Women Join Bahrain’s Uprising
By Jen Marlowe, The Progressive – November 2012

A woman I call m strode down the main road of her village in a burqa, with a large red and white Bahraini flag wrapped around her shoulders, fluttering vigorously in the breeze. She carried a poster, which she allowed me to look at. It had four small plastic dolls glued to the surface. One doll, wrapped in a white shroud, lay inside a small yellow box. Two other dolls had black hoods covering their heads and faces. One of the hooded dolls hung from its feet. The other’s arms were bound behind its back. The fourth plastic doll was imprisoned behind strips of black tape and was next to some rubber bullets and a small plastic cylinder.

“They kill our children,” she explained, referring to the kingdom’s security forces. “They suffocate them. They use all kinds of weapons.” Her hand swept over the rubber bullets and the cylinder, which represented a tear gas canister. The bound and hooded dolls in stress positions didn’t require much interpretation, but she emphasized how commonly both male and female youth are tortured in Bahrain’s prisons.

Then M. flipped the poster over, revealing three black cutout figures hanging from nooses with paper bags over their heads. “We won’t accept anything but a death sentence,” was written in Arabic in black marker across the top. The effigies were identified with signs on their torsos: Salman, Khalifa, and Hamad, the crown prince, prime minister, and king of Bahrain, respectively.

“Hang them,” she insisted.

I had arrived in Bahrain five days earlier through Witness Bahrain, an initiative comprised of international observers reporting on the human rights abuses that the Bahraini regime has committed since many of its citizens began protesting eighteen months ago.

On February 14, 2011, inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt, a group of anonymous youth put out a call to gather at the Pearl Roundabout monument in Bahrain’s capital city of Manama. Protesters were largely calling for political reforms, with a focus on instituting a constitutional monarchy and challenging the discrimination that the Shi’a majority faces at the hands of the Sunni monarchy.

The regime responded with violence, killing one protester. The demonstrations swelled, and the security forces responded with more violence. Demonstrators took over, were violently expelled from, and then returned to Pearl Roundabout, camping there until 1,500 troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates entered Bahrain, shoring up the Bahraini regime with the tacit support of Washington. The Pearl Roundabout monument, an iconic symbol of the uprising, was cleared of demonstrators and destroyed. King Hamad declared a state of emergency. All who had been involved in the demonstrations were targeted. There were mass dismissals from government jobs, thousands imprisoned, and hundreds of cases of severe torture and dozens of deaths.

Today, the uprising is characterized by near-daily demonstrations in villages all over Bahrain, where mainly nonviolent protesters are met with a barrage of tear gas and bird shot. House raids and arrests occur nightly.

It was at one such protest that I met M. Her hardliner sentiment seems to be growing more common. As young boys tipped over garbage dumpsters and dragged palm-tree logs and chunks of concrete to the middle of the road, trying to thwart riot police from entering the village, another woman told me vehemently that the only solution for Bahrain was overthrowing the ruling al-Khalifa family.

“You don’t believe in reforms?” I asked.

The woman made a dismissive motion with her head. “We’ve been hearing about reforms since the days of our ancestors.”

The protest began then, with call-and-response chanting:

“Oh, Prisoners of the country . . .”

“Your heads are not bowed!”

“Despite the increasing hardship…”

“Your heads are not bowed!”

Women, waving Bahraini flags and marching behind the men, made up approximately 50 percent of the demonstration. When tear gas canisters and bird shot ripped through the crowd, the women ducked inside the nearest houses, but as soon as the riot police retreated, the women slipped their shoes back on and went back to the village center to resume their protest.

“Women are the prominent partner in the Pearl Revolution,” Jihan Kazerooni, a member of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and vice president of the Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti-Violence Organization, told me the next day as she poured two cups of sugary, milky tea. “They take part in each single event happening. You can find them protesting. You can find them as doctors and nurses treating protesters. You can find them doing the documentation. They are human rights activists, photographers, lawyers. The women are the power and the strength of our revolution.” …more

Bahrain acquits officer on charges of torturing a journalist
24 October, 2012 – Committee to Project Journalist

New York, October 24, 2012–CPJ is alarmed by a Bahraini court’s acquittal of a police officer accused of torturing a journalist in custody in 2011.

A criminal court in Manama on Monday acquitted police officer Sara al-Moussa on charges of torturing Nazeeha Saeed, a reporter for France24 and Radio Monte Carlo Doualiya, while the journalist was in custody in May 2011, according to the official Bahrain News Agency (BNA). The agency reported that the court ruled that Saeed’s testimony was full of “contradictions” and not “consistent.” Saeed told CPJ that she and her lawyer are urging prosecutors to reopen the case.

Police arrested Saeed while she was covering anti-government protests in the capital on May 22, 2011, according to news reports. Saeed told CPJ that during her 13-hour detention, al-Moussa and the other officers blindfolded her, beat her repeatedly with a hose, pulled her hair, slapped her in the face, dunked her head in a toilet, kicked her, and forced her to sign papers she was not allowed to read. The journalist, who was later examined by a doctor, submitted several medical reports to the court proving she had sustained bruises from the incident, she said.

Saeed told CPJ that the government had not taken any serious steps to investigate the case for several months. In January 2012, she filed her own complaint against al-Moussa, two other female police officers, and two male officers on torture accusations, news reports said. The court only tried al-Moussa, according to news reports. The officer’s trial began on June 6 and the verdict was reached on Monday, after five months of legal back-and-forth, the reports said. No action has been taken against the other four police members, news reports said.

Last year, Saeed was a witness in the trial of two police officers who were charged with killing two protesters, news reports said. The officers were acquitted in September, the reports said.

“Bahrain’s failure over the past 20 months to fully investigate attacks against journalists covering protests and prosecute those responsible calls into question the verdict of this court,” said CPJ Deputy Director Rob Mahoney. “Prosecutors should not let this case rest. Nazeeha Saeed deserves justice.”

CPJ research shows that since February 2011, independent and opposition journalists in Bahrain have endured the worst conditions since King Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa assumed the throne in 1999. CPJ has documented three journalist deaths, including a shooting death in April; dozens of detentions; arbitrary deportations; government-sponsored billboards and advertisements smearing journalists; and numerous physical assaults. In April, authorities denied CPJ and several other press freedom and free expression groups visas to enter Bahrain. …source

How Fear of Cyber Attack Could Take Down Your Liberties and the Constitution

Will the Apocalypse Arrive Online?
By Karen J. Greenberg – Tom Dispatch – 21 October, 2012

First the financial system collapses and it’s impossible to access one’s money. Then the power and water systems stop functioning. Within days, society has begun to break down. In the cities, mothers and fathers roam the streets, foraging for food. The country finds itself fractured and fragmented — hardly recognizable.

It may sound like a scene from a zombie apocalypse movie or the first episode of NBC’s popular new show “Revolution,” but it could be your life — a nationwide cyber-version of Ground Zero.

Think of it as 9/11/2015. It’s Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s vision of the future — and if he’s right (or maybe even if he isn’t), you better wonder what the future holds for erstwhile American civil liberties, privacy, and constitutional protections.

Last week, Panetta addressed the Business Executives for National Security, an organization devoted to creating a robust public-private partnership in matters of national security. Standing inside the Intrepid, New York’s retired aircraft-carrier-cum-military-museum, he offered a hair-raising warning about an imminent and devastating cyber strike at the sinews of American life and well being.

Yes, he did use that old alarm bell of a “cyber Pearl Harbor,” but for anyone interested in American civil liberties and rights, his truly chilling image was far more immediate. “A cyber attack perpetrated by nation states or violent extremist groups,” he predicted, “could be as destructive as the terrorist attack of 9/11.”

Panetta is not the first Obama official to warn that the nation could be facing a cyber catastrophe, but he is the highest-ranking to resort to 9/11 imagery in doing so. Going out on a limb that previous cyber doomsayers had avoided, he mentioned September 11th four times in his speech, referring to our current vulnerabilities in cyber space as “a pre-9/11 moment.” …more

Cowardly Terrorists Murder Syrian Civilians
8 October, 2012 – Mostly Water – by Stephen Lendman

Aleppo murders are the latest example. Western-recruited death squads ruthlessly target civilians. They’re armed and directed to do so. They’re merciless cowards.

Innocent men, women and children die. Murdering children, raping women, and beheading men are their specialities. So are other atrocities. Since winter 2011, many thousands of Syrians were slaughtered. Dozens more succumb daily.

That’s what terrorism is all about. Imperialism operates that way. Barbarism best describes it. It’s longstanding US practice in all its direct and proxy wars. Respect for human life isn’t America’s long suit. It never was.

Ravaging one country after another is official policy. It’s been longstanding since WW II. Post-9/11, it intensified. Peace, stability, and human rights aren’t in America’s vocabulary. The very notions are abhorrent.

Across the region, millions of corpses attest to Washington’s viciousness. Aleppo is the latest example. Fighting raged there on and off for weeks. It continues.

On October 3, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) headlined “People’s Assembly Condemns Aleppo Bombings and Terrorists-backing States.”

People’s Assembly Speaker, Mohammad Jihad al- Laham, opened the session, saying:

“Aleppo woke up today on a heinous crime, as horrible terrorist bombings targeted innocent civilians in fulfillment of the terrorists’ scheme who do not have any humane values.”

“We condemn these terrorist bombings and the conspiring countries which are backing the terrorists.”

He hopes God will have mercy on the souls of martyrs. He wished quick recovery to those injured and expressed solace for families of those killed.

Most Syrians understand America’s conspiracy against their country. They know and say so. Law Professor Daoud Khairallah told Russia Today that 95% of militants in Syria are foreigners.

SANA said 34 died, 122 were injured, and both totals may rise. Other victims are trapped under rubble.

Three blasts occurred. At 7:50AM, in Saadallah al-Jabri Square, two booby-trapped cars with an estimated 1,000 kg of explosives were detonated. Suicide bombers are suspected.

A second explosion happened at 8:17AM. The Governate Building was targeted. Another booby-trapped car with about 500 kg of explosives detonated. Two mortar shells also fell near the Municipal Palace.

At 10:35AM, a third blast took place. It occurred when engineering units were trying to dismantle a 1,000 kg explosive device in a car terrorists detonated remotely near the al-Amir Hotel, Aleppo’s Chamber of Commerce, and the Central Bank.

SANA said “the terrorist bombings have caused great damage to public and private property, public buildings, hotels and residential places, indicating that 250 public and private cars were destroyed.”

“The competent authorities at the Interior Ministry rushed to the area to trace evidence, taking samples of human remnants and the explosive material to be sent to specialized laboratories to establish the identity of the perpetrators and ascertain the type of the explosive material.”

Investigations continue. Responsible parties and supporters are sought. Web site photos show extensive damage. They make disturbing viewing.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry also condemned the bombings, saying:

“We renew utter condemnation of all forms of terrorism and rejection of using terrorist acts under any circumstances.” It added that “initiators and the perpetrators of such acts must be severely punished.”

SANA said Syrian political parties condemned the killings. The Baath Arab Socialist Party blamed “criminal gangs and mercenaries,” adding:

“This terrorist act is a new episode of a series of similar bombings that hit several Syrian cities not to mention massacres against civilians, elderly men, women and children.”

The National Reform Party called what happened “treason because targeting military, public and private properties and institutions (amounts to) targeting the Syrian people and Syria’s territorial integrity.”

Syria’s Arab Socialist Union Party called Aleppo killings “an escalation of the organized terrorism aiming to break the Syrians’ will.” ….more

Two hurt as Bahrain police clash with protesters
24 October, 2012 – Agence France Presse

DUBAI: Bahraini police and anti-government protesters clashed in a Shiite village outside the capital Manama overnight leaving at least two people wounded, the police said on Wednesday.

Protesters attacked police with Molotov cocktails and iron rods on Tuesday night, according to a police statement carried by Bahrain’s official BNA news agency. At least “two suspects” were injured.

The police said they were searching for “other suspects who participated in the attack.”

Witnesses meanwhile said police used tear gas and birdshot to disperse demonstrators who had gathered in Bani Jamra, just outside the capital, to protest a government siege of the Shiite village of Akar.

On Sunday, authorities announced the arrest of seven people suspected of being responsible for a roadside bombing that killed a policeman during clashes in Akar.

Police say the tightened security around the village was aimed at capturing suspects involved in the deadly attack in which an improvised explosive device was used.

The opposition has condemned the “siege,” saying police have been denying entry to activists and doctors.

Regular unrest and demonstrations have shaken Bahrain since it crushed Shiite-led popular protests in March last year. The kingdom came under strong criticism from international rights groups over the deadly crackdown.

According to the International Federation for Human Rights, a total of 80 people have been killed in Bahrain since the violence began on February 14, 2011.
…source

Police attack anti-regime protesters near eastern Bahrain village
24 October, 2012 – PressTV

Saudi-backed Bahraini forces have attacked anti-regime protesters attempting to enter a besieged village in the east of the country.

The security forces used toxic teargas canisters and rubber bullets to prevent the protesters from breaking the now-four-day-long siege of the village of Eker.

Several protesters were arrested and dozens more injured in violent clashes with the regime forces.

Meanwhile, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, a Cairo-based NGO devoted to promoting freedom of expression across the Middle East and North Africa, condemned the Manama regime’s use of systematic violence against peaceful demonstrators.

On Monday, clashes erupted between regime forces and protesters near the village, during which at least three human rights activists, including Zainab al-Khawaja, the daughter of jailed opposition leader, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, were arrested.

Khawaja said earlier that the protesters were taking food and medical supplies to the village’s residents.

Bahrain’s revolution began in mid-February 2011 when oppression-weary public, inspired by popular revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, started holding massive demonstrations against the ruling regime.

The Bahraini government promptly launched a brutal crackdown on the peaceful protests and called in Saudi-led Arab forces from neighboring Persian Gulf states to help crack down on the demonstrations. …source

Bahraini regime ‘terror stunt’ to step up repression
23 October, 2012 – Voice of Bahrain – Finian Cunningham

The Western-backed Bahraini regime is stepping up its vicious repression in a bid to terrorize the mainly Shia population to enter into a fake dialogue process. The political dialogue, which is endorsed by Washington and London, is designed to give the appearance of reform, but in reality it is framed to not bring about any democratic change.

The so-called political process is aimed at consolidating the Al Khalifa regime, which is described as a “key partner” by the US and Britain. Bahrain is the base for the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, its security forces are headed up by American and British personnel, and the island is seen as a military garrison that is key to projecting Western aggression towards Iran in the Persian Gulf.

Since the uprising began in February 2011, the Bahraini majority has pointedly refused to enter into a negotiated compromise with the unelected Sunni dynasty, headed by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. Decades of empty promises of reform, deception, lies and violent repression have shown Bahrainis that the despotic regime cannot be trusted or indulged any longer. Most Bahrainis see the ruling clan as incorrigibly corrupt – exploiting the wealth of the Persian Gulf island to enrich just one family and its hangers-on while the majority live in poverty without decent jobs and housing.

That is why Bahrainis remain steadfast in their demand for the Khalifa elite to be removed and to be replaced by an elected government that would represent the needs of the population.

Now it seems that the impudent regime, and its Western backers, are ratcheting up state violence and repression in order to coerce the people into accepting the chimera of political dialogue. The dialogue is framed so as to retain the legitimacy of the Khalifa rulers even though these rulers have for decades treated the Shia population like second-class subjects; and even though the regime has over the past 18 months committed acts of murder against peaceful protesters, incarcerating and torturing thousands, including doctors, nurses, teachers, journalists, children and human rights defenders.

To justify this outrageous repression, the regime is embarking on yet another propaganda campaign to criminalize and smear the pro-democracy movement, alleging that it is engaging in acts of violence on behalf of a foreign power, which implicitly refers to Iran.

It’s an overused and ridiculous formula that has been wheeled out down through the decades by the unelected Sunni monarchs to disguise their despotic rule, by creating a heightened atmosphere of sectarian tension and national insecurity. The formula of fabricating terrorism involves breathless accusations that “foreign powers” are trying to subvert the “Kingdom of Bahrain” (a grandiloquent description for the “fiefdom of Khalifa”).

The latest propaganda stunt was staged in the village of Eker, some 20 kilometers south of the capital, Manama. Last Friday morning, a Pakistani national serving in the state security forces, named as Omran Ahmed Mohammed, was allegedly killed in a bomb blast. A second police officer was reported by state media to be suffering serious injuries.

Within hours of the incident, there were choreographed and bombastic condemnations of “an act of terrorism” from the prime minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the interior minister, Lieutenant-General Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, and the heads of the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council ([P]GCC) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Bahrain’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Shaikh Humood bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, was quoted by state broadcaster BNA as describing the perpetrators as “proxies manipulated like puppets by external sides to serve foreign agendas”. (Note the recurrence of the name Al Khalifa in Bahrain’s so-called government.)

Ambassador Khalifa “slammed the campaign of terror attacks as contravening consensus and damaging national unity, accusing the perpetrators of collusion with foreign sides preying on Bahrain”.

The state broadcaster added that the ambassador “considered the terror attacks in Bahrain as part of the conspiracy endangering the [P]GCC security, stressing solidarity to confront mounting challenges and threats”. And – wait for the bottom line – Shaikh Humood “paid tribute to the wise leadership for its patience and wisdom in dealing with events, pointing out that the doors of dialogue remain open for all parties”.

The extended quote is worth studying because its not-so-subtle nuances betray the real agenda and perpetrators behind this latest alleged attack in Bahrain. The “doors of dialogue remaining open” is the telling point. …more

Kissinger, US intelligence community endorse “World Without Israel”
30 Septemebr, 2012 – By Kevin Barrett – PressTV

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been vilified in the Western media for daring to imagine “a world without Israel.”

But according to news reports, Henry Kissinger and sixteen American intelligence agencies agree that in the near future, Israel will no longer exist.

The New York Post quotes Kissinger “word for word”: In 10 years, there will be no more Israel.

Kissinger’s statement is flat and unqualified. He is not saying that Israel is in danger, but could be saved if we just gave it additional trillions of dollars and smashed enough of its enemies with our military. He is not saying that if we elect Netanyahu’s old friend Mitt Romney, Israel could somehow be salvaged. He is not saying that if we bomb Iran, Israel might survive. He is not offering a way out. He is simply stating a fact: In 2022, Israel will no longer exist.

The US Intelligence Community agrees, though perhaps not on the precise 2022 expiration date. Sixteen US intelligence agencies with a combined budget over USD70 billion have issued an 82-page analysis titled “Preparing for a Post-Israel Middle East.”

The US intelligence report observes that the 700,000 Israeli settlers illegally squatting on land stolen in 1967 – land that the entire world agrees belongs to Palestine, not Israel – are not going to pack up and leave peacefully. Since the world will never accept their ongoing presence on stolen land, Israel is like South Africa in the late 1980s.

The extremist Likud coalition governing Israel, according to the US intelligence report, is increasingly condoning and supporting rampant violence and lawlessness by illegal settlers. The report states that the brutality and criminality of the settlers, and the growing apartheid-style infrastructure including the apartheid wall and the ever-more-draconian system of checkpoints, are indefensible, unsustainable, and out of synch with American values.

The sixteen US intelligence agencies agree that Israel cannot withstand the coming pro-Palestinian juggernaut consisting of the Arab Spring, the Islamic Awakening, and the rise of the Islamic Republic of Iran. …source

Regime keeps AlEker under lockdown on 4th day; suppresses attempts to break the siege
24 October, 2012 – Shia Post

The regime forces set military roadblocks and an exaggerated number of troops spread widely in streets surrounding the area, although official claims declared that the area is not besieged. The main entrance, all sub-entrances and streets that led to the area were blocked with patrols or barriers, causing big traffic jams.

Bahrain regime forces attacked protesters who attempted to break the security siege on al-Eker village for the fourth consecutive day, since Thursday night. The protesters were confronted with toxic teargas and stun grenades. A number of injuries were reported, one protester was hit by a stun grenade in the face.

A group of opposition figures and activists had tried to visit the village under lockdown on Monday, and people gathered in the area demanding the security siege be lifted and protesting against the inhumane treatment and terror within the regime’s policy of collective punishment and systematic suppression.

The regime forces set military roadblocks and an exaggerated number of troops spread widely in streets surrounding the area, although official claims declared that the area is not besieged. The main entrance, all sub-entrances and streets that led to the area were blocked with patrols or barriers, causing big traffic jams.

The protesters carried food and humanitarian aids to the people inside al-Eker, but were confronted with force. The regime forces chased protesters and even raided a trade store, going after protesters.

Protests took to streets in neighboring villages and areas like Nuwaidrat, Ma’ameer, Sitra and Nabih-Saleh demanding to lift the state of lockdown on al-Eker. These protests, however, were attacked by the forces with Birdshot and toxic teargas.

Armored vehicles were used to attack the people inside al-Eker who wanted to welcome their visitors.

The forces are tightening the lockdown even more, by preventing basic needs, ambulances and garbage-collection trucks from entering the village. Schools in the area are disrupted by the unstable situation.

The area of al-Eker is in security cordon in what looks like a large prison for all the people of the village including the elderly, women and children. …source

Draft Communications Data Bill could lead to ‘police state’
BBC – 23 October, 2012

Plans to monitor all Britons’ online activity could move the UK closer to becoming a “police state”, a parliamentary committee has been told.

Journalist Henry Porter told MPs and peers transparency was needed on the use of the powers to avoid too much power being in the hands of the police.

Ministers want to strengthen the law on internet data retention to help the police tackle security threats.

They say law enforcement agencies need to keep pace with changing technology.

Under the government’s plans, currently being scrutinised by Parliament, service providers will have to store details of internet use in the UK for a year to allow police and intelligence services to access it.

Records will include people’s activity on social network sites, webmail, internet phone calls and online gaming.

Civil liberties campaigners have described the proposals as a “snooper’s charter”.

The draft Communications Data Bill requires any request for this kind of data to be “necessary and proportionate” and verified by a senior police officer.
‘Not fit for purpose’

But Mr Porter, a regular columnist for the Observer who was giving evidence to a joint committee of MPs and peers, said this safeguard was not good enough and the bill was “really dangerous”.

“I don’t believe this entire nation should subject itself to massive surveillance campaign by a few people who appear to be unscrutinised and the methods untransparent,” he said.
Continue reading the main story
Data Communications Bill

The Bill extends the range of data telecoms firms will have to store for up to 12 months
It will include for the first time details of messages sent on social media, webmail, voice calls over the internet and gaming in addition to emails and phone calls
The data includes the time, duration, originator and recipient of a communication and the location of the device from which it is made
It does not include the content of messages – what is being said. Officers will need a warrant to see that
But they will not need the permission of a judge to see details of the time and place of messages provided they are investigating a crime or protecting national security
Four bodies will have access to data: Police, the Serious and Organised Crime Agency, the intelligence agencies and HM Revenue and Customs
Local authorities will face restrictions on the kinds of data they can access

He raised concerns about a recent spread of numberplate recognition technology and face recognition CCTV cameras without proper scrutiny by parliament.

This spread, together with the proposed bill, was “part of a very, very serious move towards what could easily become the structure for a police state,” he said.

“It seems mad for a democracy to even be considering this kind of behaviour. I amazed we’re in this room actually countenancing this legislation.”

“If we let it get through in it’s current vague terms and then things are just added on and nobody pays any attention we won’t have a democracy,” he added.

Fellow witness Duncan Campbell, an investigative journalist, also expressed concerns about whether the bill would achieve what it set out to, and whether evidence gathered from the internet under the new system would be admissible in court.

He said: “It is fit proper and necessary that interception of communications and processing of communications data be available as part of the armoury. …more

Syria says army still undecided on ceasefire move
24 October, 2012 – By Oliver Holmes, Shaimaa Fayed – The Daily Star

Reuters BEIRUT/CAIRO: Syria said on Wednesday its military command was still studying a proposal for a holiday ceasefire with rebels – contradicting international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi’s earlier announcement that Damascus had agreed to a truce.

The statement threw Brahimi’s efforts to arrange a pause in the bloodshed in Syria into even more confusion, as the rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad have given no indication they would be willing to sign up to it.

A previous ceasefire arrangement in April collapsed within days, with both sides accusing the other of breaking it.

Brahimi, the joint U.N.-Arab League special envoy, had crisscrossed the Middle East to push the warring factions and their international backers to agree to a truce over the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha – a mission that included talks with Assad in Damascus at the weekend.

“After the visit I made to Damascus, there is agreement from the Syrian government for a ceasefire during the Eid,” Brahimi told a news conference at the Arab League in Cairo.

Within an hour, Syria’s Foreign Ministry said the proposal was still being studied by the armed forces’ leadership. “The final position on this issue will be announced tomorrow,” a ministry statement said.

The holiday starts on Thursday and lasts three or four days. Brahimi did not specify the precise time period for a truce.

Nor did the initiative include plans for international observers and rebel sources had earlier told Reuters there was little point if it could not be monitored or enforced.

The two sides are now locked in a battle with huge potential ramifications in the northwest.

Syrian warplanes carried out bombing raids on Wednesday on the strategic northern town of Maarat al-Numan and nearby villages while rebels surrounded an army base to its east, an activist monitor said.

Five people from one family, including a child and a woman, were killed in the air strikes, according to Rami Abdelrahman, head of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Maarat al-Numan has fallen to the rebels, effectively cutting the main north-south highway, a strategic route for Assad to move troops from the capital Damascus to Aleppo, Syria’s largest city where the insurgents have taken a foothold.

…more

Syria threatens to use chemical weapons against possible attack
By Agence France-Presse – 23 July, 2012 – The RawStory

Syria admitted Monday it has chemical weapons and warned of using them if attacked, though not against its own civilians, as regime troops reclaimed most of Damascus after a week of heavy clashes.

Fighting was still raging in Syria’s second-biggest city of Aleppo, however, as rights activists reported violence across the country killed at least 52 people, including 24 civilians.

And President Vladimir Putin of Russia, the Syrian regime’s main international ally, warned of a protracted civil war should rebels be allowed to remove President Bashar al-Assad from power.

At a Damascus news conference, foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi warned Syria would use chemical weapons if attacked by outsiders, although he backtracked later to say that, if Damascus has them, they would be secured.

His remarks come amid growing international concern that Damascus is preparing to deploy its chemical arsenal in the repression of a 16-month uprising against the Assad regime.

“Syria will not use any chemical or other unconventional weapons against its civilians, and will only use them in case of external aggression,” Makdissi told reporters.

“Any stocks of chemical weapons that may exist, will never, ever be used against the Syrian people,” he said, adding that in the event of foreign attack, “the generals will be deciding when and how we use them.” …more

Russia says Syrian rebels have shoulder-fired missiles
24 October, 2012 – Reuters – The Daily Star

MOSCOW: Syrian rebels have acquired portable surface-to-air missiles including U.S.-made Stingers, the Interfax news agency quoted Russia’s senior general as saying on Wednesday.

Like Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Russia has laid most of the blame for continuing violence on armed government foes it says are aided by encouragement and arms from abroad.

Russia’s military has learned “that militants fighting Syrian government forces have portable missile launchers of various states, including American-made Stingers,” Interfax quoted general staff chief Nikolai Makarov as saying.

“Who supplied them must still be determined,” he said.

NBC News reported in late July that the rebel Free Syrian Army had obtained nearly two dozen shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, also known as MANPADs. A political adviser to the Free Syrian Army denied it.

In contrast to the Libya crisis, the West has shown little appetite to arm the Syrian rebels, worried that weapons would fall into the hands of Islamic militants.

Russia sold the government in Syria $1 billion worth of weapons last year and has made clear it would oppose an arms embargo in the U.N. Security Council because of what it says are concerns rebels fighting Assad’s government would get weapons illegally anyway.

The West has criticised Russia for vetoing, along with China, three Security Council resolutions aimed at putting pressure on Assad to end a 19-month conflict. Moscow says it opposes foreign interference in Syria’s affairs.

Activists say the conflict has killed more than 30,000 people since protests against Assad erupted in March 2011.
…source