As Assad assumes
more direct command of day-to-day operations, his responsibility for the crimes
perpetrated by his militias becomes more established, and his future performance
at the International Criminal Court more guaranteed.
Wednesday
October 10, 2012
Today’s
Death toll: 197. The Breakdown: toll includes 10 children and 8
women. 77 in Damascus and Suburbs (including 20 found in Deir Asafeir, 17 found
in Daraya farms, 7 field-executed in Jisreen and three bodies found in Zamalka
bridge), 35 in Aleppo, 25 in Idlib, 15 in Homs, 14 in Raqqah, 13 in Daraa
(including 4 found in Eastern Gharia), 10 in Deir Ezzor, 6 in Hama, and 1 in
Lattakia (LCC).
News
Special
Reports
Recent visitors say the 47-year-old
president has taken over day-to-day leadership. They speak of a self-confident,
combative president convinced he will ultimately win the conflict through
military means. "He is no longer a president who depends on his team and
directs through his aides. This is a fundamental change in Assad's
thinking," said a pro-Syrian Lebanese politician with close ties to Assad.
"Now he is involved in directing the battle."
Unlike Mubarak, who was tied to
Washington, Assad's regime has been at political loggerheads with the US over
the years.
The leader of the 1.2 million strong
Baggara believes in an eventual resurgence despite the Assad regime’s
systematic destruction of the underpinnings of tribal society.
The choice by the Turkish and their
Arab suppliers to hold off high-tech equipment is the correct thing to do in
order to ensure that the rebel forces operate in a more unified manner.
Hezbollah, the Lebanese guerrilla
movement and one of the strongest allies of the Baathist regime in Damascus,
has consistently denied any role in the Syrian unrest.
The chances of a war erupting between
Turkey and Syria appear to be rising. But the heated rhetoric of Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government does not seem to be matched by
public enthusiasm for conflict.
Ammar Abdulhamid & Khawla
Yusuf: The
Shredded Tapestry: The State of Syria Today
Video Highlights
The first female Alawite defector comes out, Col. Zubaidah
Al-Miqi, originally from the Golan Heights in South Syria http://youtu.be/Kf8uW3goIaI in her
statement, Col. Al-Miqi calls on female recruits and on Alawite officers to
follow her lead, warning ongoing regime attempt to transform its crisis conflict
into a sectarian conflict. Sectarianism will destroy the homeland, she said,
while the revolution came to assert the values of freedom and citizenship. A shorter
version of the statement had led to allegations
that Col. Al-Miqi was kidnapped and forced to make these statement in spite of
her. This full version, however, seems to indicate that the defection is quite genuine.
The divide between secularists and Islamists in some rebel communities is
increasing, this video from the town of Qusayr, Homs Province, along the
borders with Lebanon, is currently making rounds on the internet and generating
some heated debates. More importantly though, it tells of problems to come in
so many parts of the country as extremist Islamist groups take control of
certain communities. The clip shows the imam, Abdussalam Harba, preaching at a
local mosque and saying that those who consume alcohol should have their
throats slashed. More importantly, he is also calling on civilian rebel leaders
to retain control of their groups and refuse the authority of defected military
officers http://youtu.be/c2NmqvxmcGE
However, it is important to note that people’s reaction to the speech
was very muted, and obviously, the man came in town with military escorts, and seem
to have been allowed to deliver his sermon by local rebels because he brought
some supplies and funds for them. This is how extremists are trying to gain a
foothold in the country, and lack of support from western powers is creating
this vacuum and allowing this to take place. The video generated angry
reactions on the net, the issue of personal liberties was at the heart of it.
The pounding of recently liberated Ma’arrat Al-Nouman, Idlib
Province continues http://youtu.be/YLru2tZxm-U
MIGs takes part in the pounding http://youtu.be/Ld6w1EK-wq0
Meanwhile, the town of Armanaz, also in Idlib Province, is pounded by
helicopter gunships http://youtu.be/ck3eX07-St4
In Aleppo Province, MIGs took part in pounding of the town of Atareb
http://youtu.be/J3YfbL7MzmI In Aleppo
City, pounding left many dead in Sha’aar Neighborhood http://youtu.be/uLAHscTp4DU
Children among today’s martyrs in Damascus Province: Hamouriyeh http://youtu.be/c3Oo3mIs1jY , http://youtu.be/N-SlnmI7bXk Martyrs from
nearby Deir Asafeer http://youtu.be/hcmbMRVdId8
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