Video surfacing, events may move quickly this evening/week
The Assad regime may be near the long bloody end of its corrupt reign. Fighting between what’s left of government forces and a growing army of rebels has reportedly now broken out in the capital, Damascus:
Reuters — Activist Samir al-Shami, who spoke to Reuters by Skype from Damascus, said the fighting was under way in the al-Tadamon district in the capital’s south, after sustained battles began at nightfall on Saturday in the nearby Hajar al-Aswad district.
“There is the sound of heavy gunfire. And there is smoke rising from the area. There are already some wounded and residents are trying to flee the area,” he said, using Skype to show live video images of smoke visible over the skyline. “There are also armored vehicles heading towards the southern part of the neighborhood,” he said.
Another activist reached by Skype said the fighting later spread to al-Lawan, a neighborhood on the southwestern outskirts of the capital. A third activist, who also asked not to be identified, said: “We’ve been expecting things to worsen in Damascus after the army crushed the rebellions in some of the suburbs, like Douma outside the capital. There were thousands of fighters in some of those suburbs. Some of them were killed but a lot of them fled and they’ve been heading to the capital itself.”
Assad may soon join the list of Biggest Fucking Idiots on Earth. These are people so utterly moronic and deluded that they watched this same deal go down in nation after nation, always turning out the same way . Then, when it came to their country, instead of simply walking away a billionaire to a life of luxury and ease in the most beautiful and carefree places on earth, they chose to try to hang on to power anyway. Most of them paid for that bad decision with their lives. Assad may have time to avoid that fate, but it’s dwindling fast
Red Cross: Syria is now in civil war, humanitarian law applies.
As I understand it, this declaration puts the Geneva Conventions and a whole lot of international law into play. Actions that governments can take against their own people during normal times — like using tear gas and riot police — are now punishable as war crimes.
Assad’s regime is not long for this world.
Yeah, they’re toast, the question is do they know that, and how many more must needlessly die before it’s over.
It seems Assad would rather go the way of Muammar Gaddafi than Idi Amin.
The UN shamed itself over this country.
Kofi was ignored…as if they would listen to an ex-envoy anyway.
And kiddies died by the hundreds if not thousands.
Russia and China were and are a disgrace and one can almost hear the board rooms in the various international companies around echoing to barely suppressed exited hysteria and drooling from the contracts department.
Maybe I am cynical…the only true winners will be western shareholders and as for the folk of Syria…not much will change and if it does it will not be for the better.
I can’t think of a better case for unilateral military force to have been used by the West than the opportunity we had in Syria 12 months ago. Collective thumb twiddling by the UN is the safe option we settled for, much easier than fathering another political basketcase after the bombs have stopped dropping.