Sunday night. At six in the morning, we could hear gunshots ringing out in the streets as surveillance planes crisscrossed the sky.

That day, the Syrian army attempted to enter the town from two separate positions in the east, forcing the people who lived nearby to flee. As they attacked, the Free Syrian Army tried to lure the soldiers into neighbourhoods they were more familiar with, where they had studied the landscape. They had picked out areas such as the Afran district, where the streets are very narrow and twisty.

A number of soldiers from Ebrin’s Free Army are originally from this neighbourhood. They left the military because they refused to turn their weapons against their own people. The clashes ended with the regular army in retreat, although they continue to bombard us.”

“The Free Army has the advantage in street battles because they have the support of the local population”

Rami H. is an activist for the Syrian Revolution General Commission in the flashpoint city of Homs. The Free Syrian Army carried out an operation yesterday in the neighbourhood of Bab Drib in Homs to retake a dispensary being used by the regular army as a military barrack.

Assad’s forces had set up a checkpoint there in June. Shells would be fired from there regularly into the nearby Karm Al Zeitoun neighbourhood, where there have been several victims over the last few days.

The Bab Drib dispensary attack was an act of retaliation against the regular army. “The reason the regular army has been able to hold out against the Free Syrian Army is they use snipers” I saw four Free Army vehicles, carrying about four or five soldiers each, driving in the direction of the dispensary. They were armed with rocket propelled grenades, machine guns and Russian rifles. They had been planning the attack for the past two days.

Some soldiers patrolled the checkpoint while others who support our cause from within the regular army also helped out. The Free Army has the advantage in street battles because they have the support of the local population. They can dash in and out of streets, and easily hide.

In contrast, soldiers from the regular army move around in tanks and armoured vehicles. The reason they’ve been able to hold out against the Free Army is they use snipers.”

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