Syria on the brink of civil war as confessional groups clash
Sunnis and Alawis fight for hours in Homs, leaving at least 30 people dead. Security forces do not intervene, but continue to mop up protesters in border towns. In Bahrain, the opposition threatens to quit reconciliation talks because they are “not serious”.
Damascus (AsiaNews/Agencies) – At least 30 people were killed in 24 hours in the central Syrian city of Homs in clashes between supporters and opponents of president Bashar al-Assad's regime. Meanwhile, reconciliation talks designed to define democratic reforms appear bound for failure in Bahrain.
In Syria, clashes broke out in Homs after three pro-regime supporters were abducted by strangers and their dismembered bodies returned to their families, said Rami Abdel Rahman of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
"The two sides started out beating each other with sticks, but then firearms were used,” he said.
A large number of the dead were killed by gunmen lying in ambush, as security forces stood idly by. Apparently, soldiers moved in only after the clashes ended. Last night a precarious calm prevailed over the city.
The clashes were confessional in nature, this according to other sources, pitting anti-government Sunni Muslims against pro-regime Alawis.
Increasingly, the country appears to be sliding towards civil war, something feared by most pro-democracy demonstrators.
President Bashar al-Assad, who belongs to the Alawi minority, seems bent on staying the course, despite international pressures.
Elsewhere, soldiers moved into the town of Zabadani, near the Lebanon border, as it pressed ahead in its campaign to crush anti-government protest. After house-to-house searches, 50 people were arrested, said Abdel Karim Rihaoui, head of the Syrian League of Human Rights.
In the east, on the border with Iraq, security forces opened fire against demonstrators in Al-Bukamal. One man was reported killed as people now fear soldiers will go from house to house to arrest more protesters.
By contrast, the official SANA news agency spoke of "armed terrorist gangs who stormed a government building and seized the weapons stored there". It reported that three security personnel were killed and two kidnapped in the attack.
Such information is hard to verify because the government expelled foreign reporters months ago.
Since the start of protests, more than 1,400 people are believed to have been killed, and 12,000 arrested. Tens of thousands have fled over the border, especially in Lebanon, to escape military retaliations.
Meanwhile, tensions remain high in Bahrain after Bahrain's biggest Shia opposition Al-Wifaq bloc said it planned to pull out of talks that began on 2 July.
The national dialogue had brought together 300 participants representing political parties, NGOs, media, parliamentarians, trade unions and business people to find a solution to the grievances that sparked protests back in February.
In a country with a Shia majority, the ruling family is Sunni and people want more democracy and less discrimination. So far however, the government has responded with an iron fist.
More than 30 people have died in clashes between demonstrators and police. Hundreds more have been arrested.
A spokesman for the main opposition group, al-Wifaq, said the national dialogue was not serious.
He explained that the group is not seeking the fall of the government in Shia-majority Bahrain but only reform.
The decision to abandon the national dialogue would be put to the Wifaq leadership for ratification.
In Syria, clashes broke out in Homs after three pro-regime supporters were abducted by strangers and their dismembered bodies returned to their families, said Rami Abdel Rahman of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
"The two sides started out beating each other with sticks, but then firearms were used,” he said.
A large number of the dead were killed by gunmen lying in ambush, as security forces stood idly by. Apparently, soldiers moved in only after the clashes ended. Last night a precarious calm prevailed over the city.
The clashes were confessional in nature, this according to other sources, pitting anti-government Sunni Muslims against pro-regime Alawis.
Increasingly, the country appears to be sliding towards civil war, something feared by most pro-democracy demonstrators.
President Bashar al-Assad, who belongs to the Alawi minority, seems bent on staying the course, despite international pressures.
Elsewhere, soldiers moved into the town of Zabadani, near the Lebanon border, as it pressed ahead in its campaign to crush anti-government protest. After house-to-house searches, 50 people were arrested, said Abdel Karim Rihaoui, head of the Syrian League of Human Rights.
In the east, on the border with Iraq, security forces opened fire against demonstrators in Al-Bukamal. One man was reported killed as people now fear soldiers will go from house to house to arrest more protesters.
By contrast, the official SANA news agency spoke of "armed terrorist gangs who stormed a government building and seized the weapons stored there". It reported that three security personnel were killed and two kidnapped in the attack.
Such information is hard to verify because the government expelled foreign reporters months ago.
Since the start of protests, more than 1,400 people are believed to have been killed, and 12,000 arrested. Tens of thousands have fled over the border, especially in Lebanon, to escape military retaliations.
Meanwhile, tensions remain high in Bahrain after Bahrain's biggest Shia opposition Al-Wifaq bloc said it planned to pull out of talks that began on 2 July.
The national dialogue had brought together 300 participants representing political parties, NGOs, media, parliamentarians, trade unions and business people to find a solution to the grievances that sparked protests back in February.
In a country with a Shia majority, the ruling family is Sunni and people want more democracy and less discrimination. So far however, the government has responded with an iron fist.
More than 30 people have died in clashes between demonstrators and police. Hundreds more have been arrested.
A spokesman for the main opposition group, al-Wifaq, said the national dialogue was not serious.
He explained that the group is not seeking the fall of the government in Shia-majority Bahrain but only reform.
The decision to abandon the national dialogue would be put to the Wifaq leadership for ratification.
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