Syria death toll now exceeds 5000 ; UN

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The death toll in Syria’s nine-month crackdown on an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad has now passed 5,000, United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay told the Security Council on Monday.

The figure represents a sharp increase over the more than 4,000 that she cited just 10 days ago.

“Today I have reported that the figure exceeds 5,000,” Pillay told reporters after briefing the council in closed session on what she called the “intolerable situation” in Syria.

The figure included civilians, defecting soldiers and those executed for refusing to shoot civilians, but did not include members of the military and other security forces killed by opposition forces, she told the council.

More than 14,000 people were reportedly in detention, at least 12,400 had sought refuge in neighboring countries and tens of thousands had been internally displaced, she said, also citing “alarming reports” of moves against the city of Homs.

“Independent, credible and corroborated accounts demonstrate that these abuses have taken place as part of a widespread and systematic attack on civilians,” Pillay said, according to briefing notes seen by Reuters.

She told the council her information was based on information from more than 230 witnesses, participants said.

Pillay repeated suggestions that the actions of the Syrian government could constitute crimes against humanity and issued a fresh call for the council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court.

Western envoys on the council, frustrated by Russian and Chinese blocking of action by the 15-nation body on Syria, lined up after the briefing to tell journalists they were shocked by what they had heard.

‘HORRIFYING BRIEFING’

“It was the most horrifying briefing that we’ve had in the Security Council over the last two years,” British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said after the session, which was arranged despite opposition from Russia, China and Brazil.

French Ambassador Gerard Araud said, “It is scandalous that the council, because of opposition from some members and the indifference of others … has not been able to act to exert pressure on the Syrian authorities.”

The Western envoys, who also included ambassadors from the United States, Germany and Portugal, gave no indication of how they would seek to revive the issue in the council. Lyall Grant said any action would depend on the outcome of Arab League meetings to be held in coming days.

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said he too was troubled by the “tragic developments in Syria” and that “there is more in fact in the council that unites us than divides us,” but he gave no sign of a change of approach by Moscow.

He repeated accusations that Western countries had gone into “regime-change mode,” adding, “The tragedy is that if things were allowed to degenerate and to go in the direction of further provocation, of fanning further confrontation, then maybe (there would be) hundreds of thousands dead.”

Asked what action Moscow might agree to, Churkin said, “There are no proposals.”

Western countries say their proposed measures, such as sanctions, have been stymied by veto-holders Russia and China, which have already killed one resolution.

Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari said Pillay should never have been brought before the council and that the session was part of a “huge conspiracy concocted against Syria since the beginning.”

He charged that Pillay “is not objective, is not fair, she is not genuine … in the report she presented.” She had “trespassed her mandate, she allowed herself to be misused in misleading the public opinion,” he told reporters.

Reuters

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11 responses to “Syria death toll now exceeds 5000 ; UN”

  1. antar2011 Avatar

    why is it okay for the syrian poeple to suffer because of your blunders in Iraq and Lybia?

    this is just not fair. the butcher is slayig more and more and no one absolutely no one is doing something about other then give talk to the syrians perhaps to say to their poeple we have spoken against the butcher!

    this is disgusting and what’s more revolting is the Arab committee giving that Bast**d even more chance until Saturday.

    arab proverb =”those who have their feet i hot water see things easier then those who have theirs in hot water”

  2.  Avatar

    why is it okay for the syrian poeple to suffer because of your blunders in Iraq and Lybia?

    this is just not fair. the butcher is slayig more and more and no one absolutely no one is doing something about other then give talk to the syrians perhaps to say to their poeple we have spoken against the butcher!

    this is disgusting and what’s more revolting is the Arab committee giving that Bast**d even more chance until Saturday.

    arab proverb =”those who have their feet i hot water see things easier then those who have theirs in hot water”

  3. MeYosemite Avatar

    I think 5000 people against where bashar lives would have brought him down, a sledge hammer and a pitch fork would have been sufficient to plow through any fortress he may be hiding behind.

  4.  Avatar

    I think 5000 people against where bashar lives would have brought him down, a sledge hammer and a pitch fork would have been sufficient to plow through any fortress he may be hiding behind.

  5.  Avatar

    I think 5000 people against where bashar lives would have brought him down, a sledge hammer and a pitch fork would have been sufficient to plow through any fortress he may be hiding behind.

  6. Throw 
    Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari out of the USA….he is a clown…..once Bashar is gone, he will be afraid to return to Syria, and beg the USA for asylum, the idiot…who does he think he is kidding….not us, for sure..

  7. Throw 
    Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari out of the USA….he is a clown…..once Bashar is gone, he will be afraid to return to Syria, and beg the USA for asylum, the idiot…who does he think he is kidding….not us, for sure..

  8. josephphdman Avatar
    josephphdman

    what about the 100,000 syrians sunnis protestesters that the rgeme had captured and imprisoned ,  at least they have let more than 50,000 of them die in prison , this regeme is not going to feed and give medications to anti governement prisonners , most syrian people know that , that is what the arab observers should do first when they enter syria to observe , go check the status of the prisonners !!!! that is the reason the regeme did not accept the arab league offer and did not let the arab observers go to syria to check on the civilians . also check what happened to the thousands of lebaneese civilians who were kidnapped by this regeme and imprisonned in syria for no reason, no charge and no court , and they never came back to there families , this evil criminal regeme had killed most of them

  9.  Avatar

    what about the 100,000 syrians sunnis protestesters that the rgeme had captured and imprisoned ,  at least they have let more than 50,000 of them die in prison , this regeme is not going to feed and give medications to anti governement prisonners , most syrian people know that , that is what the arab observers should do first when they enter syria to observe , go check the status of the prisonners !!!! that is the reason the regeme did not accept the arab league offer and did not let the arab observers go to syria to check on the civilians .

  10.  Avatar

    what about the 100,000 syrians sunnis protestesters that the rgeme had captured and imprisoned ,  at least they have let more than 50,000 of them die in prison , this regeme is not going to feed and give medications to anti governement prisonners , most syrian people know that , that is what the arab observers should do first when they enter syria to observe , go check the status of the prisonners !!!! that is the reason the regeme did not accept the arab league offer and did not let the arab observers go to syria to check on the civilians .

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