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US drone strike kills three militants in Pakistan: officials
Today's Headlines
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Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 06/02/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Happy Birthday/Daily Gam Shot

Morena Baccarin [Brazilian] aka Inara in "Serenity (2005)" aka Inara Serra in "Firefly (TV 2002–2003)" aka Anna in "V (TV 2009 - 2011)" aka Adria in "Stargate SG-1 (TV 2006–2007)" aka Nurse Jessica Kivala in "Heartland (I) (TV 2007)" aka Jessica Brody in "Homeland (TV 2011)" (age 39)


Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 06/02/2012 1:10 Comments || Top||

#2  Birthday/Daily Gam Shot 06/01

Marilyn Monroe aka Lorelei Lee in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)" aka Pola Debevoise in "How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)" aka Sugar Kane Kowalczyk in "Some Like It Hot (1959)" aka Amanda Dell in "Let's Make Love (1960)" aka The Girl in "The Seven Year Itch (1955)" aka Kay Weston in "River of No Return (1954)" (Died in 1962 at age 36)



Blonde Bombshells Who Bathe
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 06/02/2012 1:11 Comments || Top||

#3  Looks more like a kitchen than a bathroom.

But, who am I to argue. That lady can bathe anywhere she likes, especially without bubbles.
Posted by: AlanC || 06/02/2012 9:05 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Four kidnapped aid workers freed in Afghanistan
Four aid workers kidnapped in northern Afghanistan last month have been freed by coalition forces, officials say.

British nutritionist Helen Johnston, Kenyan medic Moragwa Oirere and two Afghans were rescued in an operation in Badakhshan province on Friday, the Nato-led Isaf said in a statement.

They were among five employees of Switzerland-based aid group Medair captured by insurgents on 22 May.

Five hostage takers were killed during the operation, Nato says.

The group were making their way on horseback to the remote, mountainous province of Badakhshan, in north-eastern Afghanistan, when they were captured.
One Afghan national was released soon afterwards.

According to Isaf, the others were found in a cave by the rescue team who arrived by helicopter under the cover of darkness.

Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai, spokesman for security forces in northern Afghanistan, said the hostages were in a "good condition".
Posted by: tipper || 06/02/2012 03:53 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  But the BBC's Quentin Sommerville, in Kabul, says heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47s found during the raid suggest the kidnappers did have links to insurgent groups such as the Taliban.

The ultimate sleuth, that chap Sommerville.
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/02/2012 5:06 Comments || Top||

#2  It's the value of a public school education.
Posted by: Pappy || 06/02/2012 11:22 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Al-Shabaab terrorist sneaks into Uganda
(Sh.M.Network)-A suspected al-Shabaab
... the successor to the Islamic Courts...
terrorist has sneaked into Uganda through Kenya, the Inspector General of Police, Lt Gen. Kale Kayihura told journalists during the launch of the annual crime report at Imperial Royale hotel in Kampala Thursday.

Kayihura said that man traveled to Uganda by a public bus from Nairobi with the aid of the driver and conductor [taut].

The IGP said the man dodged being photographed at the bus terminal inNairobiwhen he moved out of the bus at the time local authorities started taking pictures of all passengers on board before it embarked on the journey toKampala.

Kayihura explained the suspected terrorist who is being trailed by the police re-entered the bus about three kilometers from the bus terminal.

He carried a bag which the conductor later put in the luggage chamber.

At this moment a suspicious female passenger reportedly took the photograph of the man using her phone.

Kayihura said the woman whose identity he declined to name told the police that the suspected terrorist disembarked from the bus about three kilometers ahead of the border point between Uganda and Kenya where he entered the bush, leaving his luggage behind.

The IGP also explained that the woman informed police that the same man reappeared from the bush and got onto the bus again about three kilometers away from the border point.

The man alighted from the bus at a certain point inKampalacity center on Jinja road after the conductor advised him to do so.

The driver and the conductor of the bus have since recorded statements with police.

Last week, security agencies inUgandaand other East African countries warned of a new terror threat in the region planned towards the end of the month of May.

Security agencies said the beturbanned goons groups including al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
, Qods, and al-Shabaab intend to mark the first anniversary of the death of their leader the late Osama bin Laden
... who knows that it's like to live in the belly of a whale only he's not living...
with kabooms.

Terror alert on

Kayihura Thursday saidUgandaremains on a high terror alert, owing to the threats security agencies have been receiving from the terrorist groups.

He said the beturbanned goons target crowded places and those frequented by foreigners. Meanwhile,
...back at the sea battle, the Terror of the Baltic's career had come to an abrupt and watery end...
he revealed that police would seek legal advice to close public places that have failed to put in place security measures to guard against terror attacks.

This fresh news about terrorism activities comes after a blast struck a shopping complex inNairobi's business district on Monday, wounding over 30 people at Moi Avenue.

In the recent past, several people have been killed in a string of attacks in Nairobi and the port city of Mombasa since Kenya sent troops into Somalia last year to fight al-Qaeda-linked bully boyz it accused of kidnappings that threatened tourism in the country.

The al-Shabaab bully boyz who merged with al-Qaeda earlier this year, have been claiming responsibility for the attacks.

The bully boyz killed 76 people in Uganda when they bombed football fans as they watched the 2010 World Cup finals at Kyadondo rugby grounds and Æthiopian village restaurant inKampala.

The al-Shabaab said they had carried out the attacks in retaliation for Uganda's involvement in peace keeping efforts in Somalia where they are fighting a transitional government.

Uganda,Kenya and Tanzaniahave experienced terror attacks since 1998 in which scores of people have died.
Posted by: Fred || 06/02/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab

#1  sounds like the Conductor needs some truncheon face time
Posted by: Frank G || 06/02/2012 10:42 Comments || Top||


4 Foreign Aid Groups Expelled from Sudan
[An Nahar] Sudan has expelled four foreign aid groups working in the country's east, a source at the government's Humanitarian Affairs Commission told Agence La Belle France Presse on Friday.

"HAC decided to expel four international NGOs working in eastern Sudan because they failed in their planned projects," said the source, asking not to be named.

"Also, there is a weakness in these international NGOs," the source added without elaborating.

He identified the groups as Save the Children Sweden, GOAL of Ireland, a Japanese humanitarian group and another Irish organization.

"There's been no explanation for this," said a diplomatic source, who clarified that the government is only seeking to cancel the aid groups' activities in eastern Sudan, not in the rest of the country.

The source, asking for anonymity, confirmed that GOAL and Save the Children Sweden were among those affected.
Posted by: Fred || 06/02/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan

#1  "HAC decided to expel four international NGOs working in eastern Sudan because they failed in their planned projects."

Does that mean we can expel Sudan from the earth because it's failed, too?
Posted by: American Delight || 06/02/2012 5:02 Comments || Top||


Fighting on outskirts of Mogadishu
(Sh,M,Network)-Fierce fighting between Somali government forces along with AU peacekeepers and Al shabab fighters took place overnight at Laanta-Buur area, just 25 Km away north-west Mogadishu, witnesses said,

A local resident told Shabelle Media under anonymity that the battle started after Al shabab agents staged attacks on Somali and AMISOM forces in the area. No death or wounds reported so far during the attack.

Neither Somali government officials nor Al shabab commented on the combat, but the area is one of the locations beyond Mogadishu that captured by TFG and AMISIOM troops this week after three-days of offensives with the orcs.
Posted by: Fred || 06/02/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Arabia
Militants Release Yemeni Troops as Forces Further Step up Offensive
[Yemen Post] The Sharia Supporters, the offshoot of Yemen Al-Qaeda, released about 27 soldiers on Thursday, who have been held as hostage in Shabwa province, Almasdar Online reported, quoted local sources.

Tribal elder Othman Ali Albabakri mediated the release of all the troops held in the stronghold of the thug group in the Azzan area, but only 27 soldiers were released, the website quoted a spokesmen for the group.

"This week, also 13 soldiers were released in the Shuqra city in Abyan
...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirate after seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues...
province bringing the total of those who have been set free to 40," Abu Hajir, the front man was quoted as saying.

The soldiers were incarcerated
You have the right to remain silent...
in Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan, amid an intensified offensive against the forces of Evil in southern and southeastern regions including Abyan and Shabwa.

The release of the soldiers came as the forces continued to advance on the thugs, killing many of them including big shots and recapturing areas, which were seized last year.

"The release was for the sake of Allah. We have not sought anything in return," the front man said, according to the website. "The 13 soldiers who were released in Shuqra had survived an Arclight airstrike while held in a school".

Al-Qaeda has recently raided military posts in Abyan province killing, injuring and arresting scores of soldiers. Some 73 of the soldiers incarcerated
You have the right to remain silent...
during the raids were released after a mediation.

The authorities said on Thursday Al-Qaeda forces of Evil were in their last breath as the forces further stepped up the battles to retake the most important strongholds of Zinjibar and Jaar, Abyan.

Earlier, the government refused to stop the war on the forces of Evil in return for releasing all Yemeni soldiers and foreign hostages.

In the past few months, Al-Qaeda kidnapped a Swiss woman, a Frenchie and deputy Saudi consul in Aden and took them to Shabwa.

The Swiss and Saudi diplomat have appeared in videotapes begging their government for help after negotiations by the Yemeni authorities failed to free them.

Posted by: Fred || 06/02/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia


Caribbean-Latin America
3 die in Ciudad Victoria gun battle

For a map, click here. For a map of Tamaulipas state, click here.

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Three unidentified armed suspects were killed in a gunfight with Mexican security forces in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas late Thursday morning, according to several Mexican news reports.

The encounter took place near the intersection of Libramiento Naciones Unidas and Avenida José Sulaima near a cemetery where a Policia Federal road patrol exchanged gunfire with at least four armed suspects travelling aboard a Nissan Murano SUV.

According to a report on the website of Vangardia news daily, officials with the Procuraduria General de la Republica (PGR) or attorney general refused to confirm the number of dead or wounded, only that an armed encounter took place. The casualty report comes from local reporting and Twitter postings.

In an unrelated gunfight, Mexican Army soldiers detained two unidentified individuals and killed an armed suspect Thursday in Guemes municipality Thursday, according to a separate report in Vangardia news daily, posted on the website.

The unit had been dispatched to a warehouse near Plan de Ayala ejido because of a citizen's complaint of armed suspects in the area.

Gunfire between the army unit and armed suspects ensued, leaving one armed suspect dead. An unidentified individual, who had been reportedly kidnapped and beaten was rescued.

Soldiers also seized one AK-47 rifle, one AR-15 rifle, 12 weapons magazines, 714 rounds of ammunition and other contraband.

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg,com

© Copyright 2012 by Chris Covert
You must obtain permission to reprint this article
Posted by: badanov || 06/02/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Mexican Army seizes 2 tons of marijuana in Zacatecas state

For a map, click here. For a map of Zacatecas state click here?

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A Mexican Army road patrol unit seized a total of 2.2 metric tons of marijuana and a quantity of weapons and munitions in Zacatecas state Friday, according to Mexican news reports.

According to a story posted on the website of El Sol de Zacatecas news daily, the road patrol was near the village of Lobatos in Valpraiso municipality when soldiers observed two vehicles travelling in convoy. The driver and passengers immediately abandoned the vehicles without firing a shot as the unit closed. No detentions were reported.

Seized contraband included 2.258 metric tons of marijuana in 150 packages. Weapons and munitions seized included two AK-47 rifles, one 12 gauge shotgun, one .45 caliber submachine gun, two explosives detonators, weapons magazines and more than 200 rounds of ammunition.

An unrelated seizure of marijuana took place the day before in Zacatecas municipality when Policia Federal agents executed a search warrant at a residence near the intersection of calle Igualdad and Valores de la Democracia in Zacatecana colony.

A total of 760 grams of marijuana wrapped in 81 packages, presumably for retail sale, was seized. No one was reported detained in the raid.

Meanwhile, in Jerez de Garcia Salina municipality two armed suspects were killed in an intergang firefight Thursday afternoon, according to a news story posted on the website of El Sol de Zacatecas news daily

The gunfight took place in the parking lot of Plaza de Toros, and apparently continued into an adjacent village.

Jerez de Garcia Salina has been the scene of a number of recent gunfights between Mexican security forces and criminal gangs operating in the area. Since the start of the year, 25 individuals, all reportedly armed suspects, have been killed in three separate firefights with Mexican security forces. A total of five shooting incidents have been recorded in the municipality.

According to the article, unidentified officials refused to speculate as to the cartel affiliations of the gunfight's participants. However, a May 4th gunfight was reportedly between a Los Zetas criminal gang and Gulf Cartel members.

Jerez de Garcia Salina sits astride Mexico Federal Highway 23, roughly 40 kilometers south of Fresnillo and 25 kilometers southwest of Zacatecas, the capital of Zacatecas state.

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com

© Copyright 2012 by Chris Covert
You must obtain permission to reprint this article
Posted by: badanov || 06/02/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They should require microdots on all weapons manufactured or at least for US import and use. Some of the previous weapons used could have been issued to the military or law enforcement but others found among cartel members come from Eastern Europe, Bulgaria, Russia, or are Chinese-made AK-47's. One report even mentioned weapons that have been issued in ME militaries--it could link narcos to the terrorists.
Posted by: OmuluqueHapsburg5085 || 06/02/2012 8:12 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
US Missiles Kill Two in Northwest Pakistan
An American drone fired two missiles at a motorbike in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing two suspected militants, officials said. The US is pushing on its drone campaign despite repeated Pakistani protest with this being the fifth such strike in the country in less than two weeks. Two Pakistani intelligence officials said the missiles hit in Dogh village near Wana, the main town in the South Waziristan tribal region.
Posted by: tipper || 06/02/2012 15:11 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


US drone strike kills three militants in Pakistan: officials
A US drone strike targeting a vehicle in Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt killed at least three militants on Saturday, security officials said, the latest in a recent spate of attacks.

The strike -- the sixth in 11 days -- took place in Khawashi Khel village, five kilometres (three miles) west of Wana, the main town in the South Waziristan tribal district which borders Afghanistan, a Pakistani security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"The US drone fired two missiles which completely destroyed the vehicle. At least three militants have been killed," the security official said.

Another official said the attack took place as militants were trying to move from one area to another near the border.
Posted by: tipper || 06/02/2012 04:01 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Helicopter shelling kills eight militants in Orakzai
[Dawn] At least eight faceless myrmidons were killed and three were maimed in a military operation on Friday during helicopter shelling by the security forces in Orakzai agency, DawnNews reported.

The security forces shelled with the gunship-helicopters in the area of Mela in upper Orakzai, Frontier Corps (FC) official said.

According to the sources, three Death Eater hideouts have also been destroyed in the operation.

The decisive operation is being carried on in the areas of Mamuzai, Khudezai, Sama Bazaar of Orakzai agency.

Authorities claim that 95 per cent area of Orakzai agency has been cleared from the Death Eaters.
Posted by: Fred || 06/02/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Girls school blown up in Mardan
[Dawn] Unidentified gunnies blew up a school for girls in Galandary village of Mardan district on the night between Wednesday and Thursday.

Khaista, the watchman of the community girls school, told officials of Saddar cop shoppe that three unidentified gunnies entered the school building, overpowered him and planted two bombs there.

He said that gunnies kept him in their custody till the time when the bombs went off and destroyed three classrooms and office of the headmistress of the school.

The cop shoppe concerned registered FIR against unidentified persons on the compliant of the watchman and started investigation.

In Tank, Taliban have warned tribal people, government contractors and workers of non-governmental organizations to stay away from construction work in South Wazoo Agency.

Through a one-page leaflet, written in Urdu on a plain paper, Taliban have termed South Waziristan a conflict zone and asked the tribal people to vacate the area.

The leaflet titled 'Last warning for residents of Mehsud area, South Waziristan Agency' doesn't carry any signature or monogram of any bully boy organization.

"Neither have we permitted nor will allow any government contractor and NGO workers to work there as they all are our target," it said.

The leaflet said that clemency would be declared for all those, who vacated the area voluntarily.

"All employees of education, health, Khasadar Force and NGOs etc will be considered criminals if they perform duty," it said. It also warned tribal elders against signing documents of displaced Mehsud people for reconstruction purpose or getting relief assistance.
Posted by: Fred || 06/02/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Rangers officer, four others shot dead across city
[Dawn] A Rangers officer was rubbed out by two assailants riding a cycle of violence near his home in Korangi on Thursday.

The attack took place within the remit of the Zaman Town cop shoppe in the early hours of the day when Sub-inspector Abdul Hameed, 45, son of Maula Bux Chachar, came out of his home in Sector 50-E of Korangi.

The police said that the assailants had an altercation with the Rangers man before they shot him. The victim received a single shot to his head and was struck down in his prime, they said.

The body was shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for legal formalities and, later, handed over to his heirs.

SHO Dilawar Jokhio of the Zaman Town cop shoppe said that Abdul Hameed was currently posted in the Sindh Rangers' nursing wing in Sanghar district and had been in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
for 12 days to spend his one-month leave.

Father of six, the dear departed had two wives who lived together with him.

The police quoting the victim's family said that on Thursday morning, Hameed left home after receiving a phone call. The police, however, could not find his cellphone till late in the night, and assumed that it might have been taken away by the assailants.

Paperwork was started but nothing else was done against unidentified persons on the complaint of the victim's brother, Imdad Chachar.

Meanwhile,
...back at the cheese factory, all the pieces finally fell together in Fluffy's mind...
a handout issued by the Pakistain Rangers, Sindh, regarding Hameed's murder said that he was in civil clothes when attacked.

In Noorani Basti, falling within the remit of the same cop shoppe, a factory worker was killed by unknown assailants.

The SHO said that Asad Husain, 32, was shot by two attackers riding a cycle of violence while he was sitting outside his home in Korangi.

The victim suffered six bullet wounds and was struck down in his prime, he added.

The police officer claimed that a narcotics-related case was registered against him but the motive for his murder was not immediately clear.

Body, maimed man found dumped

Unidentified gunnies shot two persons and dumped them at a place near the Spencer's Eye Hospital near Lea Market on Thursday. One of the victims succumbed to his wounds when police reached the scene early in the morning.

Napier cop shoppe personnel said that they found the other victim at death's door and rushed him to the Civil Hospital Bloody Karachi with the body.

The area SHO, Imdad Khawaja, said that the maimed man was identified as Arshad Mehmood, 25, a resident of Nawalane, Lyari. He received a single shot to his head, and doctors at the CHK described his condition as very critical, he added.

He said that both men might have been kidnapped somewhere and shot before being dumped near the Spencer's Hospital.

Clad in white shalwar-kameez, the dear departed, who had sustained three bullet wounds to the head and chest, remained unidentified and his body had since been removed to the Edhi morgue.

An FIR (98/2012) was registered at the Napier cop shoppe against unknown persons on behalf of the state.

Two bodies found

The perforated carcass of a teenaged boy was found at a place on Mauripur Road on Thursday morning.

According to the police, the body was found in front of Dua Hotel near Crown Cinema within the remit of the Kalri cop shoppe.

Area SHO Safdar Mashwani said the victim had received three bullets to the head, neck and chest, and assumed that he might have been a Lyari
...one of the eighteen constituent towns of the city of Karachi. It is the smallest town by area in the city but also the most densely populated. Lyari has few schools, substandard hospitals, a poor water system, limited infrastructure, and broken roads. It is a stronghold of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. Ubiquitous gang activity and a thriving narcotics industry make Lyari one of the most disturbed places in Karachi, which is really saying a lot....
resident.

The body was first shifted to the Civil Hospital for a post-mortem examination and then to the Edhi morgue for identification.

An FIR (136/2012) was registered against unknown killer on behalf of the state.

In Pak Colony, the body of another unidentified man was found dumped in the Lyari river on Thursday. The police said that the body, found near Rexer Lane, was about two days old. The victim, apparently a Lyari resident, was shot to the head, they added.

The body was shifted to the Civil Hospital for legal formalities and a case against unknown killers was registered on behalf of state.
Posted by: Fred || 06/02/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Palestinian militant sneaks into Israel, kills one soldier
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/02/2012 08:08 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Israeli troops returned fire, killing the militant.

Sunuvabi+ch. At least it had a happy ending.
Posted by: gorb || 06/02/2012 20:01 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syria Rebels Say Resuming 'Defensive Operations'
[An Nahar] The rebel Free Syrian Army on Friday announced it was resuming "defensive operations" after the expiry of its ultimatum for the regime to respect international envoy Kofi Annan
...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo...
's six-point peace plan.

"We will now resume defensive operations," FSA front man Qassem Saadeddine told Agence La Belle France Presse via Skype. "We will not go on the offensive because we do not want to be singled out as the ones responsible for breaking the peace initiative."

The decision came 48 hours after the FSA's military council from inside Syria gave the regime until Friday 0900 GMT to observe the Annan plan which calls for the withdrawal of government forces and heavy armor from towns and cities.

"We have tried to remain committed to the plan but it is our military and ethical duty to defend civilians," Saadeddine said.

"The Annan plan has failed," he said. "The ball has been in the regime and international community's court from the start, and the initiative was a failure from the day it was signed."
Posted by: Fred || 06/02/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  "The Annan plan has failed," he said. "The ball has been in the regime and international community's court from the start, and the initiative was a failure from the day it was signed."

Actually, it was a failure even before that.
Posted by: gorb || 06/02/2012 3:49 Comments || Top||


12 Syria workers 'executed' on eve of UN watchdog meet
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Syrian government forces summarily executed 12 civilians on their way home from work in a fertiliser factory in Qusayr, activists in the central town told AFP by telephone on Friday.

The reported killings late on Thursday afternoon came on the eve of a special session of the UN Human Rights Council called to discuss the conflict.

"The workers were on a bus when they were forced to stop at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Qusayr," in central Homs province, said Salim Kabbani of the Local Coordination Committees, which organise protests on the ground.

"Regime forces tied their hands behind their backs and shot them."

Kabbani said abuses had become routine in Qusayr, a town southwest of the flashpoint city of Homs.

"The checkpoint where the workers were killed is dangerous, and people are often tortured there."

Several areas of Qusayr have been under non-stop shelling by government forces, Kabbani said.

"We have a very high number of maimed, and we fear many of them will die because we don't have the medical materials we need to treat them."

Amateur video posted on YouTube by activists showed bodies lain out side by side, several with bullet wounds to the head.

The footage, purportedly shot when rebel fighters reached the scene to recover the bodies, included the voice of one man crying out: "This is my son, my son," as he tugged in vain at the leg of a corpse lying face up, his blue shirt and white trousers covered in blood.

Another video posted on Friday showed hundreds of people in Qusayr taking to the streets for a joint funeral for the slain workers.

A man bearing the Syrian independence flag led the cortege. Crowds chanted: "Oh God, we only have you to turn to," and: "We won't surrender, we won't surrender."

Green branches were laid on the white shrouds wrapped over the corpses as they were carried by pallbearers through the town.

The opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) accused the regime of carrying out the "slaughter" and called for international intervention to stop killings in Syria.

"The world and international institutions are responsible for protecting people from genocide and must intervene immediately to prevent regime thugs from completing their massacres and continuing to kill innocent people," the SNC said in a statement.

It called on the UN Security Council and the Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
to take "courageous decisions" against the regime to halt its crackdown and protect the Syrian people.

For its part, the Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had asked the UN military observer mission in Syria to visit Qusayr as soon as possible to investigate the latest killings.

Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP that the persistent bloodshed made a mockery of the UN-backed ceasefire that was supposed to take effect from April 12.
Posted by: Fred || 06/02/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Video Shows Syrian Tank Crushing Body of Dissident
[An Nahar] In a graphic video posted to YouTube on Friday by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Syrian tank is seen running over the body of a dissident fighter.

A group of four tanks and an open truck carrying approximately 10 soldiers are seen parked on a dirt road while others in uniform and one man in plain clothes casually mill around the area.

A soldier on one of the tanks films as his vehicle begins to move, panning down to the dead body of a dissident on the road between the tanks, his body completely disfigured and bloody, and his head already split open.

The tank proceeds to run over the body as the soldiers in the truck observe the scene.

A soldier, who appears to be the one filming the scene, then faces the camera, his face stern, saying nothing. He points the camera to the gun of the tank and then to the man in plain clothes, who slaps hands with another soldier as they walk away from the tank.

Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told Agence La Belle France Presse by phone that the man shown on the ground, along with a second crushed body not pictured, were confirmed to be dissidents.

The footage was taken March 14 at a checkpoint in Al-Bara village in northwest Idlib province, according to the Britannia-based watchdog.

In a statement released with the video, the Observatory says the footage "confirms the horror and brutality that regime forces use against Syrian dissidents, even after their deaths."

The Observatory "condemns in the strongest terms the heinous treatment of the corpses of the deaders and demands that the Syrian authorities respect the bodies of the dead, be they protesters or fighters, and hand them over to their relatives for a proper burial."

It also called for the prosecution of those committing such "acts of insanity, for which humanity should be ashamed."
Posted by: Fred || 06/02/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Funny, I just watched Idiocracy today - not that that is a landmark movie in any way, but it's fitting.
Posted by: newc || 06/02/2012 1:00 Comments || Top||


Syrian Forces Kill 43 as Protesters Rally across Country
[An Nahar] Syrian regime forces opened fire on protesters in the Douma area near the capital on Friday, as at least 43 people were killed in violence across the country, a rights group and activists said.

Regime forces killed 13 people in the countryside around Damascus
...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world...
, eight in the central province of Homs, nine in the northern city of Aleppo
...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins...
and its countryside, three in the central province of Hama, three in the northwestern province of Idlib, two in the coastal province of Latakia, two in the Damascus neighborhood of al-Mazzeh, two in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor and one in the southern province of Daraa, the Local Coordination Committees, the main activist group spurring protests on the ground, reported.

Scores of protests broke out in towns and cities across Syria to condemn the May 25 Houla massacre.

At a protest in Douma, "regime forces met the demonstrators with hot lead. Everyone had to run away because there was nobody there to protect them," activist Mohammed al-Dumani told Agence La Belle France Presse via Skype.

He said several people were maimed.

The demonstrations were called to commemorate the 108 victims of a massacre last week, including 49 children, in the central town of Houla. Activists hailed the children as the "flares of victory" in the 15-month anti-regime uprising.

In Aleppo, Syria's second city, regime forces killed two people as they opened fire on protests which drew thousands of people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The crowds "chanted for the victory of the deaders of Houla," another activist who declined to be named told AFP.

"People chanted in honor of the deaders of Houla, and condemned the failure of (U.N.-Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
envoy Kofi) Annan's peace plan," notably a ceasefire which has been violated each day, Halabi added.

The U.N.-backed ceasefire that came into force on April 12 has failed to take hold. According to the Syrian Observatory, almost 2,300 people have been killed since the start of the truce.

The Observatory said two people were killed and a third seriously injured in an kaboom in the al-Mazzeh neighborhood of Damascus.

Earlier on Friday, regime troops killed five people during raids and shelling of rebel positions in the town of Daraya outside the capital, the Britannia-based monitoring group said.

Regime troops stormed the town -- a center for the armed opposition -- with tanks and fired shells at its western districts, the Observatory said.

The Houla massacre, which Damascus blamed on "gangs," stoked an international outcry and the expulsion of top Syrian diplomats from several Western countries.

On Friday morning, in al-Esseily neighborhood of Damascus, protesters demanded that further action be taken against the Syrian authorities.

"O Arabs, we demand more than the expulsion of the (Syrian) ambassadors; we also demand the expulsion of the Russian and Chinese ambassadors" in Damascus, read one poster.

In the southern province of Daraa, a man was rubbed out as he left a mosque in al-Sheikh Maskeen village, while heavy gunfire and kabooms were reported in several towns.

In the city of Homs, central Syria, regime forces rubbed out four people, while a child was injured in shelling of Houla, in the province of the same name, according to the Observatory.

And regime forces in Deir Ezzor province of eastern Syria rubbed out a civilian in the town of Bukamal, it said.
Posted by: Fred || 06/02/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria



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Sat 2012-06-02
  US drone strike kills three militants in Pakistan: officials
Fri 2012-06-01
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Thu 2012-05-31
  Somalia forces capture key al-Shabab town of Afmadow
Wed 2012-05-30
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Tue 2012-05-29
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Mon 2012-05-28
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Sun 2012-05-27
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Sat 2012-05-26
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Fri 2012-05-25
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Thu 2012-05-24
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Wed 2012-05-23
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