{"id":295,"date":"2011-07-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-07-06T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/?p=295","title":{"rendered":"Syria: Shootings, Arrests Follow Hama Protest"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nSyria: Shootings, Arrests Follow Hama Protest<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\nHama is the latest city to fall victim to President Bashar
\nal-Asad’s security forces despite his promises that his government would
\ntolerate peaceful protests. Security forces have responded to protests with the
\nbrutality that’s become familiar over the past several months.\n<\/p>\n

\nSarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights
\nWatch\n<\/p>\n

\nAt Least 16 Killed in Last 48 Hours\n<\/p>\n

\nJuly 6th<\/sup>,
\n2011<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n(New York) – Syrian security forces responded to a large
\npeaceful protest on July 1, 2011, in Syria’s central city of Hama with a series
\nof deadly raids, killing at least 16 people in the last 48 hours, Human Rights
\nWatch said today. Security forces and pro-government armed groups, known
\nlocally as shabiha, raided homes, opening fire several times, and set up
\ncheckpoints encircling Hama, Syria’s fourth-largest city.\n<\/p>\n

\n"Hama is the latest city to fall victim to President
\nBashar al-Asad’s security forces despite his promises that his government would
\ntolerate peaceful protests," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director
\nat Human Rights Watch. "Security forces have responded to protests with
\nthe brutality that’s become familiar over the past several months."\n<\/p>\n

\nSecurity forces had been largely absent from Hama, a city of
\n800,000, since June 3, when they opened fire on anti-government protesters,
\nkilling at least 60 people, according to media reports. In the following weeks,
\nHama residents took to the streets for regular protests that participants and
\nmedia reports consistently reported as peaceful.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe marches culminated in a massive demonstration in al-Assi
\nsquare on July 1, which drew tens of thousands of protesters – hundreds of
\nthousands by some estimates. Syrian activists hailed it as the largest protest
\nin Syria since the uprising began in mid-March. The protest was peaceful and
\nunimpeded by government forces, according to witnesses, media reports, and
\nvideos reviewed by Human Rights Watch.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe next day, however, President al-Asad fired the governor
\nof Hama, Ahmad Khaled Abdel Aziz, and security forces began a campaign of
\narrests, local residents and human rights activists told Human Rights Watch. A
\nhuman rights lawyer, Razan Zeitouneh, told Human Rights Watch that security
\nforces entered the outskirts of the city on July 2 and began arresting people,
\nprompting residents to set tires on fire to prevent security forces from
\nentering their streets. One resident described his neighborhood’s response:\n<\/p>\n

\nWe had a system prepared for when the security forces came
\nto arrest people. When we saw them coming, we would bang pots and pans to alert
\neveryone else so the young men in the neighborhood could leave their homes and
\nescape. After a few hours, security forces caught on to the system, so they
\nstarted throwing teargas and stun grenades so people would be too scared to
\nleave their homes and run away. Security forces then arrest people in bulk and
\nload them into big cars; we don’t know where they’re taking them. They’re
\ntargeting men between 10 and 45 years old.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe following day, in the early hours of July 3, security
\nforces deployed in large numbers in the city, witnesses told Human Rights
\nWatch, setting up checkpoints at the city entrances at 4 a.m. One resident said
\nhe heard gunfire starting at 2 a.m., then saw the military deploy at 5 a.m.\n<\/p>\n

\nResidents told Human Rights Watch that arrests subsequently
\ntook place in the Hama neighborhoods of `Ain Louza, Gharab al-Mashtal, Janoub
\nal-Mal`ab, al-Jaraajmah, al-Gharayah, al-Hadr, and al-`Alaliyat. Witnesses said
\nthat most of the security forces carrying out arrests were wearing military
\nclothing, but there were also men dressed in civilian clothes armed with
\nrifles.\n<\/p>\n

\n <\/span>"The forces
\nwould surround a building with a big number of cars, then go inside to arrest
\ntheir targets," one witness told Human Rights Watch. "They also drove
\ntanks through the streets to scare us by reminding us of the 1982
\nmassacre." In February 1982, Syrian army commandos brutally crushed an
\nanti-government rebellion in Hama, destroying entire neighborhoods and killing
\nan estimated 10,000 people.\n<\/p>\n

\nAnother resident, who said he personally knew of at least 20
\npeople who had been arrested, described what happened in his neighborhood,
\nal-Mahatta, in the early hours of July 3:\n<\/p>\n

\nWhen people heard the commotion [of security forces
\napproaching], they ran outside and started chanting "Allah akbar,"
\nusing megaphones to wake up everyone else. More and more people then came
\noutside and started burning tires to block the roads. There was a small
\nconfrontation between those people and the security forces, who started
\nshooting at the people. The people fought back by throwing stones.\n<\/p>\n

\nResidents told Human Rights Watch that security forces
\nopened fire in certain areas during the raids, killing at least 16 people and
\nwounding dozens more. The National Organization for Human Rights, a Syrian
\nhuman rights group, published a list of 22 killed.\n<\/p>\n

\nOn July 4, security forces shot `Amer Khalouf, 13, from Kazo
\nvillage just west of Hama, while he stood in the street with other boys, said a
\nlocal resident. Security forces also shot Naser al-Shami on al-Marabet Street
\nwhile he stood with a group of young men who were watching their neighborhood,
\nand residents took him to a local hospital, said a doctor and local activists
\ninterviewed by Human Rights Watch. They reported that al-Shami subsequently
\ndied from his injuries. A witness who was at the Hourani hospital at the end of
\nthe afternoon on July 4 reported that he saw nine wounded people who appeared
\nto be in critical condition.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe arrest campaign and the shooting intensified on July 5,
\nresidents told Human Rights Watch. They provided Human Rights Watch with the
\nnames of 14 residents killed that day: Muhammad Bitar, Imad Khallouf, Ali
\nal-Nahar, Hassan Sarakbi, Baha’ Hablousi, Jamal Dalati, Khaled Dalati, Muhammad
\nal-Qasem, `Imad Khalouf, Baha’ Fayez al-Nahar, Ahmad Bitar, Fuad Mukhalalati,
\nAbdel Salam Ibrahim al-`Ar`our, and Muhammad Sueid. All died from bullet
\nwounds, based on the testimony and videos of their bodies posted on YouTube,
\nthough the exact circumstances of their deaths remain unclear.\n<\/p>\n

\nA Hourani hospital official told Human Rights Watch that the
\nhospital received the bodies of four people on July 5 and treated 60 people
\nwith gunshot wounds, 7 of whom remained in critical condition. The Syrian army
\nsurrounded the Hourani hospital on July 5 scaring many of those who had
\nassembled around the hospital, but did not enter the facility or arrest any of
\nthe wounded there.\n<\/p>\n

\n"Syria’s security forces still believe they can shoot
\ntheir own people into submission," Whitson said. "But their bloody
\ntactics only serve to deepen the gap between citizens and the institutions that
\nare supposed to protect them."\n<\/p>\n

\nAmong those arrested on July 3 were Mohammed Sayed al-Sayed,
\nfrom al-Baath neighborhood; Amr al-Aqrah, from al-Sejouah; Nadim Hassan
\nal-Qar’aour, from al-Sejouah; Hashim al-Aqrah; and Hossan Lebaniyah. A family
\nmember of Mohammed Sayed al-Sayed told Human Rights Watch that security forces
\narrested 35 young men in al-Hadr neighborhood at 5 a.m. on July 3, some from
\ntheir homes and some from al-Manakh mosque, and arrested three women in
\nal-Salumiyah neighborhood. Women were also assaulted and beaten in al-Arbayin
\nneighborhood, this person said.\n<\/p>\n

\nThose arrested on July 4 and 5 include Ashraf Daood, Hamzi
\nHawa, Hazem Ajneed, Tarek al-Judu`, Ezz al-Deen Malas, `Amer al-Shami, Hamdo
\nal-Judu`, Faraj al-Judu`, Sam al-Achkar, Abdel Azeez Handawi, Muhammad Telkawi,
\nMu`ad Zaydan, Ziad Zaydan, Abdel Aziz Zaydan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\nAt Least 16 Killed in Last 48 Hours<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n(New York) – Syrian security forces responded to a large
\npeaceful protest on July 1, 2011, in Syria’s central city of Hama with a series
\nof deadly raids, killing at least 16 people in the last 48 hours, Human Rights
\nWatch said today. Security forces and pro-government armed groups, known
\nlocally as shabiha, raided homes, opening fire several times, and set up
\ncheckpoints encircling Hama, Syria’s fourth-largest city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}