Violent protests erupted in Syria

At least 24 reported killed in and around volatile Syrian town

By the CNN Wire Staff
March 25, 2011

(CNN) -- Violent protests erupted in Syria on Friday, with at least 24 people killed in and near the restive Syrian city of Daraa and a boy slain in the coastal town of Latakia, reports said.

Fifteen people who tried to march to Daraa have been killed, sources said, and nine people died when security forces fired on demonstrators in Daraa's main square, said Wissam Tarif, a human rights activist.

There were many casualties in Daraa, said Abdullah, who asked that his full name not be reported due to security concerns. He said he was an eyewitness to Friday's events in the city, which has been engulfed by deadly clashes in recent days between security forces and protesters.

"Thousands gathered and moved to the governor's building in Daraa, and there they burned a large picture of Bashar al-Assad, and then they toppled a statue of Hafez al-Assad in the center of the square," Abdullah said, referring to the current president and his late father, the former president.

"After that, armed men came out from the roof of the officers' club in front of the governor's office and started firing at the crowd," he said.

Aman al Aswad, an opposition activist, also told CNN about ongoing clashes with security forces in the central square. He said it appears that dozens of people have been killed or injured, but couldn't be precise on the totals.

CNN was unable to independently confirm the accounts as the Syrian government has yet to grant access to the network.

Earlier, anti-government rhetoric rang out across the town in an outpouring that drew more than 100,000 people, according to Kamal Aswad, a political activist in Daraa.

People decried recent government pronouncements for reforms and an assertion by government spokeswoman and adviser Bouthaina Shabaan that the country's president ordered "no live bullets" would be used against demonstrators.

One witness said the people chanted "Bouthaina we do not want your bread, we want dignity." He said an "overwhelming number" of protesters came out in support of "martyrs" in Daraa, people who were killed in recent clashes.

"The whole of the city was out in the street to bury the dead and demand that those responsible be tried for their crimes against the people of Daraa," the witness said. "We broke the barrier of fear today and the security forces could not touch us."

The witness said the security forces had withdrawn from the center of the city and didn't interfere with the demonstrations, which are stoked by a range of political and economic grievances.

The international community is concerned about the situation in Syria. The United Nations said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke by phone with President Assad.

Human Rights Watch, among other groups, said Thursday that around three dozen people were killed in clashes in a 48-hour period.

"Syria's security forces are showing the same cruel disregard for protesters' lives as their counterparts in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and Bahrain," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

"President Bashar al-Assad's talk about reforms doesn't mean anything when his security forces are mowing down people who want to talk about them."

The government announced a number of measures that apparently addressed protesters' demands. Among them are decrees to cut taxes and raise government workers' salaries by 1,500 Syrian pounds ($32.60 US) a month and pledges to provide more press freedoms, increased job opportunities and curbs on government corruption.

The government said it will form a committee "to contact and listen to citizens in Daraa."

It also said it would study lifting the country's emergency law and adopting new legislation that would license political parties.

Syria's emergency law has been in effect since 1963. It allows the government to make preventive arrests and override constitutional and penal code statutes. It also bars detainees who haven't been charged from filing court complaints or from having a lawyer present during interrogations.

There were pockets of smaller turnouts in Syria on Friday.

State TV showed what it said was pro-government demonstrations in Aleppo and Damascus. Video emerged of protests in Hama, where the government violently suppressed an uprising in 1982

Haytham Manna, a Syrian rights activist who lives in France and originally hails from Daraa, reported demonstrations in the cities of Raqqa, where there were reports of arrests and injuries, Latakia, and Homs.

Tarif said a 13-year old boy was killed in Latakia after he was beaten by security forces when they tried to break up a demonstration. The teen was from the neighboring village of Jabla.

Haitham Maleh, a Syrian human rights lawyer in Damascus, said demonstrators turned out in Deir Al-Zour and were roughed up in Damascus.

"Syria today is like a barrel of gunpowder, and may explode at any moment," Maleh said. "What is happening in Syria cannot be tolerated anymore. We have been subjected to oppression, domination and suppression by the security authorities and we have unemployment exceeding 30%, while 60% of us live below the poverty line."

Maleh's son, Iyas, said a legal group asked the International Criminal Court to investigate possible crimes against humanity committed by Syrian forces. The group is the Haitham Maleh Foundation for the Defense of Syrian Human Rights Defenders.

The court told CNN that because Syria is not a "state party to the Rome statute" that established the international body, it can't take action on allegations of crimes in Syria. There are two exceptions however. One would be if the Syrian authorities accepted the jurisdiction of the court, and the other would be if the U.N. Security Council referred the situation to the court.

But Iyas Maleh is hoping that the Security Council will take action.

"If not, then I guess we will have to wait until there is a recognized Syrian transitional government who can sign the Rome statute."

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz, Saad Abedine, Mustafa Al-Arab, Christine Theodorou, and Joe Sterling contributed to this report.

Syria unrest

Protests in Deraa, Damascus and Hama

25 March 2011 Last updated at 15:40 GMT

Gunfire has been heard during a fresh protest march in the Syrian city of Deraa, reports say.

Clashes erupted in Damascus and other cities

The marchers had attended funerals for some of the 25 protesters shot dead on Wednesday by security forces.

Demonstrations were also reported in the capital, Damascus, where there were some arrests, and in the towns of Hama and Tall.

Opposition activists had called for nationwide protests after Friday prayers, following a week of unrest.

The city of Deraa, south of Damascus, has become the centre of a serious challenge to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Some of the protesters started a fire under a bronze statue of his father, the late President Hafez al-Assad, witnesses reported.

More than 40 people are thought to have been killed in the town in a week of protests, although it has been hard to verify the accounts.

Unconfirmed reports on Friday said another group of protesters trying to reach Deraa were killed in a nearby village when security forces opened fire.

A human rights activist told AFP news agency the deaths occured in Salamen village. A witness told al-Jazeera television channel at least 20 had died.

Analysis Lina Sinjab BBC News, Damascus Thousands of protesters are marching in Deraa chanting for freedom. They are criticising a presidential adviser who said they were protesting because they were hungry. "Deraa people are not hungry, we want freedom," they are saying. In Damascus, one demonstration was broken up by security forces. Many people were arrested. Another protest reported by an eyewitness took place around al-Rifai mosque in central Damascus, but it was hard to independently verify it. "There were hundreds of us who marched after prayers, but we were surrounded and attacked by security forces," the eyewitness told the BBC. Earlier, we tried to visit Deraa but we were stopped by security forces and sent back to Damascus.

In Damascus, hundreds marched on King Faisal Street chanting: "Peaceful, Peaceful, God, Syria, Freedom".

This protest was broken up by security forces and many were arrested, reports say.

Another protest reported to the BBC by an eyewitness took place around al-Rifai near Qasar Sousah Square.

Supporters of Mr Assad were also staging protests in the capital, and clashes erupted between the two sides.

In Hama, hundreds of people were said to have gathered on the city streets to chant "freedom".

In 1982, the Syrian army put down an uprising led by the Muslim Brotherhood in Hama. Rights groups believe that tens of thousands of civilians were killed when large parts of the city were destroyed in the military assault.

In Tall, witnesses quoted by the Reuters news agency said about 1,000 people had rallied to show their support for the Deraa protesters, and were chanting slogans denouncing members of the ruling Assad family.
Changes promised

On Thursday, the Syrian government said it would consider political reforms, including the possible ending of emergency laws introduced in 1963.

The government also said it would put on trial those suspected of killing several protesters in Deraa.

Mr Assad later ordered the release of everyone arrested during the "recent events", state media said.

Presidential spokeswoman Bouthaina Shaaban blamed outside agitators for whipping up trouble, and denied that the government had ordered security forces to open fire on protesters.

But she said this "did not mean mistakes had not been made".

NATO takes control of enforcing Libya no-fly zone

AFP March 25, 2011

TRIPOLI (AFP) - NATO has agreed to take control of enforcing a no-fly zone in Libya to thwart the forces of leader Moamer Kadhafi, as coalition air strikes targeted Tripoli for the sixth straight day.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Thursday that after lengthy negotiations the 28-member alliance reached a deal to enforce the no-fly zone.

"We are taking action as part of a broad international effort to protect civilians against the Kadhafi regime," he said.

Rasmussen said the NATO operation was limited to enforcing the no-fly zone, but a senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity later in Washington, said that NATO reached a "political agreement" to also command all other operations aimed at protecting civilians -- meaning strikes against Kadhafi's ground forces. Related article:NATO blocks 'front door' for arms smugglers into Libya

The news came as anti-aircraft fire raked the Tripoli skies late Thursday, with at least three explosions shaking the capital and its eastern suburb of Tajura, AFP journalists reported.

At least one blast was heard from the centre of the city, while others came from Tajura, home to military bases, an AFP journalist reported.

Libyan state television said that "civilian and military sites in Tripoli and Tajura" had come under fire from "long-range missiles."

Fighting also raged in rebel-held Misrata, some 214 kilometres (132 miles) east of Tripoli. A doctor treating the wounded at a hospital said attacks by Kadhafi forces since March 18 "have killed 109 people and wounded 1,300 others, 81 of whom are in serious condition."

Relentless British, French and US air strikes since Saturday have been targeting Kadhafi's air defenses in a bid to protect civilians under the terms of a UN resolution.

The strikes also provide cover for a rag-tag band of rebels seeking to oust Kadhafi after more than four decades in power, but who are disorganized and out-gunned by pro-regime forces.

A Kadhafi fighter plane that dared to flout the no-fly zone was swiftly punished Thursday when a French fighter destroyed the jet after it landed in the city of Misrata east of Tripoli, the French military said.

Washington, meanwhile, urged the Libyan military to ignore Kadhafi's orders.

"Our message is simple: stop fighting, stop killing your own people, stop obeying the orders of Colonel Kadhafi," Vice Admiral William Gortney said.

"It's fair to say the coalition is growing in both size and capability every day," he said, adding "more than 350 aircraft are involved in some capacity. Only slightly more than half belong to the United States."

The Pentagon said 12 countries were now taking part in the coalition seeking to enforce the no-fly zone -- including two Arab nations, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. A senior US official said the UAE had contributed 12 aircraft.

Allied diplomats spent the day negotiating how to coordinate the campaign against Kadhafi, how far to enforce the UN resolutions, and how to incorporate assistance from non-NATO Arab countries.

"We have agreed, along with our NATO allies, to transition command and control for the no-fly zone over Libya to NATO," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, speaking after meeting with President Barack Obama and the US national security team.

"All 28 allies have also now authorized military authorities to develop an operations plan for NATO to take on the broader civilian protection mission under Resolution 1973."

Clinton said that "significant progress" had been made in just five days, but that the "danger is far from over, and Kadhafi's forces "remain a serious threat to the safety of the people."

Clinton also underscored "crucial" Arab support for the operation, and praised Qatar and the United Arab Emirates for joining the coalition.

The State Department later said that Clinton will attend a London conference Tuesday on military action against Libya.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy meanwhile said coordination of the international campaign must "remain eminently political" even if NATO takes military command.

"Operational, technical coordination will be at NATO level, but political coordination... will be at the level of the coalition," he said at a European Union summit in Brussels.

That would enable non-NATO members, such as Arab partners, to take part in political decision-making, he said.

Anti-aircraft fire and explosions also rattled the coastal city of Sirte, Kadhafi's home town 600 kilometres (370 miles) east of Tripoli, a resident said.

Kadhafi forces attacked Zentan, east of Tripoli, as rebels fought to retake the oil city of Ajdabiya, which sits at a junction on roads leading from rebel strongholds Benghazi and Tobruk in eastern Libya.

Rebels were in striking distance of Ajdabiya, an AFP journalist said, with shelling and gunfire heard nine kilometres (five miles) from the city.

"They are shooting at us with tanks, artillery and Grad missiles," said Mohammed, a rebel returning from the frontline. "We have nothing but light weapons."

The rebel army spokesman, air force general Ahmed Omar Bani, told reporters in Benghazi at his first news conference that some Kadhafi loyalists in Ajdabiya have asked to surrender.

"We are trying to negotiate with these people in Ajdabiya because we are almost sure that they have lost contact with the headquarters," Bani said.

There were also reports from the southern stronghold of Sebha -- bastion of Kadhafi's Guededfa tribe and site of an important military base -- of intense coalition air raids.

A government spokesman in Tripoli said almost 100 civilians had been killed since coalition air strikes began Saturday, a figure that could not be independently confirmed.

The US general in charge of the operation, General Carter Ham, said coalition forces imposing the no-fly zone "cannot be sure" there have been no civilian deaths, but are trying to be "very precise."

Ham, head of US Africa Command, also said Libya's air defences "essentially no longer exist" after being destroyed in strikes, and that coalition forces were now targeting Libyan troops attacking civilians.

At the UN headquarters in New York, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council that Kadhafi's troops were ignoring the UN ceasefire order, and that human rights abuses continued in Libya.

"Libyan authorities have repeatedly claimed they have instituted a ceasefire," Ban said. "We see no evidence that that is the case. On the contrary, fierce battles have continued."

Separately, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev telephoned Obama to urge him to avoid civilian casualties in Libya and limit the campaign to the UN-set goals.

Russia abstained from last week's vote authorising the no-fly zone.
But French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe of France said coalition air strikes would "continue for as long as necessary."

Obama facing mounting criticism over Libya

President Obama steps off Marine One at the White House on Wednesday after a five-day trip to Latin America.

By Alan Silverleib, CNN
March 24, 2011

Washington (CNN) -- Top Obama administration officials are expected to face continued criticism Thursday over their handling of the crisis in Libya, and louder calls for a clearer explanation of U.S. policy in the war-torn North African nation.

The president, who returned home from a five-day trip to Latin America on Wednesday, has insisted that the goal of the U.N.-sanctioned military mission is strictly to prevent a humanitarian crisis. Specifically, the mission is meant to prevent a slaughter of Libyan rebels and other civilians by forces loyal to strongman Moammar Gadhafi.

Obama, however, has also said the administration's ultimate objective is Gadhafi's removal from power. U.S. officials have indicated they hope the dictator will be removed quickly by forces currently loyal to him, though they haven't publicly called for a coup.

"Gadhafi has a decision to make and the people around him each have decisions to make," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday. "We would certainly encourage that they make the right decision."

Critics on Capitol Hill and elsewhere are angry over what they consider inadequate administration consultation with Congress before the start of the military mission, which began over the weekend. They also continue to have questions over the conflict's cost and consequences, as well as the U.S. endgame.

Obama himself conceded in an interview with CNN on Tuesday that Gadhafi could "hunker down and wait it out even in the face of (the U.N.) no-fly zone, even though his forces have been degraded."

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, sent a letter to Obama Wednesday complaining that "military resources were committed to war without clearly defining for the American people, the Congress, and our troops what the mission in Libya is and what America's role is in achieving that mission."

"In fact," Boehner said, "the limited, sometimes contradictory, case made to the American people by members of your administration has left some fundamental questions about our engagement unanswered."

Among other things, Boehner asked whether it is acceptable for Gadhafi to remain in power once the military campaign ends.

"If not, how will he be removed from power?" Boehner asked. "Why would the U.S. commit American resources to enforcing a U.N. resolution that is inconsistent with our stated policy goals and national interests?"

Boehner also posed other questions for the president. Since the "stated U.S. policy goal is removing" Gadhafi from power, "do you have an engagement strategy for the opposition forces? If the strife in Libya becomes a protracted conflict, what are your administration's objectives for engaging with opposition forces, and what standards must a new regime meet to be recognized by our government?" his letter said.

Another key House Republican called Wednesday for a withdrawal of U.S. forces, arguing that Obama had failed to rally public support for military action.

"Mr. President, you have failed to state a clear and convincing explanation of the vital national interest at stake which demands our intervention in Libya," said Rep. Candice Miller, R-Michigan. "You have failed to state a clearly defined mission for our military to defend that interest. ... I believe you must pull our forces from the coalition immediately."

Rep. Tom McClintock, R-California, sent his own letter to Obama on Wednesday, contending the president violated the 1973 War Powers Act and other constitutional restrictions against authorizing military action.

"With all due respect, I can only conclude that your order to United States Armed Forces to attack the nation of Libya on March 19, 2011 is in direct violation of the War Powers Resolution and constitutes a usurpation of constitutional powers clearly and solely vested in the United States Congress and is accordingly unlawful and unconstitutional," McClintock's letter said.

Liberal Democrats in Congress have also expressed unease with the Libyan intervention, particularly in regard to the relative lack of congressional consultation and the prospects for an open-ended conflict.

Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona and Reps. Barbara Lee, Mike Honda and Lynn Woolsey of California released a statement late Tuesday arguing that "the United States must immediately shift to end the bombing in Libya."

"We will fight in Congress to ensure the United States does not become embroiled in yet another destabilizing military quagmire in Libya with no clear exit plan or diplomatic strategy for peace," they said.

Top Senate Democrats, however, continue to defend the administration, insisting that Obama moved methodically and carefully to assemble a strong international coalition capable of saving innocent lives and reinforcing the broader Middle East reform movement.

Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Illinois, told reporters Wednesday that Obama's pursuit of international approval was reminiscent of former President George H.W. Bush lining up global support before taking military action to drive Iraq from Kuwait in the early 1990s.

Obama has pursued a "very prudent course of action," Durbin said. The United States is supporting "unprecedented and long overdue change" that is consistent "with our national values."

Durbin noted that, if the conflict drags on, members of Congress could push for a vote of approval under the War Powers Act.

The United States is "coming to the support and to the aid of a democratic movement in general, and trying to protect a population inside Libya to the extent that it is possible," said Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

If the president hadn't taken the time to assemble a broad coalition in Libya, there would have been "huge opposition ... in the streets of the Arab world," Levin said. Protests currently aimed at Arab dictators "would have been turned against us."

Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, stressed the administration's intention to hand over leadership of the military effort to international allies as soon as possible.

U.S. operations have generally been limited to America's "unique capabilities" relating to the establishment of a no-fly zone, he said.

Some analysts, however, echoed complaints about what they insisted was unclear administration guidance about ultimate U.S. goals in Libya and the methods being used in pursuit of those objectives.

Obama has been "fairly muddy in what he's said," argued Max Boot, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. The president has been "reacting frantically" to events and "being pulled hither and yon."

Boot predicted air power would not be sufficient to knock out the Gadhafi regime, and warned of a "protracted and costly stalemate" if the United States doesn't send in military advisers to help arm and train the rebels.

Obama may be hoping for a palace coup, Boot said, but "I wouldn't bet on it."

Boot also stressed the need for more planning for a post-Gadhafi Libya. There's a "real danger of chaos" and protracted tribal warfare if Gadhafi falls, he said. Al Qaeda may be able to exploit such a situation, he warned.

Boot blasted the White House for "not really preparing the American people for the possibility that this could be a protracted and expensive conflict."

"The public and the administration should not be going into this with rose-colored blinkers on," he said.

But Thomas Mann, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, told CNN that Obama "has no interest in a full-scale war with Libya and every intention in keeping our mission there limited in scope and duration."

Mann also argued that Obama "probably doesn't want a congressional vote of approval because it would heighten the public attention and the stakes involved."

Still, "while Congress has no stomach for assuming responsibility for approving or reversing the steps taken by Obama, the president (would be) well advised to step up his consultation with the first branch of government," he said.

Wendy Schiller, a Brown University political scientist, argued Obama might have eventually paid a political price if he didn't intervene before Gadhafi's troops took control of the last rebel stronghold in Benghazi.

"Americans generally do not like to see protesters seeking political rights shot, wounded or killed," she said. "Standing by and watching that happen, especially after the U.N. authorized a no-fly zone, would have made Obama look weak and indifferent to their struggle."