• Syria protesters show backing for deserted troops
• Free Syrian Army restructured following criticism
• Arab League admits mission is not going to plan
Posted by
Matthew Weaver and Lizzy Davies
Friday 13 January 2012 15.50 GMT
guardian.co.uk
Article history
A defected Syrian soldier who joined the Free Syrian Army carries a rocket-propelled grenade. Photograph: Reuters
3.44pm: BBC Arabic has withdrawn its reporter in Syria, Mohammad Ballout, over concerns for his safety.
Ballout provided an eye witness account of Wednesday's attack in Homs which killed Jacquier.
A BBC spokeswoman said:
Mr Ballout was in Syria on temporary assignment. His assignment has now concluded and he is en route to London. Mr Ballout was recalled to London from Syria due to concerns for his safety.
Over the past year, he has covered the Arab Uprising for BBC Arabic most recently in Libya where he was shot and sustained injuries in Bani Walid. Syria was Mr Ballout's first field assignment in the Middle East since his recovery.
3.28pm: The Paris prosecutor has opened an investigation into voluntary murder following an official complaint lodged by France Télévisions into the death of Gilles Jacquier, Le Monde reports, quoting an unnamed judicial source. An autopsy, adds the paper, will be carried out today.
Thierry Thuillier, head of news at France Télévisions, said the company decided to take legal action because the response of the Syrian authorities had so far been "not satisfactory".
In an interview published on the FranceTV.fr website, Thullier said there were multiple questions that needed to be answered- including why Jacquier and his France 2 colleagues had been forced to go to Homs when they had said they did not want to.
First of all, we can see from the pictures that our cameraman Christophe Kenck was hit by six pieces on his way = to the building where Gilles died. At that precise moment, we're at the third volley of fire. And that's when Gilles Jacquier wanted to leave the building where he had been sheltering that he was fatally hit by a fourth volley.
For us this series of events poses several questions concerning the origin of the fire, the intended target, the journalists being part of an escorted convoy that was very severely restricted. When the shots began, the Syrian soldiers pulled back, leaving the journalists alone and exposed. Why? I have no answer. The editorial, France Télévisions, the families want this answer.
Asked what he thought of Syria's announcement that a committee has been set up to investigate the attack, Thullier said:
For the moment, from our point of view, this investigative committee does not exist. When I went out there, I met with no official. The president [of France Televisions] has received no notice of it...from Damascus. And that is precisely why we have lodged an official complaint- so that we are able to find our place in the process that must lead us to the truth. For there are certainly witnesses, journalists for example, who saw things. And the family, just like the editorial staff of France Televisions, will not be at ease as long as they are in the dark as to what happened. I repeat: for the moment, the response of the Syrian government are not satisfactory.
Asked if he was calling into question the integrity of the Syrian authorities, he replied:
For the moment I'm asking questions... Another question: why did our team, who did not want to go to Homs, end up going? It was not their mission- they were not meant to leave Damascus. Their report was political, not on the current conflict. Gilles Jacquier and Christophe Kenck had refused to go to Homs. Yes, the other journalists had accepted, but to them, they [the Syrians] said, 'If you refuse again, you'll be off right away."
3.22pm: The activist group, the Local Coordination Committees in Syria has claimed eight people, including two children, have been killed so far today.
It also circulated horrific video which purported to show a blood stained hospital ward where a mother and four of her injured children were said to have been taken after being shot in Homs [warning: disturbing content].
3.09pm: Amnesty International prepared a dossier on human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia [pdf], to coincide with David Cameron's visit
Speaking before Cameron met the King Abdullah campaigns director Tim Hancock said:
There is shocking disrespect for basic human rights in Saudi Arabia and David Cameron should be completely frank and firm with King Abdullah about this.
For example, he should bring up the case of six Bedouin men who face having their right hand and left foot amputated for 'highway robbery'. The men had no lawyers at their trial and one of them was reportedly beaten for eight days to make him 'confess'.
In Saudi Arabia women are treated as second class citizens. They can be flogged if they're caught driving a car and they have to receive the permission of a male guardian before they can travel, start a job or get married. If Samantha Cameron were on this visit she would be unable to drive or move around freely without risk of arrest.
In recent years we've documented the indiscriminate bombing of Yemeni villages by Saudi Arabian jets, so if Mr Cameron is discussing arms deals on this trip he must ensure that they will be subject to rigorous controls and that no equipment is shipped to the country if there is the slightest risk of it being used to commit human rights abuses.
3.07pm: Today's protests near the Syrian capital Damascus have been no where near as large as those in Idlib, Hama and Homs, but significantly they are getting closer to the centre of the city according to video clips from activists.
View Syria protest videos 13 January 2012 in a larger map
Click on the icons to see videos of the protests.
Human rights campaigner Wissam Tarrif claims two foreign journalists without visa have been arrested in Douma, a north-eastern suburb of the city.
wissamtarif
@wissamtarif Two foreign journalists on no visa basis visit detained in #Douma #Syria
14 Jan 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite2.49pm: Video footage posted on the internet appears to show the burning hulk of an armoured personnel carrier on a street in Homs.
A voice on the clip said the Free Syrian Army mounted the attack, according to Reuters.
2.30pm: Thousands of mourners have turned out to the funeral of the Iranian scientist killed earlier this week, chanting "Death to Israel" and "Death to America", according to reports.
According to AP:
State TV showed thousands of people carrying Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan's coffin through central Tehran before it was taken to a north cemetery for burial. As it marched, the crowd chanted "death to terrorists."
Young men chanted "Nuclear energy is our absolute right!" in an atmosphere of "high emotion", added Reuters.
An independent news website, irannuc.ir, has said today that Iran is preparing a covert counteroffensive against the West that could include assassinations abroad. An unnamed official is quoted as saying:
Iran's response will be extraterritorial and extra-regional. It follows the strategy that none of those who ordered or carried out (the attacks) should feel secure in any part of the world.
2.10pm: Two Yemeni protesters were killed and over a dozen people injured when security forces fired bullets and tear gas at marchers in the southern city of Aden, a medic and a witness told according to AP.
The protesters were demanding that the country's outgoing president be out on trial.
The witness said some armed men in the demonstration returned fire.
Meanwhile in the north of the country, AFP reports the death of 20 gunmen in clashes between Huthi and Sunni militia.
1.53pm: The Guardian's Middle East editor Ian Black in Damascus continues to question the official version of last week's reported suicide bombing and Wednesday's attack that killed French journalist Gilles Jacquier.
Ian Black@ian_black Anyone recognise suicide bomber who killed 26 in Damascus? الداخلية تعمم صورة الإرهابي الذي فجر نفسه بحي الميدان بدمشق sana.sy/ara/336/2012/0…
13 Jan 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite
Ian Black
@ian_black Hope this #Syria issue doesn't fade: Pour une enquête internationale sur la mort de #Gilles Jacquier blog.lefigaro.fr/geopolitique/2… via @prousselin
13 Jan 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite1.35pm: "Assad's Iron Hand will be broken by [the] Free Army" reads a painted slogan at a huge demonstration in the Syrian city of Hama.
The message is a reference to Bashar al-Assad's speech on Tuesday when he threatened his opponents with an "iron fist".
1.19pm: William Hague, the foreign secretary, has described Arab Spring elections in which Islamist parties have triumphed as a "setback", but insisted Britain must respect their successes and avoid "picking winners".
In an article published in the Times and timed to coincide with the first anniversary of the Arab Spring, Hague writes:
It is true that parties drawing their inspiration from Islam have done better at the polls than secular parties and there are legitimate concerns about what this will mean. Their success is partly a legacy of the refusal of governments to allow the development of meaningful opposition parties in the past. It may also be part of a tendency to vote for groups believed to have done the most to oppose dictatorship and corruption and to offer basic welfare.
Either way, we must respect these choices while upholding our own principles of human rights and freedom and urging the highest standards. Trying to pick winners would fatally undermine faith in our intentions and our support for democracy. In standing up for the right of peoples to choose their own representatives at the ballot box, we have to accept their choices and work with the governments they elect.
Again it will not be easy. But these parties will be under pressure to stick by their pledges to share power and chart a moderate course..... We cannot guarantee that they will take this path, but if they do not they risk angering people who can easily turn to the streets. The true test of these governments will be how they act in office and, ultimately, whether they are prepared to surrender power if rejected at the ballot box and will make a commitment to non-violence.
1.00pm: Here's a round-up of the latest developments across the region.
Syria
• The head of the Arab League has warned that Syria may be sliding toward civil war. Nabil Elaraby told AP that Assad's regime was either not complying or only partially complying with an Arab League plan that Syria signed last month to end its crackdown. Meanwhile anger with the League is building inside Syria: today protesters in Homs were shown apparently burning a picture of mission chief Mustafa al-Dabi.
• The chief executive of France Télévisions, Rémy Pflimlin, has asked the Paris prosecutor to open an investigation into the death of journalist Gilles Jacquier in Homs on Wednesday in the hope that "all light will be shed" on the attack. The move comes as an unnamed source is quoted as telling Le Figaro that the Elysée suspects there may have been "manipulation" by Syrian authorities. Jacquier's body was returned to France this morning, on board a plane also carrying his widow.
• Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in rallies across Syria, according to activists. The central city of Homs and the north western city of Idlib have seen the largest demonstration so far. Opposition groups had called on protesters to turn out in big numbers to support the Free Syrian Army.
• Another senior figure in Syria has announced his defection to the opposition. Sheikh Abdul Jalil al-Saeed, state appointed director of public relations for the Grand Cleric Ahmad Hassoun accused the regime of corruption.
Saudi Arabia
• At least one protester has been killed by the security forces as David Cameron arrived for an official visit. Issam Mohammed, 22, reportedly died when troops fired live ammunition after demonstrators threw stones at them in al-Awamiya, a town in the Qatif region. One activist said they had been calling for the release of political prisoners.
• Downing Street has defended Cameron's trip to Riyadh, saying in a statement that "building a strong relationship" with the kingdom "is vital to advancing the United Kingdom's priorities in the region". Both countries were "actively supporting" the Arab League's efforts to bring an end to the killing and repression in Syria, the statement added.
Egypt• Despite the election of a new parliament, the era of street revolt is far from over and the fragile legitimacy of the military junta's supposedly democratic institutions is yet to be accepted by all, writes Jack Shenker in Cairo. Perhaps the biggest challenge for the Muslim Brotherhood and the parliament it now leads will be to win over those who distrust this junta-curated organ of official "democracy", and move Egypt's political process out of the streets and into a formal arena instead.
Bahrain• A French journalist was questioned and held for 10 hours at the airport before being allowed into the country. Stephanie Lamorre's experience comes after a US human rights activist was denied permission to enter the country to act as an observer of the Bahraini medics' re-trial.
• Human Rights Watch has called for investigation into the police attack last week on campaigner Nabeel Rajab. Its Middle East director Sarah Leah Whitson said: "The riot police's assault on Nabeel Rajab and other peaceful demonstrators shows once again the government's intolerance of peaceful assemblies. The authorities need to investigate this incident and hold those responsible for the attack to account."
12.42pm: Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in rallies across Syria, according to video from activists.
The central city of Homs and the north western city of Idlib have seen the largest demonstration so far today.
View Syria protest videos 13 January 2012 in a larger map
Click on the icons on the map to see video the demonstrations.
12.33pm: The head of the Arab League has warned that Syria may be sliding toward civil war.
Nabil Elaraby told AP that Assad's regime was either not complying or only partially complying with an Arab League plan that Syria signed last month to end its crackdown.
We are very concerned because there were certain commitments that were not complied with. If this continues, it may turn into civil war.
The AP report continues:
Over the course of the 10-month-old uprising, much of the violence has been from security forces firing on unarmed protesters. But in recent months breakaway soldiers have been attacking the Syrian military, and some opposition members have taken up arms against the regime, adding to the violence.
12.12pm: Saudi Arabia is branding itself as a bulwark against the Arab spring itself, writes David Hearst on Comment is Free. No wonder David Cameron's visit there today sits "oddly" with his support for pro-democracy movements in the region.
The kingdom is nervous for two reasons. Externally, the wave of unrest that has swept up to its borders is changing the footprint of regional powers. Saudi Arabia is jealous of Turkey's role as a mentor of political Islam to the emerging democracies of Tunisia and Egypt. And the Turkish model with its blend of Islam and secularism is markedly different from the traditional Saudi one.
Grassroots Islamists threaten monarchies, and Turkey is now described in the kingdom as a bigger regional nuisance than Iran. Bilateral relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia have become strained and negotiations on a free trade agreement between Ankara and the Gulf states were recently frozen.
Internally, the most authoritarian regime in the Arab world has much to fear from demonstrations – which are illegal. Sporadic protests are not confined to the oil-rich eastern province where the minority Shia community live. The king's response has been to blend small reformist steps, such as the decision in September to allow women to vote and run in municipal elections (but not yet to drive), with larger but less visible acts of repression.
12.00pm: Earlier this week Bahrain turned away US human rights activist Richard Sollom, who had flown in to be an observer of the re-trial of the 20 medics facing charges of trying to overthrow the regime.
Now immigration officials are under fire for having detained a French journalist and documentary maker for 10 hours before finally letting her in.
According to Maryam Alkhawaja of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Stephanie Lamorre was rigorously questioned about her visit to Bahrain- which, in November, vowed to become more transparent and open up to outsiders.
Alkhawaja tweeted:
Stephanie Lamorre, #French Journalist and Documentary filmmaker, arrived today @ 3am and was not allowed in #Bahrain #france #Freemedia
Stephanie was questioned about who she is meeting and why she is in #bahrain #arabspring #feb14
Stephanie Lamorre, French Journalist and Documentary filmmaker after being held at the airport for 10 hours was finally allowed in #bahrain
11.53am: The chief executive of France Télévisions, Rémy Pflimlin, has asked the Paris prosecutor to open an investigation into the death of journalist Gilles Jacquier in Homs on Wednesday in the hope that "all light will be shed" on the attack, according to a statement quoted by Le Monde.
Thierry Thullier, the head of news at France Télévisions, has told him there are "troubling" aspects to the killing, France 2 reports.
He is quoted as asking:
For example, why, when this group of journalists was being military escorted, why did the military suddently disappear when the first shots were fired?
According to this morning's Le Figaro, he is not the only one to be concerned.
The Elysée palace is understood to suspect a "manipulation" on the part of the Syrian authorities. The paper quotes a source "close to the French president" as saying:
We are inclined to believe there was a manipulation.
While there is no "proof" at this stage, the source goes on, "the Syrian authorities are the only ones who knew that a group of western journalists were visiting Homs that day and what neighbourhood they were in".
The source concludes:
We can believe in an unfortunate accident. But it was rather a good thing for a regime that is trying to discourage foreign journalists and to besmirch the resistance.
France's minister of culture, Frédéric Mitterrand, was waiting this morning at Le Bourget airport for the plane carrying Jacquier's body back to France.
The journalist's funeral will take place next week in the Haute Savoie region, where he was from, reports France 2. A memorial ceremony will be held in Paris in the coming days.
Le Figaro reports that Caroline Poiron, Jacquier's wife who was also on the trip to Homs, refused to give his body to the Syrian information services.
She waited until the French ambassador had arrived. She gave permission for a "limited" autopsy be carried out in Damascus on the journalist's body... A serious medical-legal exam could allow for the kind of projectile used to attack him to be identified, shedding some light on the origin of the blasts.
11.44am: Downing Street has defended David Cameron's trip to Riyadh. Its suggestion that Saudi Arabia is a key partner in delivering human rights will stick in the craw of many.
Here's part of the statement:
Saudi Arabia is the UK's largest trading partner in the Middle East, with bilateral trade worth over £15 billion every year and Saudi Arabian investment in the UK is worth more than £62 billion.
Building a strong relationship with Saudi Arabia is vital to advancing the United Kingdom's priorities in the region: increasing exports and investment; boosting energy security and creating jobs; co-operating on security, counter-proliferation and counter-terrorism; and promoting stability through political reform and human rights. That's why Britain is committed to its long-standing relationship with Saudi Arabia, as a key partner to deliver these goals for the people of the UK and of the region. For example, Britain and Saudi Arabia are both actively supporting the Arab League's efforts to bring an end to the killing and repression in Syria.
11.36am: "The basis for Bahsar's policy is bomb cars," says a banner at a big rally in Idlib province.
11.44am: Downing Street has defended David Cameron's trip to Riyadh. Its suggestion that Saudi Arabia is a key partner in delivering human rights will stick in the craw of many.
Here's part of the statement:
Saudi Arabia is the UK's largest trading partner in the Middle East, with bilateral trade worth over £15 billion every year and Saudi Arabian investment in the UK is worth more than £62 billion.
Building a strong relationship with Saudi Arabia is vital to advancing the United Kingdom's priorities in the region: increasing exports and investment; boosting energy security and creating jobs; co-operating on security, counter-proliferation and counter-terrorism; and promoting stability through political reform and human rights. That's why Britain is committed to its long-standing relationship with Saudi Arabia, as a key partner to deliver these goals for the people of the UK and of the region. For example, Britain and Saudi Arabia are both actively supporting the Arab League's efforts to bring an end to the killing and repression in Syria.
11.36am: "The basis for Bahsar's policy is bomb cars," says a banner at a big rally in Idlib province.
The message is an apparent reference to Wednesday's attack in Homs which killed French journalist Gilles Jacquier.
11.22am: Protesters in Homs have burned a photograph of Mohammed al-Dabi the Sudanese general in charge of the Arab League's monitoring mission in Syria.
Al-Dabi, a former official in Sudan's Darfur region at the time of alleged war crimes, has become a hate-figure for opposition activists. Last month he said Arab League monitors had found nothing "frightening" in the city of Homs.
Yesterday he accused Anwar Malek, the Arab League monitor resigned in protest at the ineffective of the monitoring mission, of lying.
He said Malek "did not leave the hotel for six days and did not go out with the rest of the team into the field giving the excuse that he was sick."
10.57am: Another senior figure in Syria has announced his defection to the opposition.
Sheikh Abdul Jalil al-Saeed, state appointed director of public relations for the Grand Cleric Ahmad Hassoun accused the regime of corruption.
He announced his defection on al-Jazeera Arabic, and said more senior figures would follow, according to blogger Ammar Abdulhamid.
Activists said al-Saeed alleged that the Minister of Religious Endowments in Syria siphoned off two thirds of its assets to the Assad family. He also alleged that Hassoun receives $50m each year from Iran.
Hassoun accused al-Saeed of lying and demanded Arab League monitors to investigate him, according to Lebanon-based activist LeShaque, who is an assiduous watcher of Syrian State TV.
10.26am: A Russian ship loaded with 60 tonnes of ammunition has landed in Syria, despite a commitment to Cyprus that it would be diverted to Turkey, the Turkish daily Zaman reports.
The ship arrived in Tarsus port yesterday after leaving the Limassol harbour area at around midday on Wednesday, supposedly for Iskenderun port in Turkey.
Zaman suggests that rivalry between Turkey and Cyprus (which it insists on calling Greek Cyprus) was to blame for the mix up.
It was also clarified that the ship would not have been allowed in Turkey even if it had steered for the country, since Turkey does not recognise Greek Cyprus and refuses to accept vehicles that come from Greek Cypriot ports, or any vehicle whose last stop was in a Greek Cypriot port.
10.21am: At least one protester in Saudi Arabia has been killed by the security forces as David Cameron arrived for an official visit, the BBC reports.
Issam Mohammed, 22, reportedly died when troops fired live ammunition after demonstrators threw stones at them in al-Awamiya, a town in the Qatif region.
One activist said they had been calling for the release of political prisoners.
9.59am: The English-speaking banner writer in the Syrian town of Kafranbel has sent out a cryptic message to the international community.
"World! Stop miming Hamlet on the Syrian stage; al-Assad isn't acting; he is slaughtering us," it reads.
For months English signs in a similar style have appeared every Friday in Kafranbel, in Syria's north-west Idlib project.
If anyone knows how to get in touch with the sign writer please email me matthew.weaver@guardian.co.uk or tweet me @matthew_weaver.
9.49am: Jacquier's body has been flown back to France amid growing suspicions about the circumstances of his death, AFP reports.
French daily Le Figaro on Friday quoted a source close to President Nicolas Sarkozy implicating the Syrian regime in his death.
"We are inclined to believe this was an underhanded maneuver," the source said, adding however that there was no proof Jacquier's death was intentional.
Syria's foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi has expressed his sympathies to Jacquier's family.
Dr.Jihad Makdissi@Makdissi I was interviewed by Gilles Jacquier the day befire and he was a decent and very knowledgable journaliste. My deep condolences to his family
13 Jan 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite9.32am: A protester in Hass, in Idilb province has a message to the media following the killing of French journalist Gilles Jacquier.
A placard in English at today's demonstrations says: "To journalists. Everyone who transmits the fact[s] will be killed."
8.45am: Welcome to Middle East Live. This Friday's protests in Syria are aimed at showing backing for the Free Syrian Army amid reports of new clashes between deserted troops and the regular army.
Here's a round up of the latest developments:
Syria
• Syrian opposition groups called on Friday for mass protests across the country to rally support for the Free Syrian Army fighting the security forces of President Bashar al-Assad, al-Arabiya reports. On Thursday there was renewed fighting between in Idlib province. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least seven members of the security forces were killed in the clashes.
• The Free Syrian Army is to be restructured to to accommodate recently deserted senior officers, following criticism that its operations lack coordination. The measures were announced after a new agreement between the FSA and the opposition Syrian National Council.
• The Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi has cast further doubt on league's Syria mission saying it was not going to plan and describing ongoing violence as "very worrisome". The league said it would not send further monitors until the violence was under control – a tacit admission that the monitors' month-long mission has done nothing to stop it. In an interview with the BBC al-Arabi said he did not take seriously the criticisms of Anwar Malek, the observer who quit in protests at the ineffectiveness of the mission. But he admitted that Malek was right to claim that the Syrian government was not acting in good faith.
Egypt
• Despite the election of a new parliament, the era of street revolt is far from over and the fragile legitimacy of the military junta's supposedly democratic institutions is yet to be accepted by all, writes Jack Shenker in Cairo. Perhaps the biggest challenge for the Muslim Brotherhood and the parliament it now leads will be to win over those who distrust this junta-curated organ of official "democracy", and move Egypt's political process out of the streets and into a formal arena instead.
Saudi Arabia
• David Cameron will fly to Saudi Arabia today for a series of talks with the ruling royal family in the wake of sweeping changes across the Middle East. On his first visit to the kingdom since he came to office, the prime minister will meet King Abdullah and Prince Nayef, Number 10 confirmed.
Iran
• The Obama administration is relying on a secret channel of communication to warn Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that closing the Strait of Hormuz is a "red line" that would provoke an American response, the New York Times reports. It quotes Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations as saying: "If you ask me what keeps me awake at night, it's the Strait of Hormuz and the business going on in the Arabian Gulf."
Bahrain
• Human Rights Watch has called for investigation into the police attack last week on campaigner Nabeel Rajab. Its Middle East director Sarah Leah Whitson said: "The riot police's assault on Nabeel Rajab and other peaceful demonstrators shows once again the government's intolerance of peaceful assemblies. The authorities need to investigate this incident and hold those responsible for the attack to account."
• The Bahraini police used teargas and stun grenades to break up another anti-government march in Bahrain's capital, Manama on Thursday, the BBC reports. The organisers say more than 3,000 people took part, in spite of a heavy security presence.
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