Syria protests

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Syrian Forces Go House to House, Arresting Hundreds

Protests continue despite crackdown

(Newser) - Syrian security forces went from house to house today, rounding up hundreds of people in an attempt to quell the pro-democracy unrest stirring across the country, human rights activists tell Reuters . "They are continuing their arrest operation in all the cities of Syria. They have lists and they are...

Syria Forces Shell Restive Daraa

Tank fire reported in contested town

(Newser) - Syrian army tanks today shelled the old quarter of Daraa, a city at the heart of the country's six-week-old uprising and rolled in more reinforcements to the area, which has been under siege for nearly a week, said an eyewitness. Residents have remained defiant: Unable to leave their homes,...

Syrian Troops Retake Mosque
 Syrian Troops 
 Retake Mosque 

Syrian Troops Retake Mosque

Violence continues in Daraa after US penalties

(Newser) - Syrian army troops backed by tanks and helicopters today took a prominent mosque that had been controlled by residents in a besieged southern city, killing four people, a witness said. The operation in Daraa came a day after President Bashar Assad unleashed deadly force to crack down on a months-old...

Syrian Forces Again Open Fire; 42 Protesters Dead

Government troops try to quell uprest in Daraa, Damascus

(Newser) - Security forces opened fire today on demonstrators trying to break an army blockade on the southern city of Daraa, while thousands of others across Syria defied a protest ban and denounced President Bashar Assad's harsh crackdown on a six-week uprising. At least 42 people were killed, including 15 in...

US to Freeze Syrian Assets, Impose Sanctions

Europe also considering action

(Newser) - With the bloodshed mounting in the streets of Daraa , the Obama administration is preparing sanctions against Syria, including freezing the assets of top Syrian officials, the LA Times reports. That may not have a ton of impact, since Syrian officials don’t own all that many US assets to begin...

White House Blasts Syrian Government

Defends protesters; threatens 'targeted sanctions'

(Newser) - The National Security Council has condemned the “brutal violence” launched by Syria’s government against protesters, NPR reports. The crackdown is “completely deplorable and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms,” said an official statement. In response, “the United States is pursuing a range of...

Syria Closes Border With Jordan, Tanks Roll Into Daraa
 Syrian Tanks Roll Into Daraa 

Syrian Tanks Roll Into Daraa

Government closes border with Jordan, attacks civilians

(Newser) - Syria closed off its border with Jordan today as troops and tanks poured into the border city of Daraa—the original hotbed of the protests that have erupted across the country. Bodies were seen strewn throughout the streets of the city, witnesses tell Reuters , with one human rights campaigner accusing...

Syria Protests: Forces Fire on Funerals, Kill at Least 3
 Syria's Two-Day 
 Death Toll Rises to 120 
UPDATED

Syria's Two-Day Death Toll Rises to 120

Two lawmakers resign over government force

(Newser) - The death toll from two days of violence in Syria reached 120 today as security forces fired on tens of thousands of mourners who shouted for the regime's downfall during funeral processions, a human rights group said. Ammar Qurabi, the head of Syria's National Organization for Human Rights,...

75 Protesters Dead; Syria Fears Worse Tomorrow

Violence could escalate after so many funerals

(Newser) - Most wire accounts are putting the day's death toll among protesters in Syria at about 75, making it what al-Jazeera calls the"deadliest day" yet in the nation's unrest. President Obama condemned the "outrageous use of violence" by the government of Bashar al-Assad, notes the BBC , and...

Syrian Police Open Fire on Protesters

 Syrian Police Open 
 Fire on Protesters 
at least 49 dead

Syrian Police Open Fire on Protesters

At least 27 dead, witnesses and human rights groups say

(Newser) - Syrian security forces fired tear gas and live bullets into crowds of protesters at rallies across the country today. At least 49 people were killed, according to human rights groups, and witnesses tell the AP that one of them was an 11-year-old boy. The state-run news agency reports that officers...

Syria Protesters Take Over City Square

 Syria Forces Fire on 
 City Square 
UPDATED

Syria Forces Fire on City Square

Protesters vowed not to leave until government is brought down

(Newser) - Security forces opened fire with live ammunition and tear gas on hundreds of anti-government demonstrators in a major square in Homs today, killing at least one, witnesses said. "They shot at everything, there was smoke everywhere," an activist told the AP by phone. "I saw people on...

WikiLeaks Diplomatic Cables: US State Department Secretly Funded Syria Opposition
 US Secretly Funded 
 Syrian Opposition 
wikileaks reveal

US Secretly Funded Syrian Opposition

Diplomatic cables show $6M went to one group

(Newser) - Newly released diplomatic cables show that the US State Department has secretly funded opposition groups in Syria, as well as a London-based satellite TV channel that offers anti-government programming. The cables, released by WikiLeaks, show that the State Department has given as much as $6 million since 2006 to the...

In Libya, Moammar Gadhafi's Forces Mount New Offensive on Ajdabiya; Meanwhile, 3 Killed in Syria
Gadhafi Forces Mount New Offensive on Ajdabiya
plus: 3 killed in syria

Gadhafi Forces Mount New Offensive on Ajdabiya

'We don't really know who is holding what': rebel fighter

(Newser) - Moammar Gadhafi's forces shelled the eastern edge of Ajdabiya today, bringing the fight to the front-line rebel town that has been the scene of fierce fighting in recent weeks. Rebel forces fired back with rockets and no government forces entered the city, said a rebel fighter. Rebels acknowledged the...

Big Syria Concession: Emergency Law Being Lifted

It's been a main demand of protesters

(Newser) - Syria's president said today the emergency laws that have been in effect for nearly 50 years will be lifted—a key demand by a monthlong protest movement that has posed the most serious challenge yet to the regime. The big question: Whether it will appease protesters or encourage them...

Secret Hand in Syria Crackdown: Iran

And it may soon help protesters in Bahrain, Yemen

(Newser) - Iran has a hand in the revolutions currently sweeping the rest of the Arab world. In Syria, Iran is secretly assisting President Bashar al-Assad to quell the pro-democracy demonstrations, US officials say. But in Bahrain and Yemen, Iran is looking to aid Shiite protesters, thus destabilizing the countries—both US...

Hosni Mubarak Denies Corruption; Protesters Killed in Egypt, Yemen, Syria

 Mubarak: 
 I Am Not 
 Corrupt 
more protesters killed

Mubarak: I Am Not Corrupt

As former president speaks out, more protesters are killed

(Newser) - Hosni Mubarak today gave his first public message since being ousted from the Egyptian presidency, defending himself and his family against “unjust” allegations of corruption. He agreed to cooperate with Egypt’s general prosecutor during the corruption investigation, but called the campaign against him “distortions, lies, and incitement,...

13 Protesters Killed in Syria, 2 in Yemen

Thousands also protest in Egypt's Tahrir Square

(Newser) - Friday continues to be a day of protest throughout the Arab world. The worst reported violence today came out of Syria, where witnesses say security forces opened fire with live ammunition and killed at least 13 protesters in the southern city of Daraa, reports the AP . The demonstrations mark the...

Syria Taps New PM, Will Form New Gov't

Adel Safar is Bashar Assad's latest attempt to quell protests

(Newser) - Syrian President Bashar Assad appointed former agriculture minister Adel Safar today as prime minister, and charged him with forming a new government in continuing overtures toward reform as the country struggles to put down a wave of anti-government protests. Safar is seen as a respectable figure in a government that...

Syria's Cabinet Resigns Amid Unrest

President Bashar Assad expected to lift emergency law

(Newser) - Syria's Cabinet has stepped down, and President Bashar Assad accepted the resignation following a meeting today, according to state-run television. It's the latest concession by the government aimed at appeasing more than a week of mass protests. Assad is expected to address the nation in the next 24 hours to...

Syria Protests: Two Journalists Missing; Two US Citizens Detained; Security Forces Fire on Protesters
 Syria Frees Reuters Journalists 
UPDATED

Syria Frees Reuters Journalists

Plus: US citizens detained; security forces fire on protesters

(Newser) - Two journalist who went missing in Syria Saturday night have been released by Syrian authorities. The Beirut-based producer and cameraman work for Reuters television and traveled to Syria Thursday to cover the ongoing protests. An official says they were detained because they were filming "in an area where filming...

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