.
WORLD News ‘Pengeboman serangan pemberontak di tengah-tengah rejim Syria’
BEIRUT (AP) - Pemberontak menembusi hati Syria kuasa elit Rabu, meletupkan 1 bom di dalam 1 mesyuarat peringkat tinggi krisis di Damsyik yang membunuh 3 pemimpin rejim tersebut, termasuk Presiden Bashar Assad, adiknya-dalam undang-undang-dan Menteri Pertahanan.
Pukulan tidak pernah berlaku sebelum ini dinasti pemerintah boleh menandakan 1 titik perubahan dalam perang saudara, menunjukkan bahawa mereka rapat sekali kepada Assad perubahan terhadapnya. Pengeboman berikut beberapa pertumpahan darah terburuk di Damsyik pemberontakan 16 bulan, 1 senarai yang semakin meningkat pembelotan tinggi dan kekecewaan pemasangan oleh pemimpin seluruh DUNIA ketidakupayaan untuk mencari penyelesaian diplomatik.
White House berkata pengeboman itu menunjukkan Assad telah "hilang kawalan" Syria. Pemberontak mendakwa bertanggungjawab terhadap serangan itu, berkata mereka telah merancang selama 2 bulan dan akhirnya mengambil keputusan untuk menanam bom di dalam bilik di mana keselamatan atas pegawai-pegawai kerajaan yang bertanggungjawab menghancurkan pemberontakan telah mengada-kan mesyuarat krisis.
"Insya-Allah, ini adalah permulaan akhir rejim itu," kata Riad al-Asaad, komander pasukan pemberontak berbeza yang beroperasi di seluruh negara. Al-Asaad, yang tidak berkaitan dengan presiden, bercakap kepada The Associated Press melalui telefon dari Turki, di mana beliau adalah berdasarkan. "Mudah-mudahan Bashar akan datang," Al-Asaad berkata dalam amaran penyejukkan presiden Syria berusia 46 tahun, tinggi, pemimpin semampai yang pernah berasa begitu yakin dalam keselamatan beliau bahawa dia telah diketahui membenci yang dikelilingi oleh pengawal peribadi.
Di mana beradanya Assad, isteri dan 3 anaknya tidak jelas. Beliau memberikan sebarang penyata serta-merta ke atas serangan itu, yang dikendalikan oleh kerajaan TV mulanya dipersalahkan ke atas pengebom berani mati tetapi kemudiannya dipanggil semata-mata bom.
Sebagai berita daripada pembunuhan pagi, Syria menentang Assad yang dirayakan di beberapa lokasi di seluruh negara. Video internet menunjukkan kepada rakyat dalam konvoi kereta dan motosikal honking tanduk mereka dan menembak senjata di udara di wilayah Idlib timur laut, bersama-sama dengan Aleppo di utara, Daraa di selatan dan Homs di tengah-tengah Syria. Dalam kampung Hass, penduduk yang diedarkan gula-gula kerana mereka penuh teruja menjerit: "Anda akan ke neraka, shabihas" - merujuk kepada militia pro-rejim yang telah dipersalahkan kerana pembunuhan beramai-ramai.
AP tidak dapat mengesahkan kesahihan video. TV Syria mengesahkan kematian Menteri Pertahanan Dawoud Rajha, 65, seorang bekas tentera amnya dan kerajaan rasmi yang paling kanan terbunuh dalam peperangan untuk menggulingkan pemberontak Assad; Jeneral Assef Shawkat, 62, timbalan menteri pertahanan yang berkahwin dengan kakak Assad, Bushra, dan merupakan salah satu tokoh yang paling digeruni di lingkaran dalam; dan Turkmani Hassan, 77, bekas Menteri Pertahanan yang mati akibat luka beliau di hospital.
Turut cedera ialah Menteri Dalam Negeri Mohammed Shaar dan Mejar Jeneral Hisham Ikhtiar, yang mengetuai Jabatan Keselamatan Negara. Negeri TV berkata kedua-dua mereka berada dalam keadaan stabil. Rajha adalah pegawai kerajaan paling kanan Kristian di Syria, dilantik ke jawatan itu oleh Assad tahun lepas. Kematiannya akan bergema dengan Kristian Syria, yang membentuk kira-kira 10 peratus daripada penduduk sebanyak 22 juta dan telah kebanyakannya berdiri oleh rejim.
Kristian mengatakan mereka adalah terdedah dan mereka takut bahawa Syria akan menjadi lain Iraq, dengan Kristian yang terperangkap dalam crossfire antara kumpulan saingan Islam. Serangan yang datang pada masa momentum hebat untuk yang cuba daya untuk menggulingkan Assad, yang keluarga telah memerintah Syria selama 4 dekad. Walaupun pemberontakan yang bermula Mac 2011, beberapa minggu kebelakangan ini telah dilihat naik mendadak dalam acara berpotensi transformatif, termasuk pembelotan peringkat tinggi daripada rejim.
4 hari berturut-turut pertempuran antara pemberontak dan tentera kerajaan minggu ini di Damsyik menunjukkan pemberontak kini boleh menyusup masuk ibu negara yang dikawal ketat. Pada hari Selasa, ketua perisikan tentera Israel berkata Assad telah dialihkan tenteranya dari kawasan sempadan Israel ke pusat Syria, mencerminkan kedudukan rejim yang semakin teruk.
Agensi negeri yang dikendalikan berita, SANA, melaporkan pengeboman itu bertujuan bangunan Keselamatan Negara, ibu pejabat bagi salah satu daripada cawangan risikan Syria dan kurang daripada 500 meter (ela) dari Kedutaan Amerika Syarikat. Kedutaan telah ditutup sejak Washington menarik balik duta bulan lalu.
Walaupun tidak ada kenyataan dari Assad, TV Syria berkata selepas serangan bahawa suatu dekri dari beliau yang bernama Jeneral Fahd Jassem al-Freij sebagai menteri pertahanan baru. Al-Freij digunakan untuk menjadi ketua tentera kakitangan.
Serangan hari ini adalah yang paling kurang ajar oleh pemberontak. Serangan utama kepada angka rejim dan bangunan kerajaan kini kembali ke awal tahun 1980-an, apabila Ikhwan Muslimin Syria melancarkan perang gerila untuk menggulingkan rejim bapanya dan sebelum Assad, Presiden Hafez Assad.
Hafez Assad sendiri terselamat daripada cubaan pembunuhan pada tahun 1980 apabila ahli-ahli Ikhwan Muslimin membuang bom kepadanya, mencederakan beliau di kaki. Paul Salem, pengarah Pusat Carnegie Timur Tengah di Beirut, berkata pengeboman itu boleh membawa akhir rejim Assad.
"Saya fikir ini jenis peristiwa mempunyai kesan yang sangat besar," katanya. "Beberapa minggu lalu, kita telah mengira jangka hayat rejim ini dalam beberapa bulan. Kini selepas minggu lepas dan hari ini, saya fikir yang anda perlu berkata minggu. Ini adalah konflik yang bergerak sangat cepat."
Salem berkata tanda-tanda utama bahawa rejim itu kehilangan cengkamannya bahawa pergaduhan yang berlaku telah mencapai Damsyik dan bom telah ditanam di dalam mesyuarat peringkat atasan. "Ini bukan sesuatu yang boleh pergi selama berbulan-bulan," kata Salem. "Ia menukar jadual waktu."
Tetapi tidak ada tanda-tanda rejim itu bersedia untuk berundur. Sejurus selepas serangan hari ini, tentera Syria berkata pasukan yang akan terus berjuang. "Sesiapa yang berfikir bahawa dengan mensasarkan pemimpin-pemimpin negara mereka akan menjadi mampu untuk memutarbelitkan lengan Syria yang kecewa kerana umat Syria, tentera dan kepimpinan adalah lebih ditentukan berbanding sebelum ini untuk melawan keganasan . . . dan membersihkan negara dari itu kumpulan-kumpulan bersenjata," tentera yang berkata.
Bersemangat untuk menunjukkan kerajaan masih dalam kawalan Damsyik, Kementerian Dalam Negeri mengambil wartawan melawat kawasan kejiranan yang tenang. Tetapi walaupun di sana, lalu lintas di jalan-jalan adalah nipis dan hampir semua kedai ditutup.
Aktivis Damsyik berasaskan Omar al-Dimashki berkata sejumlah besar tentera dan polis berpakaian preman telah dikerahkan di jalan-jalan selepas letupan. Penembak hendap mengambil posisi di bangunan tinggi di kawasan kejiranan yang berlainan, katanya.
"Ia begitu kosong, ia mengingatkan saya apabila Hafez Assad mati pada tahun 2000," kata seorang penduduk Damsyik, yang enggan namanya disiarkan kerana takut hukuman. "Setiap orang adalah benar-benar takut hari-hari yang akan datang, terutamanya pada malam ini, dengan kemungkinan bahawa rejim itu akan membalas dendam."
Serangan yang datang 2 hari sebelum permulaan bulan suci Ramadan, apabila umat Islam taat menahan diri daripada makan, minum dan seks dari subuh hingga senja. Tahun lepas, anti-kerajaan membantah meningkat secara mendadak pada bulan Ramadan.
Kerajaan menyifatkan pemberontakan sebagai kerja pengganas dan ekstremis asing, dan menafikan konflik walaupun bermula sebagai pemberontakan popular, yang diilhamkan oleh pergerakan yang menyapu DUNIA Arab bermula dengan Tunisia dan Mesir.
Walaupun pemberontakan bermula dengan protes kebanyakannya aman, tindakan kerajaan sengit membawa banyak dalam pembangkang untuk mengangkat senjata. Tidak lama lagi, pemberontakan bersenjata bermula hingga mendidih - dan pada hari Ahad Palang Merah secara rasmi mengisytiharkan konflik tersebut untuk menjadi perang sivil besar-besaran. Aktivis berkata lebih daripada 17,000 orang telah terkorban.
Keganasan telah metastasis sepanjang beberapa bulan. Selain daripada tindakan kerajaan, pejuang pemberontak melancarkan serangan ke atas sasaran rejim yang semakin berbahaya, dan beberapa berani mati yang besar menyerang tahun ini mencadangkan bahawa al-Qaeda atau pelampau lain menyertai perjuangan.
Seorang ahli kumpulan pembangkang Syria Kebangsaan Majlis, Shawaf Omar, berkata pembunuhan hari ini telah menghantar 1 mesej yang jelas kepada rejim bahawa tiada siapa yang selamat termasuk Assad sendiri. "Tangan orang-orang Syria dan Tentera Syria Bebas boleh sampai sesiapa di dalam Damsyik," katanya dari Turki, di mana beliau adalah berdasarkan.
Serangan Rabu menaikkan penggera di seluruh rantau ini. Syria saling berkaitan dan usahasama dengan Iran, Hizbullah dan kumpulan militan Palestin, dan sempadan Israel membuat kesan daripada krisis yang tidak menentu.
"Kejadian hari ini membuat jelas bahawa Assad kehilangan kawalan, bahawa keganasan semakin meningkat lebih daripada berkurangan dan bahawa semua rakan-rakan kami di peringkat antarabangsa perlu datang bersama-sama untuk menyokong peralihan," kata jurucakap Rumah Putih Jay Carney.
Pentadbiran Obama juga menampar sekatan kewangan yang baru kepada kerajaan Assad. Dalam tanda hubungan rapat Hezbollah ke Syria, pemimpin kumpulan itu, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, berkata mangsa pengeboman adalah "rakan seperjuangan" dalam perjuangan menentang Israel. Beliau berkata "roket yang paling penting" bahawa Hizbullah melepaskan tembakan ke atas Israel dalam perang 2006 datang dari Syria.
"Israel mempunyai setiap hak untuk merasa gembira," kata Nasrallah, berkata pembangkang untuk Assad memenuhi kepentingan Israel. "Israel boleh menjadi gembira kerana tiang dalam tentera Syria hari ini telah disasarkan dan dibunuh."
Menteri Pertahanan Israel, Ehud Barak disaman atas keselamatan dan penasihat perisikan untuk membincangkan keadaan. Israel kebimbangan bahawa kumpulan militan berkata beroperasi di Syria, termasuk Al-Qaeda, mungkin cuba untuk mengambil kesempatan daripada vakum apa-apa kuasa untuk peringkat serangan ke atas Israel.
Di Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB), Majlis Keselamatan melambatkan undi yang dijadualkan lewat hari pada resolusi baru ke atas Syria dalam usaha saat-saat akhir untuk mendapatkan negara-negara Barat dan Rusia - sekutu rapat Damsyik - untuk mencapai persetujuan mengenai langkah-langkah untuk menamatkan keganasan . Undi itu telah dijadual semula Khamis pada 10 pagi EDT (1400 GMT).
Blok utama tersandung kepada persetujuan adalah permintaan Barat untuk resolusi yang mengancam sekatan bukan ketenteraan. Ia terikat dengan Bab 7 Piagam PBB, yang akhirnya boleh membenarkan penggunaan kekerasan untuk menamatkan konflik. Rusia, sekutu rapat Syria, bulat-bulat bertentangan dengan sekatan dan apa-apa sebutan Bab 7.
Walaupun negara-negara Barat nampaknya mempunyai selera sedikit daya untuk, Rusia takut berulangnya kempen NATO di Libya dan bulat-bulat menentang sebarang campur tangan. Sebagai reaksi terhadap pengeboman itu, Menteri Luar Russia, Sergey Lavrov menuduh Barat menghasut pembangkang Syria.
"Sebaliknya menenangkan pembangkang ke bawah, beberapa rakan kongsi kami yang menghasut untuk pergi," beliau dipetik sebagai berkata oleh agensi berita RIA Novosti. Menyokong pembangkang adalah "dasar buntu," Lavrov berkata, "kerana Assad tidak meninggalkan secara sukarela."
Walaupun Assad melakukan cuti, pembangkang secara meluas dilihat terlalu teratur untuk mengambil alih. Tetapi dalam pelarian pusat pemprosesan yang dipenuhi debu di Jordan, ramai pelarian berkata mereka berharap serangan itu akan mengeja akhir rejim. Wanita yang memakai tudung hitam Islam dan kepala ke hujung kaki jubah ululated sebagai lelaki menari di bawah matahari yang terik. "Ia adalah berita yang besar," kata seorang pelarian yang berusia 43 tahun dari bandar bergolak selatan Daraa, yang memperkenalkan dirinya hanya dengan nama pertama, Ahmad, kerana takut hukuman. "Insya-Allah, Bashar jenayah adalah di sebelah."
AP penulis Bassem Mroue di Beirut, Albert Aji di Damsyik, Syria, Jamal Halaby di Amman, Jordan, Keselamatan Negara Penulis Robert Burns di Washington, Edith M. Lederer di Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB), Josef Federman di Yerusalem dan Mirovalev Mansur di Moscow menyumbang kepada melaporkan.
Watch Videos/tonton Video
WORLD News ‘Rebel bombing strikes at heart of Syrian regime’
BEIRUT (AP) - Rebels penetrated the heart of Syria's power elite Wednesday, detonating a bomb inside a high-level crisis meeting in Damascus that killed three leaders of the regime, including President Bashar Assad's brother-in-law and the defense minister.
The unprecedented blow to the ruling dynasty could mark a turning point in the civil war, suggesting that those once close to Assad are turning against him. The bombing follows some of the worst bloodshed in Damascus of the 16-month uprising, a growing list of high-ranking defections and mounting frustration by world leaders over their inability to find a diplomatic solution.
The White House said the bombing showed Assad was "losing control" of Syria. Rebels claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they had been planning it for two months and finally decided to plant the bomb in the room where the top government security officials in charge of crushing the revolt were holding a crisis meeting.
"God willing, this is the beginning of the end of the regime," said Riad al-Asaad, a commander of the disparate rebel forces who operate across the country. Al-Asaad, who is not related to the president, spoke to The Associated Press by telephone from Turkey, where he is based.
"Hopefully Bashar will be next," Al-Asaad said in a chilling warning to the 46-year-old Syrian president, a tall, lanky leader who once felt so confident in his security that he was known to hate being surrounded by bodyguards.
The whereabouts of Assad, his wife and his three young children were not immediately clear. He gave no immediate statements on the attack, which state-run TV initially blamed on a suicide bomber but later called simply a bomb.
As news of the assassinations broke, Syrians opposed to Assad celebrated in several locations across the country. Internet video showed people in convoys of cars and motorbikes honking their horns and firing weapons in the air in the northeastern Idlib province, along with Aleppo in the north, Daraa in the south and Homs in central Syria. In the village of Hass, residents distributed sweets as they gleefully shouted: "You are going to hell, shabihas" - a reference to the pro-regime militia that has been blamed for mass killings.
The AP could not immediately verify the authenticity of the video. Syrian TV confirmed the deaths of Defense Minister Dawoud Rajha, 65, a former army general and the most senior government official to be killed in the rebels' battle to oust Assad; Gen. Assef Shawkat, 62, the deputy defense minister who is married to Assad's elder sister, Bushra, and is one of the most feared figures in the inner circle; and Hassan Turkmani, 77, a former defense minister who died of his wounds in the hospital.
Also wounded were Interior Minister Mohammed Shaar and Maj. Gen. Hisham Ikhtiar, who heads the National Security Department. State TV said both were in stable condition. Rajha was the most senior Christian government official in Syria, appointed to the post by Assad last year. His death will resonate with Syria's Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the population of 22 million and have mostly stood by the regime.
Christians say they are particularly vulnerable and they fear that Syria will become another Iraq, with Christians caught in the crossfire between rival Muslim groups. The attack came at a time of great momentum for the forces trying to oust Assad, whose family has ruled Syria for four decades. Although the uprising began in March 2011, recent weeks have seen a spike in potentially transformative events, including high-level defections from the regime.
Four straight days of clashes between rebels and government troops this week in Damascus showed the rebels can now infiltrate the tightly controlled capital. On Tuesday, Israel's military intelligence chief said Assad had diverted his troops away from the Israeli border area toward the center of Syria, reflecting the regime's worsening position.
The state-run news agency, SANA, reported the bombing was aimed at the National Security building, a headquarters for one of Syria's intelligence branches and less than 500 meters (yards) from the U.S. Embassy. The embassy has been closed since Washington withdrew its ambassador months ago.
Although there were no statements from Assad, Syrian TV said after the attack that a decree from him named Gen. Fahd Jassem al-Freij as the new defense minister. Al-Freij used to be the army chief of staff.
Wednesday's attack was the most brazen by the rebels. The last major attacks on regime figures and government buildings date back to the early 1980s, when the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood waged a guerrilla war to topple the regime of Assad's father and predecessor, President Hafez Assad.
Hafez Assad himself survived an assassination attempt in 1980 when members of the Muslim Brotherhood threw grenades at him, wounding him in the leg. Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, said the bombing could usher in the end of the Assad regime.
"I think this type of event has massive impact," he said. "A few weeks ago, we were counting the life span of this regime in months. Now after the last week and today, I think you'd have to say weeks. This is a very fast moving conflict."
Salem said the key signs that the regime is losing its grip are that the fighting has reached Damascus and that a bomb has been planted inside a top-level meeting. "This is not something that can go on for months," Salem said. "It changes the timetable."
But there were no signs the regime was willing to back down. Shortly after Wednesday's attack, the Syrian army said its forces will continue to fight. "Whoever thinks that by targeting the country's leaders they will be able to twist Syria's arm is disillusioned because Syria's people, army and leadership are now more determined than ever to fight terrorism ... and cleanse the nation from the armed gangs," the army said.
Eager to show the government is still in control of Damascus, the Interior Ministry took journalists on a tour of its quiet neighborhoods. But even there, traffic on the streets was thin and almost all shops were closed.
Damascus-based activist Omar al-Dimashki said large numbers of troops and plainclothes police were deployed in the streets after the explosion. Snipers took positions on high buildings in different neighborhoods, he added.
"It's so empty, it reminds me of when Hafez Assad died in 2000," said a resident of Damascus, who declined to be identified for fear of retribution. "Everyone is really scared of the coming days, especially tonight, with the possibility that the regime will take revenge."
The attack came two days before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when observant Muslims abstain from eating, drinking and sex from dawn to dusk. Last year, anti-government protests sharply increased during Ramadan.
The government characterizes the revolt as the work of terrorists and foreign extremists, and denies the conflict even began as a popular uprising, inspired by the movements sweeping the Arab World starting with Tunisia and Egypt.
Although the uprising began with mostly peaceful protests, a fierce government crackdown led many in the opposition to take up arms. Soon, an armed insurgency began to boil - and on Sunday the Red Cross formally declared the conflict to be a full-blown civil war. Activists say more than 17,000 people have died.
The violence has metastasized over the months. Besides a government crackdown, rebel fighters are launching increasingly deadly attacks on regime targets, and several big suicide attacks this year suggest that al-Qaida or other extremists are joining the fight.
A member of the Syrian National Council opposition group, Omar Shawaf, said Wednesday's assassinations sent a clear message to the regime that no one is safe - including Assad himself. "The hands of the Syrian people and the Free Syrian Army can reach anyone inside Damascus," he said from Turkey, where he is based.
Wednesday's attack raised alarm across the region. Syria is intertwined in alliances with Iran, Hezbollah and Palestinian militant groups, and borders Israel - making the fallout from the crisis unpredictable.
"The incident today makes clear that Assad is losing control, that violence is increasing rather than decreasing and that all of our partners internationally need to come together to support a transition," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
The Obama administration also slapped new financial sanctions on Assad's government. In a sign of Hezbollah's close ties to Syria, the group's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, said the bombing victims were "comrades" in the struggle against Israel. He said "the most important rockets" that Hezbollah fired on Israel in the 2006 war came from Syria.
"Israel has every right to be happy," Nasrallah said, saying the opposition to Assad serves Israel's interests. "Israel can be happy because pillars in the Syrian army today were targeted and killed."
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak summoned his top security and intelligence advisers to discuss the situation. Israel fears that militant groups said to be operating in Syria, including al-Qaida, might try to take advantage of any power vacuum to stage attacks on Israel.
At the United Nations, the Security Council delayed a vote scheduled for later in the day on a new resolution on Syria in a last-minute effort to get Western nations and Russia - a close Damascus ally - to reach agreement on measures to end the violence. The vote was rescheduled for Thursday at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT).
The key stumbling block to an agreement is the Western demand for a resolution threatening non-military sanctions. It is tied to Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which could eventually allow the use of force to end the conflict. Russia, a close ally of Syria, is adamantly opposed to sanctions and any mention of Chapter 7.
Although Western nations appear to have little appetite for force, Russia fears a repeat of the NATO campaign in Libya and adamantly opposes any intervention. Reacting to the bombing, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the West of inciting Syria's opposition.
"Instead of calming the opposition down, some of our partners are inciting it to go on," he was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency. Supporting the opposition is a "dead-end policy," Lavrov said, "because Assad is not leaving voluntarily."
Even if Assad did leave, the opposition is widely perceived to be far too disorganized to take over. But in a dust-filled refugee processing center in Jordan, crowds of refugees said they hoped the attack would spell the end of the regime. Women wearing the black Muslim veil and head-to-toe robes ululated as men danced under a scorching sun. "It's great news," said a 43-year-old refugee from the restive southern town of Daraa, who identified himself only by his first name, Ahmad, for fear of retribution. "God willing, the criminal Bashar is next."
AP writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, Jamal Halaby in Amman, Jordan, National Security Writer Robert Burns in Washington, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations, Josef Federman in Jerusalem and Mansur Mirovalev in Moscow contributed to this report.
.
1WC'sChannel REVIEW 2012: An image grab taken from a video uploaded on YouTube on July 18, 2012 shows smoke billowing from a municipality building in the Al-Hajar al-Aswad district of the Syrian capital Damascus during clashes between Syrian forces and armed rebels. More than 200 people, mostly civilians, were killed on July 18 in violence across Syria, including 38 in Damascus where armed rebels are pressing an all-out offensive, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. (TINJAUAN 1WC'sChannel 2012: Suatu merebut imej yang diambil dari video yang dimuat naik ke YouTube pada 18 Julai, 2012 menunjukkan gumpalan asap hitam dari bangunan perbandaran di daerah Al-Hajar al-Aswad ibu kota Syria Damsyik semasa pertempuran antara tentera Syria dan pemberontak bersenjata. Lebih daripada 200 orang, kebanyakannya orang awam, terbunuh pada 18 Julai dalam keganasan di seluruh Syria, termasuk 38 di Damsyik di mana pemberontak bersenjata menekan serangan habis-habisan, Balai Cerap Britain berasaskan Syria bagi Hak Asasi Manusia).
Serangan pemberontak Syria k'jaan Ibu Pejabat, beradanya tidak diketahui Assad
Pertempuran antara tentera Syria dan pejuang pemberontak mengambil tempat berhampiran ibu pejabat kerajaan di Damsyik ibu negeri Syria. Sekurang-kurangnya seorang dilaporkan terbunuh dalam pertempuran di kejiranan Ikhlas bersebelahan dengan Majlis Menteri-menteri, kata Reuters.
Balai Cerap Syria bagi Hak Asasi Manusia yang berpangkalan di Britain mengatakan pembangkang yang rosak 1 helikopter dan 3 kenderaan tentera. Berjuang juga timbul dikalangan al-Midan dan kejiranan Zahira pada hari Khamis, manakala letupan kuat boleh didengar di Mashrou-Dumar, Jawatankuasa Penyelarasan Tempatan pemberontak Syria berkata.
Finoshina RT Maria, yang di Damsyik kini, kata pertempuran Khamis adalah yang paling teruk dia telah melihat dalam minggu, dengan gumpalan asap hitam yang semakin meningkat dari kawasan terjejas dan bunyi tembakan yang didengar pada asas tetap. "Ia sudah tentu berasa seperti saat yang penting untuk negara, walaupun ia sukar untuk meramalkan pada masa ini di mana ia akan berpindah ke sekarang," katanya melaporkan.
Beliau menambah bahawa walaupun gunfights dan ketegangan keseluruhan, hidup banyak di kawasan kejiranan yang tidak dipengaruhi secara langsung oleh pergaduhan yang terus seperti biasa, terutamanya pada waktu siang. Orang ramai masih mengunjungi kafe dan banyak kedai-kedai sentiasa terbuka, walaupun keganasan yang semakin meningkat mula memberi kesan. "Mereka pertempuran tidak lagi mempunyai sempadan, mereka tertumpah ke bahagian-bahagian yang sebelum ini tidak terusik bandar," katanya.
Namun begitu ramai di Damsyik kekal tenang walaupun menghadapi gangguan ketara, mempercayai mereka akan tabah hati tidak kira apa ujian yang mereka sedang menghadapi. Terdapat panik, Finoshina berkata. Ibu negeri Syria menghadapi hari ke-5 keganasan berturut-turut. Pada hari Rabu serangan bom di dalam bangunan keselamatan negara membunuh 3 pegawai kanan, termasuk menteri pertahanan negara.
Di mana beradanya Presiden Bashar Assad telah diketahui sejak serangan itu, menjadi bahan api khabar angin bahawa dia mungkin serta telah dibunuh oleh pengeboman. Ia juga telah membuat spekulasi bahawa Assad meninggalkan ibu negeri Syria ke bandar pantai Latakia. Walau bagaimanapun laporan Reuter itu, yang memetik sumber diplomatik barat, kata beliau mungkin telah melakukan perjalanan ke bandar pelabuhan Mediterranean sebelum pengeboman.
Khabar angin juga di sekeliling mana keluarga Assad, yang kebanyakannya adalah dipercayai telah melarikan diri dari negara ini. Media kerajaan menafikan khabar angin, berkata presiden adalah di Damsyik dan bekerja seperti biasa. Beliau dilantik sebagai penggantian untuk mengetuai Kementerian Pertahanan beberapa jam selepas pembunuhan berprofil tinggi.
Serangan hari ini adalah orang pertama yang berjaya mensasarkan ahli-ahli golongan dalaman Assad. 3 kanan kerajaan dan pegawai keselamatan terbunuh dan beberapa lagi cedera oleh bom, yang dilaporkan dibawa ke dalam mesyuarat tembaga teratas oleh pengawal peribadi.
Serangan itu muncul untuk menjadi sebahagian daripada serangan pemberontak yang diselaraskan di Damsyik yang mana tentera setakat ini telah gagal untuk mengusir. Orang awam yang dikatakan melarikan diri dari kawasan kejiranan paling teruk terjejas di bandar ini secara beramai-ramai, sementara mereka yang terperangkap dalam crossfire telah cuba untuk melengkapkan dan mempertahankan diri, laporan media berkata. Kebimbangan adalah tinggi bahawa keganasan cepat akan berputar di luar kawalan, memburukkan lagi keadaan yang sudah kubur di negara ini.
Syrian rebels attack govt HQ, Assad’s whereabouts unknown
Clashes between the Syrian army and rebel fighters are taking place near the government headquarters in Syria's capital Damascus. At least one person has reportedly been killed in the fighting in the Ikhlas neighborhood adjacent to the Council of Ministers, says Reuters.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the opposition damaged one helicopter and disabled three military vehicles. Fighting also raged in the al-Midan and Zahira neighbourhoods on Thursday, while loud explosions could be heard in Mashrou-Dumar, the rebel Syrian Local Coordination Committees said.
RT’s Maria Finoshina, who is in Damascus now, says Thursday’s clashes are the worst she has seen in weeks, with plumes of black smoke rising from the affected regions and sounds of gunfire being heard on regular basis. “It certainly feels like a pivotal moment for the country, although it’s hard to predict at the moment where it would be moving to now,” she reports.
She adds that despite the gunfights and overall tension, life in many neighborhoods not directly affected by the fighting continues as always, especially during daylight hours. People still patronize cafes and many shops remain open, though the escalating violence is starting to take its toll. “Those battles no longer have borders, they are spilling out into previously untouched parts of the city,” she said.
Nevertheless many in Damascus remain calm even in the face of apparent disorder, believing they will persevere no matter what trials they are currently facing. There is no panic, Finoshina says. The Syrian capital is facing the fifth day of violence in a row. On Wednesday a bomb attack inside the national security building killed three senior officials, including the country’s defense minister.
The whereabouts of President Bashar Assad have been unknown ever since the attack, fueling rumors that he may have been killed by the bombing as well.
It has also been speculated that Assad left the Syrian capital for the coastal city of Latakia. However a Reuter’s report, which cites western diplomatic sources, says he may have traveled to the Mediterranean port city before the bombing.
Rumors are also surrounding the whereabouts of Assad’s family, many of whom are
believed to have fled the country. State media deny the rumors, saying the president is in Damascus and is working as usual. He appointed a replacement to head the defense ministry hours after the high-profile assassination.
Wednesday’s attack was the first one to successfully target members of Assad’s inner circle. Three senior government and security officials were killed and several more were injured by the bomb, which was reportedly carried into a top brass meeting by a bodyguard.
The attack appears to be part of a coordinated rebel offensive in Damascus which the army has thus far failed to repel. Civilians are said to be fleeing from the city's worst-affected neighborhoods en masse, while those caught in the crossfire have tried to arm and defend themselves, media reports say. Fears are high that the violence will quickly spin out of control, aggravating the already grave situation in the country.
1WC'sChannel REVIEW 2012: Syria's top security ministers slain in Damascus bombing. (TINJAUAN 1WC'sChannel 2012: menteri keselamatan Syria dibunuh dalam pengeboman Damsyik.) (RT photo/Maria Finoshina)
Menteri atas keselamatan Syria dibunuh dalam pengeboman Damsyik
3 pegawai tentera utama Syria termasuk Menteri Pertahanan Kejadian Daoud Rajha dan Presiden Bashar al-Assad, abang Iparnya-undang-undang Assef Shawkat, yang berkhidmat sebagai timbalannya, terbunuh pada mesyuarat peringkat atasan di tengah Damsyik. Serangan berlaku di bangunan Keselamatan Negara dalam daerah Rawda, di mana menteri-menteri kerajaan dan beberapa pegawai keselamatan telah diadakan.
Ketua Hassan Turkmani Syria - bekas menteri pertahanan dan pegawai tentera kanan - mati akibat dari kecederaan yang dialami dalam letupan. Beberapa hadirin yang diterima kecederaan serius, dan sebahagian daripada mereka masih dalam keadaan kritikal. 1 lagi tokoh kerajaan yang disasarkan oleh serangan adalah ketua perisikan Syria Hisham Bekhtyar. Bekhtyar sedang menjalani pembedahan bagi kecederaan yang dialami dalam letupan, sumber keselamatan kepada Reuters.
Ia juga telah dilaporkan bahawa Menteri Dalam Negeri, Mohammad al-Shaar dan Maher al-Assad, saudara presiden muda dan komander Bahagian elit Angkatan Tentera Syria Armored Ke-4, cedera. "Disahkan" maklumat Tentera Syria Bebas mendakwa telah diterima menunjukkan bahawa dia adalah yang paling mungkin dirawat oleh pasukan perubatan di istana presiden atau di lokasi rahsia.
"Kami tidak dapat mendengar bunyi letupan ini dan kita perlu mengakui bahawa ia adalah satu letupan yang sangat sengit dan besar-besaran," Maria Finoshina RT dilaporkan dari Damsyik. Beliau berkata letupan itu berlaku di kawasan kejiranan yang mewah tradisional selamat dan tenang di mana banyak bangunan-bangunan kerajaan terletak.
"Jadi kursus keselamatan yang sangat ketat, khususnya di kawasan ini," Finoshina kepada biro RT Moscow.
Kawasan di sekitar bangunan keselamatan negara di daerah Rawda telah dikepung.
Syria's top security ministers slain in Damascus bombing
Three key Syrian military officials including Defense Minister Gen. Daoud Rajha and President Bashar al-Assad’s brother-in-law Assef Shawkat, who served as his deputy, were killed at a top-level meeting in central Damascus. The attack took place at the National Security building in the district of Rawda, where government ministers and a number of security officials had convened.
Syrian General Hassan Turkmani - a former defense minister and senior military official – died from wounds sustained in the blast. A number of attendees received serious injuries, and some of them remain in critical condition. Another prominent governmental figure targeted by the attack is Syrian intelligence chief Hisham Bekhtyar. Bekhtyar is currently undergoing surgery for injuries sustained in the blast, a security source told Reuters.
It has also been reported that Interior Minister Mohammad al-Shaar and Maher al-Assad, the president’s younger brother and the commander of the Syrian Army's elite Fourth Armored Division, were injured. The “confirmed” information the Free Syrian Army claims to have received suggests that he is most likely being treated by his personal medical team at the presidential palace or at a secret location.
“We were able to hear the sound of this explosion and we have to admit that it was a very intense and massive blast,” RT’s Maria Finoshina reported from Damascus. She said the blast occurred in a traditionally safe and calm upscale neighborhood where many government buildings are located.
“So of course security has been very tight, specifically in this area,” Finoshina told RT's Moscow bureau.
The area around the national security building in the Rawda district has been cordoned off.
Damage shows the explosion happened from within the building. (Kerosakan menunjukkan letupan itu berlaku dari dalam bangunan.) (RT photo/Maria Finoshina)
Kumpulan pemberontak Islam di sebalik serangan
1 kumpulan pemberontak Islamis Syria, Liwa al-Islam, telah mengaku bertanggungjawab bagi serangan itu, berkata dalam 1 kenyataan di Facebook bahawa "mensasarkan sel yang dikenali sebagai bilik kawalan krisis di ibu kota Damsyik."
Liwa al-Islam jurucakap Qassim Saadedine mengesahkan maklumat melalui telefon. Komander pemberontak yang dikenal pasti sebagai Riyad al-Assad berkata bom itu ditanam di dalam bilik di mana pegawai-pegawai kanan kerajaan telah memenuhi. Bagaimanapun, beliau menafikan maklumat yang mencadangkan bahawa letupan maut adalah pengeboman berani mati. Pengebom yang meletupkan bahan letupan dilaporkan bekerja sebagai pengawal peribadi untuk golongan dalaman Presiden Assad, Reuters memetik sumber sebagai berkata.
Tentera Syria Bebas mengatakan ia dijalankan serangan itu. FSA kepala Riyad al-Assad berkata beliau berharap ia akan menjadi "permulaan akhir rejim."
"Semoga Bashar akan datang," katanya sebagai berkata yang dipetik oleh AP.
Kerajaan Syria meletakkan kesalahan untuk "serangan bom pengganas" "tangan sewa," dan berikrar untuk mengejar pelaku dan menghapuskan "kumpulan-kumpulan jenayah," TV negeri dilaporkan.
Tentera asing yang terlibat?
Serangan itu didakwa dilakukan oleh bekas ejen Assad, dan dalam kes ini ia adalah situasi yang sangat berbahaya di mana rejim itu mula berjabat dan mungkin bahkan mulai retak dan berkecai, Younes Abouyoub, seorang sarjana penyelidikan di Universiti Columbia, kepada RT.
Tetapi terdapat lebih daripada satu versi kejadian itu, katanya.
"Mungkin ada operasi risikan yang lebih besar yang melibatkan perkhidmatan perisikan asing," katanya. "Pertama semua masa kerja ini, cara ia dijalankan, hakikat bahawa ia disasarkan 3 angka utama dalam rejim itu - ini menunjukkan bahawa ini adalah profesional, bukan amatur. Ini bukan seseorang yang hanya melakukan dengan sendiri, atau ketika mereka cuba untuk menggambarkan, seorang pengebom berani mati bertindak sendiri. Ini bukan perbuatan 1 orang atau 2, ini adalah operasi yang dirancang dengan teliti dan baik-dianjurkan dan dilaksanakan."
Perang koresponden Eric Margolis bersetuju bahawa operasi itu terlalu baik-bersedia untuk dijalankan oleh amatur, kerana perhimpunan pegawai berprofil tinggi biasanya mempunyai keselamatan yang paling sukar, menjadikan ia mustahil bagi seorang pengebom bunuh diri tunggal untuk menyusup.
"Mungkin terdapat bahan letupan yang disembunyikan di sana sebelum mesyuarat itu," katanya. "Saya telah dilindungi banyak seperti ini letupan dan ia seolah-olah saya bahawa kerosakan yang dilakukan, atau bahawa yang dilaporkan telah jauh melebihi kerosakan yang boleh disebabkan oleh seorang lelaki yang membawa terletakhak berani mati."
Islamist rebel group behind the attack
A Syrian rebel Islamist group, Liwa al-Islam, has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying in a statement on Facebook that it "targeted the cell called the crisis control room in the capital of Damascus."
Liwa al-Islam spokesman Qassim Saadedine confirmed the information by phone. A rebel commander identified as Riyad al-Assad says the bomb was planted inside a room where senior government officials were meeting. However, he denied information suggesting that the deadly blast was a suicide bombing. The bomber who detonated the explosive reportedly worked as a bodyguard for President Assad’s inner circle, Reuters cites its sources as saying.
The Free Syrian Army says it carried out the attack. FSA head Riyad al-Assad said he hoped it would be "the beginning of the end of the regime."
"Hopefully Bashar will be next," he was quoted by AP as saying.
The Syrian government put the blame for the "terrorist bomb attack" on "hired hands," and pledged to pursue the perpetrators and wipe out their "criminal gangs," state TV reported.
Foreign forces involved?
The attack was allegedly carried out by a former Assad agent, and in this case it is very dangerous situation where the regime is starting to be shaking and maybe even falling apart, Younes Abouyoub, a research scholar at Columbia University, told RT.
But there is more than one version of the event, he added.
“May be there is a larger intelligence operation involving foreign intelligence services,” he said. “First of all the timing of this work, the way it was carried out, the fact that it’s targeted three major figures within the regime – this shows that these are professionals, not amateurs. This is not someone who just did it by himself, or as they try to portray it, one suicide bomber acting on his own. This is not the act of one person or two, this is a very carefully planned and well-organized and implemented operation.” War correspondent Eric Margolis agrees that the operation was too well-prepared to be carried out by an amateur, because such a gathering of high-profile officials would normally have the toughest security, making it impossible for a single suicide bomber to infiltrate.
“There may have been explosives hidden there before the meeting,” he said. “I have covered a lot of these kind of explosions and it seems to me that the damage done, or that’s being reported, has far exceeded the damage that can be caused by one man carrying a suicide vest.”
Syrian security forces taking position during armed clashes with gunmen who the TV called "terrorists" (unseen) in the Al-Midan district of Damascus on July 18, 2012 (Pasukan keselamatan Syria mengambil kedudukan semasa pertempuran bersenjata dengan bersenjata yang TV yang dikenali sebagai "pengganas" (ghaib) di daerah Al-Midan Damsyik pada 18 Julai, 2012) (AFP Photo/ HO/Syrian TV)
PBB Syria resolusi undi ditangguhkan
Damsyik telah dilantik sebagai seorang menteri pertahanan baru, laporan TV negeri. Kejadian Fahad Jassim al-Freij, yang sebelum ini merupakan ketua kakitangan angkatan tentera, kini akan mengambil alih jawatan kabinet atas. Keganasan yang datang lebih awal daripada sesi Majlis Keselamatan PBB yang ditugaskan untuk membuat keputusan sama ada untuk memanjangkan misi pemerhati di Syria sebelum ia tamat pada 20 Julai. Semua ahli bersetuju bahawa misi meneruskan tugasnya, tetapi berbeza pada kata-kata resolusi yang akan membenarkan ia berlaku.
Walau bagaimanapun, berikutan pembunuhan pegawai Syria, (UN Security Council has postponed voting on an UN-backed Syria resolution ) Majlis Keselamatan PBB telah ditangguhkan mengundi pada disokong Syria resolusi PBB sehingga Khamis. Ia telah dijadualkan untuk undi Rabu.
UN Syria resolution vote delayed
Damascus has already appointed a new defense minister, state TV reports. Gen. Fahad Jassim al-Freij, who was previously the chief of staff of the armed forces, will now assume the top cabinet post. The violence comes ahead of a UN Security Council session which is tasked with deciding whether to prolong an observer mission in Syria before it expires on July 20. All members agree that the mission should continue its work, but differ on the wording of the resolution which would allow it happen.
However, following the killing of the Syrian officials, UN Security Council has postponed voting on an UN-backed Syria resolution until Thursday. It had been scheduled for a Wednesday vote.
Syrian Defence Minister, General Daoud Rajha, who was then the deputy commander of the Syrian armed forces,was killed in a bombing targeting the National Security headquarters in central Damascus. , state television reported. (Menteri Pertahanan Syria, Ketua Daoud Rajha, yang ketika itu timbalan komander angkatan tentera Syria, telah terbunuh dalam pengeboman mensasarkan Ibu Pejabat Keselamatan Negara di tengah Damsyik. , Televisyen negeri.) (AFP Photo/Ho/SANA)
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (C), Minister of Defence, Lieutenant General Daoud Rajha (R), and Chief of the General Staff, General Fahid al-Freij (L), attending a ceremony at the tomb of the unknown soldier in Damascus. (Presiden Syria Bashar al-Assad (tengah), Menteri Pertahanan, Leftenan Jeneral Daoud Rajha (kanan), dan Ketua Staf Jeneral, Ketua Fahid al-Freij (kiri), menghadiri 1 majlis di makam askar yang tidak diketahui di Damsyik).
Assef Shawkat, brother-in-law of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (Assef Shawkat, abang dalam undang-undang Presiden Syria Bashar al-Assad) (Reuters/Khaled Al Hariri)
No comments:
Post a Comment