Middle East: Syria’s Day of Protest and Violence

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Thousands of Syrians took to the streets on Friday in demonstrations that seemed to be dwindling in size, while clashes continued between security forces and army defectors in central Syria, residents and witnesses said.
Human rights activists said that at least 13 people were killed when troops opened fire at their protests. Seven of them were shot in Homs; two in the suburbs of Hama; three in the suburbs of the capital, Damascus; and one in the city itself.

Also on Friday, the American ambassador to Syria, Robert S. Ford, said that an attack on his convoy by government supporters on Thursday was more violent than had been reported. He said one man jumped on the hood of one vehicle and tried to kick in the windshield while another clung to the vehicle’s side, trying to smash a window. Others threw concrete blocks and attacked the vehicles with metal rods.
The attack on the American diplomat in the capital followed a week of clashes between army defectors and troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

The armed fighting seemed to signal another turn in the uprising. Though violence on both sides has been reported since the beginning, defections have increased, and some defectors have chosen to fight. An American official estimated the number of defectors to be 10,000.

In the central town of Rastan, army defectors and government troops have clashed for the past week. The town, near the restive city of Homs, is a bastion for recruits for the mostly Sunni rank-and-file army, headed by officers from the Alawite minority sect, to which the president belongs.

The state news agency, Sana, said Friday that seven soldiers and police officers were killed in what it said was an operation against “terrorists” in Rastan and 32 others were wounded. The report added that the army “inflicted big losses on the armed terrorist groups.”

All communication lines have been cut in the town and all roads leading to it were blocked, residents in nearby towns said, and security forces are not letting anyone leave or enter the town. Human rights activists are warning of a possible crisis there.

“Residents close to Rastan said that they were hearing the sound of gunfire and loud bombings all day,” said Hozan, an activist with the Local Coordination Committees, a group that helps organize and document protests. “A real battle is going on there.”

Protesters shouted, “Rastan, we are with you until death,” in Idlib, a turbulent region in northwestern Syria, where army defectors who are holed up there are also fighting against troops loyal to the Assad government.

The demonstrations, held after Friday’s noon prayers and called Victory for Syria and Yemen, were noticeably smaller than in previous months. Some activists have warned that the uprising, which started peacefully in mid-March, could turn more violent if the government does not stop its brutal crackdown.

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (on whom be peace) stated:

“After me you will see injustice, rights suppressed and others given preference over you. You will see matters that you will disapprove of”. When asked what the commandment was in such circumstances, the Prophet (on whom be peace) replied, “pay their (leaders) rights to them and ask God for your rights.”

The protestors are creating more chaos and havoc in their streets with violence in the name of peace. The Holy Quran describes such people, saying:

And when it is said to them: ‘Create not disorder on the earth,’ they say: ‘We are only promoters of peace.’ [Holy Quran, 2:12]


The Ahmadiyya Post, Middle East. Oct 1, 2011