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Civil war:Residents in Syria’s capital ‘stuck in the middle’

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After 18 months of violent unrest, clouds of black smoke suggest conflict is closing in on Syria’s capital.

On the streets of Damascus, no one flinches when artillery shells explode just a few miles away. Residents who support neither the government nor the opposition say the situation is out of their control.

“Every day we are hearing this boom, boom and everything else, but there is a life that is going on,” said Rama Hamdi, seeking a bit of normalcy at a beauty salon. “I am worried sick about it, but there is nothing we can do.”

Despite an abundance of people at an ancient bazaar, several storekeepers say business is down.

They said they are afraid to talk on camera, worried about what the government might say and what the rebels might do to them.

When asked about the shelling heard in the background, the storekeepers say they are afraid because they think the war is getting closer.

And they’re right. Destruction from when government forces chased the rebel Free Syrian army lies just a 10-minute drive away,

On many days, the reported death toll from around the capital is far higher than from areas surrounding other cities.

“Nowadays I cannot go to the countryside without being worried someone will stop me,” said Rauda Alaita, the salon owner. “Is it the real army or the other army stopping me? What answer I should answer them with (about) who I am? Now it’s really difficult because you are stuck in the middle.”

At a news conference under the banner of unity — and in an array of anything but united — opposition figures called for talks with the government.

There is an air of urgency here as speakers discuss how the situation is worse than it was a year ago. They say they need to be united and need to speak with a common voice. Even as these talks are going on, here you can hear a blast in the distance.

But the armed opposition, such as the Free Syrian Army, aren’t present. They’d be arrested.

The opposition members gathered here are the ones the government tolerates. Some, like Mazen Bilal, know they are powerless.

“We are demanding from the regime for guarantees for the safety of this opposition to come in,” Bilal said, “but we can’t impose this on the regime.”

CNN

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3 responses to “Civil war:Residents in Syria’s capital ‘stuck in the middle’”

  1. dateam Avatar
    dateam

    Syria: Christians take up arms for first timeChristian communities in Aleppo have taken up arms and formed their own militias for the first time, the Daily Telegraph can disclose.The Christian community has tried to avoid taking sides in the civil war. In Aleppo, it recruited vigilantes from the Boy Scout movement to protect churches, but as the war moved into the city and spread across its suburbs they have begun to accept weapons from the Syrian army and joined forces with Armenian groups to repel opposition guerrillas.“Everybody is fighting everybody,” said George, an Armenian Christian from the city. “The Armenians are fighting because they believe the FSA are sent by their Turkish oppressors to attack them, the Christians want to defend their neighborhoods, Shabiha regime militia are there to kill and rape, the army is fighting the FSA, and the [Kurdish militant group] PKK have their own militia too.”For the past six weeks up to 150 Christian and Armenian fighters have been fighting to prevent Free Syrian Army rebels from entering Christian heartland areas of Aleppo.Last month the Syrian army claimed a ‘victory’ in removing FSA fighters from the historic Christian quarter of Jdeidah. But Christian militia fighters told the Daily Telegraph it was they who had first attacked the FSA there.“The FSA were hiding in Farhat Square in Jdeideh. The Church committees stormed in and cleansed the area. Then the Syrian army joined us. They claimed the victory on State television,” said George, who like many Christian refugees is too scared to give his full name. “The rebels were threatening the churches.”The area, defined by its boutique shops, narrow cobbled streets and the spires and cupolas of the Maronite, Orthodox and Armenian churches, had over the weeks become infiltrated with sniper positions and checkpoints, residents said.“FSA snipers were on the rooftops and they were attacking the Maronite church and Armenian residents there,” said a former clergyman calling himself John, now in Beirut, who said he had witnessed the battle.The battle for Aleppo has become bitter, with militant jihadist groups playing a more prominent role than in any other city.It has become increasingly scarred by accusations of atrocities on both sides, most recently the mass killing of 20 regime troops, whose bodies were displayed on a video apparently uploaded to the internet by a rebel militia.Residents of the city told The Telegraph that the city’s minorities feared that they would suffer the same fate as Christians in Iraq, who were heavily targeted by the sectarian violence that erupted after the 2003 war.“They are shouting ‘the Alawites to the graves and the Christians to Beirut,” said an Armenian mother of four who recently fled the city – a claim also made by several other Christian refugees.[…]Source: The Telegraph

  2. dateam Avatar
    dateam

    Syria: Christians take up arms for first timeChristian communities in Aleppo have taken up arms and formed their own militias for the first time, the Daily Telegraph can disclose.The Christian community has tried to avoid taking sides in the civil war. In Aleppo, it recruited vigilantes from the Boy Scout movement to protect churches, but as the war moved into the city and spread across its suburbs they have begun to accept weapons from the Syrian army and joined forces with Armenian groups to repel opposition guerrillas.“Everybody is fighting everybody,” said George, an Armenian Christian from the city. “The Armenians are fighting because they believe the FSA are sent by their Turkish oppressors to attack them, the Christians want to defend their neighborhoods, Shabiha regime militia are there to kill and rape, the army is fighting the FSA, and the [Kurdish militant group] PKK have their own militia too.”For the past six weeks up to 150 Christian and Armenian fighters have been fighting to prevent Free Syrian Army rebels from entering Christian heartland areas of Aleppo.Last month the Syrian army claimed a ‘victory’ in removing FSA fighters from the historic Christian quarter of Jdeidah. But Christian militia fighters told the Daily Telegraph it was they who had first attacked the FSA there.“The FSA were hiding in Farhat Square in Jdeideh. The Church committees stormed in and cleansed the area. Then the Syrian army joined us. They claimed the victory on State television,” said George, who like many Christian refugees is too scared to give his full name. “The rebels were threatening the churches.”The area, defined by its boutique shops, narrow cobbled streets and the spires and cupolas of the Maronite, Orthodox and Armenian churches, had over the weeks become infiltrated with sniper positions and checkpoints, residents said.“FSA snipers were on the rooftops and they were attacking the Maronite church and Armenian residents there,” said a former clergyman calling himself John, now in Beirut, who said he had witnessed the battle.The battle for Aleppo has become bitter, with militant jihadist groups playing a more prominent role than in any other city.It has become increasingly scarred by accusations of atrocities on both sides, most recently the mass killing of 20 regime troops, whose bodies were displayed on a video apparently uploaded to the internet by a rebel militia.Residents of the city told The Telegraph that the city’s minorities feared that they would suffer the same fate as Christians in Iraq, who were heavily targeted by the sectarian violence that erupted after the 2003 war.“They are shouting ‘the Alawites to the graves and the Christians to Beirut,” said an Armenian mother of four who recently fled the city – a claim also made by several other Christian refugees.[…]Source: The Telegraph

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