Persian Realm

Guide to the Syrian opposition

Guide to the Syrian opposition (bbc)

The Syrian government faces a challenge from a variety of opposition groups, some of which have existed for many years and others which have sprung up since the end of 2010 when a wave of unrest began to sweep across the Middle East.

Opposition parties are banned under emergency laws introduced when the Baath Party seized power in 1963.

The dozens of active parties include leftist, secularist, Islamist and Arab nationalist parties. Decades of repression have forced them underground or into exile, leaving the formal opposition weakened and fragmented.

Several groups have tried to form a united front to provide a stronger opponent to a government determined to stay in power. Some renegade army officers and soldiers have taken up arms against the state, raising the spectre of a civil war.

Here is a guide to some of the most prominent groups and blocs. 

Tunis summit to seek Syria truce

Tunisia is set to host a major conference to seek a breakthrough in Syria, with fresh pressure on Damascus to allow humanitarian access.

Tunis summit to seek Syria truce (bbc)

Syrian Leaders

Syrian Leaders Committing Crimes Against Humanity, UN Panel Says

//www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-23/syrian-leaders-committing-crimes-against-humanity-un-panel-says.html

A state of war only serves as an excuse for domestic tyranny.--Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

Syrian Activists risk lives to get word out

Activists risk lives to get word out (cnn)

Editor's note: Syrian forces are intensifying their bombardment of the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs, a stronghold of the opposition. For those trapped in the area, there is the ever-present danger that the next shell will hit wherever they are trying to find shelter, or a sniper's bullet will kill them.

CNN's Arwa Damon, who was in Homs last week, saw the risks that opposition activists were taking minute-by-minute, when she went to their communications center. CNN's Ivan Watson also was able to get an inside look at a makeshift, rebel-run media operation helping to get the news and pictures out of Syria. Below are edited accounts of what they've seen and been told about how Syrians are trying to get their message out: 

Amanpour: Marie Colvin shone light on victims

Amanpour: Colvin shone light (CNN, VIDEO)

• Christiane Amanpour pays tribute to Marie Colvin, correspondent killed in Syria
• She says Marie's legacy lies in her commitment to storytelling, and doing it right way
• Amanpour: Colvin gave voice to those who have no voice
• She says her death makes people sit up and realize what is happening in Syria

Clinton: Syria opposition credible

Clinton: Syria opposition credible (cnn)

By Elise Labott and Adam Levine

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the opposition Syrian National Council is emerging as an alternative to the Bashar al-Assad regime and that the consensus opinion among Arab League and other nations is that the group is a credible representative.  Diplomats tell CNN that the opinion will be reflected in the communique to be issued from the Friends of Syria conference on Friday in Tunisia.

Jordan to deploy Patriots to protect Israel from Syrian attack

Jordan is to deploy four Patriot missile batteries to protect itself — and Israel — from possible air attack by Syria, the French newspaper Le Figaro reported on Thursday.

Quoting a European military expert, it said the the missile defense systems would be supplied by Germany, with US support. The US originally sold the systems to Germany 20 years ago.

The paper said Israel also privately supported the move.

The Patriots would be capable of intercepting Scud missiles fired by Syria en route to Israel, the expert reportedly said.

The paper noted that a cousin of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s, businessman Rami Makhlouf, had warned last May that Syria’s ongoing conflict would spread beyond its borders, to Israel, if the regime in Damascus felt threatened. “If there is no stability here, there will be none in Israel,” Makhlouf said.

Injured UK photographer Paul Conroy in video from Syria

A British photographer who was injured when shells hit a makeshift media centre in Homs, Syria, has appeared in a video posted online.

Paul Conroy, of the Sunday Times, was hurt in the same attack that killed journalists Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik in the Baba Amr suburb of the city.

In the amateur video he says he says he is being looked after by medical staff from the Free Syrian Army.

Journalist Edith Bouvier risks leg amputation if not evacuated

'I need urgent operation' (BBC, VIDEO)

The French journalist who was wounded in an attack on the Syrian city of Homs on Wednesday has asked to be evacuated from Syria quickly, saying she needs urgent medical attention.

Edith Bouvier was injured in the attack that killed journalists Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik in the Baba Amr suburb.

In a video posted online by opposition activists, Ms Bouvier said she had a broken femur and urgently needed an operation.

Photojournalist William Daniels, who is also French, appears alongside her and says she has not lost her smile.

He was also caught up in the attack but says he was not injured. 

Injured French Le Figaro reporter asks to leave Syria

Hurt reporter asks to leave Syria (bbc)

Edith Bouvier, the French journalist hurt in an attack on the Syrian city of Homs, says she needs urgent medical attention and asks to be evacuated. 

'Friends of Syria' meeting begins on Friday in Tunisia

• The 'Friends of Syria' meeting begins on Friday in Tunisia
• A comprehensive humanitarian aid package is on the table
• The group will also discuss implementing more sanctions

Jim Muir's tribute to Marie Colvin

UN receives Syria war crimes list

A United Nations panel has delivered a list of Syrian officials who could be investigated for crimes against humanity.

Syria unrest: Reporters' deaths spark Western outrage

The killings of two Western journalists in Homs among 60 reported deaths across Syria spark further outrage towards the Damascus government

Homs reporters' deaths condemned (bbc)

Syrian citizen journalist Rami al-Sayed killed in Baba Amr

Rami al-Sayed was a key provider of online videos showing the Syrian government's bombardment of the central city of Homs until his death on Tuesday.

Activists said Rami al-Sayed was fatally wounded when shells struck the opposition stronghold of Baba Amr for the 18th consecutive day. He had been trying to help a family flee in a car, witnesses said.

A video posted on his YouTube channel, Syria Pioneer, by Mr Sayed's brother showed his body in a makeshift clinic in Baba Amr, with shrapnel wounds to his chest, abdomen and legs.

World seeks to stem Syria killing in amid growing toll

Doctors struggle to save wounded children in Homs

GRAPHIC WARNING: Children are dying in Syria amid intense shelling and no access to proper healthcare. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reports on the horror that is Homs.

Arwa Damon to Anderson Cooper: “Situation Catasrophic in Syria"

Arwa Damon: “Situation Catasrophic in Syria as humanitarian crisis continues” (CNN, Video)

Just back from Syria, CNN's Arwa Damon reports on the latest bombings in Homs and the people who are suffering.

Russia boosts arms sales to Syria despite world pressure

By Thomas Grove and Erika Solomon (Moscow / Beirut)

(Reuters) - Russia faces a growing international outcry over its arms sales to Syria but shows no sign of bowing to pressure and has even increased deliveries of arms that critics say are helping keep President Bashar al-Assad in power.

The biggest importer of arms to Syria, Russia sold Damascus nearly $1 billion worth of arms including missile systems last year, while shipments of hard-to-track Russian small weapons have risen since the uprising against Assad started, government defectors say.

Tributes paid to Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin

Tributes to reporter Marie Colvin (BBC)

Tributes are pouring in for Sunday Times foreign correspondent Marie Colvin who has been killed during an attack in Homs in Syria.

French photojournalist Remi Ochlick was also killed after shells reportedly hit a makeshift media centre in Baba Amr.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron said American Ms Colvin's death was a "desperately sad reminder" of the risks journalists took reporting in Syria.

Sunday Times owner Rupert Murdoch described Ms Colvin as "fearless".

The French government announced the death of the two reporters.

Ms Colvin, who had spoken to the BBC the day before she died about the situation in Homs, was one of few Western journalists in the troubled country. 

People of Homs are Heroes!

It is shameful to see how little Iranians support the Arab spring. The uprising in Syria, Libya, Yemen, egypt and Tunesia showed us all how tyrannies can be fought !

Profiles of Killed Journalists: Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik

Profiles: Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik (bbc)

The two journalists who have reportedly been killed in Homs were both veterans of war zones across the world despite their differing ages. 

Marie Colvin's Last Report from Homs: "I saw a baby die today"

Parts of the Syrian city of Homs are being bombarded by shells in what witnesses are describing as the heaviest attack in days.

Sunday Times reporter, Marie Colvin, is the only British newspaper journalist in Homs.

The footage at the start was filmed by cameraman Paul Conroy on 17 February

A French and an American Journalist 'die in Homs"

Syrian soldiers defect amid clashes

Syrian soldiers defect amid clashes (BBC, VIDEO)

Syrian activists say 80 people have been killed in the latest clashes, mainly in northern Syria.

The US has backed calls by the Red Cross for a humanitarian ceasefire in Syria to allow aid to reach the worst affected areas.

The US has also indicated that it might consider giving military help to the opposition, if diplomacy fails.

Bridget Kendall reports. 

Syria frees iconic Arab Spring blogger Ghazzawi

Dire scenes inside Homs clinic

Dire scenes inside Homs clinic (BBC, VIDEO)

Parts of the Syrian city of Homs are being bombarded by shells in what witnesses are describing as the heaviest attack in days.

Sunday Times reporter, Marie Colvin, is the only British newspaper journalist in Homs.

The footage at the start was filmed by her cameraman Paul Conroy last Friday. 

US backs Red Cross Syria truce call

Homs pounded in relentless shelling campaign

Homs pounded in relentless shelling campaign (CNN, VIDEO)

CNN) -- The besieged Syrian city of Homs endured more bloodshed Tuesday as security forces pounded restive areas and killed at least 18 people in the defiant Baba Amr neighborhood, activists said.

Along with Baba Amr, security forces shelled the Homs neighborhoods of Khalidiya and Karam al-Zaytoon, according to the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Three of those killed were children, including a baby, the group said. The government's siege against the recalcitrant city, an epicenter of opposition, has persisted for more than two weeks and shows no signs of ending.

The offensive prevailed as the Syrian crackdown against opposition forces is now almost a year old. The crackdown has been condemned by many world powers, and the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an opposition activist network, estimates almost 9,000 people have been killed since the crackdown and uprising flared. 

Syria city under New heavy shelling