|
Kurdish Riots Have Ended in Syria, but Itâs the Calm Before the Next Storm
While the anti-government riots that raged throughout the Kurdish-populated areas of Syria for much of the past week and a half appear to have subsided as of Monday, the recent unrest may prove to be the calm before the storm for Syriaâs Kurdish pro-democracy advocates. On March 21, amidst banners condemning the continued repression of Kurds by Syriaâs ruling Baath party, some 50 protesters assembled in front of the Syrian embassy in Washington, DC. The embassy demonstration came as fires still burned on the outskirts of the northern Syrian city of Qamoshli, leaving Syrian president Bashar al-Assad with perhaps his worst political crisis since taking office in June 2000. According to Kurdish sources, between 50 and 70 opponents of the Assad regime were killed and more than 200 injured by local police and the Syrian army during riots that swept through Qamoshli, Hasakah, Dirik, Amouda, and Ras el-Ein, all Kurdish-majority cities in northern Syria. In addition, as many as 1200 Kurds were reportedly detained or arrested during the uprising, although many have since been released. article continues Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-04-08 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=30020 |