Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Syrian death toll rises as Arab states protest



Total killed during Syrian uprising passes 2,000 as President Bashar al-Assad defies international pressure

Ian Black Middle East editor
guardian.co.uk, Monday 8 August 2011

"Syria defied Arab isolation and mounting international anger on Monday as President Bashar al-Assad's security forces continued attacks on pro-democracy protesters across the country....

Reports from Deir al-Zor described artillery and heavy machinegun fire and snipers on roofs as troops and intelligence agents carried out mass arrests in the north-eastern city. On Sunday, 42 people were killed there, nudging the death total during five months of the uprising to more than 2,000.....

Turkey's foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, is due to meet Assad in Damascus on Tuesday and will be carrying Clinton's message to Assad to release all detained protesters, establish a new government and send his army back to barracks, Turkish media reported....

Condemnation of the Syrian government spread to the internet, where the hacking group known as Anonymous claimed credit for vandalising the Syrian military's website. The site quickly became unavailable, but screenshots circulated online showed the group's trademark headless suit and a message addressed to the Syrian people saying that "the world stands with you against the brutal regime.""

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