By Middle East correspondent Anne Barker and wires
Updated February 17, 2012 11:04:48
Photo: Homs has been under sustained fire for 13 straight days. (AFP: LCC Syria)
The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved a new resolution condemning rights violations in Syria and calling on president Bashar al-Assad to step aside.
The vote came after at least 22 people were reportedly killed in flashpoint cities of Syria, and a prominent blogger and other top activists were arrested.
The non-binding resolution - introduced by Egypt on behalf of 27 other countries including Arab states, Britain and the United States - condemns "systematic violations and human rights" in Syria.
An initial count showed it received 137 votes in favour, 12 against and 17 abstentions, though three delegations said their votes failed to register on the electronic board.
But the resolution, which endorses an Arab League plan, has no real power to force change without a similar vote in the Security Council, where Russia and China have already vetoed similar resolutions.
On the ground in Syria, government troops continue to pound the city of Homs after 13 straight days, firing mortars and rockets into residential areas.
In Hama, further north, 18 people have been killed in a similar crackdown, while four others have died in the southern city of Daraa.
"It's very methodical," said Mohammed, a Daraa resident reached by telephone from Beirut.
He said regime forces were attacking the province "village by village".
"The (rebel) Free Syrian Army is trying to push them back but it is not equipped and is forced to retreat. Regime troops are taking revenge on residents," he said.
Daraa massacre
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says it fears security forces have carried out a massacre in Daraa province, where dozens of civilians disappeared on Wednesday after being cornered in a valley.
"There are fears regime forces carried out a massacre in Sahm al-Julan," it said in a statement, providing the names of 14 of those feared killed.
"Witnesses said security forces shot at the civilians and then piled them onto pick-up trucks. Their fate is unknown."
Authorities have also reportedly arrested several prominent activists for their role in the 11-month uprising.
Among them is blogger Razan Ghazzawi, a symbol of the 11-month uprising against the Assad regime, as well as prominent human rights activist Mazen Darwish, his wife and 11 others, said human rights lawyer Anwar Bunni.
The lawyer said Ms Ghazzawi was arrested in a raid on the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression, which is in central Damascus and headed by Mr Darwish.
Ms Ghazzawi, a Syrian-American, has written her "Razaniyyat" blog under her real name since 2009.
Her Twitter feed - @RedRazan - is followed by more than 6,500 people.
Photo: Arrested: Syrian blogger Razan Ghazzawi works for the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression. (AFP: Syrian Centre for Media and Free Expression)
Earlier this week, Syrian opposition groups and the United States rejected the Assad government's newly drafted constitution, which the government says would end nearly five decades of single-party rule.
The US dismissed the move as "laughable," but Russia, a major weapons supplier to Damascus, welcomed it.
Syrian opposition groups urged voters to boycott a February 26 referendum on the charter.
Meanwhile, Chinese vice foreign minister Zhai Jun said Beijing remains opposed armed intervention and forced "regime change" in Syria.
The diplomat is heading to Damascus on Friday to push for peace.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon has appealed to the international community to agree on a response to end the violence.
"I urge the international community to speak in one voice: stop the violence. Stop the bloodshed. The longer we debate, the more people will die," he said.
Rights groups say more than 6,000 people have been killed since regime forces began cracking down on democracy protests launched on March 15 last year.
ABC/AFP
Topics: world-politics, unrest-conflict-and-war, syrian-arab-republic
First posted February 17, 2012 07:37:04
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog"
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
17022012
___________
CSVN là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là đồng lõa với TỘI ÁC
No comments:
Post a Comment