The Daily Monitoring Report – Saturday – 04-08-2012

August 4^th, 2012

- Some 128 Syrians were martyred by the gunfire of Al-Assad’s battalions, mostly fromDamascusand its countryside,AleppoandHoms. The Free Syrian Army (FSA) announced that controlled a police station inAleppoand besieged the Radio and TV building there. Demonstrations were staged in most areas inSyriaon the Friday of “Deir Al-Zour…victory emerges from the East”. (2)

Field Mobility:

- Demonstrations were staged in different areas ofSyriaon the Friday of “Deir Al-Zour…victory emerges from the East”.DeirAl-ZourCitywitnessed massive demonstrations after the Syrian National Council (SNC) announced it a “war-torn city”. (1) (2)

Political Mobility:

 - Ghassan Ibrahim, Syrian independent opposition figure and chief editor of the Global Arab Network, said that the Syrian regime lost control over about 75% of the army, noting that it was keen to keep them in their barracks so that they would not defect, they are, therefore, considered to be under house arrest. Ibrahim added that only 25% of the army are loyal to the Assad regime, including the Division 4 and the Assad Republican Guard. Therefore, Al-Assad was keen to make use of Division 4 and the Republican Guard to suppress the Syrian people. (1)

Internal Situation:

- Last Thursday, some 1,205 Syrians fled toTurkey, including an officer holding the rank of Brigadier General, 49 soldiers and 31 injured people. The injured people were taken to hospitals, while the others were sent to the refugee camps in several Turkish border cities. (2) (3)

Activities of Civil Organizations:

- Amnesty International said that the investigation announced by the Free Syrian Army (FSA) into the alleged unlawful killings of regime loyalists inAlepposhould be referred to the UN Commission of Inquiry onSyria. Amnesty added the UN Commission of Inquiry onSyriais responsible for monitoring, documenting and reporting such incidents to the United Nations Human Rights Council. This would be instrumental for possible prosecution if the situation inSyriais referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC). (2)

Political Stances

Syria

- Syrian Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Qadri Jamil saidSyriahad asked for loans fromRussiaand that the size and terms of any loan would be decided “within weeks”. (2) (3)

Arab

- Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani said the resolution of the UN General Assembly, which includes condemnation of the Assad regime and calls for a transition of power, proves that the international community wants a solution to the Syrian crisis, adding that “The UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan’s six-point peace plan is over .” (2) (3)

- Saudi Arabia’s United Nations envoy Abdallah Al-Mouallimi said that the group of states sponsoring the resolution on Syria put it forward in the light of the failure of the UN Security Council, pointing out to the need to ensure a peaceful transition of power in Syria. Al-Mouallimi deplores the attack on the Yarmouk Palestinian Refugee Camp inDamascus, which resulted in several causalities. (1) (2)

- Ismaeil Haniyeh, head Hamas’s deposed government in the Gaza Strip, strongly condemned the “terrible massacre” committed in the Yarmouk Palestinian Refugee Camp, adding that “the innocent Palestinians, who were killed in that massacre, are dear to us like the Syrians. The killings and bloodshed should be ended and that the will of all Arab and Islamic people should be respected.” (4)

- In a statement, the Palestinian presidential office condemned what it called “heinous crime committed against the Palestinian people in the Yarmouk Camp, in which dozens of unarmed citizens were killed.” The statement warned against what it described as “attempts by some parties, such as Ahmed Jibril (Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command) and the suspicious role he and his faction play, which is meant to drag sons of our people and our camps into the midst of bloody violence in Syria and turning them into fuel for this fight.” (2) (4)

- The Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement describing what happened in the Yarmouk Camp as “heinous massacre”. In a statement, the movement said it “condemns all attempts to drag the Palestinians into the Syrian painful incidents,” adding that it “is keen on security and safety of the Palestinian camps and presence inSyria.” (4)

International

- The UN General Assembly adopted an Arab draft resolution condemning the “blind bombing” of cities by the Assad forces’ heavy weapons. The draft resolution urges the Assad authorities to withdraw their troops and heavy weapons to barracks. The non-binding draft resolution calls for forming a consensual government. It also explicitly calls for the departure of Bashar Al-Assad. (2) (3) (4)

- The Arab draft resolution was passed by 133 votes with 12 countries against and 33 abstaining. (1) (2) (3) (4)

- Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon calls for bringing the perpetrators of crimes, “which amount to crimes against humanity” inSyriato account. (1) (2) (3)

-Russia’s envoy to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin criticized the Arab draft resolution and considered it “harmful”, adding, “Under the cloak of human discourse, the draft resolution involves blatant support for the armed opposition, which they (backers of the resolution) support, finance, and arm actively.” (2) (3)

- Sources with the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces said that Russian warships will arrive over the next few days to the SyrianportofTartousto get “water and food.” Meanwhile, spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said, “We have no intention to let the warships of the Russian fleet to enter the Syrian port.” (2) (3) (4) 

Sources

1	Asharq Al-Awsat
2	Aljazeera.net
3	Reuters
4	The AFP
5	The AP
6	The Guardian
7	The Telegraph