Syrian repression continues

Perhaps Syrian President Bashar Assad thinks international leaders around the world are so preoccupied with the on-going economic crisis that they are paying little attention to what occurs in the Mideast. Perhaps not. Whatever the case, Assad doesn't seem to care about international opinion. His forces continued the violent and deadly campaign to quash antigovernment protests and calls for democracy this week.

On Thursday, Syrian troops reportedly killed 11 people in a town near Lebanon's border and invaded another town near the Turkish border. Many others were injured or detained in those actions, according to reports from usually reliable spokesmen for human rights and activist groups within Syria. Their reports, however, can not be confirmed. Syrian authorities won't allow independent journalists to travel within Syria.

There's little reason to doubt the accuracy of the reports. Actions like those that took place Thursday and earlier this week have become commonplace since widespread demands for reform in Syria began in March. Reliable estimates put the death total since then at about 1,700 and the number either wounded or detained in the thousands, and perhaps tens of thousands. Assad spokesmen, of course, have a ready explanation for the military actions.

The protests, the government claims, are inspired by terrorist groups and common criminals intent on stirring up trouble. That's not credible. Those who've witnessed the military's operations report the protests are led by unarmed Syrian citizens. Visual evidence -- including images taken on cell phones and transmitted outside the beleaguered nation -- seem to confirm that.

The events in Syria have not gone unnoticed. To the contrary, they are attracting increasing attention.

On Wednesday, for example, the United States imposed new and stronger sanctions on Syria. On the same day, Physicians for Human Rights condemned Syrian authorities for targeting hospitals, physicians and health-care workers. Injured civilians, the international organization reported, were afraid to seek treatment, fearing that authorities would arrest them if they sought care. If true -- and there's no evidence to the contrary -- that's a clear violation of internationally accepted rules of medical neutrality.

The international censure of Assad and his crackdown are growing more public and more widespread. On Thursday, Turkey's foreign minister joined a growing list of global leaders calling for an end to bloodshed in Syria. There is, as well, growing international sentiment that Assad should voluntarily leave office. Assad is not listening. Military action like that undertaken on Thursday proves that.

Calls for Assad to step down probably are moot given his still firm control of Syria's military. Still, the fact that his removal is more and more a topic of discussion in world capitals suggests just how precarious his future might be.

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