Graphic Video Purportedly Shows Mass K*llings In Damascus Suburb

An amateur video posted to YouTube purports to show the aftermath of mass k*llings on Wednesday in Jdeidet Artouz, a suburb of Damascus. The footage appears to show the bloodied bodies of several men lying in the dust, their hands tied behind their backs. Fares, a resident of the neighborhood, told Reuters that at least 35 bodies were found. "Almost all of them were executed with bullets to their face, head and neck in homes, gardens and basements," he said. 

 Syrian state television claimed the dead were "dozens of terrorists and mercenaries" who surrendered or were killed when the army raided the neighborhood. A photo distributed by the Shaam News Network SNN and reportedly taken on Wednesday appeared to show the burial of dozens of people killed in Jdeidet Artouz. Activists say more than 19,000 people have lost their lives since the start of the conflict in Syria in March 2011. 

On Thursday, international mediator Kofi Annan handed in his resignation as U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria. According to Reuters, Annan blamed divisions and finger pointing within the U.N. Security Council as part of his reason for quitting. WARNING: Video below contains graphic content.

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Syrian Defense Minister Killed In Suicide Attack

A suicide bomber struck the National Security building in the Syrian capital Wednesday, k*lling the defense minister and wounding the interior minister in a brazen attack on the seat of government power, state-run TV said. 

 Defense Minister Dawoud Rajha, 65, a former army general, is the most senior government official to be killed in the Syrian civil war as rebels battle to oust President Bashar Assad. Interior Minister Mohammed Shaar was in stable condition, state-run TV said.  

Although it was unclear who was behind the attack, the high-level assassination could signal a turning point in the 16-month conflict as the violence becomes increasingly chaotic. 

 The capital also has seen four straight days of clashes pitting government troops against rebels - an unprecedented challenge to government rule in the tightly controlled capital. Rajha was the most senior Christian government official in Syria. 

Assad appointed him to the post last year. His d*ath will resonate with Syria's minority Christian population, who make up about 10 percent of Syria's population and have generally stood by the regime. 

 Christians say they are particularly vulnerable to the violence sweeping the country of 22 million people, and they are fearful that Syria will become another Iraq, with Christians caught in the crossfire between rival Muslim groups. 

 Wednesday's attack struck the National Security building in Damascus during a meeting of Cabinet ministers and senior security officials. State-run TV said some of the officials were seriously wounded.

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Bloody traces of massacre seen in village

Paul Danahar, who was travelling with UN monitors, found buildings gutted and burnt in the deserted tiny village near the western city of Hama. It is unclear what happened to the bodies of dozens of reported victims. Violence continued across Syria, with unconfirmed reports of explosions in the capital Damascus. 

 The Red Cross has warned that 1.5 million people need humanitarian aid. Condemning the Qubair massacre earlier, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned of an imminent danger of civil war and the international peace envoy, Kofi Annan, has said his six-point peace plan is not being implemented. The opposition blamed the Qubair massacre on militia allied to President Bashar al-Assad while the government accused "terrorists" of killing civilians. UN monitors reached Qubair on Friday, with Paul Danahar accompanying them, after coming under fire while making an initial attempt on Thursday.  

'Burnt flesh' People in the area told the UN team that everybody in Qubair "had died except for a few", UN spokeswoman Sausan Ghosheh told BBC News after visiting the village. She said that the UN had not yet been able to establish the number of people dead or missing and were trying to compile a list with the help of local people. Continue reading the main story At the scene Paul Danahar BBC News, Qubair The first house had been gutted by fire. The smell of burnt flesh still hung heavy on the air. The scene in the next house was even worse. Blood was in pools around the room.

 Pieces of flesh lay among the scattered possessions. Even butchering the people did not satisfy the blood lust of the attackers. They shot the livestock too. The only clue as to where the bodies of the dead people had gone was etched into the tarmac of the road nearby. The tracks were made by military vehicles, said a UN observer. Read Paul's eyewitness account in full According to Ms Ghosheh, one house in Qubair seemed to have been hit by tank rounds as well as weapons of different calibres, including small arms. A second house, she said, had "burnt flesh inside and... a stench of burnt flesh".

 Activists say government forces removed many of the bodies from Qubair but a number are said to have been buried in the nearby village of Maarzaf. The opposition Syrian National Council gave a death toll of 78 but another organisation, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, has a figure of "at least 55". State media gave a figure of nine.

 The militiamen accused of the killings at Qubair are known as shabiha, and are mainly from the minority Alawite community of President Bashar al-Assad. The Alawites are a heterodox offshoot of Shia Islam. The victims appear to be mostly Sunni Muslims, who make up the majority of the population. Analysts say the major fear is that Syria falls victim to the kind of sectarian violence that tore Lebanon apart for decades. 

 Annan plan dead? Speaking at the UN in New York on Thursday, Mr Ban warned the danger of full-scale war was "imminent and real". While the Annan plan remained the focus of peace efforts, he said, urgent talks were needed on how further to proceed. Speaking in Washington on Friday, Mr Annan said: "Some say that the plan may be dead." Both China and Russia have twice blocked Security Council resolutions against Syria and have restated their opposition to outside military intervention in the conflict. A senior US official has expressed concern about reports that Russia could be helping Syrian institutions evade financial sanctions.

 After a visit to Moscow, Treasury official David Cohen told BBC News there was evidence that financial sanctions against Syria were having an impact but Washington was worried that Russia's close economic ties with Syria were undermining the programme. The International Committee of the Red Cross says about 1.5 million people are in need of humanitarian aid in Syria. Its aid workers report that food, medical care and shelter are in short supply and even bread has become hard to find, while more and more people are being driven from their homes. Blasts in Damascus

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Man Buried Alive by Syrian Army(VIDEO)

WICKED Syrian army buried human alive

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Syria fighting 'kills 100' ahead of ceasefire

Clandestine monitors inside Syria say dozens died in Latamneh, a suburb of the city of Hama, as a result of government shelling. Video said to be from Homs showed 13 victims of an apparent mass execution.

 UN chief Ban Ki-moon has warned the government not to use the impending truce as an "excuse for killing". Turkey says refugee arrivals from Syria have doubled since President Bashar al-Assad agreed to implement a peace plan from the UN and Arab League.

 Scepticism The six-point plan, mediated by former UN chief Kofi Annan, envisages a cessation of armed violence by all parties from 10 April, with a full ceasefire on 12 April. However, the Syrian opposition, the US and many countries in the region have expressed scepticism that Syria is committed to the plan. 

 The Oranisation of Islamic Co-operation, has pledged to raise $70m (£44m) to help about one million people in need in Syria. The OIC said it had received permission from Damascus to send aid. In Damascus on Saturday, thousands of supporters of Mr Assad attended a rally to mark the 65th anniversary of the ruling Baath Party.

 A death toll of 107 - including 74 civilians - was reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, based in London. Another monitoring group, the Local Co-ordination Committees, gave a figure of 133, not including members of the Syrian security forces.

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Rebel fighters to get salaries

Rebels fighting the government of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria will be paid salaries, the opposition Syrian National Council has announced. Money will also be given to soldiers who defect from the government's army, the SNC added, after a "Friends of the Syrian people" summit in Turkey. 

 Conference delegates said wealthy Gulf Arab states would supply millions of dollars a month for the SNC fund. The meeting recognised the SNC as the "legitimate representative" of Syrians. Damascus dubbed the gathering of some 70 Western and Arab foreign ministers in Istanbul as the "enemies of Syria", and key players remained absent, including Russia, China and Iran. At a news conference, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu warned Syria that Kofi Annan's six-point peace plan - which Damascus has agreed to in principle - was "not open-ended".

 His comments were echoed by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who said there was "no more time for excuses and delays" by the Assad government. "This is a moment of truth," she said. Compromise "The SNC will take charge of the payment of fixed salaries of all officers, soldiers, and others who are members of the Free Syrian Army," SNC President Burhan Ghalioun told the conference.

 The BBC's Jonathan Head, in Istanbul, says the decision to pay rebel fighters is a significant step by the SNC in recognising the central role the armed insurgency is now playing in their campaign to oust President Assad. An SNC leader told the BBC that she hoped more substantial funding would help bind the disparate units of the Free Syrian Army into a more coherent fighting force, and encourage other soldiers to defect from the government side. Some countries at the conference - notably Saudi Arabia - have been openly calling for insurgents in Syria to be given weapons.

 But others - including the US and Turkey - oppose the move, fearing it could fuel an all-out civil war. The decision to increase non-lethal aid to the rebels by paying salaries to the fighters is a compromise, our correspondent says. Not all opposition groups will be happy at the summit's decision to channel the funds through the SNC - as well as recognising it as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, he adds.

 There are many activists who believe the SNC's leadership has been too ineffective, and should be replaced, he points out. The united front displayed by the gathering was undermined by the pointed absence of Russia and China, which have repeatedly balked at any international resolutions that would require President Assad to stand down. 

 Iraq attended, having earlier suggested it might not. However, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki made it clear beforehand that he opposed arming the opposition and believed the Syrian government would survive. The Syrian government says it is close to ending the uprising. 

 Syrian foreign ministry spokesman Jihad al-Makdissi told Syrian TV "the battle to topple the state is over". Violence continued on Sunday, with more than 10 people reported killed, a day after more than 60 people died across the country.

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Shopping and travelling ban on Assad's wife as EU tighten sanctions on brutal Syrian regime

Her days of shopping in the EU for the president's palace are over, as ministers have decided the wife of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is no longer welcome.The ban on travel and shopping in the EU, will come as a blow to Asma al-Assad, whose love of pricey purchases has been well documented in the past few weeks in leaked emails.

They detailed Asma placing an order for £10,000 worth of candlesticks, concern over getting hold of a new chocolate fondue set from Amazon, and swapping details with friends of crystal-encrusted designer shoes costing nearly £4,000.The announcement comes as diplomats try to crank up pressure on his government to end a bloody crackdown on popular unrest.

Her name is now among 12 people added to the sanctions list, which already includes her husband.The list will be released over the weekend, but diplomats confirmed the list includes Mr. Assad's mother, sister as well.They said that Mr. Assad's 36-year-old wife would be subject to the EU's asset freeze and banned from traveling to all EU member states except the U.K.

British authorities will decide whether they prevent her entering the country and a U.K. diplomat said it is premature for a decision on the issue.Speaking ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, EU's foreign policy chief, Baroness Ashton, said sanctions were ''a really important tool.'UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said it was 'very important to increase the pressure on the Syrian regime.'

A British-born former investment banker who had once cultivated an image of a woman inspired by Western values, Asma al-Assad has become a hate figure for many Syrians.

She has stood by her husband during a year-long crackdown on popular unrest in which the U.N. says at least 8,000 people have died.Last week activists released some 3,000 emails they said were from private accounts belonging to Mr Assad and his wife.

Luxury: shop Leaked emails detailed Asma swapping details with friends
 about designer shoes costing and concern over getting hold
 of a new chocolate fondue set from Amazon, as her husband's troops slaughtered protestors

The messages, which have not been independently verified, suggested Mrs Assad continued to shop online for luxury goods while Syria descended into bloodshed.She comes across as a shallow ingenue, focused on internet shopping rather than the horrific plight of the people she professes to care for.The EU has responded to Syria's violence with a broad range of sanctions, which include a ban on Syrian oil imports to Europe and measures against the Syrian central bank and other companies and state institutions.

Foreign ministers of EU member states are set to agree on a new round of measures, the bloc's 13th, and impose asset freezes and bans on travel to the EU against 12 people, include Asma.A prohibition for European companies to do business with two more Syrian entities is also planned.'The text (of sanctions) has gone through,' said one EU diplomat, referring to an agreement reached by EU envoys in Brussels to a list of new sanctions. Another diplomat confirmed Assad's wife is included in the list of sanctioned individuals.

The list still needs formal approval from ministers. It will become public on Saturday when new sanctions are due to go into effect.

Assad himself has been a target since May last year, but sanctions have had little impact on his policies so far.Violence has intensified in recent weeks as pro-government forces bombard rebel towns and villages, looking to sweep their lightly armed opponents out of their strongholds.

The international community has struggled to formulate a joint approach in the face of opposition from Russia and China to any resolution by the U.N. Security Council.

Assad absorbed a major diplomatic blow on Wednesday, however, when Russia and China joined the Security Council in voicing support for U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan's bid to end violence that has brought Syria to the brink of civil war.

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Twin bombings kills at least 27, almost 100 hurt

Two explosions struck the heart of Damascus on Saturday, killing at least 27 people in an attack on security installations that state television blamed on "terrorists" seeking to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Cars packed with explosives targeted the criminal police headquarters and an air security intelligence centre at 7.30 a.m. (0530 GMT), television said, shredding the facade of one building and sending debris flying through the streets.

Gruesome images from the sites showed what appeared to be smoldering bodies in two separate vehicles, a wrecked minivan smeared with blood, and severed limbs collected in sacks.

At least 27 people were killed and 140 wounded, an interior ministry statement said.

"We heard a huge explosion. At that moment the doors in our house were blown out ... even though we were some distance from the blast," said one elderly man, his head wrapped in a bandage.

No one claimed responsibility for the detonations, which followed a series of suicide attacks that have struck Damascus and Syria's second city Aleppo over the past three months.

The explosions came two days after the first anniversary of the uprising, in which more than 8,000 people have been killed and about 230,000 forced to flee their homes, according to United Nations figures.

They also coincided with a joint mission by the Syrian government, the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation that was due to start assessing humanitarian needs in towns across Syria which have suffered from months of unrest.

One source involved in the mission said team members were still gathering in Syria and it was not immediately clear if they would begin their work this weekend as previously planned.

DEATH AND TORTURE

Violence was reported elsewhere in Syria on Saturday.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of contacts within Syria, said the body of an old man was found on Saturday, a day after he was arrested during raids in the northern region Jabal al-Zawiyah.

It added that five people died in the eastern town of Raqqa, including three who were wounded a day earlier. One person was shot dead by security forces during the funeral of two people killed on Friday.

The Avaaz campaign group said it had evidence of 32 children being tortured last week in the central city of Homs, posting footage on the Internet of the infants in hospital. It said some had broken bones, badly cut fingers and gunshot wounds.

Syria denies accusations of brutality and says it is grappling with a foreign-backed insurgency. Reports from the country cannot be independently verified as authorities have barred outside rights groups and journalists.

The U.N.-Arab League envoy for Syria, Kofi Annan, warned on Friday that the crisis could spill over into neighboring countries and urged international powers to lay aside their differences and back his peace initiative.

While the West and much of the Arab world have lined up to demand that Assad steps down, his allies Russia, China and Iran have defended him and cautioned against outside interference.

"The stronger and more unified your message, the better chance we have of shifting the dynamics of the conflict," an envoy said, summarizing Annan's remarks to a closed-door meeting of the 15-nation Security Council.

Turkey said on Friday it might set up a "buffer zone" inside Syria to protect refugees fleeing Assad's forces, raising the prospect of foreign intervention in the revolt, although Ankara made clear it would not move without international backing.

AL QAEDA

Diplomats have said that without a swift resolution, Syria will descend into a full-blown civil war.

Syria lies in a pivotal position within the Middle East, bordering Turkey, Jordan, Israel, Iraq and Lebanon, and its 23-million-strong population comprises a combustible mix of faiths, sects and ethnic groups.

"I think that we need to handle the situation in Syria very, very carefully," Annan told reporters in Geneva on Friday.

"Yes, we tend to focus on Syria but any miscalculation that leads to major escalation will have impact in the region which would be extremely difficult to manage," he said.

Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, in a video recording posted on the Internet last month, urged Muslims around the region to help Syrian rebels. Syria has previously blamed al Qaeda for at least some attacks on its territory and has vowed to respond with an iron fist.

Annan presented Assad with a six-point peace proposal at talks in Damascus last weekend. Envoys said he told the Security Council on Friday that the response to date was disappointing.

Assad insists the Syrian opposition stop fighting first, while the United States, Gulf Arabs and Europeans have demanded that Assad and his much stronger forces make the first move. Russia wants both sides to stop shooting simultaneously.

Annan will send a team to Damascus early next week to discuss a proposal to deploy international monitors in the country, his spokesman Ahmad Fawzi has said.

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