Defected Syrian journalists tell of regime pressure

Three Syrian journalists from media controlled by Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Damascus have defected to France. They told FRANCE 24 of the pressures they had been under and the feeling that they had been “accomplices to the regime.”

An editor at Syrian state broadcaster Radio Damascus has told FRANCE 24 how he fled the country with two colleagues because of the huge pressure he was under to “distort the truth.”
In a rare interview with a defected Syrian journalist, Kamal Jamal Bik explained how the Damascus regime and his managers suspected anyone who looked at external sources as being an opponent of the regime.
He also said that the atmosphere of suspicion was compounded by a total lack of balance in the way he and his colleagues were allowed to report the news.

“We were only allowed to use the official SANA news agency, and what reporters we had in the field were only with the state army,” he said. “We on the news desks were told to deform the news, to clean it up. There was constant pressure and censorship.”
Bik said that continuing to work at Radio Damascus had made him “an accomplice to the regime” and called on his colleagues he left behind not to believe claims by the regime that his defection was part of “a foreign agenda”.
"An ongoing revolution"

Attacks kill 16 across Iraq as sectarian tensions grow

Four Shia pilgrims were killed and six were injured when a car bomb exploded in Baghdad's Karrada district, Iraq's Interior Ministry said.

          At least 16 people were killed and dozens were injured in attacks across Iraq Monday amid an apparent uptick in sectarian tensions.

Most of the attacks targeted Shiites, including bomb blasts that injured pilgrims traveling to shrines just days before a religious celebration.

 

And four Shia pilgrims were injured when three car bombs exploded simultaneously in the town of Balad Rouz, said Muthana Altimimi, head of the security and defense committee in Diyala province.

Thursday will mark 40 days after Ashura, which commemorates the death of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson. Shiite pilgrims often mark the occasion by traveling to shrines.

Violence also erupted outside Baghdad. Seven people were killed and four were injured after their houses were bombed in the city of Mussyab, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of the Iraqi capital, the Interior Ministry said. It was unclear who was responsible for the blast or why the houses were targeted.

Monday's attacks come amid rising sectarian tensions, as tens of thousands of Sunni demonstrators nationwide protest what they say is second-class treatment by Iraq's Shiite-led government.

Sunnis largely boycotted Iraq's 2005 elections, leading to the emergence of a Shiite-led government. The move left the once-ruling minority disaffected, which contributed to years of bloody insurgency and sectarian warfare.

Car bomb claims 15 in Iraq

(CNN) -- A car bomb in the Iraqi city of Musayyib claimed at least 15 lives Thursday and injured dozens, a government official told CNN.

The bomb targeted Shiite pilgrims returning from Karbala, an Interior Ministry official said.

Musayyib is located 50 miles south of Baghdad.

The attack, which injured 37, comes amid rising sectarian tensions.

This week, tens of thousands of Sunnis participated in nationwide protests against what they say is second-class treatment by Iraq's Shiite-led government.

Sunnis largely boycotted Iraq's 2005 elections, leading to the emergence of a Shiite-led government. The move left the once-ruling minority disaffected, which contributed to years of bloody insurgency and sectarian warfare.

Several apparent sectarian attacks were reported Monday, leaving 16 dead.

Gunmen launch deadly attack on Syrian TV station

Three journalists and four security staff were killed early on Wednesday when gunmen stormed Syria's pro-government al-Ikhbariya TV channel, the station said. The channel's broadcasts were not affected.

AFP - An attack on a pro-government television near Damascus killed seven staff Wednesday, state media said, while 29 people died in other violence on the heels of the "bloodiest week" of the 15-month uprising, according to a watchdog.
Live footage broadcast by state television showed extensive damage to the studios of Al-Ikhbariya satellite channel outside the capital with several small fires still burning.
"The terrorist groups stormed the offices of Al-Ikhbariya, planted explosives in the studios and blew them up along with the equipment," Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi told state television in a live interview.
"They carried out the worst massacre against the media, executing journalists and security staff," Zohbi said, adding that a number of staff were kidnapped.
Those killed comprised three journalists and four security guards, state media said.
Press watchdog Reporters Without Borders called for members of a UN observer mission, which suspended its operations on June 16 in the face of worsening violence, to visit the scene to ascertain the facts.
"News organisations should not be used as targets by the parties to the conflict," the watchdog said.
"However, we deplore in the strongest possible terms the broadcast by the media of messages inciting hatred and violence against civilians."
In other violence on Wednesday, 10 soldiers were killed before dawn in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, while 15 troops defected to the rebels, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Later Wednesday fierce clashes took place between regime troops and rebel fighters in Deir Ezzor city, where explosions were reported.
Five people were killed in shelling and shooting in the Damascus suburb of Douma and surrounding areas, while regime forces carried out raids and arrests elsewhere in the province.
The central city of Homs was exposed to heavy shelling by regime forces where "living conditions remain difficult because of the blockade and bombardment, which has continued for weeks", the Observatory said.
In the northwestern province of Idlib, clashes and shelling left six civilians and three rebels dead, in addition to five soldiers, among them a colonel of the elite Republican Guard.
More than 15,800 people have been killed since the outbreak of the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad's regime in March last year, the Observatory said, adding that the seven days to Tuesday were the bloodiest so far.
"The pace of the killings has escalated," the watchdog said.
"The last week was the bloodiest week of the Syrian Revolution," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP by telephone, adding that 916 people were killed from June 20 through 26.
Of the 15,804 people killed since March 2011, 4,681 had lost their lives since a UN-backed ceasefire was supposed to take effect on April 12, he said.
Of those, roughly a quarter -- 1,197 -- have been killed since the UN observer mission intended to oversee the peace plan suspended its operations in the face of the mounting violence.
"The last month, from May 26 to June 26, was the deadliest since the start of the protests. During this period, 3,426 people were killed," Abdel Rahman said.

Freelance US journalist held in Syria, family says

Freelance US journalist James Foley, 39, has been kidnapped and is being held in Syria, his family confirmed on Wednesday. Foley, who contributed videos to Agence France-Presse, was seized by gunmen in Idlib province on November 22, witnesses said.

A freelance American reporter who contributed videos to Agence France-Presse (AFP) in recent months was kidnapped in war-torn Syria six weeks ago and has been missing since, his family revealed Wednesday.
US journalist James Foley, 39, an experienced war reporter who has covered other conflicts, was seized by armed men in the northern province of Idlib on November 22, according to witnesses.
Foley, who last supplied AFP with video material the day before he disappeared, was picked up in the town of Taftanaz by four men who later released his driver and translator, the witnesses said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the abduction, in a country which has been racked by bitter civil war since the start of an uprising by rebels opposing President Bashar al-Assad's regime nearly two years ago.
Foley's family, which had earlier asked media groups not to report the abduction in the hope that a low profile would assist in efforts to free him, broke their silence Wednesday to reveal his plight.
"We want Jim to come safely home, or at least we need to speak with him to know he's okay," said John Foley, father of the missing reporter, who also contributes to the US-based international news website GlobalPost and to major US TV channels.
"Jim is an objective journalist and we appeal for the release of Jim unharmed. To the people who have Jim, please contact us so we can work together toward his release."
The family has launched a website (www.freejamesfoley.org) and Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/freejamesfoley) to highlight Foley's ordeal.
The website, which has several pictures of Foley while on reporting assignments in the Middle East, says he has been missing for 41 days. It also urges people to sign an appeal for his release.
Foley was previously kidnapped and held for six weeks by forces loyal to slain Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi while covering that civil war last year.
At the time, he was working for GlobalPost, which was involved in his rescue and which is standing by his family in the latest incident.
The reason for his abduction in Syria remains unclear. It is not known if his abductors are financially motivated or if they are linked to any Islamist groups, rebels or pro-regime forces or sympathisers.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Washington was aware of Foley's abduction, but she was unable to share any information about US efforts to help him.
In general in such cases, the United States has a "number of avenues that we try to pursue," Nuland told reporters.
"We make our own appeals through various channels and those with influence directly to the Syrian regime for information," she explained, adding Washington also uses its "contacts with the opposition as broadly as we can" to seek information.
"Sometimes there's a political motive, but sometimes it's a more mercenary, financial motive," she said.
Large parts of northern Syria are controlled by anti-Assad rebel groups that form part of the Free Syrian Army or are made up of jihadists, including foreign fighters.
Details of the kidnapping emerged weeks after high-profile US television reporter Richard Engel, who works for the NBC network, and his crew escaped after being held for five days by pro-regime militiamen in Syria's north.
Engel told his network that his team was seized while travelling with a group of Syrian rebels but that they managed to escape last month after two of their captors were killed in a firefight with the rebels.
AFP chairman Emmanuel Hoog said the organisation was doing its utmost to secure Foley's freedom.
"We are in constant touch with his family and loved ones, while reaching out to a range of contacts and doing everything we can to facilitate his release," he said.
"He is a professional journalist who is absolutely neutral in this conflict," Hoog said of Foley, who has contributed around 30 video stories to AFP since late March 2012.
"His kidnappers, whoever they may be, should free him immediately," he added.

One year after US withdrawal, uncertainty reigns in Iraq

One year after US forces completed their withdrawal from Iraq on December 18, 2011, Iraq continues to see regular outbreaks of sectarian violence and almost daily terrorist attacks, including a wave of bombings that killed 35 people on Monday.

A wave of attacks targeting both Iraqi security forces and civilians killed 35 people on Monday, in a second day of deadly violence ahead of the first anniversary of the withdrawal of US forces.
Monday was the deadliest day in Iraq since November 29, when 50 people were killed, and the latest violence comes after attacks killed 19 people and wounded 77 on Sunday.
US military forces completed their withdrawal from Iraq on December 18 last year, ending a nearly nine-year war that cost the lives of tens of thousands of Iraqis, thousands of Americans and hundreds of billions of dollars.
Violence in Iraq is down significantly from its peak in 2006 and 2007, but while Iraqi forces have held their own since the US departure, insurgent groups still pose a significant threat, and attacks occur almost daily.
On Monday, gunmen attacked a police checkpoint on the highway west of Tikrit, killing one policeman and wounding three, a senior police officer said.
A police patrol chased the gunmen, who abandoned their car and then detonated explosives in it, killing four more police and wounding two, the officer said. A doctor confirmed the toll.
In the village of Al-Buslaibi, north of Baghdad, a roadside bomb targeting an army patrol killed three soldiers, army and police officers said.
And gunmen attacked an army checkpoint in the north Iraqi city of Mosul, killing one soldier, an army officer and a doctor said.
A car bomb in Khaznah, a village near Mosul populated by the small Shabak minority, killed seven people and wounded 12, while two car bombs near a Shiite place of worship killed five and wounded 26 in the northern flashpoint town of Tuz Khurmatu, security and medical sources said.
Three roadside bombs exploded near Baquba, north of Baghdad, killing one person and wounding four others, while a magnetic "sticky bomb" and a shooting in the city killed two people and wounded six, police and medics said.
In other attacks in Diyala province, gunmen wounded three Kurds in Jalawla, while a sticky bomb killed two Kurds in Baladruz, according to the same sources.
Khaznah, Tuz Khurmatu and Jalawla are all part of areas Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region wants to incorporate, over Baghdad's strong objections.
A salvo of 10 mortar rounds slammed into the town of Rutba in Anbar province, killing two and wounding nine, officials said, and a car bomb near Dujail north of Baghdad killed one Iraqi and wounded at least 10 Iranian pilgrims.
In the Karada area in central Baghdad, a car bomb killed at least one person and wounded at least four, an interior ministry official and a medical source said.
The shredded remains of a car lay at the site of the blast, which shattered windows, damaged other vehicles and left debris strewn in the street, which was packed with Iraqi security forces after the attack.
"The security situation is worsening," said Duniyah, a 23-year-old employee of a hotel near the site of the explosion, who was watching the street from inside the hotel entrance, which was strewn with broken glass.
A roadside bomb against a police patrol in Madain, south of Baghdad, wounded three police and two civilians, while an attack by gunmen on a Sahwa anti-Qaeda militia checkpoint west of the north Iraq city of Kirkuk killed one militiaman, security and medical officials said.
And a car bomb in Khaldiyah, west of Baghdad, killed two civilians and two police, and wounded seven other people, police Captain Abdul Hafez al-Mahlawi said.
Iraqi security forces have been able to hold violence in check, with the number of people killed in the first 11 months of 2012 fewer than in the same period the year before, according to government figures.
"The withdrawal of US forces meant that training became reduced, intelligence gathering became limited and quick reaction forces were no longer as well resourced or able to reach flashpoints at short notice," said John Drake, an analyst with AKE group.
"However, counter-insurgency operations and arrests didn't decline," he said, though "the Iraqi military still has a long way to go in terms of building capabilities, and they remain under-resourced and regularly targeted."

More than 60,000 killed in Syria conflict, UN says

At least 60,000 people have died in Syria’s almost two-year-long conflict, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said Wednesday, citing an exhaustive study that compared death reports from seven different sources.

At least 60,000 people have been killed in Syria’s civil war, with monthly casualty figures steadily increasing since the conflict began almost two years ago, according to a new analysis released Wednesday by the United Nations.
The death toll is a third more than the figure of 45,000 given by activists opposed to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad -- the first time that the global body’s estimates are higher.

It comes as activists report that a Syrian warplane hit a gas station near Damascus on Wednesday, killing and wounding dozens of people and igniting a huge fire in what could be one of the bloodiest attacks in weeks during the 22-month conflict.
Independent experts compared 147,349 killings reported by seven different sources -- including the government -- for the study, which was commissioned by the U.N. human rights office.
By removing duplicates they arrived at a list of 59,648 individuals killed between the start of the uprising on March 15, 2011, and Nov. 30, 2012. In each case, the victim’s first and last name, the date and the location of his or her death were known.
"Given there has been no let-up in the conflict since the end of November, we can assume that more than 60,000 people have been killed by the beginning of 2013," U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a statement. "The number of casualties is much higher than we expected, and is truly shocking."

The real death toll is likely to be even greater because reports containing incomplete information were excluded and a significant number of killings may not have been documented at all by the sources available.
"There are many names not on the list for people who were quietly shot in in the woods," Pillay’s spokesman Rupert Colville told The Associated Press.
The data, which didn’t distinguish among soldiers, rebels and civilians, also show that the killing in Syria has accelerated.
During the summer of 2011, shortly after the uprising against Assad began, the monthly death toll stood at around 1,000. A year later, an average of 5,000 were killed each month, the U.N. said.
Most of the killings occurred in Homs, followed by rural Damascus, Idlib, Aleppo, Daraa and Hama. At least three quarters of the victims were male.
"The failure of the international community, in particular the Security Council, to take concrete actions to stop the blood-letting, shames us all," Pillay said. "Collectively, we have fiddled at the edges while Syria burns."
The U.N. rights chief warned that thousands more would die or suffer terrible injuries if the conflict continues, and repeated her call that those responsible for the killings - which in some cases could amount to war crimes - should be held accountable.
"We must not compound the existing disaster by failing to prepare for the inevitable - and very dangerous - instability that will occur when the conflict ends," she said.

"Serious planning needs to get under way immediately, not just to provide humanitarian aid to all those who need it, but to protect all Syrian citizens from extra-judicial reprisals and acts of revenge" like those seen in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and Congo, she said.
What began with peaceful protests has evolved into a full-scale civil war in Syria, with scores of armed groups fighting regime forces across the Arab country.
Anti-regime activists said Wednesday that a single Russian-built MiG fighter fired a missile that hit the gas station, setting off an inferno in the eastern suburb of Mleiha. Black smoke billowed from the site. An amateur video posted online showed charred bodies and gruesome carnage at the scene.