More than one hundred Islamic scholars representing various Islamic trends have issued a statement denouncing the Syrian regime and forbidding continued service in the Syrian army and security forces. They have also called on all Arab and Muslim states to withdraw their ambassadors from Syria and put pressure on the states which are continuing to support President Bashar al-Assad's regime, especially Russia and China.

107 of the most well-known Muslim scholars from various countries, representing various Islamic groups and organizations have signed the statement which was issued on Tuesday 7th February 2012 / 15th Rabi' al-Awwal 1434. They include Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the President of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, Dr. Ali Gomaa, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, and Shaikh Rached Al-Ghannouchi of Tunisia.

Shaikh Dr. Haitham al-Haddad also joins these scholars in signing this declaration as well as calling on the scholars of the United Kingdom to join the signatories. (Those interested in signing the declaration should contact MRDF via e-mail and we will add their names.)

The scholars call on Muslims and free people all over the world to support the Free Syrian Army and at the same time call on the Free Syrian Army to be disciplined in order not to stray from its mission to protect the Syrian people - they should steer clear of harming innocent people and carrying out revenge attacks.

The scholars also announced their support for any sincere effort to curtail the bloodshed in Syria and to protect the Syrian people from a prolonged civil war which could destroy the country. Such support, they said, is a fundamental Islamic requirement. They said that they supported the holding of free elections which would express the will of the people.

TEXT OF THE STATEMENT

All praise be to God Almighty, the praise that is due to Him in all situations. Peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad and his household.

What is happening in our beloved Syria – oppression, persecution, and the spilling of the blood of innocent people by a tyrannical regime and its allies is a crime that will never be forgotten. God is certain to make the shedding of the blood of innocent people a disgrace for those who participate in the regime’s crimes or remain silent, as well as for individuals, organizations and states that support it.

With every day that passes, scores – sometimes hundreds – of people die and many times that number are injured. Families are made homeless, women are raped and sanctities are violated. The security forces commit these crimes without shame or hesitation whilst the world meets to merely discuss the situation.

The signatories of this statement reaffirm the absolute prohibition of bloodshed in the Quran and the Sunnah, and the sanctity of all the rights which Islamic law grants and protects. In the Quran God associates shedding the blood of innocents with unbelief,

“Believers, never invoke any deity side by side with God, and do not take any human being’s life – [the life] which God has willed to be sacred – except for a just cause, and do not commit adultery.[1]

God promises murderers eternal hellfire, damnation, and a painful torment, and He decreed that whoever kills a person will have been considered as having killed all of mankind. Whoever saves the life of a person will be considered to have saved all of humanity. He commanded support for the weak and the oppressed. In light of this we affirm the following:

1. It is forbidden for members of the Syrian army, the security forces or other groups to kill citizens or discharge weapons in their direction. They must disobey orders to do so, even if that means being killed. Indeed, they should desert their positions. Those who have already killed people should remember that killing twice doubles the crime and that on the other hand, the gates of divine forgiveness are open. In the story of the man who killed ninety-nine people there is a lesson to all. They should not make light of murder, but neither should they think that murders they have previously committed seal the gates of repentance and forgiveness. It is better for them to be murdered than to be a murderer. It is infinitely better for anyone to meet God as a martyr than a murdering criminal.

We hereby rule that it is not permissible to remain in service in the Syrian army and the security forces in the current circumstances. It is a duty to desert the forces and to stand against them.

2. We call for the support and the strengthening of the Free Syrian Army. Members of the regular army
and security forces should join it in order to protect civilians, cities, and public institutions. We also call on Muslims and on the free world to support and assist this army in any way possible, materially and morally, in order for it to carry out its mission and to organise its ranks.

3. It is a duty to support the revolutionaries in Syria in all their material and psychological requirements, so that they can successfully complete their revolution and attain their rights and their freedom.

4. We call on Arab and Islamic states to take a firm stand with those states which support the Syrian regime, in particular Russia and China, and we call on Muslim peoples and their institutions to send messages of protest to the representatives of these two states and to demonstrate in front of their embassies all over the world. They should be told that they must not turn the blood of innocent people in Syria into a tool to strengthen their economic and military presence in the world. These states must realise that the future in the region belongs to the people. Whoever places his hopes on repressive tyrannical regimes prepared to kill their own people will certainly be disappointed. Their end is near. The people will not forget the shameful stances of those who stood against them and supported their oppressors.

5. We call on the revolutionaries in Syria and the Syrian National Council to stand united and to set aside any differences they may have amongst themselves, currently, or in the future. They should harbour sincere intention to build their future state on the basis of justice and the preservation of rights and freedoms. They should create civil institutions to preserve national unity and foster reconciliation steering clear of individual, class, or regional interests.

They also need to protect the ethnic and religious minorities which have lived for more than a thousand years as part of the Syrian people, and who have along with the majority, all the rights of citizenship. Only the regime and its institutions have responsibility for the horrific crimes which have been committed (and not the minorities they may belong to).

6. We announce that popular committees to support the Syrian revolution are being formed all over the world especially in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. Such committees will also help Syrian refugees and those who have been forced out of their homes who need food, clothing, and medicine.

We pray that God grant the Syrian people immediate relief, preserve their unity, and return to them a state of security and stability under a just government which is committed to the preservation of people’s rights and freedom.

Name


Country

Sheikh Dr. Yusuf Al Qaradawi


Qatar

Sheikh Dr. Ali Jumua


Egypt

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Bayya


Mauritania

Sheikh Dr. Rachid Ghanouchi


Tunisia

Sheikh Sadiq Al-Ghiryani


Libya

Sheikh AbdulMajeed Az-Zindani


Yemen

Sheikh Dr. Mahmoud AlMeera


Syria

Dr. Issam Al Basheer


Sudan

Sheikh Dr. Khalid Al Mathkour


Kuwait

Sheikh Nasr Fareed Wasil


Egypt

Dr AbdulWahhab Delami


Yemen

Sheikh Dr. Ali Qurra Daghi


Qatar

Ustadh Dr. Naser Bin Sulayman Al Umar


Saudi Arabia

Dr. Muhammad Farooq Al Batal


Syria

Sheikh Muhammad Ezziddeen Tawfeeq


Morocco

Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Raysooni


Morocco

Ustadh Dr. Saud Al Faneesan


Saudi Arabia

Dr Ajeel Al Nashmi


Kuwait

Ustadh Dr. Muhammad Ahmad As-Saleh


Saudi Arabia

Ustadh Dr. Muhammad Uthman Saleh


Sudan

Ustadh Dr. AlHabr Yusuf


Sudan

Ustadh Dr. Ghaith Mahmoud Al Fakhiri


Libya

Dr. AbdulLateef Al-Mahmoud


Bahrain

Dr. Muhammad Al Huwari


Germany

Dr. Safwat Hijazi


Egypt

Ustadh Dr. AbduRahman AbdulHameed Ahmad
Al-Birr


Egypt

Sheikh Dr. Muhammad Mukhtar Al Mahdi


Egypt

Sheikh Muhammad Hassaan


Egypt

Sheikh Abu Ishaaq Al Huwaini


Egypt

Sheikh Majd Ahmad Makki


Syria

Ustadh Dr. Shaker Theeb Fayyadh


Jordan

Ustadh Dr. Sharaf Al Qudhah


Jordan

Ustadh Dr. Ali As-Sawwa


Jordan

Dr. Muhammad Ali Al Juuzu


Lebanon

Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Al Umari


Lebanon

Sheikh Ahmad Qatarji


Lebanon

Sheikh Dr. Hamza Abu Fares


Libya

Ustadh Dr. Tareq As-Suwaidan


Kuwait

Dr. Khaled Al-Ujaimi


Saudi Arabia

Dr. Awadh Al-Qarni


Saudi Arabia

Dr. Ali Badahdah


Saudi Arabia

Dr. Abdullah Wakeel Ash-Sheikh


Saudi Arabia

Dr AbdulMajeed An-Najjar


Tunisia

Dr. Salman Bin Fahd Al-Oadah


Saudi Arabia

Dr. Saeed Bin Naser Al-Ghamdi


Saudi Arabia

Dr. Muhammad Bin Mousa Ash-Shareef


Saudi Arabia

Dr. Muhsin Al Awaji


Saudi Arabia

Dr. Yusuf Ash-Shubaili


Saudi Arabia

Dr. Yahya Ibraheem Al-Yahya


Saudi Arabia

Dr. AbdulAzeez bin Fozan Al-Fozan


Saudi Arabia

Dr. Saleh Ad-Darweesh


Saudi Arabia

Dr. Muhammad Ali Al-Mansouri


UAE

Dr. AbdulHameed Al-Kumaiti Ash-Shamsi


UAE

Dr. Muhammad AbduRazzaq As-Siddeeq


UAE

Dr. Ahmad Saleh Al-Hamdi


UAE

Dr. Jasem Yaseen Al-Muhalhil


Kuwait

Dr. Nabeel Al Awadhi


Kuwait

Dr. Shafi Al Ajami


Kuwait

Dr. Nayyif Al Ajami


Kuwait

Dr. Yusuf As-Sanad


Kuwait

Dr. Badr Ar-Rakhees


Kuwait

Dr. Salem Ash-Shimmari


Kuwait

Dr. Tareq At-Tuwari


Kuwait

Dr. AbdulHayy Yusuf


Sudan

Dr. Ali Al Sallabi


Libya

Dr. Salem Ash-Sheikhi


Libya

Dr. Salem Jabir


Libya

Dr. Usamah Al Sallabi


Libya

Dr. Muhammad Abu Sudra


Libya

Dr. Nader Al Umrani


Libya

Dr. Muhammad Hamdawi


Morocco

Dr. Abdullah Al-Bukhari


Morocco

Dr. AbdulMunim At-Tamsamani


Morocco

Dr. Muhammad Bulouz


Morocco

Dr. Mawlay Umar Bin Hammad


Morocco

Sheikh Abdullah Wild Aal Salim


Mauritania

Sheikh Muhammad Fadhil Wild Muhammad Al
Ameen


Mauritania

Sheikh Muhammad Mukhtar Wild Ambalah


Mauritania

Sheikh Muhammad Hassan Ad-Diddo


Mauritania

Dr. Muhammad Al-Ahmari


Qatari

Dr. Saleh Yahya Sawwab


Yemen

Dr. Saleh Abdullah Adh-Dhibyani


Yemen

Dr. Adil Al Maawdah


Bahrain

Dr. Adnan Al-Qattan


Bahrain

Dr. Mamoun Mubayidh


Germany

Dr. Hassaan As-Safadi


Germany

Dr. Mutaz Faisal


Germany

Ustadh Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Zayyid


Egypt

Ustadh Dr. Sameer Al-Arky


Egypt

Dr. Ali Ad-Deenary


Egypt

Dr. Abdullah Hussain Barakat


Egypt

Sheikh AbdulKhaliq Hassan Ash-Shareef


Egypt

Ustadh Dr. Jamal AbduSattar Muhammad


Egypt

Sheikh Ahmad Haleel


Egypt

Dr. Jaber Tayyi Yusuf


Egypt

Ustadh Dr. Salahuddeen Sultan


Egypt

Dr. Nashaat Ahmad Muhammad


Egypt

Dr. Ayman Salah Ahmad Muhammad


Egypt

Dr. Muhammad Yanbou


Egypt

As-Sayyid Jameel Muhammad


Egypt

Dr. Ibraheem Mustafa Abu As-Saud


Egypt

Dr. Faraj AbdulHaleem Qindeel


Egypt

Dr. Al Husaini Mussali As-Sayyid


Egypt

As-Sayyid Mahmoud AbduRahman


Egypt

Dr. Yasir Fath Antar


Egypt

Dr. Ghazi At-Taubah


Kuwait

Sheikh Sulaiman Al Baraheem Ar-Rushoodi


Saudi Arabia

Shaikh Dr. Haitham al-Haddad


United Kingdom

Does politics interest you? What are your thoughts on the topic? Fear not, I am genuinely interested in reading your thoughts on the matter.

please,these sell-outs led by yusuf al-qaradawi should stop pollutting our ears.

where are they when israel humiliates the palestinians? where are they when the overwhelming majority of the people of bahrain are oppressed and killed and their revolution is suppressed by saudi tanks? oh,the people of bahrain are shia trying to topple an extremist sunni wahhabi monarchy that is an american puppet giving the USA a military base in the persian gulf.

in syria,these petro-dollar wahhabi sheikhs and servants of america want to force a revolution because Bashar al-Assad is not a sunni and he is a secularist.they also dont mind the fact that the majority of syrians without the shadow of a doubt do back their president.this fatwa is nothing more than backing foreign interference and western meddling in syrian affairs as we saw in libya.saudis and qataris using aljazeera as propaganda machine with western backing are sponsoring armed militias in syria to fight the government.if it were in america,you'd see the headline:"america under attack"! syria is under foreign attack from the wahhabi kingdows and their western masters whose aim is to topple bashar al-assad and his anti-israel regime!

the fact is unlike libya,russia and china have seen the scheming of the west.there is no way NATO is going to interfere with russian military ships in syria backing the president of syria.there is no way the UN security council is going to be used against syria with the russian and chinese veto in favor of syria.and there is no way militants sponsored by outsiders will succeed with the people and army of syria behind their president.the militants as we speak are being crushed by the syrian army.syria is multi-religious and multi-ethnic.there is no way bashar al-assad is going to be toppled and be replaced by extremist wahhabi agents of the west and the wahhabi kingdoms.these extremists are masters of beheadings and ethnic cleansing.the world should spare syria their evil and giving Islam and muslims more bad image through the wahhabi actions of terrorism and intolerance that are un-islamic.

There is no difference between Bashar and his father. They 're both murderers
Assad the senior in his time killed 10,000 poeple in 2 days. His son has learnt very well and is carrying the flag along

Bashar is justified because of what is happening in Bahrain?
Bashar, held in power, by Alawite is secular?
Syrians support Bashar?

These things are happening now and we can see them, but they are being distorted. We can now see clearly how easy it is to contruct fantastic stories of early stages of islam. Shia is based on a bedrock of falsehood.

this isnt supposed to be a shia versus sunni thing. It is about good versus bad. If whatever is happening in syria is bad, I'd expect both shia and sunnis to condemn it rather than taking sides.

The pictures are gruesome and I dont see how they could have been fake and if that much people can fake being injured or killed by their president, it means they want him out so let him go as this isnt his birth right.

It is so easy to shout @ d west when they attack Muslims but it is a shame that when Muslims kill fellow muslims, it becomes my sect versus yours. .its sickening .

I am always unhappy when people are being killed. That is one of the reasons I don't like watching visuals of the Nigerian civil war
Killings amongst muslims tarnish the image of Islam. I dislike it
However Shias will always exploit situations to malign sunnis
So if it deepens the rift between Shias and Sunnis, so be it
There is no point keeping quiet when the shias pursue their agenda of disrupting the peace in sunni countries
What is the intention when shias say that the Saudi authorities are illegal occupants?
The earlier sunnis faced reality of the malice that Shias feel towards them given Shias' need to make present day Sunnis "pay for the wrong" of the early years of Islam, the better for the sunnis

deols: this isnt supposed to be a shia versus sunni thing. It is about good versus bad. If whatever is happening in syria is bad, I'd expect both shia and sunnis to condemn it rather than taking sides.

The pictures are gruesome and I dont see how they could have been fake and if that much people can fake being injured or killed by their president, it means they want him out so let him go as this isnt his birth right.

It is so easy to shout @ d west when they attack Muslims but it is a shame that when Muslims kill fellow muslims, it becomes my sect versus yours. .its sickening .

It is a very terrible mess. All the parties involved have dirty hands, so it is difficult to find the 'right group' to support. However, I will say that Bashir Al Assad needs to stop killing people like flies and the international community needs to stop scheming for regime change. I am very hopeful Kofi Annan can negotiate some reasonable settlement out of this mess.

Opposition forces should know that confronting a bigger, better-equipped force is just calling for the slaughter of innocent people like we now see in Syria.

In politics and perhaps life, one has to be pragmatic. You hold-on to that and you will have fewer problems to deal with (God-willing).

BetaThings: There is no difference between Bashar and his father. They 're both murderers
Assad the senior in his time killed 10,000 poeple in 2 days. His son has learnt very well and is carrying the flag along

Bashar is justified because of what is happening in Bahrain?
Bashar, held in power, by Alawite is secular?
Syrians support Bashar?

These things are happening now and we can see them, but they are being distorted. We can now see clearly how easy it is to contruct fantastic stories of early stages of islam. Shia is based on a bedrock of falsehood.

is Bashar applying "sharia law" according to alawite interpretation?

the baath party from which both son and father come from is secular.

bashar himself have accepted he isn't democratic and is willing to implement reforms which he has so far done.but the schemings of the west and their wahhabi puppets want to impose a so called "revolution" in syria and a quick change which would be for the worse.wahhabism is no option for syria and it will not happen.otherwise the result would be disastrous for the entire middle east for decades to come.

deols: this isnt supposed to be a shia versus sunni thing. It is about good versus bad. If whatever is happening in syria is bad, I'd expect both shia and sunnis to condemn it rather than taking sides.

The pictures are gruesome and I dont see how they could have been fake and if that much people can fake being injured or killed by their president, it means they want him out so let him go as this isnt his birth right.

It is so easy to shout @ d west when they attack Muslims but it is a shame that when Muslims kill fellow muslims, it becomes my sect versus yours. .its sickening .

how do you know that it is the government forces that is killing "innocent people"? let me enlighten you about the killings in syria:

1.) when government forces kill armed militants,the propaganda machines portray them as "innocent men".

2.) when the militants kill civilians for not opposing the government and joining their revolt,the propaganda machines like aljazeera and co.,make it look like the government forces have killed the people.i can show you wahhabis beheading syrian police and civilian for opposing the wahhabi militants.

3.) the propaganda machines have even given fake pictures of "killed civilians" who after the video shooting got up and walked!

with all that is happening,it is not deniable that civilians are not caught in the crossfire from both sides.but the propaganda machines of the west and the wahhabi puppet kingdoms want to hold bashar responsible for the killings to bring him down.they dont even consider that there are militants.they only do when they consider arming those militants.

let us be real.it is the sunnis for sectarian reasons that have ignored the bahraini people and their revolution.and among the sunnis you fine the extremists like the wahhabis who want to bring bashar down automatically for known reasons.you need to check the fatwa of yusuf al-qaradawi on bahrain's revolution and laugh in disgust!

maclatunji:

It is a very terrible mess. All the parties involved have dirty hands, so it is difficult to find the 'right group' to support. However, I will say that Bashir Al Assad needs to stop killing people like flies and the international community needs to stop scheming for regime change. I am very hopeful Kofi Annan can negotiate some reasonable settlement out of this mess.

Opposition forces should know that confronting a bigger, better-equipped force is just calling for the slaughter of innocent people like we now see in Syria.

In politics and perhaps life, one has to be pragmatic. You hold-on to that and you will have fewer problems to deal with (God-willing).

with all i have said in replying two people,i must add that bashar al-assad should be given time to implement reforms and lead to a transition to democracy.he is ready to do that.there are many reforms he has done within a very short while.he isnt the one killing his people as the propaganda machines want to make it look.the man has refused to abandon his country to wahhabi militias which will mean anarchy in syria and possible civil war.

LagosShia:

with all i have said in replying two people,i must add that bashar al-assad should be given time to implement reforms and lead to a transition to democracy.he is ready to do that.there are many reforms he has done within a very short while.[b]he isnt the one killing his people as the propaganda machines want to make it look.[/b]the man has refused to abandon his country to wahhabi militias which will mean anarchy in syria and possible civil war.

LagosShia take it easy O. Bashir's forces are killing people like mad O. The man is taking advantage of Russia's support to quickly have firm control on the ground before he agrees to any peace treaty. #Looksevil but #Ruthlesslyefficient #Seriousish #Excuseme

maclatunji:

LagosShia take it easy O. Bashir's forces are killing people like mad O. The man is taking advantage of Russia's support to quickly have firm control on the ground before he agrees to any peace treaty. #Looksevil but #Ruthlesslyefficient #Seriousish #Excuseme

firstly i must say:"HATU BURHANUKUM IN KUNTUM SODIQEEN".

besides,there are militants there fighting him.what is the responsibility of any government?is it not to protect the sovereignty of the country against anarchy by fighting back? is the nigerian government wrong in fighting boko haram or MEND because civilians are killed in the process? why blame the government and forget the anarchists in syria sponsored by foreign countries?

i am all for bashar fighting wahhabi militants,the likes of alqaeda.this isn't the first time though the west is allying itself with the wahhabis.you think russia is crazy for backing syria this time around? after libya,now its syria.then who? may be iran or lebanon or another muslim country that is not ruled by puppets.its all part of a wider plan by the imperialistic west to denominate muslim countries and to further the interest of israel.

LagosShia:

firstly i must say:"HATU BURHANUKUM IN KUNTUM SODIQEEN".

besides,there are militants there fighting him.what is the responsibility of any government?is it not to protect the sovereignty of the country against anarchy by fighting back? is the nigerian government wrong in fighting boko haram or MEND because civilians are killed in the process? why blame the government and forget the anarchists in syria sponsored by foreign countries?

i am all for bashar fighting wahhabi militants,the likes of alqaeda.this isn't the first time though the west is allying itself with the wahhabis.you think russia is crazy for backing syria this time around? after libya,now its syria.then who? may be iran or lebanon or another muslim country that is not ruled by puppets.its all part of a wider plan by the imperialistic west to denominate muslim countries and to further the interest of israel.

How does the killing of poor civilians enter all of these political calculations? Bashar's methods are cruel.

LagosShia:

firstly i must say:"HATU BURHANUKUM IN KUNTUM SODIQEEN".

besides,there are militants there fighting him.what is the responsibility of any government?is it not to protect the sovereignty of the country against anarchy by fighting back? is the nigerian government wrong in fighting boko haram or MEND because civilians are killed in the process? why blame the government and forget the anarchists in syria sponsored by foreign countries?

i am all for bashar fighting wahhabi militants,the likes of alqaeda.this isn't the first time though the west is allying itself with the wahhabis.you think russia is crazy for backing syria this time around? after libya,now its syria.then who? may be iran or lebanon or another muslim country that is not ruled by puppets.its all part of a wider plan by the imperialistic west to denominate muslim countries and to further the interest of israel.

Israel was opposed to the "rebels" in Libya, and Israel is against the "rebels" in Syria.
When will muslims stop blaming all their problems on israel ?
Even their mohamed was blaming everything on the jews, this craziness has to stop!

patriot2: Israel was opposed to the "rebels" in Libya, and Israel is against the "rebels" in Syria.
When will muslims stop blaming all their problems on israel ?
Even their mohamed was blaming everything on the jews, this craziness has to stop!

And your rantings have to stop. At the moment you are showing yourself to be a low-class, tasteless ignoramus.

Learn to converse with respect!

maclatunji:

How does the killing of poor civilians enter all of these political calculations? Bashar's methods are cruel.

the killing of civilians cannot be said to be done by the government forces either deliberately or mistakenly without taking into consideration the role of armed militants.

i am curious to know what are the "cruel methods of bashar".did he lecture you on them?

Pounding a town with heavy artillery, rolling-in tanks and making use of snipers is heavy-handed stuff just for a handful of rebels with hand-held weapons.

@Maclatunji

please you can read the below news from today about the explosion that rocked damascus by the same wahhabis i have been talking about.can any method be more cruel than their suicide bombings and beheadings of innocent people?[/b]note:today's attack isn't the first time since explosions and wahhabi suicide bombers have wrecked havoc in syria.

[b][size=14pt]Syrian capital hit by two explosions[/size]

At least 27 dead as car bombs target the aviation intelligence department and a police building in Damascus


Share 31 reddit this Damien Pearse and agencies
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 17 March 2012 10.34 GMT

Two large explosions have struck security targets in the Syrian capital, Damascus, killing a number of civilians and security forces, the country's state news agency said.


One explosion targeted the aviation intelligence department in Damascus. Photograph: Khaled al-Hariri/Reuters

The report said the "terrorist" blasts were caused by car bombs at the aviation intelligence department and a police building at around 7.30am local time.

At least 27 people were killed and 97 were wounded, a Syrian television channel said, quoting health minister Wael al-Halki.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Video from the blast at the intelligence centre showed the front of the building blown away, with numerous burnt-out cars littering the street below.

Television pictures from the police building showed the smouldering wreckage of a car and what appeared to be a body inside.

There was also a minivan nearby with its doors and windows shattered and its panels stained with blood. Residents in Damascus said clouds of black smoke could be seen rising from the areas where the blasts struck.

The state news agency, SANA, said one of the dead included a "terrorist".

President Bashar Assad has said his regime is fighting foreign terrorists and armed gangs, and has denied there is a popular will behind the revolt. But Assad's opponents say they have been forced to carry weapons because the government has used tanks, snipers and machine guns to crush peaceful protests.

Syria has seen a string of suicide bombings, and the last major one, on 10 February, killed 28 people. Twin blasts struck security compounds in the government stronghold city of Aleppo.

Damascus, another Assad stronghold, has seen three suicide previous bombings since December.

The regime has touted the attacks as proof that it is being targeted by "terrorists" but the opposition accuses forces loyal to the government of being behind the bombings to tarnish the uprising.

The UN estimates that more that 8,000 people have been killed since protests began last March.

In recent weeks, Syrian forces have waged a series of heavy attacks against the main opposition strongholds of Homs in central Syria, Idlib in the north and Daraa in the south.

Diplomatic efforts to solve the crisis have so far brought no result. But UN envoy Kofi Annan told the security council in a briefing on Friday that he would return to Damascus even though his recent talks with Assad saw no progress in attempts to cobble together peace negotiations between the two sides.

Annan told reporters in Geneva that he urged the council "to speak with one voice as we try to resolve the crisis in Syria".

"The first objective is for all of us to end the violence and human rights abuses and the killings and get unimpeded access for humanitarian access to the needy, and of course the all-important issue of political process that will lead to a democratic Syria," Annan said.

Russia and China have blocked UN action against Assad's regime.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/17/syrian-captial-hit-two-explosions

maclatunji: Pounding a town with heavy artillery, rolling-in tanks and making use of snipers is heavy-handed stuff just for a handful of rebels with hand-held weapons.

and you think the syrian army does that for sport,right?

^Violence is violence and they are all condemnable and deplorable. I said it before that practically all sides in this Syrian conflict have "dirty hands". Of course, this includes western governments. At first, they seemed not to know how to react to events in Syria. However, now it is obvious that they have decided that regime change is what will suit their ever-so-fluid and dynamic interests.

maclatunji: ^Violence is violence and they are all condemnable and deplorable. I said it before that practically all sides in this Syrian conflict have "dirty hands". Of course, this includes western governments. At first, they seemed not to know how to react to events in Syria. However, now it is obvious that they have decided that regime change is what will suit their ever-so-fluid and dynamic interests.

ah,good! that is good assertion coming from you.i sense you are being "shiatized".so be carefully,lest you are accused of heresy against the petro-dollar sheikhs who signed the verdict.

i definitely believe the majority of syrians back their president,at least for him to implement reforms and pave way for a peaceful transition rather than chaos and civil war from a vacuum that will result in toppling the regime.definitely,what is good for the west is always bad for the arab people for as long as israel is in their midst.the west will not blink an eye if that act goes against the interests of the illegal zionist entity.

so the syrians must be careful.and muslims too should try to reason things out properly.otherwise the wahhabi sheikhs are out there to mislead us and create confusion in the religion of Islam.

It is funny to see how you defend the accursed worshipper of ali, more pathetic is your rationalization of murder, they are sunnis so killing is permitted, Allah will give muslims the victory over the damned worshipper of ali, it is by the way only a matter of time, the end of bashar will come insha Allah, true muslims must continue to call upon Allah to destroy the shameless oppressors and their supporters who prevent help from reaching the oppressed, if muslims complained of the bombardment of civilians areas by the isreali then it must take an unusual form of hypocrisy to rationalize the cruelty of a tyrant.

Saudi Arabia has announced that it will be sending weapons to the Syrian rebels from the news scroll I read on NTA tonight. Obviously, this battle is becoming more dangerous and complex. It could become the most globally divisive war after World War II.

vedaxcool: It is funny to see how you defend the accursed worshipper of ali, more pathetic is your rationalization of murder, they are sunnis so killing is permitted, Allah will give muslims the victory over the damned worshipper of ali, it is by the way only a matter of time, the end of bashar will come insha Allah, true muslims must continue to call upon Allah to destroy the shameless oppressors and their supporters who prevent help from reaching the oppressed, if muslims complained of the bombardment of civilians areas by the isreali then it must take an unusual form of hypocrisy to rationalize the cruelty of a tyrant.

a typical case of trying to be "more catholic than the pope".

i am sure there are millions of sunnis in syria who support that "damned worshipper of Ali".

are you sure Bashar worships Imam Ali (as)? from what i could recall,Bashar was instructed by Ayatollah Khomeini and have since become a Shia mainstream 'WORSHIPPER OF ALLAH' and was no longer an alawite.that may be wrong though.but regardless,what/who he worships is his business and not mine.

maclatunji: Saudi Arabia has announced that it will be sending weapons to the Syrian rebels from the news scroll I read on NTA tonight. Obviously, this battle is becoming more dangerous and complex. It could become the most globally divisive war after World War II.

saudi arabia only acts based on orders given to them from their masters in washington and tel aviv.

saudi arabia on its own was defeated in an humiliating fashion by the Houthi Shia rebels in Yemen.the Houthi rebels went deep into saudi territory occupying 47 positions on saudi soil.

if saudi arabia tries any nonsense against syria,the saudis would live to thank God because that would be the end of the oppressive monarchy in saudi arabia.can you imagine saudi arabia claiming to be fighting for democracy in syria? syria is astronomical years ahead of saudi arabia when it comes to freedom.

Bashar Al-Assad!

^Is that supposed to be a PR stunt? LagosShia is turning to Beaf small-small O. What do looks got to do with this matter?

maclatunji: ^Is that supposed to be a PR stunt? LagosShia is turning to Beaf small-small O. What do looks got to do with this matter?

wallahi,you funny nor be small!

"From Misurata we came to free Syria!"

[size=14pt]Homs in the hell of armed groups[/size]

A direct testimony from the Syrian city of Homs collected by the Swiss journalist Silvia Cattori, who paints a very different picture than that spread by a majority of western media. Since 6 February Cattori has lost contact with her local informants, terrorized by armed groups "wildly shelling, killing to kill”, as reported in an interview with an inhabitant of Homs.

29 FEBRUARY 2012 |

Homs, now, is nothing but a sinister battlefield where government soldiers face armed groups which, according to independent witnesses about the true nature of the rebellion, are blindly firing cannon shots to sow terror and death, then pretending that only government forces are bombarding the city.

The Western media continue, for its part, to adduce as evidence the statements of local committees which spread propaganda of the armed "opponents", in coordination with the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, a London-based body created and funded by the rebellion-allied forces[The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights - which collects the statements of various local committees in Syria - has been repeatedly denounced as nothing but a vulgar instrument of disinformation in the service of the revolt. Despite ample evidence of that, it remains the principal source of information from Syria - together with the famous "great reporters" – and the entire Western media are referring to it, spreading day after day the reports by this rip-of observatory. [1]

To understand what happens in Syria, it is therefore not possible to rely on the Syrian Observatory or on bloggers who are part of this rebellion. We also cannot rely on foreign correspondents who are, as we can see, systematically and from the heart and soul on the side of the armed "opponents", qualifying them as "heroes" and presenting the battle that divides the Syrian people in an entirely Manichaean way: On one side the opposition which "struggles for democracy", and on the other the terrible dictator.

Things are not like that. As demonstrated by a recent poll, as well as by the massive demonstrations in support of the Russian and Chinese veto at the UN, the vast majority of the Syrian people do not want this armed revolt, which seeks solely to legitimize NATO powers and several Arab states - notoriously known as champions of democracy, such as Qatar.

If you want to speak of "heroes" in Syria, then you should refer to all parties who are suffering, not only to the "heroes" recognized by the West ...

How many Milan missiles were handed over to the rebels?

The number of Syrian citizens appealing to to their president for intervention of government forces is very high. This is especially true in Homs, where the situation is alarming because large sections of the population are held hostage by these groups occupying entire areas of the city - the neighborhoods of Baba Amr, Khaldiyeh, Karm el-Zeytoun - where the people have been calling for months for Damascus to rescue them [2].

Their fate has become even more a source of anxiety since the same Milan anti-tank missile launchers delivered to the Libyan rebels during the Libyan campaign, less than a year ago, by France and Qatar, began to be used. We can remember how at the time Sarkozy and Bernard Henry Levy misled public opinion by putting the blame on forces loyal to Gaddafi for the use of these Milan missiles, which were taking a heavy toll on the people of Syria.

This is the same disturbing scenario repeating itself in Syria. Politicians, journalists and NGOs are once again taking a firm stand concerning the war, provoked by groups exploited by foreign powers. They attribute to the government forces, as was done in Libya and without proper inspection, the acts of barbarism perpetrated by the armed ’opponents’ who are terrorizing the majority of the population.

For three weeks correspondents have been repeating that Homs has been unilaterally shelled by the Syrian army. On the contrary, the loyalist contingents attacked by the Milan missiles have suffered heavy losses since the beginning of their intervention. It is not clear whether the authorities in Damascus will be able to dislodge these groups with heavy weaponry from all quarters of the city.

Could the Syrian government not respond?

From the beginning of these battles it has been repeatedly demonstrated that the armed ‘rebels’ are trained, drilled and formed by foreign special forces; and that among their ranks the opponents have elements acting on behalf of foreign powers whose presence in Syria is self-evident. Syrian television has recently disseminated pictures of Homs taken by a foreign "war photographer" who followed and filmed these armed "opponents" - the same ones glorified by the "great reporters" – who wildly launch rockets and missiles. An image has attracted attention: In a building, whose stairs are dirty with blood and destroyed furniture, a surprising graffiti with heavy meaning stood out on a wall: "From Misurata, after we have freed Lybia, we came to free Syria!"

Who is responsible for the massacres of Homs, and which objectives does he pursue?

These armed groups, whose most violent actions are attributed to Al Assad soldiers facing them, are systematically presented by the Western press as "foes" fighting for "democracy."

Why do "great reporters" not bring evidence of Syrian victims of abductions, tortures and murders by these armed "opponents"?

Why has the President of " Doctors without Borders" recently contributed to this process of intoxication, showing as credible the testimonies of anonymous Syrians with covered faces - standing side by side with the rebels, and attributing to Al-Assad forces and to the hospitals’ doctors unspeakable acts of torture and injury of children? [3]

Who would believe in Bashar Al Assad’s interest in torturing his people, in raping children and girls? Who would believe that the majority of the Syrian people would continue supporting Bashar Al Assad if he was really such a bloody torturer as painted in the West for the purpose of war propaganda?

These incessant campaigns which defend the violent opposition, and not the people terrorized and oppressed by these rebels, are dangerous. They aim to bring grist to foreign power’s mill - France, Great Britain, the United States, backed by Qatar and Saudi Arabia – which have been preparing for months the ground for a military intervention in Syria, and are just waiting for the green light by Obama.


http://www.silviacattori.net/article2898.html

LagosShia:

wallahi,you funny nor be small!

Guilty as charged.

That 'Italian Mafia' reporter you have there has stated her own side of the story. You know that majority of people think otherwise.

Let's face it, Bashar is one ruthless bad/sharp guy. He should know that power comes from Allah and they are better ways of achieving whatever his objectives are than killing innocent people.

Sure, you claim he is not responsible but the bloodshed has to stop and he as the leader of Syria has the major responsibility for that!