Escape from Syria

By Michael Weiss
The story of a young opposition activist who says he had to flee for his life

Syria deploying army in Damascus to crackdown on protests

Reinforcements are being sent to two Damascus suburbs amid a security sweep and dozens of arrests in the capital. (more…)

Syria talks reform while executing deadly crackdown

Syria’s government has endorsed a draft law that it says will allow the formation of political parties alongside President Bashar Assad’s ruling Baath Party, part of a series of promised reforms that the opposition has dismissed as largely symbolic. He has coupled his pledges of reform with a deadly crackdown on protesters that activists say has killed at least 1,600 people. (more…)

Protests on the rise in Damascus followed by mass arrests

Syrian armed forces have arrested several people after demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime were held across Damascus, rights activists said on Monday. On Saturday, the military arrested at least 26 people in the Damascus neighborhood of Jawbar, many of whom were returning to their homes, said the Observatory. (more…)

Army storms towns, arrests thousands in Syria

The Syrian army Sunday took control of several neighborhoods in Homs, the scene of deadly violence last week, while security forces conducted a spate of arrests in Damascus.

More than 50 people have been killed in the past week in Homs, 160 kilometers north of Damascus, either by army gunfire or in clashes between rival groups of demonstrators, rights activists have said. (more…)

Jumblatt: Syrian regime must be punished for violence against protesters

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt said on Sunday that “Syria is a wounded country and will only be healed when the people responsible for the crimes against the Syrian people are punished.” He demanded that all political prisoners be released and that hostilities against protestors be halted. (more…)

US summons Syrian charge d’affaires over embassy riots

The United States angrily summoned Syria’s charge d’affaires on Monday, accusing Damascus of an “outrageous” failure to meet its international obligations to protect foreign embassies. (more…)

At least 16 killed at entrance of Syrian protest flashpoint

At least 16 Daraa villagers were killed by the Syrian Security forces in clashes during anti-regime protests at the entrance of the Syrian city of Daraa the flashpoint of the Syrian uprising on Friday’s day of anger ” activists told AFP (more…)

Thousands of protesters demand “A New Morocco”

Thousands took to the streets of Morocco on Sunday in peaceful demonstrations to demand sweeping reforms and an end to political detention, the third day of mass protests since they began in February.

Desperate to avoid the turmoil that toppled leaders in Tunisia and Egypt, authorities have already announced some reforms (more…)

Syrian Intelligence using Twitter to cyberbully and obstruct protests

Syrian state intelligence, or the Mukhabarat, is upping it’s information warfare game. Instead of generating bad PR by blocking websites or solely relying on going after online activists and attempting to hack their accounts, Mukhabarat initially resorted to cyber bullying and intimidation tactics using newly created twitter accounts. (more…)