Protesters in Syria are marching to commemorate the six-month anniversary of the nation’s ongoing uprising on Thursday Sep.15, as the forces of the Syrian regiem continue a violent crackdown at their demonstrations.
Syrian opposition activists meeting in Istanbul announced on Thursday the members of a Syrian National Council to provide an alternative to President Bashar al-Assad’s government as a brutal crackdown continued in their homeland, Reuters reports.
According to Reuters “Some 140 people were chosen as council members, of which 40 percent were based outside Syria, but more could be appointed later.
A list of 72 members was circulated but the names of those inside Syria were mostly withheld to protect them from reprisals by Assad’s security forces.”
In turn, Associated Press said “The Syrian opposition consists of a variety of groups with often differing ideologies, including Islamists, secularists and leftists, and there have been numerous meetings of exiles and others who say they represent the opposition.”
The new council aims to “convey the Syrian people’s just problems on the international platform, to form a pluralist and democratic state,” a statement said. It also hopes to bring down the “leadership that is ruling through dictatorship, and to unite the prominent politicians under one umbrella.” according to AP report.
Meanwhile, French Foreign Ministry spokeman Bernard Valero said Syrian opposition members are meeting in Paris with French officials on Thursday and Friday, though he did not identify the figures or elaborate on the meetings. Syrian opposition members in Istanbul said they were in contact with France but had no scheduled talks with French officials this week.
Inside Syria, raids and assault along with Military campaigns at many places in Syria are still on around 24 day and night, according to activists. They also added that security forces have arrested many others at these raids and campaigns.
Opposition inside the country are preparing to have their General Committee meeting on Saturday next to Damascus, according to their statement on Facebook. They kept names and place for security reasons.
On the other side, Syria state-run media outlets are keeping on their media war against “Biased reports and news which have been promoted by foreign media agencies, and which aimed to disturb Syria unity and stability.” as Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) used to comment at news about Syria abroad.
On Thursday, SANA reported “The bodies of three martyrs from the army and police on Thursday were escorted in solemn ceremonies from Tishreen Military Hospital in Damascus and Homs Military Hospital after they were targeted by armed terrorist groups in Hama, Homs and Damascus.”
SANA also said “An armed terrorist group attacked a car belonging to citizen Hassan Tlas in the town of al-Rastan in Homs, martyring his 16 year-old son Raed and wounding his other son Eskandar.” Syrian TV too broadcasted reportage about the incident.
Syria TV also broadcasted on Wednesday evening, the terrorists Ala’eddin Jamal al-Habra and Ismael Abdelmunem al-Farran confessions to open fire on protests in al-Ghouta area in Damascus countryside and the city of Jableh in Lattakia to frame security and law-enforcement forces and cause chaos and sedition.
SANA also reported about National Official Dialogue sessions and said “With wide participation of political, economic and social activities, representatives of unions and civil establishments and academic, independent and opposition figures, national dialogue sessions continued on Thursday in the Syrian provinces and universities.”
Syria Protesters vowed to hit the streets of Syria en masse on Thursday to mark six months since the start of an ant-regime uprising, undaunted by a brutal crackdown in which more than 2,600 people have died.
Syria`s regime has consistently maintained the protests are the work of “armed gangs,” rejecting reports by Western embassies and human rights groups that the great majority of those killed have been unarmed civilians.
Syria has banned foreign media and restricted local press, making it difficult to independently confirm the reports.
Analysts believe toppling of the regime is a difficult task because Syria’s power structure differs from that of Egypt and Tunisia, where similar protests earlier this year brought down the leadership, and where army commanders refused to open fire on unarmed demonstrators. DP
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