There is no holding back the outrage that Syrians and Syrian Americans are feeling right now toward the United States. Once more Bashar al-Assad has massacred people in Idlib, Syria while the world stood quietly by. Most Western media have given all their foreign policy coverage to Russia’s antics in Crimea and Ukraine, and the continued obsession with the “Iran nuclear deal”
Hamdi Rifai is a Syrian American Lawyer and activist for the Syrian People living under the oppression of the Assad Regime. In a tweet on April 26th he said, “Well doesn’t this just suck 4:24 am and I’m awake and stressed about the killing of Syrians by Assad … Or more accurately stressed by what I see as betrayal by my fellow Americans … The ‘I don’t care it’s not my back yard’ epidemic in America is disgusting … Syrian Americans have been your Doctors, Lawyers, Engineers, Artists and Architects serving in America without request until now … Remember your last doctor’s visit that was probably a Syrian doctor.”
Death Rate In Syria Keeps Climbing
On April 27, 2014, Local Coordination Committees in Syria reported the number of martyrs in Syria rose to 67 thus far including 12 children, 4 women and 2 martyrs under torture : 19 martyrs were reported in Aleppo; 17 martyrs in Idlib; 11 martyrs in Daraa; 8 martyrs in Homs; 7 in Damascus and its suburbs; 2 martyrs in Qounaitra; 2 in Hama and 1 martyr in Deir Ezzor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIBudaJecJs
Assad Regime Delivers Revenge
On April 28th, the regime wasted no expense to get their message across in the Idlib villages of Al-Ghasanieh and Salken. Additionally, several airstrikes were felt in the surrounding areas of the Salken checkpoint area. In the video below, the regime’s revenge is clearly placed on the dead martyrs – a father and young daughter.
Corner With Family Of Martyrs Outside Checkpoint Area Of Salken.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEiDbRC8PQo
Assad Using Chlorine Gas Determined Illegal At The End Of WWI
We must not forget the chlorine gas was also dropped on Idlib. The UN is now looking at the chlorine gas attack that happened in Hama and on the same weekend in Idlib. It is becoming apparent that there is a “loophole” in the negotiated agreement with the Assad regime which was brokered by Russia, conveniently leaving chlorine gas off the table. It should also be noted, that the Assad regime still is lingering on their commitment to deliver on the chemical weapons they promised. They continue to be 20% behind schedule, which, according to the monitoring agency, is concerning.
In the chemical weapons attack that took place in Idlib on 4/24/2014, Reuters reported that many people were injured including adults and children. According to the Telegraph, “In the Northern Province of Idlib the attacks have become a near daily reality. In the last two weeks, eight separate such bombings have caused hundreds of casualties, most of them civilians, and are, increasingly, claiming lives.”
In investigation by the Telegraph, comprising testimony from doctors who treated the wounded, relatives of the victims and eye witnesses, has found evidence of the regime’s continued and systematic use of chemical weapons in Syria, despite having signed the Chemicals Weapons Conventions which bans the use of these substances.
Aleppo Is Being Killed
Aleppo has suffered unbearable destruction in 2014 as Assad hunts down “terrorists” which are anyone other than his approved military, security forces, imported terrorist (ISIS, Hezbollah) or Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. The warscape in Aleppo now looks almost like Homs, which really is a mammoth loss to Syrian History. Archaeologists say that “killing” historical sites is “genocide” as it removes a people from it’s history. Both Aleppo and Homs were vibrant, epicenters in their own right, but now they are broken concrete, mangled steel and shards of glass. Now not only are the two cities inhabitants victims of genocide, so are the architecture and antiquities.
Prior to the Syrian War, Homs was the largest city in Syria and home of the historic Khaled Ebn El-Walid Mosque. Aleppo, then known as Yamhad, emerged in the second millennium BC, becoming one of the leading cultural and political centers under the rule of the Amorite dynasties. The city was captured during Hittite military campaigns at the end of the 2nd millennium and start of the first millennium BC. The city was inhabited during the Classical period and fell to Muslim rule in 640 AD.
On 04/24/2014, at about 8:00 am warplanes targeted a highly crowded market in al-Atarib in the countryside of Aleppo with two deadly missiles. A-Atarib Bazaar, is always filled with vendors their fresh food and other goods to the residents of the surrounding Aleppo area. This targeted missile attack was not an accident as there aren’t any military locations nearby. The Assad regime intentionally sought out this Aleppo market at this early morning hour with the intent of injuring or killing unarmed, innocent citizens. More than one hundred civilians were injured or martyred in this deadly attack.
Due to the high number of injuries and the gravity of the injuries, the local field hospital in Aleppo was not able to handle all of the injured. There were so many that needed orthopedic surgeries, amputations and critical burn care. At a certain point the local field hospital had to tell the local emergency teams at the human disaster site to stop sending trauma patients to them. Many of these patients needed to be sent to Turkey because of the gravity of their injuries. In the kind of disaster that is created by Assad and the terror that ensues, the trained emergency response teams who jump in and take over are not coming to these disaster sites in Syria. When terror rains in Syria, terror pours! And, there is no one coming to the rescue!
There is never enough room to cover everything that is happening in Syria, however, here are a few other thoughts to think about:
It should not be forgotten that hundreds of thousands of Syrians are being held under siege in East Ghota, Homs, Yarmouk, and other areas of Syria. The Assad regime is the cause of all of these people being blocked from necessary food aid. In fact, data has been leaked from the regime that demonstrates a “systematic plan of starvation as a weapon of war.” Bashar al-Assad has declared there will be elections and he will run for President. Nehad Ismail, a Middle East Expert and Commentator, pointed out that Assad has the election won before the race has even started due to his corrupt State. Jad Bantha, @JadBantha is a Syrian activist who says less than one quarter of the Syrian population is allowed to vote in the Syrian Presidential elections. Jad lives in the countryside near Damacus and says he can’t take part in the elections. It seems that US lawmakers are just beginning to resonate with the idea that al-Qaeda is training Americans in Syria who will return to American soil. If these American citizens are not identified and arrested before they carry out their assigned mission they will “sleep until asked to awake.” This should not be a surprise, however, as al-Qaeda is recruiting western fighters for a reason. They don’t need them because they cannot find young Muslims in the Middle East to recruit and turn into extremists. Al-Qaeda has recruited western trainees because Syria is a unique opportunity to both train and get battle experience at the same time. It is shocking how little the US leadership has been willing to “Listen, Plan, Act.” Instead they sit “Eyes Wide Shut.”
WHAT DO YOU FEEL WHEN YOU SEE IMAGES OF SYRIA?
LOOK,HEAR, INTERNALIZE – TAKE ACTION!
How do you take action? Call your National Representative. Find a local charity that is working for Syria.
