Syrian leaders take further action against protesters

After Syria lifted an emergency law last week, officials told protesters there was no reason to rally any longer. Since then, however, there have been reports of a number of crackdowns and arrests, clearly indicating that not all the protesters have gone home. Protesters began calling for reform, and even the removal of current President Bashar al-Assad, in Deraa a month ago, and the government of Syria has now taken action against that city, rolling in troops supported by tanks. The troops numbered around 5,000 and there were 7 tanks, according to witnesses. The electricity has also been cut, so activists cannot easily communicate with one another. There have been witness accounts that these troops have fired on the city and surrounding suburbs, with between 5-25 people reportedly having been killed. The Security Council is in the process of drafting a statement condemning these violent actions, but that is the extent of UN action so far, though some, including UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay have spoken out against this newest movement. Foreign journalists are not allowed into the country to report on these events, so much of the information is second hand and cannot be fully verified. Without objective eyes and ears, it is hard to say whether these accounts are being blown out of proportion by the activists or if things are actually much worse than we've found out so far.

-Abbey Smith