“All the work we are doing is to avoid foreign intervention. But if the international community does not take us seriously in this then I cannot guarantee that there will be no foreign interference.” - Hamad bin Jassem, Qatari foreign minister
The Arab League approves sanctions against Syria. In a vote in Cairo on Sunday, foreign ministers from 19 of the 22 Arab League countries passed a resolution imposing sanctions against Syria in response to the Syrian government’s ongoing, deadly crackdown against anti-government protesters across the country.
The sanctions include:
- a travel ban for Syrian officials and politicians;
- an asset freeze related to the Syrian government;
- a freeze on activity with the Syrian Central Bank;
- a halt to projects financed by the Arab countries in Syria.
The Arab League is also considering the suspension of all commercial flights to Syria from Arab countries, but this sanction is still being studied by the AL.
The sanctions become effective immediately. The resolution also calls for the UN Security Council to consider similar economic sanctions against the country. Sunday’s vote came after the Syrian government refused to allow 4,000 Arab League monitors into the country.
On November 12, the Arab League suspended Syria from the Arab League after Syria failed to follow the AL/Syria brokered peace agreement in early November. The peace plan required President Assad to withdraw tanks and security forces from cities, begin talks with opposition members and release political prisoners.
Read more at New York Times, BBC and Sky News.
[Photos: A protester walks under revolutionary Syrian flag and hold a crossed-out portrait of Syrian President Assad during a rally against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in front of the Syrian embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria, Sunday. Credit: Valentina Petrova/AP]
Little Arab Spring update
Bahrain - despite violent crackdowns by authorities thousands once again take to the streets (pictured)
Libya - Saif al-Islam Qaddafi has been captured trying to flee Libya by anti-Qaddafi forces
Arab League, Saudi King denounce Syrian violence
- 200 Syrian tanks rolled into the city of Deir el-Zour on Sunday, accompanied by soldiers and armored cars
- 50+ people were killed in the assault, which took place during the dawn call to prayer source
» For the first time, the Arab League has condemned the al-Assad regime’s violent assaults on the protesters, and Saudi Arabia has withdrawn its ambassador to Syria. Saudi King Abdullah strongly denounced the violence, calling for “an end to the death machine and bloodshed.”
(Source: shortformblog, via pantslessprogressive)
At least 100 people were killed in Syria on Sunday after tanks entered the city of Hama, making it one of the deadliest days in the country since protests began in March.
At least eight others were killed in Homs and Idlib.
Hama is the hub of some of the largest anti-government protests to date. More than 500,000 people protested across the country Friday.
Corpses scattered the streets after security forces fired on protesters, residents told the AP.
Read more on Sunday’s violence at Al Jazeera English, AP and The Guardian.
Above: Video from the Shaam News Network appears to show citizens dragging dead bodies and injured people through the streets, while loud gunfire is heard in the background. WARNING: Graphic images. [Found at The Lede]
Another must-read of the weekend: Syria: 3,000 disappeared in Assad’s crackdown
From Hugh Macleod and Annasofie Flamand at GlobalPost:
Since March 15, [human rights group] Avaaz has documented the killing of 1,634 people in the regime’s crackdown, with a staggering 26,000 people arrested, of whom nearly 13,000 remain in detention.
Syria: Violence in the dark
Meanwhile, in Syria:
When widespread protests broke out in Syria in March, President Bashar al-Assad’s regime turned to its feared security services to smother the anti-government movement.
The bloody response has so far succeeded where other attempts to put down the “Arab awakening” have failed, and President Assad remains in power.
Verifying the toll of the crackdown is difficult, since the government has banned most journalists and observers, but activists and researchers say more than 10,000 people have been detained and at least 1,500 killed since March. A response of proportional size in the United States, by way of comparison, would have meant more than 136,000 people detained and 20,450 killed.
At least 66 people are believed to have died while in the custody of Syrian authorities, according to a list provided by activists to Human Rights Watch researcher Nadim Houry in June.
Outside audiences have encountered the regime’s brutal response primarily through grainy YouTube footage and second-hand accounts relayed by expatriate activists.
These brushstrokes paint a useful yet broad picture: a dozen people killed in this city, a thousand people protesting in that city.
But first-hand accounts from those who have been through the packed cells of Assad’s jails or those who have come under gunfire from his troops offer a more personal understanding of the uprising. [read their stories]
(via pantslessprogressive)
Clinton: Assad has lost legitimacy
In the strongest condemnation of the Assad regime by the United States, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said:
President Assad is not indispensable and we have absolutely nothing invested in him remaining in power.
This comes after the US and French embassies were attacked by pro-Assad demonstrators in Syria.
(Source: CNN)
Syrian army 'cracking' amid crackdown
Members of the Syrian armed forces speak of their defection after being ordered to kill protesters.
This is reportedly the body of 13-year-old Hamza Ali Al Khatib, a Syrian boy allegedly killed by security forces. Warning: Graphic images. [syriaandsyria]
(via thepoliticalnotebook)
