Damascus: Syria is all set to hold a referendum on a new constitution on Sunday, even as the raging violence in the central city of Homs enters its fourth week. President Bashar al-Assad has vowed to hold elections in the country within 90 days if a new Constitution is approved. The Opposition, however, dismiss it as a charade amid an intensifying crackdown on the 11-month-old revolt against the ruling Baath government.
For a country readying to take its first historic step towards democracy, there are little signs of it in Syria. Activists say hundreds of people have died in the four-week long violence that has continued in Homs. Across the country, at least 72 people were killed in the conflict on Saturday, 24 of them in Homs, opposition groups said.
Meanwhile, a limited coverage of the events rules the state-controlled television. there are no posters, no campaigns or rallies. The government has gone to the extent of warning people to be "prepared for the worst" as they head to polling booths.
The referendum could undoubtedly be a turning point for Syria. The draft constitution allows for ending the Baath party's five decade-long monopoly of power in favour of multiple parties. The president will be directly elected and a Supreme Constitution Court will oversee free and fair elections....
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07:22 AM, Feb 26, 2012
Beirut: Hundreds of Syrians, some with gunshot wounds, have crossed into neighboring Lebanon in search of a refuge from the growing violence in their homeland, a Lebanese security official said on Saturday. Most arriving at the border came shortly after Syrian security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters across Syria on Friday. Syrian activists said 20 people were killed, including two children aged 12 and 13. The Local Coordination Committees,...
06:41 PM, Jun 25, 2011
United Nations: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, facing international pressure over his crackdown on anti-government protests, has been avoiding calls from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said that Ban tried to reach Assad several times, but he would not come to the phone. "The Secretary General has been keen to speak to Assad. He tried to place a call yesterday but unfortunately the president was not available,"...
02:19 PM, Jun 11, 2011
Amman: Syrian forces shot dead five protesters and wounded scores more on Friday, witnesses said, in a widening military crackdown on popular unrest that has sent thousands of civilians fleeing into Turkey this week. The Syrian army swept into a northwest border town where clashes raged earlier this week and begun to arrest "armed" opponents, state television said, while tens of thousands of people marched anew around Syria despite President...
10:45 PM, Jun 10, 2011
Anger and protests continue against the torture and murder of 13-year-old Hamza, who became the face of the movement in Syria. ...
09:38 AM, Jun 03, 2011
Beirut: Tanks and troops rolled into southern villages near the heart of Syria's anti-government uprising Tuesday, while officials in Washington said the US administration is edging closer to calling for an end to the Assad family's long rule after its violent suppression of the protests. The Syrian military has been sealing off various areas and conducting house-to-house raids in search of people whose names are on wanted lists, with many...
07:44 AM, May 11, 2011
Amman: Syrian security forces swept into the coastal city of Banias on Tuesday, a protest leader said, taking control of another urban center from demonstrators challenging the authoritarian rule of President Bashar al-Assad. "They moved into the main market area. The army has sealed the northern entrance and security forces (sealed) the south," Anas al-Shughri told Reuters. "They armed Alawite villages in the hills overlooking Banias and we are now...
05:23 PM, May 03, 2011
Amman: The United States imposed new sanctions on key Syrian government figures after security forces killed more than 60 people across Syria during demonstrations demanding the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad. A medical source told Reuters that soldiers in Deraa killed 19 people on Friday when they fired on thousands of protesters descending from nearby villages in a show of solidarity with the southern city where Syria's uprising broke out...
05:45 PM, Apr 30, 2011
Amman: Thousands of Syrians called on Friday for the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad and pledged support for the city of Deraa where tanks and troops have tried to crush resistance to his authoritarian rule, activists said. "The people want the overthrow of the regime!" demonstrators chanted in the Damascus suburb of Saqba, a witness said, defying violent repression in which 500 people have been killed since the nationwide protests...
09:41 PM, Apr 29, 2011
Damascus: President Bashar al-Assad, facing the gravest crisis in his 11-year rule, deployed the army in Syria's main port of Latakia for the first time after nearly two weeks of protests spread across the country. State television showed deserted streets in Latakia littered with rubble and broken glass and burned-out vehicles. Damascus cited attempts by 'armed groups', possibly backed by foreign powers, to stir sectarian conflict across the country. Dozens...
03:43 PM, Mar 28, 2011
Deraa: At least 37 people were killed in the Syrian city of Deraa, a hospital official said on Thursday, in an escalation in protests which have prompted the government to promise to listen to protesters' demands. Buthaina Shaaban, an adviser to President Bashar al-Assad, told reporters the demands of the people of Deraa were "justified ... and under study ... The coming period will witness important decisions on all levels"....
07:59 AM, Mar 25, 2011
Damascus: Crowds set fire to a headquarters of the ruling Baath Party in the Syrian city of Deraa on Sunday, residents said, as the wave of unrest in the Arab world shook even one of its most authoritarian states. The demonstrators also set ablaze the main courts complex and two phone company branches. One of the firms, Syriatel, is owned by President Bashar al-Assad's cousin Rami Makhlouf. "They burned the...
12:17 PM, Mar 21, 2011
Iraqi streets are abuzz with speculation Saddam Hussein may be hanged in secret within days. ...
12:12 PM, Dec 28, 2006
