Violence has continued in the major protest city of Homs today. Syrian opposition factions claim 100 civilians were killed in an offensive that the Syrian state media describes as targeting “armed terrorist groups.”
Elsewhere in the country, a new offensive has been launched in the far southern city of Daraa. The opposition termed it an “onslaught” on the scale of Homs, though indications are that it is targeting growing defections to the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
The latest upswing in violence comes as Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan heads to Russia to speak with President Dmitry Medvedev. Erdogan has been calling for international intervention against Syria, while Russia has been opposing such intervention and trying to negotiate a settlement.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed the reports of massive civilian casualties in Homs, saying there was no evidence of civilians being targeted by artillery fire. Since the Arab League has withdrawn all monitors from the nation, such evidence would indeed prove elusive.
>>Syrian opposition factions claim 100 civilians were killed in an offensive that the Syrian state media describes as targeting “armed terrorist groups.”
The author chose to inclose "armed terrorist groups" in scare quotes, but not "civilians".
Why is that?
maybe to showcase his prejudice.
Ditz seems to take an ambivalent line on Syria, and does not include any contextual details or points of view from the Syrian government. After all there is plenty of evidence that shady armed groups (finaced and armed by?) are attacking civilians and government forces, but this is missed out even by Antiwar. In this way he and Antiwar seem to tacitly line themselves up with the interventionists, rather than taking an anti-imperialist line. Falling for the propaganda of the yellow press and taking a muddled position on western "humanitarian" intervention disarms any effective opposition to Empire. Any intervention in Syria will be the prelude to an Israeli attack on Iran with god knows what consequences. Israel is keen to have iots northern neighbour taken out, and that is what its all about, so forget the crocodile tears. I have to credit Russia and China with their action – whatever their motives they are at least seeing how close to the precipice of WW3 we actually are.
I wonder if the Syrian attacks are any worse than the Israel forces used when they attacked Gaza in operation caste lead. I wonder why the news lacks the tears when it is the IDF shooting people on the golan heights who at best might climb a fence and walk in open space stolen in the 1967 war.
I would not believe a thing being reported from either side. What is happening is groups putting lipstick on but they are all still pigs in the end.
Homs bombardment are less worse than cast lead. But it has more vetos:
cast lead : 14-1-0
Homs : 13-0-2
y u no mention mortar attacks on refinery in Homs?
come on ditz, stop warmongering!
He, Jason becoming a democrat without a cause, like Kerry and or Liberman or Barbara Boxer and rest of them, one day he is on platform of whoever, the other day his on his own making all kind of disputed argument. Come on Jason be real and tell the world which side of the coin you believe in, you don't need to toss it, the side of the coin wont change while tossed on the air, it is your believe that counts.
From Pepe Escobar:
"So what's really happening on the ground in Homs? Here are sections from a crucial e-mail sent by a trusted Syrian Christian source:
Many Syrians are ecstatic about the double veto but Homs is very worrying. The opposition spread news about a massacre just before the vote and they quoted numbers in the hundreds … unbelievably quoted by all news channels (all based on "activists") without any verification, only to bring the number down to something like 33 later. They never showed any bombing or taking people under rubble or any injured people … just clean-bodied men with their hands and feet tied up and shot mostly once and only in their underwear. Whatever the Syrian government has in its arsenal it seems there are very intelligent bombs that can strip and tie up people then shoot them in the head!!
…
What many believe now is that the bodies shown tied up and shot in Khalidiya and which are alleged to be "men, women and children" killed by a bombardment of the Syrian army were nothing but kidnapped Syrian soldiers. Add to them kidnapped Alawites who were not liberated (or actually exchanged). When the FSA kidnap some people, Alawites started to kidnap in return to exchange the prisoners. This doesn't always work and some people who weren't "exchanged for" turned up dead in Khalidiya"
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/NB07Ak02…
What do you think all those individuals being trained by the Brits' SAS in the north and ??? in the south are likely to do? Play by the Queensbury Rules?
The Syrian oppositions are armed thugs supported by Saudi King and Qatari Amir. Their claims are unsubatanciated and full of crap.