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Subscribe to RSSBEIRUT, Lebanon -- Syrian tanks shelled the central city of Hama and parts of Homs came under mortar fire on Tuesday, opposition activists said, on the day President Bashar Assad had agreed to halt the use of heavy weapons and withdraw forces from urban areas.
Tanks were still present in both cities, activists said.
A collapse of the truce deal by U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan could move Syria closer to an all-out civil war. A 13-month uprising has turned increasingly violent in response to a brutal regime crackdown.
"Shelling woke me this morning at 8:30 a.m. (2:30 a.m. ET) and I can now hear one shell every 10 minutes or so," said Waleed Fares, describing what he said was mortar fire striking neighborhoods in the center and east of Homs, the hub of a 13-month-old uprising.
Syria truce prospects fade; US 'outraged' by new attacks
In Hama, Manhal Abu Bakr reported hearing shelling overnight and said tanks were still patrolling the city.
"At 2 a.m. (8 p.m. Monday) we heard two shells fall and the sound of tanks moving around the streets," he said.
"There is no gunfire now. They shell us at night so that it is hard to film," he said over Skype. Internet video, which Abu Bakr said was filmed in Hama overnight, showed nighttime explosions in a built-up district.
Colleagues mourn TV cameraman shot dead on Lebanon-Syria border
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said most cities were relatively calm on Tuesday after heavy bloodshed in recent days, but reported no clear sign of troop withdrawals.
Syrian troops' message: 'We are present'
There were no immediate reports of action by fighters of the rebel Free Syrian Army, whose commanders have said they will order a cease-fire only if they are satisfied that Assad's forces have indeed pulled back and stopped offensives.
The Observatory said there was an overnight bombardment in the town of Mara in Syria's northern province of Aleppo.
Syrian troops have fired across the border into Turkey, hitting a refugee camp. It's the latest incident suggesting that a cease-fire meant to take effect this week is unlikely to go ahead. ITV's Richard Pallot reports.
In Douma, a suburb of the capital Damascus, an activist said tanks were still on the fringes of town on Tuesday morning.
Residents of the southern city of Deraa, where the popular revolt against Assad erupted in March 2011, reported sporadic gunfire.
"Security is everywhere and you feel they have redeployed in key locations," said Nayef Hassan, an engineer.
Security forces and the army remained stationed in Deraa, said an activist who called himself Abu Firas, and security checkpoints still separated districts of the old city.
"The troops at checkpoints are appearing in strength to say 'we are present'," he said.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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I thought Assad wanted guarantees from the wahabi terrorist yesterday? If he is asking for guarantees then there is no agreement and with the western backers providing funding and arms to these jihadist, Assad is right to ask for guarantees.
The UN and the Arab League have dropped the ball again...At the expense of killing Innocent human beings.
Hello folks, the U.S. once again is flexing its muscle trying to overthrow yet another government because as you know we have the moral turpitude that all countries want to emulate, right?. The days of our aggression are quickly coming to an end as the world has tired of our illegal invasions around the globe. We are not there to "spread democracy" but to pillage and plunder. We are the cause of millions of deaths and millions of people being displaced around the world. We are funding the rebels causing the violence, death and mayhem you see being reported. Unfortunately that is status quo for our foreign policy. Since we have allowed our country to sink to these depths, it's no wonder we have allowed the Patriot Act, National Defense Authorization Act, National Defense Resources Preparedness Act to be passed with very little resistance. The shining city on the hill has changed to the city surrounded by razor barbed wire.
According to Former NATO supreme allied commander, former presidential candidate and 4 star US General Wesley Clark that they had received a memo that America is going to take out 7 countries in the Middle East starting with Iraq, Libya, Syria Lebanon Sudan, Somalia, and finally Iran. It is amazing how these things that were planned years ago are being achieved in front of our eyes.
And why should this surprise anyone, we allowed the Act of 1871 (read just the first paragraph) to shape who we are today.
Hummmmmmm ...... The US is "Outraged?" .............. lol
What did we expect? ..
It's THEIR country, and THEIR freedom, let THEIR people fight and die for it. Leave OUR brave men and women (not to mention wallets) alone.
The Syrian Government should continue to attack the Rebels (Activist) until there is an agreement from BOTH SIDES and not just from the Syrian Government. The Rebels failure to agree to the terms of the U.N. Cease Fire shows that they and their Terrorist Money Men are not interest in a cease fire want to form a new Terrorist Funded Islamic Government in Syria. Assad has been right about the Rebels (Activist), they are foreign invaders and deserve to be removed from Syria. The news groups only give credence to the "Unconfirmed Reports" from the Rebels and failed to show or write anything coming from Assad. The news groups seem to be either supporting the Terrorist Funded Rebels (Activist) or have been duped by the Group that started this Civil War.
Of course there are jihadists among the rebels - Assad is attacking everyone! There are also Christians, Jews, doctors, students, teachers, and people from every other walk of life. Assad started this bloodshed with his indiscriminate shelling, and attacks of civilian centers. It's no wonder he has a major uprising to contend with. Many of the people he calls "rebels" weren't rebelling until he bombed their neighborhoods and kidnapped their children. He attacks refugees, bombs hospitals, cuts off water and food, shoots on sight anyone who ventures out, tortures children...and some of you are blaming jihadis for the violence?! Sure there is a risk that jihadists could fill a power vacuum if there is a civil war, but that threat exists in every country on the planet. There is always a radical group who could seize power when there is chaos - even here at home. To label all of these civilians as jihadis is nuts!
The rebels are merely defending themselves from a much larger and callous enemy, why should they have to put down their weapons first? If they disarm what guarantee is there that Assad won't just take the opportunity to steam roll them into oblivion? He already has shown he doesn't care about ceasefire agreements. Assad must cease fire first- he is in control. However, no matter the outcome he has already signed his death warrant with his actions. The only thing that remains is to find out how many people he will take with him to his grave.
This entire situation is turning into an expensive joke!!!
Starting at 12:01 AM: If there is any more shelling or army operations, we should expect him to continue the war against civilians until there nothing left to protect or defend--or he departs, one way or another. In a word, his word has been "completelyunreliable".
Smart on Assad's part.
Catch the rebels and the UN napping.
Like PT Barnum said - there's a sucker born every minute - the suckers are naive enough to think that there IS honor among thieves.
So our government is condemning the Syrian government for using the Syrian military against Syrian citizens who rise up against the Syrian government, they are even arming the Syrian rebels. Meanwhile here at home, the US government is passing laws and executive orders that allow them to use the US military, against US citizens in the US if they dare rise up against the government.
What laws have been passed or are in the process of being passed in the US that cite specific language to use federal military personnel to counter citizen civilians? I have not heard of any new laws such as this being debated in the House or Senate. Without congress approval, there is no bill to be signed by the Excecutive. Are you referring to proposed laws being debated at the state level? If so, can you provide a list of states and the the bills being reviewed so that I can research this matter further? Thanks.
The National Defense Authorization Act signed December 31, 2011: includes the power to detain, via the Armed Forces, any person "who was part of or substantially supported al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners", and anyone who commits a "belligerent act" against the U.S.
The National Defense Resource Preparedness Act, signed March 16, 2012: President and his specifically designated Secretaries now have the authority to commandeer all domestic U.S. resources including food and water. The EO also states that the President and his Secretaries have the authority to seize all transportation, energy, and infrastructure inside the United States. In times of war, national emergency, or peacetime. It also extends the authority of the draft by allowing the Executive branch to forcibly enlist citizens to fulfill labor requirements necessary for National Defense.
The space experts said there is a five-year North Korean space program to develop larger rockets, improve satellite control centers and organize better cameras to observe Earth.
Isn't that what America dose everyday? What the problem?
Are you on the wrong article?
This is an election year. Nobody is going to get America into a war. Unless Syria (Iran) attacks Israel, nothing is going to be done about Assad and his killing his own citizens. The Toothless rants of the UN mean nothing to Assad. He will agree to anything. Let the journallist and TV crews in, the shell those stupid enough to come out of theri holes to jump and rant for the Journalists. Moose is right. Obongo signed ADAA in January and it does give him the right to do just as Assad is doing right now. In fact if you read the ADAA you'll see Obongo wants to be able to keep the journalist away too, except to use as bait for those stupid enough to want to go on TV and jump, ranting and pose. Once Obongo gets the UN Arms Treaty signed, he'll take away our weapons so we cannot fight him. Do you think Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Thailand, Iraq, Afghanistan, Mexico, Haiti, Japan, and all the other countries that we helped will come to our aid or send us weapons to fight? Forget get it!!!
There is no danger of US military or police forces attacking citizens who express their voices and opinions in a democratic manner. Hypothetically speaking, if certain Americans choose to engage in actions that are illegal such as marching on DC with guns, then I would certainly expect our police forces, National Guard units and federal military personnel to intervene appropriately. Such banditi rabble would be a menace to decent law-abiding society, regardless of whatever distorted vision of patriotism may exist within the dysfunctional minds of this militia sub-culture. One must 'take our country back' via proper mechanisms of voting and political activism. Resort to armed insurrection by rabble elements of our society should be met with an appropriate response by our law enforcement agencies.
This is not what happened in Syria. In the case of Syria, the antecedents of the democacry seeking movement was non-violent. It was not an armed insurrection. The situation has obviously escalated and now thousands of soldiers have abandoned the regime and are fighting in opposition. But the whole thing began as non-violent protests.
To compare the reality of the Syria situation with the bizarre hypothetical 'what if' scenarios of what could happen in the USA (under either democrat or republican administrations) as envisioned by posters on this site today is just absurd. Neither the democratic party or the republican party has sufficient nation-wide support among the population to allow for an Assad-style crackdown. Too many rank and file soldiers and police would simply abandon their posts and refuse to enforce such orders which would defy constitutional authority.
The problem with that is that the Insurrection Act and the Posse Comitatus Act specifically forbid the use of the US Armed Forces as a domestic police force. The president just last week lectured the Supreme Court not to overturn a law that was created by the Legislative Branch, and yet that is essentially what he has done through Executive Orders.
The problem that Syria and other middle east countries have is when they comply with a truce process or any change we move the goal line and when they comply again we move the goal line. So it's not suprising that the Syrian government is uninterested in the goals of the US. If the citizens of the US were to arm themselves and head to Washington D.C. to change the the regime in Washington and take back our constitutional rights that the supreme court and the republicans are slowing destoring the US would use every military means available to destory the movement. They would murder 100 million US citizens to keep thing as is for the 1% that run the US government. So, I guess our main goal is the genecide of the Arab people. If the world thinks Assad is killing a lot of Syrians, let the US get involved, we can have the capability to murder 100,000 people in a few days. We do this in the name of democracy. How much justice can you afford today.
C'mon man, do you really believe this stuff or are you just ranting nonsense to make attempt to aggravate someone's nerves? This is just too bizarre to even engage in a point by point debate. Why are you even on a serious site when there are so many fringe sites on the web in which you can pontificate such silliness and actually find others that have commonality with your opinions? Seriously.
Why are you debating the truth? If you don't believe the government will use any military force as a deterrent against an uprising on our our own soil to facilitate change and take back our constitutional rights, just have yourself a look at the little training exercise that was Katrina when they went house to to illegally take guns from a populace that the police had no power to protect. Due process is dead in this country. Democracy is being raped an beaten into a socialist regime by people who have no morals and will rob their own grandmother to make a dollar and by those who get rich by looking the other way while it happens. Gary Hanson is correct and you, Anthony R. Seta are a fool if you can't see it.
We thought the Egyptian rebels were so great and look what happened. We should mind our own business.
It's time for the white flash of light for Assad. The guy is war criminal by all sense of the words and should be taken out along with his wife. Launch the missile and end this torture of his people and country. There will be no peace until he and his regeme are gone. His mess is spreading to other countries now too. How many more innocent men, women and children have to die while we watch on TV? This is very sad that something has not been done to end this.
Or, or, here is another idea, why don't we quit arming, training, and funding radical Islamic groups to go in and overthrow governments that we don't like. 90% of the violence in the Middle East is fabricated by the CIA, the most oppressive regimes in the middle east are/were ones that we put in place.
Kofi Annon believes in the "Tooth Fairy".
More power to Kofi Annan!!! His plan is not a failure as Syria still has time to comply. Thursday, the 12th,
6:00 A.M. If any man can pull it off, it is Annan!!!
Sheeesh, why blame the dog?
OMG! The US is outraged by the shelling. That should really put the fear of God into Assad who is right now laughing his ass off. Keep up the bone chilling threats!