A slipper hangs on a vandalised poster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad lying in a trash container in Aleppo, Syria. Photograph by KnafehAnd3ajeen
Heavy clashes continue around Syria following the massacres by both sides yesterday as President Bashar al-Assad urged his military to further up the ante against the rebels.
Assad has not spoken in public since a bomb decimated his inner circle on 18th July. Last week there were rumours that he was located in relatively safety in a coastal town as rebels overran Damascus and maintain control of much of Aleppo. His lack of public appearance has been called “cowardly” by rebels and US officials and must be causing some morale issues within the military through which he attempts to regain power.
The military have also turned to videos to attempt to recruit new members to the security forces as the uprising increasingly becomes a war of attrition with around 20,000 people estimated to have died in the conflict so far.
As Assad remains in hiding, the bloody civil war rages on in the country with regime forces allegedly committing two massacres around Damascus yesterday, with the rebels also guilty of some summary executions of members of a pro-Assad militia, the Barri “shabiha”.
The Syrian military are firing from aircraft upon rebel targets, but for the first time it appears that the rebels in Aleppo have built up an arsenal of heavy artillery themselves with which to retaliate. The rebels have also launched heavy attacks against the Aleppo airbase from which government forces have been sending their air attacks.
Communication and internet has been cut off for much of Aleppo for the past 24 hours although it is unclear whether this is due to damage from attacks on infrastructure or a specific plan by the regime.
Internet and Mobile phone communications have been absent from #Aleppo since yesterday night, making it difficult to report news. #Syria
— نور (@NMSyria) August 2, 2012
On the international stage, the UN has remained impotent with both China and Russia using their vetoes against any resolutions against the Assad regime. The inability of any resolutions having teeth has meant that whilst the brutal crackdown by government forces in Syria may have been condemned by many countries, there remains no consensus. As the UN has sat by and watched as the Assad regime commits atrocity after atrocity against its own people, the rebels in Syria have lost all faith in the institution and have started to blame Annan for allowing the war to continue and Annan has resigned.
Cartoon showing Assad slaughtering Syrians whilst Annan and UN watch
Obama has approved $12 million of aid to help the Syrian people, but with 200,000 people estimated to have fled Aleppo alone much more help will be needed from the international community. There a a desert-based refugee city in Jordan, but again this programme needs further funding.
