Explosions
Shake Damascus, Evidence Implicates the Regime
kl:12,07 11|05|2012 Sawtalkurd
Top Stories
- Two explosions shook the capital Damascus, leading to 55 deaths and 372 injuries according to state media.
- The regime forced parents of one of the victims of the explosions to bury their son without a funeral, fearing the procession would turn into a demonstration.
- General Robert Mood inspected the sites of the explosions and condemned the attacks.
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Summary of Events
Two explosions shook the capital Damascus, leading to 55 deaths and 372 injuries according to state-run media. The explosions targeted a security centre and a UNICEF quarters downtown. The regime blamed al-Qaeda and the revolutionaries, while opposition forces said the regime carried out the explosions. The Assad regime attempted to justify the presence of its forces to stop the opposition’s plans of holding sit-ins in the capital on Friday, and threaten residents of the capital with repercussions of their support to the revolution. The opposition based its accusations on evidence such as the closure of many streets in the vicinity of the explosion sites by the regime hours before the explosion in order to force residents to pass in front of the explosion site. Other proofs included the presence of bodies of confirmed detainees at the scene, the bombs going off in neighbourhoods heavily controlled by regime forces, and the random firing in the air by regime forces that state media blamed the revolutionaries for. Furthermore, the regime forced parents of one of the victims to bury their son without a funeral, fearing the procession would turn into a demonstration.
UN Observers’ Director, General Robert Mood, inspected the sites of the explosions and condemned the attacks, while another team of observers visited the city of Daraa again.
Assad’s forces continued to violate the terms of the ceasefire, as they opened heavy fire in the neighbourhoods of the cities of Hama, Deir Azzour, and Boukamal, and shelled the town of Orum, Ihsem, Khan Sheikhoun, Bedama and Maaret Noman amid heavy fire in the province of Idlib. As for Daraa, regime forces shelled the town of Herak, opened heavy fire in the neighbourhood of Daraa Balad, the towns of Tafas, Mlaiha Sharqiya, and conducted arbitrary arrests and sweeps in the town of Jassem.
Regime forces killed at least 31; most fell in the province of Homs as army forces shelled the city of Homs and the towns of Rastan, Tal Kalakh and Qalat Huson.
In the capital, regime forces opened heavy fire at demonstrations in the neighbourhood of Hajar Aswad and conducted arbitrary arrests and sweeps. They also besieged the suburbs of Aqraba, Shaba, Hataita Turkman, Harasta and Hazza, raided the suburb of Damir amid heavy fire, and opened heavy machinegun fire in the suburbs of Zamalka, Hamouriya, Qatana, and Yelda.
Students continued to demonstrate at the University of Raqa and the regime responded by raiding the arts and humanities departments, and arresting dozens of students after brutally assaulting many of them.
On the other hand, revolutionaries successfully carried out an operation that targeted a bus transporting regime’s militiamen in the Abasiyin square in Damascus.