Syrian Revolution News Round-up                                       ملخص أحداث الثورة السورية
Day 213: Thursday, 13 Oct                                                    2011 االخميس، ١۳ تشرين الأوّل/أكتوبر ٢٠١

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Anti-Assad student demonstrations in Harrak, Dera

• The European Union announced a new round of sanctions against Syrian institutions.

• The Syrian National Council held its first public event in Washington, DC in which it requested international recognition.

• British Foreign & Commonwealth Office summoned Syrian Ambassador to the UK protesting and warning against intimidation of Syrian dissidents in the UK.

Today’s Top Videos

• A man shot in the head by a sniper in Homs

• Assad’s forces shell pharmacies and civilian houses in Der Balba, Homs

• Rebels of free Libya raise the Syrian flag while storming the city of Sirt

Support for SNC on the Ground

• Taybet Al-Imam: Students show support to the SNC and demand the ousting of Assad

Today’s Summary of Events

The European Union announced a new round of sanctions against institutions found to be in support of Assad’s security crackdown against the Syrian people. The new rounds, to be enacted tomorrow, will include the Commercial Bank of Syria. EU’s Foreign Affairs Secretary Catherine Ashton said that today’s announcement came as a direct result of the brutal campaign launched by the Assad regime against peaceful demonstrators. Ashton added that the sanctions do not target the Syrian people, but aim to strip the Assad regime of its financial support system used to continue committing atrocities against the Syrian people. On the other hand, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) called for an urgent Arab League meeting for foreign ministers to discuss the Syrian affair.

In the UK, the Foreign Affairs Minister William Hague announced that the Foreign & Commonwealth Office summoned the Syrian Ambassador in London to protest the Embassy of Syria’s intimidation of Syrian dissidents in the UK and the targeting of their families in Syria. The Syrian Ambassador was warned that harassment of Syrian dissidents in the UK is not acceptable and will bear consequences. This is the second time the Syrian Ambassador to the UK is summoned in regards to this issue.

In the meantime, the Syrian National Council (SNC) held a seminar in Washington DC that highlighted the urgency of increasing international pressure on the Assad regime as well as the importance of recognizing the SNC as the official representative of the Syrian people. SNC members added that the diversity and inclusiveness of the SNC should help secure the future of all Syrian minorities in the post-Assad era.

The Assad regime killed eight people during its crackdown today. Security forces killed two defected soldiers and a civilian in al-Hara in Daraa, and five civilians in Bannesh in Idlib during an incursion in search of defected soldiers. The regime also assassinated Colonel Abdul Majid al-Masri after his attempt to defect, while Colonel Radwan al-Madloush of the Airforce Intelligence announced his defection due to the regime’s atrocious and dishonourable approach in dealing with demonstrators.

The security crackdown continued in Homs, as the campaign expanded to include the neighbourhoods of Qosur and Qarabis which were invaded with armoured units and armoured personnel carriers. House-to-house searches were carried out under the cover of heavy machinegun fire. Many males were arrested, and many houses were robbed and sabotaged. All motorcycles and bicycles were confiscated, while some houses were occupied as frontline bases. Tablisa and Rastan are still under heavy siege, with warplanes still circling their skies. Demonstrations did manage to go out albeit; in the cities of Rastan, Tablisa, Palmyra, Qasir and Houleh; the neighbourhoods of Hamra, Inshaat, Waar, Bab Hood, Joret al-Sheyah, Qarabis, Khaldiya, Bayada, Ghouta, Deir Baalba, Qosur, Bab Hood, Sleibet Asyati, Bab Draib, Shammas, Nazhin, Karm Zaytoun, and Jab Jandali.

The kidnapping and rape campaigns have escalated as Assad militiamen started kidnapping any girls on the streets of Homs regardless of her age.

The Free Syrian Army engaged Assad’s militiamen in the Damascus suburbs of Irbin, Douma, and Harasta, and managed to inflict heavy damages in their ranks.