Syria Live Blog

Syrians hold the pre-Baath flag during the funeral in Deraa province [AFP]

People continue to take to the streets across Syria despite the government's crackdown on protests. Reports say thousands have been killed since the demonstrations started in March 2011, on both sides.

We bring you the latest news from various sources.

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1 hour 21 min ago - Syria
Syrian security forces have stormed areas near the capital Damascus, in a hunt for army defectors and anti-government protesters, according to activists.
"House- to- house searches are being carried out in the area and more than 50 have been arrested," Omar Idlibi, a Syrian activist based in Lebanon, told DPA news agency on Monday.
Meanwhile, Syrian forces shelled areas in the restive province of Homs following overnight protests against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
At least 40 were killed by security forces across Syria on Sunday, according to Idlibi.
Tags Bashar al Assad, damascus, Omar Idlibi
1 hour 44 min ago - Russia
Russia will send a flotilla of warships led by its only aircraft carrier to its naval base in Syria for a port call next year amid tensions with the West over the Syrian crisis, a report said Monday.
 
The ships, headed by the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, will dock at the little-utilised Russian base in the Syrian port of Tartus in spring 2012, the Izvestia daily said, quoting the Russian navy.
 
The Tartus base, a strategic asset for Moscow dating back to Soviet times, is rarely used by Russian vessels and currently no Russian ship is based there although civilian and military personnel are present.
 
A naval spokesman confirmed the plan to send the ships but insisted it had nothing to do with the deadly violence in Syria between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and the opposition.
 
"The call of the Russian ships in Tartus should not be seen as a gesture towards what is going on in Syria," the spokesman told the paper, adding the Admiral Kuznetsov would also visit Beirut, Genoa and Cyprus.
 
"This was planned already in 2010 when there were no such events there. There has been active preparation and there is no need to cancel this," added the spokesman.
 
Russia and the West have become deeply split over the situation in Syria, with Moscow insisting that sanctions and pressure against the Assad regime is not the way to solve the crisis.
 
Izvestia said the Admiral Kuznetsov -- Russia's only operational aircraft carrier -- would head down from the Russian Far North in December, keeping west of Europe and heading into the Mediterranean through the Strait of Gibraltar.
It would also carry around a dozen aircraft.
 
It said the Admiral Kuznetsov would not be able to dock in Tartus itself due to the size of the vessel but anchor outside and be supplied by the smaller ships accompanying it. The ship has visited Tartus before in 1995 and 2007.
[Source: AFP]
Tags syria
2 hours 32 min ago - Syria

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said that time was running out for the rule in Syria after the Arab League agreed sweeping sanctions against Damascus over its deadly crackdown on protesters.

"It's days are numbered," Juppe told France Info radio on Monday, while acknowledging that efforts to try to stem the bloodshed in Syria were "going slowly".

He also voiced hope that the idea of humanitarian corridors had not been completely ruled out for the country.

Tags Alain Juppe, Arab League, France
13 hours 17 min ago - Syria

A teenager died on Sunday in northern Lebanon following a row between pro- and anti-Syrian partisans, a security official said, according to news agency AFP.

Mohammad al-Mawla, 14, from the Sunni Muslim village of Sheikh Ayash, died in hospital of injuries sustained when he and another villager were run over by a car driven by a man from a nearby Alawite village, the official, who requested anonymity, told AFP.

He said the driver, who was accompanied by his brother, was also hospitalised in critical condition after being dragged out of the car and beaten by villagers.

The incident heightened tension in the region with residents of Sheikh Ayash blocking the main road through the village with burning tyres and rubbish bins as news of the teenager's death spread.

Security forces immediately rushed to the area to prevent an escalation.

Tags Alawite, lebanon, protest, sunni
18 hours 33 min ago - Syria

Al Jazeera's Nisreen El-Shamayleh, reporting from neighbouring Jordan, quoted the Syrian Revolution General Commission, a part of another opposition group, the Syrian National Council, as claiming that the death toll has risen to 31 people killed in Syria on Sunday.

15 in Homs

Nine outside Damascus

Four in Hama

One in Deir Ezzour

One in Idlib

One in Tartous

Tags damascus, Deir Ezzour, Hama, homs
20 hours 15 min ago - Syria

The Arab League has approved implementing sanctions on Syria, effective immediately.

At a press conference in Cario, Qatar foreign minister Hamad bin Jassim al Thani said 19 or the League's 22 member nations approved the sanctions, including cutting off transactions with the Syrian central bank, and halting Arab government funding for projects in Syria.

 

Tags Arab League, Bashar al Assad
20 hours 38 min ago - Syria

Al Jazeera's Nisreen El-Shamayleh reported from Jordan that sources within Syria are claiming 19 people have been killed on Sunday:

12 in Homs

Four  in the Damascus suburbs

One in Deir Ezzour

One in Idlib

One in Tartous

Tags damascus, Deir Ezzour, homs, idlib, Tartous
21 hours 2 min ago - Syria

Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher is at the Arab League meeting in Cairo and reports that the Syrian committee are convening to discuss the details of imposing economic sanctions on Syria.

"Once they've finished meeting, they will present the decision to the council of foreign ministers, where Turkey has an observer status, and a decision should come out within an hour," he said. "Iraq and Lebanon have already said they will vote against the sanctions as the consequences of the sanctions will directly affect them, as they have strong trade relations with Syria."

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr is in Tripoli, Lebanon, where the Lebanese opposition are holding a rally directed against the Lebanese government.

"They are calling for the overthrow of Bashar al Assad, and say the Lebanese government is working for the interests of the Syrian government," she said. "They are not happy with Lebanon's statement of not abiding by the Arab League sanctions."

"People here believe more should be done to help the Syrian protesters," she said. "Syria has always been a divisive issue in Lebanon. There is a real fear that any military action or overthrow of the Syrian government will destabilise Lebanon."

Tags Arab League, Bashar al Assad, lebanon, protest, sanctions
21 hours 42 min ago - Syria

The Syrian Revolution General Commission reports that security forces and Assad loyalists attacked a funeral procession held for Raed Al Kharouf in Deir Ezzour. One mourner was killed and many have been injured.

In Rankous, outside Damascus, a military assault began at 6am on Sunday with a large number of troops and Assad loyalists opening fire indiscriminately and snipers taking positions on rooftops. Following that, troops proceeded to shell the area using tanks and armoured vehicles. Several people were injured and two were killed.

In Al Khalidiah, Homs, troops raided the district on tanks and armoured vehicles. They opened fire and residents reported hearing explosions. People there are very afraid. Seventy-five people were arrested in the district on Sunday.

In Talbiseh, Homs, residents reported more than 10 grenades exploding in and around shops and homes. Several people were injured. Mass arrests are ongoing with more than 50 people arrested and several shops and homes have been vandalised and ransacked.

Tags damascus, homs, SRGC, Syrian Revolution General Commission
22 hours 9 min ago - Syria

Our sources in Syria have told us that today's death count has risen to 10.

Seven were killed in the city of Homs and three in towns outside of Damascus, including a 4-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy who were both shot dead.

Tags damascus, homs

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