![reuters:
DEVELOPING: The Red Cross says it has recovered the bodies of two journalists killed in Homs, Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik.
Photo: A Turkish journalist holds portraits of American correspondent Marie Colvin (R) and French photographer Remi Ochlik during a demonstration against the killings of journalists in Syria, in front of the Syrian Embassy in Ankara, February 24, 2012. [REUTERS/Umit Bektas]
Read more: ICRC says journalists bodies to be taken to Damascus
Let’s hope their bodies eventually find their way home safely.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m09op1fUOy1qmaoalo1_500.jpg)
DEVELOPING: The Red Cross says it has recovered the bodies of two journalists killed in Homs, Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik.
Photo: A Turkish journalist holds portraits of American correspondent Marie Colvin (R) and French photographer Remi Ochlik during a demonstration against the killings of journalists in Syria, in front of the Syrian Embassy in Ankara, February 24, 2012. [REUTERS/Umit Bektas]
Read more: ICRC says journalists bodies to be taken to Damascus
Let’s hope their bodies eventually find their way home safely.
It was a very aggressive attack on Baba Amr today. I don’t think they want to enter it anyway; they want to destroy it completely by shelling it from adjacent villages and neighborhoods.Mulham al-Jundi, Syrian activist • Describing the state of Baba Amr, a part of the besieged city of Homs in Syria. Homs has been the site of the most sustained, catastrophic violence in recent months, and tanks have reportedly surrounded the Baba Amr neighborhood on four sides, launching mortar fire and rockets into the fray. Communication into Baba Amr, which had been maintained for weeks, was cut off for a few hours today, conjuring fears of a ground massacre rolling through the area. Thankfully, recent reports suggest this has not yet occurred. The scene in Homs is ghastly, and looks to be getting worse every day — al-Jundi also said it’s hard to discern how many people are left alive, because anybody who moves through the streets risks being shot dead by government snipers stationed on rooftops. source (via • follow)
Developing: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called on all nations to place travel bans and freeze the assets of senior Syrian officials. Clinton also called on nations to boycott Syrian oil and suspend new investments.
Clinton said the Syrian government and allied states will have “even more blood on their hands” if aid is not allowed into the country, and said Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad will pay a “heavy price” for violating the rights of the Syrian people.
Reuters.com will have the latest on this story as it becomes available
What comes after this, if this doesn’t work?
![inothernews:
Two journalists are among the latest casualties of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s murderous bombing of Homs: Marie Colvin, left, an American reporter working for The Sunday Times of London, and Rémi Ochlik, a French photographer. Three other journalists were wounded when an explosion tore through a building being used as a makeshift media center in the central Syrian city. (Photos via the Sunday Times [Colvin] and EPA; caption via the New York Times)
Between this and Anthony Shadid, it’s been a tough week for foreign journalists. In case you’re wondering about the eye patch, Colvin was kind of a die-hard as foreign correspondents go: “According to his Web site, Mr. Ochlik, in his late twenties, had covered wars and upheaval in Haiti, Congo and the Middle East. Ms. Colvin, 55, was a veteran of many conflicts from the Middle East to Chechnya and from the Balkans to Iraq and Sri Lanka, where she lost an eye covering a civil war. She wore a distinctive black eyepatch. Both had won awards for their work.”](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzsq1cNaRf1qz82gvo1_500.jpg)
Two journalists are among the latest casualties of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s murderous bombing of Homs: Marie Colvin, left, an American reporter working for The Sunday Times of London, and Rémi Ochlik, a French photographer. Three other journalists were wounded when an explosion tore through a building being used as a makeshift media center in the central Syrian city. (Photos via the Sunday Times [Colvin] and EPA; caption via the New York Times)
Between this and Anthony Shadid, it’s been a tough week for foreign journalists. In case you’re wondering about the eye patch, Colvin was kind of a die-hard as foreign correspondents go: “According to his Web site, Mr. Ochlik, in his late twenties, had covered wars and upheaval in Haiti, Congo and the Middle East. Ms. Colvin, 55, was a veteran of many conflicts from the Middle East to Chechnya and from the Balkans to Iraq and Sri Lanka, where she lost an eye covering a civil war. She wore a distinctive black eyepatch. Both had won awards for their work.”
The largest mortars used by the U.S. military are 160mm. The bad boys shown in this video of a torn-apart building in Homs are a much-larger 240mm (according to Human Rights Watch), and can be fired from as far as 20 kilometers away. Where did they get these heavy mortar rounds from? Most likely Russia, which produces the ”Tulip” weapons system that fires weapons of this nature. (The towed M240 might also be used in these attacks.) So, to put it simply, Syria is lobbing giant weapons in its fight against the rebel movement. source
Just like every day, the residents of Baba Amr woke up (Sunday) to the sounds of violent bombing, as al-Assad forces continue to use different types of weapons, bombs, and rockets in their attacks.Syrian Activist Omar Shakir • Discussing the situation in Syria — particularly the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs, the heart of the rebel movement — as if the deadly bombings taking place there were simply a way of life. At least 20 people have been killed in the country on Sunday (including a senior Syrian state prosecutor and a judge), and pushing the number to nearly 9,000 total deaths since the start of the movement, according to some estimates. But here’s the really, truly disturbing part: At a point when Syrian doctors are already greatly overworked, there is word that as many as 295 physicians have been arrested by Syrian officials, according to the Local Coordination Committees. Despite all this, China and Russia say that peaceful resolution can still happen in the country, despite arguments otherwise.
Dramatic video reportedly from Homs, Syria shows what activists say is the bombing of a neighborhood on February 14, 2012. [YouTube]
Matt threw up a bunch of Syria-related stuff this morning, including photos and videos. This. Is. Important. Click over to see all of it.
This is a completely irresponsible use of the veto by Russia and China. It is staggering that they have blocked the passage of what was already a very weak draft resolution. After a night in which the whole world watched the people of Homs suffering, the actions of these members are particularly shocking.Amnesty International Secretary-General Salil Shetty • Discussing the veto of the United Nations resolution against Syria’s Assad by Russia and China — a situation made all the more surprising by the hundreds killed in the city of Homs on Friday night. The situation in Syria is becoming hard to ignore, and this decision casts a harsh light on those countries that choose to ignore it.
Parody finds a place in Syria: In what would seem to be video taken from the Syrian city of Homs, one of the principle hotbeds of governmental violence against protesters and the general citizenry, a mocking performance of the Arab League’s recent monitors plays out. The final line, spoken by the rag-swaddled man representing the AL’s delegation: “There is nothing frightening in Homs.” This echoes the words of the delegation’s (highly criticized) leader, a Sudanese General named Mohammed al-Dabi, upon his visit to the devastated city. source
The beat goes on: It wouldn’t exactly be accurate to suggest that Syrian security forces have been waiting until the delegation of monitors from the Arab League (with its very controversial leader) leave areas before continuing violence against the citizenry, sadly. Indeed, attacks and killings of civilians brazenly went on throughout the delegation’s visit to Douma. The monitors left Homs today, spurring another outburst of violence; the Arab League plans to review the work of the delegation, and their ongoing role amidst vocal criticisms from foreign governments, France among them. source
I can’t add much to what’s already been (and will be) ...
One of the perks of being an early employee...
Over the last 90 days, the Digg...
#FMMDI (at 30 Rockefeller Plaza)
Thanks. I guess my thoughts are as follows:
1. I think...
The people of Homs and the youth activists have no faith in the Arab League mission. It is clear now they are just another ploy by the Syrian regime to buy time. They are ineffective and have no resources to change the situation. But we are doing our part showing them what is happening in Homs, submitting evidence of killing and arbitrary arrest, and showing them what is happening.Syrian opposition activist Khaled Abo Saleh • Criticizing the Arab League’s monitoring of the military’s crackdown in Homs. Saleh said that the killings in the region have declined since the Arab League got there, but they haven’t stopped completely. Activists have been critical of the choice of a Sudanese military official, Lt. Gen. Mohamed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi, as one of the observers. source (via • follow)
![Continued violence in Syria during Arab League visit
Do you trust this man? He is General Mohammed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi, of the Sudanese military. During his tenure in Sudan, he’s thought to have had insight (if not evidence of direct involvement) into any number of gross human rights atrocities. He’s now leader of the Arab League delegation visiting the ravaged city of Homs in Syria, and despite reports of gunfire directed at protesters during the visit, al-Dabi stated that they did not see “anything frightening” and that it “was quiet.” Said Omer Ismail, of the anti-genocide Enough Project: “Instead of heading a team entrusted with a probe of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity by Syria, the general should be investigated by the ICC [International Criminal Court] for evidence of similar crimes in Sudan.” source
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Do you trust this man? He is General Mohammed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi, of the Sudanese military. During his tenure in Sudan, he’s thought to have had insight (if not evidence of direct involvement) into any number of gross human rights atrocities. He’s now leader of the Arab League delegation visiting the ravaged city of Homs in Syria, and despite reports of gunfire directed at protesters during the visit, al-Dabi stated that they did not see “anything frightening” and that it “was quiet.” Said Omer Ismail, of the anti-genocide Enough Project: “Instead of heading a team entrusted with a probe of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity by Syria, the general should be investigated by the ICC [International Criminal Court] for evidence of similar crimes in Sudan.” source
The Syrian government decided to let some journalists visit Homs, the city which has been most ravaged by violence throughout the nation’s recent series of political protests. It would appear they got the full Syrian government treatment, which is to say their access was restricted to specific events and people, presumably telling one side of the story. As far as meeting with the protest leaders and victims of months upon months of lethal violence, the media had no such access; they were closely followed by the state and were given access to wounded members of the Syrian military. The UN estimates 5,000 people have been killed in Syria since March. source
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