Ramadan has begun on an inauspicious note for Assad and family, but rather than soften, their stances might harden even more, paving the way for more and deadlier massacres. Another Red Ramadan is upon us.
Friday July 20, 2012
Today’s Death toll: 215. The Breakdown: 55 in Damascus Suburbs, 28 in Aleppo, 28 in Idlib, 26 in Damascus City, 25 in Homs, 23 in Deir Ezzor, 20 in Daraa, 7 in Hama, 2 in Lattakia and 1 Sweida.
Cities & Towns Under Shelling: Harasta, Arbeen, Moadamiyah, Haran Al-Awameed, Zabadani, Madaya, Eltal, Dmeir, Hameh, Yelda, Rankous (Damascus Suburbs), Sit Zeinab, Al-Qadam, Modan, Al-Hajar Al-Aswad, Yarmouk, Kafar Sousseh, Mazzeh, Qaboun, Barzeh (Damascus City), Daraa City, Khirbet Al-Ghazaleh, Tafas, Maarabah, Bostra Al-Sham (Daraa), Rastan, Talbisseh, Houla, Tal Kalakh, Al-Qusayr, Al-Hosn, Old Homs (Homs Province), Hreitan, Elbab, Eizaz, Marei, Bayanoun (Aleppo Province), Haffeh, Jabal Al-Akrad (Lattakia), Deir Ezzor City, Mouhassan, Albou Kamal (Deir Ezzor Province), Kafar Zeiteh, Hawash (Hama Province), Jabal Al-Zawiyeh, Maar’at Al-Nouman, Sraqib (Idlib)
News
Op-Eds & Special Reports
Syria’s Next Act With the rebels moving deeper into Damascus, and the regime’s days appearing numbered, the CIA is racing to find Syria’s chemical and biological weapons before it’s too late.
Syria’s Alawite Refuge “It’s true that there aren’t the right ingredients for a state, but the Syrian coast is basically the center of gravity for the sect,” he says. “If the war continues in Syria, I’ll be among the supporters of separation. There is enough blood.”
The U.S. must help Syria Washington should work quickly in cooperation with our European allies to establish confidence and credibility in a national leader who is committed to democratic governance. We should put our shared diplomatic muscle behind credible parties with serious political and economic plans…
David Enders, special correspondent for McClatchy, based in Beirut, Lebanon, FDD fellows Ammar Abdulhamid, Syrian human rights and democracy activist and director of the Tharwa Foundation; John Hannah, former national security advisor to Vice President Cheney; and Reuel Marc Gerecht, former Iran analyst at the CIA’s Directorate of Operations.
General Highlights
Armed resistance groups in Northern Aleppo Province get unified under one command and one name, Al-Tawhid Brigade, then proceed to hold this impressive show of strength (July 18)
http://youtu.be/v4F6dbRAO3k Northern Aleppo Province has now fallen almost completely under the control of the resistance. But the resistance cannot fend off against missiles and mortar rounds.
Local resistance groups in the town of
Elbab,
Aleppo Province
, storm the local security headquarters: the slain we see here are pro-Assad militias (July 19)
http://youtu.be/cNjWyjZsch8
In
Homs City, protesters in
Al-Malaab sang a traditional Damascene song in honor and support of their Damascene colleagues currently under pounding by pro-Assad militias
http://youtu.be/9dYbqxlCDQM
Damascus Highlights
Other Highlights