Affrontement à الديرة Deraa, اللاذقية Lattaquié, حمص Homs, دير الزور Deir ez-Zor et دوما Douma (دمشق Damas) : au moins 17 morts – 12 août 2011

Syrian troops kill at least 17 protesters

irishtimes.com

Saturday, August 13, 2011

MICHAEL JANSEN

SYRIAN TROOPS yesterday fired tear gas and live rounds at protesters in half a dozen cities across the country, killing at least 17, opposition activists reported.

While numbers of participants seem to have fallen off due to military action, rallies were said to have taken place in restive Deraa, the port of Latakia, Homs, the eastern tribal city of Deir al-Zor and the Damascus suburb of Douma, where the official news agency reported two policemen were killed.

The slogan proposed for the occasion by Syrian Revolution 2011 – a website run by a Muslim Brotherhood member – was “We bow to nobody but God!” The most popular chant appeared to be “We want an end to the regime,” which was adopted by Egyptians during their uprising.

The use of firepower by the government followed a week of international pressure to halt violence and enact reforms demanded by the populace. Among the visitors to Damascus urging restraint were Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu and the deputy foreign ministers of India, Brazil and South Africa.

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton called on states with economic ties to Syria to ratchet up sanctions to force President Bashar al-Assad to halt military operations against protests. After revisiting the US view that he has lost legitimacy, she asked Moscow to cease arms sales to Syria and called on other capitals to take action. Read more…