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A Syrian Pilot Rejects Orders To Kill Protesters, Defects And Heads To Turkey

March 24, 2012 by ·

As Syrians took part of “Damascus here we come” demonstrations across the country on Friday, a pilot rejected orders to kill civilian protesters and instead targeted a military security building in Aleppo.

After depleting his ammunitions, the pilot flew to Turkey, a country that already hosts Syrian army defectors. Head of the opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA), Colonel Riad al-Asaad, is currently residing in Turkey.

A member of the Syrian National Council (SNC) confirmed that the defected pilot has reached Turkey, and said that President Bashar al-Assad’s regime has become incapable in controlling the army. Fearing an attack against the presidential palace, the army is sending military pilots without ammunitions, the SNC member added. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Foreign News, Foreign Policy ·

Al Jazeera Obtains Secret Syria Files

March 19, 2012 by ·

Al Jazeera has gained access to confidential documents prepared for the Syrian president by his intelligence and security chiefs on the conflict raging across the nation.

The files provide an insight into President Bashar al-Assad’s strategy to suppress anti-government protests, including the lengths the government went to for protecting its strongholds.

The documents, running into hundreds of pages, pointed to a government that was desperate to keep control of the capital Damascus and included clear orders to stop protesters from getting into the city. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Documentary, Foreign Policy, News ·

China ‘Concerned’ Over North Korea Rocket Launch Plan

March 17, 2012 by ·

China has expressed its concern over North Korea’s plans to launch what it called a rocket-mounted satellite.

North Korea will launch the rocket to mark the 100th birthday of its late Great Leader Kim Il-sung in April, state media reported.

Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua said deputy foreign minister Zhang Zhijun met Pyongyang’s ambassador to express Beijing’s “worry”.

Any launch would be seen as violating UN Security Council resolutions.

Mr Zhang said all sides were obliged to maintain peace on the Korean peninsula. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Foreign Policy, Government ·

One Year Later: Syrians Remain Resolute In Fight For Freedom

March 16, 2012 by ·

One year ago, a group of schoolchildren scrawled graffiti on school walls in the small city of Daraa. Excited over the uprisings in Egypt and elsewhere known as the Arab Spring, the boys wrote, “The people want the overthrow of the regime.”

The boys, who ranged in age from 10 to 15, were whisked away by the security forces of President Bashar Assad and beaten terribly. Some even had their fingernails pulled out by their tormentors.

The people of Daraa were outraged and mobbed streets in protest, the customary way in which many in the Arab world communicate with their dictatorial leaders. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Foreign Policy, Government, Humanities, People ·

Pro-Assad Rallies Mark First Anniversary Of Syria Uprising

March 15, 2012 by ·

Flag-waving supporters of President Bashar al-Assad took to the streets of Syrian cities on Thursday in an orchestrated show of loyalty to coincide with the first anniversary of an increasingly bloody uprising against his rule.

Official media announced government forces had cleared “armed terrorists” from the northwestern city of Idlib, suggesting the army was gaining ground in the revolt, which has cost at least 8,000 lives, according to the United Nations.

Fighting continued in other areas of Syria and Western leaders warned of full-blown civil war unless Mr. al-Assad bowed to outside pressure and stood aside. But international powers remain divided, with Russia and China backing Mr. al-Assad. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Foreign Policy, Government ·

Sarkozy: Assad Is A Killer, Must Face World Court

March 14, 2012 by ·

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Wednesday that Syria’s leader is acting like a murderer and should be sent to the International Criminal Court.

With diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed in Syria faltering, the French leader urged humanitarian corridors to allow refugees out and aid in to the country.

“We must obtain humanitarian corridors, and for that we must unblock the Russian veto and Chinese veto” at the U.N. Security Council, Sarkozy told Europe-1 radio. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Foreign Policy, Government, Humanities ·

Russians Stage New Protest Against Putin

March 10, 2012 by ·

Several thousand Russians gathered in central Moscow on Saturday for a rally seen as a test of the opposition’s ability to mount a sustained challenge to President-elect Vladimir Putin.

Demonstrators carried white balloons and wore white ribbons, the symbols of protests that began over a disputed parliamentary poll on Dec 4 and are intended now to highlight allegations of fraud in the presidential election Putin won on March 4.

Putin’s opponents hoped to attract a large crowd to maintain the momentum of the rallies, which could quickly fade following Putin’s triumph and the detention of hundreds of people during or after protests on Monday. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Foreign Policy, Government ·