Syrian forces 'ordered to shoot to kill'

Jasper_Phillips · July 9, 2011, 1:51pm

"Al Jazeera":

Defectors of Syria’s security forces have described receiving orders from their superiors to fire live rounds at protesters to disperse them, according to Human Rights Watch.

The New York-based rights body released a statement on Saturday detailing interviews with eight soldiers and four members of secret security agencies it said had defected to the opposition since anti-government protests erupted in March.

The interviewees said they had participated in the government crackdown in the Syrian cities of Deraa, Izraa, Baniyas, Homs, Jisr al-Shughur, Aleppo, and Damascus, the capital.

The soldiers also reported participating in and witnessing the shooting and wounding of dozens of protesters, and the arbitrary arrests and detentions of hundreds of civilians.

All the interviewees told HRW that their superiors had told them that they were fighting infiltrators, salafists, and terrorists, but were surprised to encounter unarmed protesters instead. They said they were ordered to fire on the civilians, including children, in a number of instances.

The defectors also reported that those who refused orders to shoot on protesters ran the risk of being shot themselves. One of them said they witnessed a military officer shoot and kill two soldiers in Deraa for rejecting orders.

Incendiary_Lemon · July 10, 2011, 1:13am

Bear in mind, Al-Jazeera reflects the Sunni party line which would love nothing more than to see the Alawites fall. Syria is a very complex place and any sort of freedom vs tyranny narrative isn’t going to do it justice.The incidents reported in this article are probably true but may not be reflective of the situation as a whole.

Lum · July 10, 2011, 1:30am

That’s oversimplifying things: Al-Jazeera covered the Bahrain suppression of Shi’a protesters by Saudi troops, but was visibly uncomfortable with it. If they have any “party line” it’s as a tabloid that likes news. They do occasionally take direction from the Qatari government (which owns them) but are independent far more than any other Arab media source.

In any event there’s plenty of eyewitness testimony of Syrian soldiers opening fire en masse reported by neutral outside sources.

dermot · July 11, 2011, 6:06am

Not to mention some Western media sources.

Jasper_Phillips · July 11, 2011, 5:13pm

Supporters of the Syrian government have stormed the US and French embassies in Damascus, prompting strong condemnation by the two countries’ officials.

Witnesses describing Monday’s assault said the attackers smashed windows and raised a Syrian flag at the US diplomatic compound and wrote anti-American graffiti referring to the US ambassador as a “dog”.

A US official said the mob breached the wall of the embassy compound before being dispersed by Marine Corps guards.

No buildings were entered and there were no injuries to embassy personnel, but one of the office buildings was damaged and Syrian security forces were slow to respond, the official said.

The official further said the Obama administration will formally protest and may seek compensation for damage caused by the attack.

Following the embassy assault, the residence of the US ambassador, Robert Ford, was attacked by a mob.

Later, Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, said the Syrian leader had lost legitimacy.

“If anyone, including President [Bashar] Assad, thinks that the United States is secretly hoping that the regime will emerge from this turmoil to continue its brutality and repression, they are wrong,” she said.

I’m sure this too is just the action of some random underlings, and not driven from the top down. No doubt Al Jazeera is in on the conspiracy with Hillary Clinton to blame Assad.