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.