Syria: citizens from across country risk life to help Homs

Shocked by the desperate plight of civilians in the besieged districts of Homs, citizens from other parts of Syria are risking their lives to smuggle in food and medicines.

Syrian rebels gather in front of the remains of a burnt military vehicle in Homs Photo: AP

By a Telegraph Correspondent in Aleppo

8:00PM GMT 26 Feb 2012

3 Comments

Residents from Damascus and Aleppo told the Daily Telegraph of the secret operations to bring aid to those trapped in the bombardment.

Fearing punishment by the regime for helping the opposition, the medicines have to be hidden on the journey, explained Sana, 31, an Aleppo resident who has taken it upon herself to help.

“I travel by public minibus, hiding small amounts of medicines and money at the bottom of my bag,” said Sana, who has a nine year old son.

The road from Aleppo to Homs is strewn with checkpoints of the much feared Mukhabarat intelligence service. Stopping every vehicle, they compare identity cards against the now extensive list of people wanted for joining the Syrian opposition. Convoys of buses carrying Syrian troops are seen on the highway, along with military refuelling vehicles. Tanks are stationed strategically on bridges and in scrubland.

“If [the mukhabarat] found out, they would arrest me for helping the terrorists. But these are civilians,” said Sana. “They think anyone who opposes the government is a terrorist, so now Syria is a nation of terrorists.”

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Syria votes in a referendum for a new constitution

Syrians voted on a new constitution in the face of opposition calls for a boycott and further bloodshed as Washington warned of civil war and urged troops to disobey orders to shoot. A portrait of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad defaced with red paint

See this clip : they all voted YES

[youtube http://youtu.be/Yp24HORtMvs?]

EXCLUSIVE: A detailed document obtained by Mother Jones appears to identify a vast group of Syrian dissidents targeted by Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Syria Hit List Targets Thousands

—By Hamed Aleaziz

| Mon Feb. 27, 2012 8:01 AM PST

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Syrian protesters in May 2011 Syria-Frames-Of-Freedom/Flickr

A 718-page digital document obtained by Mother Jones contains names, phone numbers, neighborhoods, and alleged activities of thousands of dissidents apparently targeted by the Syrian government. Three experts asked separately by Mother Jones to examine the document—essentially a massive spreadsheet, whose contents are in Arabic—say they believe that it is authentic. As Bashar al-Assad’s military continues a deadly crackdown on dissent inside the country, the list appears to confirm in explicit detail the scale of the regime’s domestic surveillance and its methodical efforts to destroy widespread opposition.

read full article here

The Syrian referendum

Monday, February 27, 2012

Look at this man. You’d think he was the president of a thriving democracy and that he was busy on the campaign trail. Who is he kidding? Does he think the entire world is stupid? Whilst this photo was being taken, sixty Syrians were killed in Homs by his militias. In the video below he says that his regime will succeed on the ground and “in space”, wonderful…

[youtube http://youtu.be/9xoUZjazizE?]

From Maysaloon