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PRESIDENT BASHAR ASSAD’S forces killed at least 90 people, including 13 children, in central Syria on Friday, activists said, in one of the highest death tolls in one specific area since an internationally-brokered cease-fire went into effect last month.
Syrian troops using tanks, mortars and heavy machine guns pounded the area of Houla, a region made up of several towns and villages in the province of Homs, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees activist groups said.
An amateur video posted online by activists showed more than a dozen bodies lined up inside a room. They included about 10 children who were covered with sheets that only showed their bloodied faces.
“Houla was subjected to a massacre,” a man could be heard saying inside the room.
The Observatory said in one incident in Houla, a family of six was killed when their home received a direct hit.
Homs has been among the hardest hit provinces in a government crackdown since the uprising against President Bashar Assad’s regime began in March last year. The UN said several weeks ago that 9,000 people have been killed in Syria in the past 15 months. Hundreds more have died since.
Attacks like Friday’s, as well as strikes by rebel forces on government troops, have persisted despite the deployment of more than 250 UN observers who have fanned out across Syria to monitor a cease-fire brokered by international envoy Kofi Annan.
Despite the daily violations, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday that there was no “plan B” for the Annan initiative.
The northern city of Aleppo, a major economic hub, has remained largely supportive of Assad throughout the uprising but anti-regime sentiment has been on the rise in recent weeks.
On Friday, Syrian forces fired tear gas and live ammunition to disperse thousands of protesters in Aleppo calling for Assad’s ouster, killing five people, activists said.
Aleppo-based activist Mohammad Saeed said more than 10,000 people were protesting in the city
“The regime is desperately trying to put down the protests in Aleppo but all this violence will backfire,” he said. He added that security forces shot dead five people, including a 12-year-old boy, identified as Amir Barakat.
“Wounded and bloodied people are in the streets,” Saeed said.
Also Friday, a group of Lebanese Shiites who were kidnapped in Syria were released in good health, three days after gunmen abducted the men as they returned from a religious pilgrimage.
The kidnappings fuelled fears that Lebanon is getting drawn into the bloody conflict in neighbouring Syria. In the hours after Tuesday’s abductions, protests erupted in Beirut’s Shiite-dominated southern suburbs, where residents burned tires and blocked roads.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati confirmed the men were released, saying they were “in good health and on their way to Beirut.” The pilgrims were believed to have been returning from a trip to visit holy sites in Iran when they were abducted.
The hostages were believed to be 11 Lebanese and one Syrian driver. Lebanese and Syrian officials have blamed Syrian rebels for the kidnappings, but nobody has claimed responsibility.
Sunnis form the backbone of the Syrian revolt, which has unleashed seething sectarian tensions. Assad and the country’s ruling elite belong to the tiny Alawite sect, which is an offshoot of Shiism.
The leader of Lebanon’s powerful Shiite militant group Hezbollah, which has stood by the Syrian regime, welcomed the pilgrims’ release. Speaking by satellite link, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said the group’s support for Syria is firm.
“If you aim to put pressure on our political stance, this will not make any difference,” he said of the kidnappings.
The abductions came at a time of deep tension in Lebanon over Syria. The countries share a web of political and sectarian ties and rivalries, which can quickly turn violent. Clashes linked to the Syria conflict have killed at least 10 people in Lebanon the past two weeks.
Nasrallah’s comments appeared to be an attempt to de-escalate the recent tensions.
“I also thank all the people who controlled their emotions and responded to our call for calm, wisdom and patience,” Nasrallah said, referring to a speech he gave earlier this week calling on his supporters not to take to the streets in anger.
Additional reporting by Jennifer Wade
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Very interesting- well done to the author making life worth living again!
Very well put especially our minds can lie to us. Not just addiction, I often shook my head, slapped myself, threw water on my face to escape an unwelcome emotion. Took 10 years to find that statement, the mind can lie, before you get to do something it had already whispered the negative outcome. From that continuously they also rewire. On form, off form confidence or none, you can’t smack, splash a neuroconnection away easily. It’s a marathon task to change yourself from that cycle. A story that I hope others will see and find their own path.
The support available for eating disorders in Ireland is atrocious….3 public bed available to serve tens of thousands apparently. Average stint in a private hospital (about 8-12 weeks) is upwards of 50 grand. We’ve a lot to do. Great support available in uk.
@deisecelt: hospital beds are for those medically unwell though which is really restricted to those with a restrictive ED or anorexia nervosa. That would be a regular medical bed for which the usual ‘bed shortage’ issues apply. Treatment for binge eating disorder would be as an outpatient. Psychiatric beds for eating disorder are few and far between but again can’t see binge eating disorder requiring one unless part of a syndrome like Prader Willi and some other mental health issue at play.
Well done author for writing this so well. Food is accompanied with so many rewards both physically and socially, that’s where the danger is. It’s also one of the hardest addictions to stop because unlike smoking/drink/drugs, you can’t just abstain, you still need to eat. And the remorse you feel after binging is ridiculously strong. Not only women suffer through this also.
Thank you for sharing your story. The 12 Step programs share a success rate with inpatient programs for addictive disorders. And they are free, you may give a donation at your ability. You talk about connecting with your Higher Power. It is important for people to understand that some Judeo-Christian deity is not necessary. Twelve Step programs provide not only support but a structure for better dealing with stress and emotion.
Is purge vomiting or going out the other way. Do u need a laxative to expel it?
@Coole Swan: Vomiting if i remember my H.E. correctly
@Coole Swan: it’s either
@Coole Swan: both
The success rate of 12 step programs is abysmal to say the least. Studies have shown that only 5 percent of people stick with 12 programs after 12 month.
The 12 steps has a terrible success rate, studies have shown only 5 percent of people stick with a 12 step program after 12 months.
The success rate of 12 step programs is abysmal. Studies have shown that only 5%of people stick with 12 step programs after 12 months.
The success rate of 12 programs is abysmal. Studies have shown that only 5 %of people stick with 12 step programs after 12 months
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