Syria and Middle East unrest – live blog

All the latest developments as the Assad regime in Syria continues its crackdown on dissenters 11.56am: Al-Jazeera has a report from the refugee camps on the southern border of Turkey and Syria where thousands have fled the bloodshed. In this video a man says how he was shot three times on the way back from a funeral in the besieged town of Jisr al-Shughour by Syrian military intelligence offers: They were waiting for us – like an ambush. When we arrived at a certain spot they just appeared. The people didn’t kill outright, they beat them till they died. We had no guns, no arms, nothing in our hands. 11.54am: The UK foreign secretary, William Hague, has issued a statement on the anniversary of the protests about the disputed 2009 Iranian presidential elections, which draws parallels between that uprising and the Arab spring. Two years ago we saw the Iranian people take to the streets to dispute the results of the 2009 Presidential election and demand representation reflecting the will of the people. They were ultimately denied this, but we all remember the scenes of Iranians pouring onto the streets in peaceful protest to demand their civil and political rights. Two years later we have seen similar demonstrations in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab World; protests that the Iranian regime now claims to support. This feigned support is all the more disturbing when we consider what has happened in Iran since 2009. There has been a brutal crackdown on all those who freely and peacefully sought to express their views and a concerted attempt to silence any opposition. And now there is plenty of evidence that Iran is exporting these same repressive techniques to its long time ally Syria, as Syria’s rulers brutalise their people to cling to power. It is not in our conscience as a nation to stand by as people are stoned, locked up for defending their rights under their constitution, or beaten on the streets by hired thugs. Two years after people took to the streets to demand reform, I want it to be known that our attention has not been diverted and we will continue to call on Iran to implement its international human rights obligations. 11.17am: The opposition Ugarit News channel and Shaam News Network both continue to post videos of the crackdown on protesters on YouTube. This clip Ugarit News appears to show Syrian security forces opening fire on protesters in Damascus yesterday who were chanting “Peaceful! Peaceful!” 11.01am: The release of a report showing that American firms sold around $200m of arms to Bahrain last year is likely to fuel further criticism of US Middle East policy. The US government approved the military sales just months before the autocratic regime launched its brutal crackdown against pro-democracy protesters, AP reports. The state department annual report on global sales of US arms showed that licensed defence sales to Bahrain rose by $112m between 2009 and 2010. The bulks of the military hardware sold was for aircraft and military electronics. But the US also licensed $760,000 in exports of rifles, shotguns and assault weapons, which raises the possibility that some might have been used against protesters. 10.34am: Reuters has more details about the deployment of Syrian helicopter gunships in the northern town of Maarat al-Numaan. The helicopters opened fire after security forces on the ground killed five protesters, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told the news agency: “At least five helicopters flew over Maarat al-Numaan and began firing their machine guns to disperse the tens of thousands who marched in the protest,” one witness said by telephone. “People hid in fields, under bridges and in their houses, but the firing continued on the mostly empty streets for hours,” said the witness, who gave his name as Nawaf. This brief clip posted on YouTube appears to show a government helicopter flying over the town. Syria’s state television, in contrast, blamed violence in the area on anti-government groups. It made no mention of attack helicopters but said an ambulance helicopter had come under fire over Maarat from “terrorist armed groups,” injuring crew. 10.28am: An elite army division commanded by Assad’s younger brother, Maher, is believed to be responsible for most of yesterday’s violence, AP reports: The decision to mobilise his unit against the most serious threats to the Assad regime could be a sign of concern about the loyalty of regular conscripts. 10.09am: The besieged town of Jisr al-Shughour is almost deserted this morning, surrounded by tanks and heavy armour, AP reports: Syrian state television on Saturday said army units arrested several leaders of the alleged armed groups in the area. About 80% of the population has fled, with more than 4,000 Syrians taking sanctuary across the Turkish frontier. The town – normally inhabited by 41,000 people – has become a focal point of the Syrian revolution ever since Assad’s regime vowed to wreak vengeance on its mostly forsaken inhabitants, who the regime accuses of killing 120 government troops last weekend. Refugees who crossed the border into Turkey said the chaos had erupted as government forces and police mutinied and joined the local population against the forces loyal to Assad. But AP reports that, despite the build up of Assad’s forces, protests have spread to every major town in the region. In the town of Maaret al-Numan, 25 miles (40km) to the south-east of Jisr al-Shughour, thousands of protesters overwhelmed security forces and torched the courthouse and police station. The BBC’s Owen Bennett Jones spoke to refugees just over the border in Turkey who told him Assad’s forces were operating a scorched earth policy in the region, with people being shot in their beds. 9.47am: Good morning and welcome to our continued coverage of the unrest in the Middle East. Syria continues to be the focus of international concern with thousands of people fleeing into Turkey to escape the deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. Here’s a round-up of the latest developments: • Syrian tanks have sealed off the northern town of Jisr al-Shughour , with pro-democracy activists warning that they expect an all-out assault by government troops. More than 20 people were killed across the northern province of Idlib yesterday. • Syrian helicopter gunships have fired machine guns to disperse thousands of protesters in the north-western town of Maarat al-Numaan in the first reported use of air power to quell unrest in the three-month-old uprising. • The US has condemned Syria’s “outrageous use of violence” against anti-government protesters. The White House said President Bashar al-Assad’s regime was leading Syria down a “dangerous path” and called for “an immediate end to the brutality and violence”. • Syria has warned the United Nations against intervening in its internal affairs. Syrian foreign minister Walid al-Moualem said a European draft resolution condemning the country for its crackdown on anti-government protesters would only embolden “extremists and terrorists”. • Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Assad of failing to take the violence perpetrated by his troops seriously , warning that the crackdown by Syria’s intelligence service was “heading towards a massacre” . Syria Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Refugees Protest Bashar Al-Assad Libya David Batty guardian.co.uk

Posted by on June 11, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.