Syria Unrest

Just how long is the U.N. going to allow this to happen?  The government crackdown on protesters has been enough to proceed with charges for crimes against humanity.  By directly targeting mostly unarmed, peaceful protesters the Assad government has told the world that "we are not scared of you".  These dictators know that their days are numbered as they see it day in and day out all over the middle east, so why not go out in a blaze of glory?


After such deadly violence against the protesters and even children the government is claiming 120 police officers were slaughtered by protesters.  Of course there is no way to verify this because Syria will not allow reporters into the country and have been locking down as much internet as possible.  Could it have happened?  Sure but is could also be a ploy by the government to try to gain international support.  Either way I believe the right thing to do is to force the worlds will onto this regime and stop this slaughter once and for all.  I know the U.N. will have it's usual problems with China and Russia but something must happen and soon.  The retaliation for this "slaughter" will be huge and many, many people will die.  How long do we sit on the sidelines while innocent people are slaughtered?

Armed gangs murder 120 in border town: Syria

Liam Stack, Cairo

June 8, 2011

THE Syrian government has claimed that ''armed gangs'' slaughtered at least 120 police officers, security personnel and civilians in a town near its border with Turkey on Monday. It says it will act ''with force'' to restore control.

If true, the violence suggests a vicious shift in the uprising against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Many opposition figures and local residents, however, have disputed official reports of what happened in Jisr al-Shughur.

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Some said the violence was set off by the defection of soldiers sent to besiege the town on Saturday, after a number of them sought refuge, according to a statement released by an opposition group, Local Co-ordinating Committees in Syria.

State media described a ''massacre'' at the hands of unidentified gunmen and said residents were ''pleading'' for the army to intervene. But few details were provided and no images. Instead, an ever-higher estimate of fatalities scrolled across the bottom of Syrian television screens throughout the day, against a video backdrop of children frolicking in ponds and singing patriotic songs.

There have been sporadic armed clashes with opponents of the government during the Syrian revolt, although the protests in most Syrian cities have been peaceful.

Human rights groups have not ruled out the possibility of violent reprisals against troops by people who lived in Jisr al-Shughur, an area that has a history of support for the out- lawed Muslim Brotherhood.

Telephone and Internet service to the town was disrupted on Monday, but residents reached by phone described chaotic scenes of mass flight and street barricades.

''The army split; the confrontation is between them,'' Saeb Jamil, a local activist who said he was helping people flee to the nearby Turkish border, said. ''The army is confronting the army.'' It was unclear from residents' accounts if local people took part in the conflict. Camille Otrakji, a Damascus-born political blogger living in Montreal, said Syria was a tinderbox waiting for a spark.

''You can never control everybody on the streets. If you get people angry enough, the arms are there, and they're going to go for it,'' he said.

NEW YORK TIMES