I also believe the evidence in regard to ethnic cleansing is substantial enough. If I may?
Last week Annan suggested that the group would include the five permanent members of the UN Security Council as well as Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and others. But the US and its western partners firmly oppose membership for Iran, a close Syrian ally....
But, Homs has one of the densest populations in Syria, more dense than even Damascus. If I were a dictator and wanted to eliminate my dearest enemy why not justify it by saying the 'terrorists' are from Homs. It would solve a great deal of problems for justifying the killing.
Syria crisis: UN says children used as human shields - live updates (click here)
• UN
reports highlights abuse of children in Syria
• Observers alarmed about escalating violence
• Footage shows rebel leader watching troops fire RPGs
• Observers alarmed about escalating violence
• Footage shows rebel leader watching troops fire RPGs
Whitaker
The clip shows Colonel Qassim Saadeddine (in the green camouflage) who last month defied the Turkey-based leader of the FSA by issuing the Assad regime with a 48-hour deadline to abide by the ceasefire. Since that deadline elapsed on 1 June, the FSA has stepped up its attacks on government forces.
Kofi Annan is pushing ahead with plans to set up an international contact on Syria, despite objections from the US and UK about the idea of involving Iran in such a group.
AFP quotes Annan's spokesman as saying:
We hope that this contact group meeting will take place soon. The objective of creating this group is to give teeth to the [six point peace] plan, is to convince the parties to implement the plan in its entirety - it's not to create a new plan.
Last week Annan suggested that the group would include the five permanent members of the UN Security Council as well as Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and others. But the US and its western partners firmly oppose membership for Iran, a close Syrian ally....
This is a map naming the Syrian cities currently involved in the violence, Hama, Homs and Damascus. I believe the rebels in Damascus are taking on the a similar approach as the Libyan rebels did in taking the capital city there. The rebels may succeed. I believe the Assad regime, including the military is in disarray. As an example, when UN inspectors went to assess the recent location of the killings of women and children, they were confronted by what appeared to be a death squad. That cluster of armed resistance may have been a troop of the Syrian military no longer able to act in a cohesive manner so much as offensive and defensive in a location where they were cut off by rebels. That thought has to be at least entertained in coming to conclusions regarding the violence. The authority currently in Syria, I believe, may be more local and less decentralized than anyone might expect. Syrian sovereignty may already be disintegrating.
But, Homs has one of the densest populations in Syria, more dense than even Damascus. If I were a dictator and wanted to eliminate my dearest enemy why not justify it by saying the 'terrorists' are from Homs. It would solve a great deal of problems for justifying the killing.
The map to the left is religious distribution of populations in Syria. Homs being the most densely populated is also Sunni Muslim.
Bashar Assad is a member of the Ba'ath Party and is Alawite Shia Islam. Assad and Iran have a lot in common in their religious affiliations and there has been at least rumors that Iran is an active merchant of the Syrian military.
It just seems to me if I were Assad and receiving protests about a dynasty the family has held for a long time and I wanted to scapegoat 'terrorist rebels,' Homs would be more than inviting to that 'theme.'
A series of devastating explosions (click here) rocks the Syrian city of Homs in an image taken from amateur video. (Bambuser/Homslive, Associated Press / June 11, 2012)
