Massacre in Coastal Town Forces Syrian Residents to Flee

A great number of Sunni Muslims and their families have fled their residences in the coastal area of Banias, after Assad’s armed forces massacred dozens of people on Friday night, according to activists.

According to reports, activists claimed that about 77 people were brutally killed in the Ras al-Nabaa district of Banias, only two days after dozens of people were killed in the nearby village of al-Baida by Assad’s forces and militia loyal to the Syrian president.

British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), said that hundreds of families were estimated to have fled the town for nearby towns like Jableh and Tartous.

Head of SOHR Rami Abdelrahman said, “The army is turning people back at the checkpoints outside the town, telling them to go back to Banias, that nothing is wrong. There are also announcements going out on mosque loudspeakers telling people to return home.”

There was a footage posted online by the SOHR of a gory scene in Ras al-Nabaa. Mutilated and burnt bodies littered the area. Some were lying in pools of blood, and most of the victims were children.

Another footage showing the bodies of dozens of people killed in Banias on Friday night was posted online by activists. The bodies were those of a family, with women and children included.

The US state department released a statement after it got wind of the incidents that occurred lately.

“We strongly condemn atrocities against the civilian population and reinforce our solidarity with the Syrian people. As the Assad regime’s violence against innocent civilians escalates, we will not lose sight of the men, women and children whose lives are being so brutally cut short.”

“Those responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law and serious violations and abuses of human rights law must be held accountable.”

Assad’s Forces Raid on Village Leaves Dozens Dead

Syrian opposition reported that Assad’s security forces and loyal militia groups have laid waste to the coastal village of al-Baida on Thursday, leaving about 50 to 100 people dead, including women and child.

While there are conflicting reports about the incident, there were indications that the raid was a response to an attack on a busload of ‘Shabiha’, pro-Assad fighters, by rebels a few hour earlier, which led to the death of at least six people and dozens injured.

According to government-run SANA news agency, Assad’s forces killed “terrorists” (a term his regime used to describe the rebels) and seized arms.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the death toll would likely increase beyond 100, as most of the victims appeared have been “summarily executed” by either shots or stabbings.

Earlier in the day at a news conference, US defence secretary, Chuck Hagel and his British counterpart, Philip Hammond, were responding to reporters’ questions about the possibility of the US government arming the rebels.

Hagel replied in the affirmative, but added that he is in favour of exploring options and seeing what is the best option in coordination with his government’s international partners.

This incident comes at a time when Syrian mediator, Lakhdar Brahimi, has considered resigning from the U.N.-Arab League role over his frustration of being in a situation in which no further progress has been reached to end Syria’s two-year civil war that has caused the deaths of thousands.

According to diplomats speaking on the condition of anonymity, Brahimi felt that the decision to recognize Syria’s opposition by the Arab league is one-sided and can belittle his neutrality.

At the moment, UN chief Ban Ki-Moon and ambassadors from the United States, Britain, Russia, China and France held a meeting on Thursday to deal with the Syrian situation in light of a possible resignation from Brahimi.

Dozens of People Dead after Iraqi Raid on Sunni Protest Camp

At least 27 people, mostly Sunni protesters and gunmen were left dead with 70 others injured in the northern city of Hawija on Tuesday, after a clash between gunmen and Iraq’s security forces in Kirkuk province, according to a senior Iraqi official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.  

Although, there have been conflicting reports on the actual death toll, but, there were losses on both sides as 3 security officers and 20 protesters were killed, according to the defense ministry.

The clash began when Iraq’s security forces, who were on the manhunt for wanted persons, raided the al-Atisam Square, which happen to be the site where the Sunni protesters were demonstrating.

In a statement, the defense ministry said, ‘when the armed forces started to enforce the law using units of riot control forces, they were confronted with heavy fire.’ In the raid, they detained some protesters and confiscated a huge arsenal of assorted weapons like AK-47s, sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.

In a contrasting report, the protesters have claimed that they were unarmed when the security forces raided their site. A protester, Ahmed Hawija, claimed that when the security forces raided the square, they (the protesters) were unprepared and unarmed, and the security forces crushed some of them (the protesters) in their vehicles.

The violence didn’t end there. 3 checkpoints around Hawija were also seized by tribal Sunni militants for a short while, until government forces took control later.

Earlier Tuesday, some Sunnis also came under attack in southern Baghdad when two roadside bombs went off as worshippers exited a mosque. 7 people were reported dead, with about 13 others injured, according to police reports.

Tensions between the Shiites and the Sunnis have only grown worse with the latest development. In the Anbar province of Falluja, there have been reports of angered citizens setting two army vehicles on fire, and others near Falluja attacked an army convoy.

While Sunni politicians have pointed accusing fingers at the Shiite prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, for the assault on the peaceful Sunni protesters, Iraqi House Speaker, Osama al-Najafi issued a strong condemnation on the military.

He said, ‘we condemn in the strongest words of condemnation and denunciation the unfortunate crime committed by the army against the demonstrators in Hawija.’

Al-Maliki has ordered an investigation, and instructed that aid be given to the wounded, with compensation to the aggrieved families.

It was also reported that two Sunni Cabinet members- Mohammed Tameem and Abdul Karim al-Samarrai, Minister of Education and Minister of Science and Technology respectively, have resigned over the actions on the protesters by security forces.

Thousands of protesters left their homes to protest on the streets that are predominantly Sunni provinces, demanding that the Shiite-led government should stop looking down on Sunni community, since December.