1:09 PM - 13 Aug 12 via web · Details
Syria Live Blog
Violence in Syria has escalated into what the Red Cross calls a civil war. Activists say at least 17,000 people have died since the uprising began in March last year. The government of Bashar al-Assad, increasingly losing territory to rebel fighters, blames "terrorists" and "armed gangs" for the unrest, while the opposition and other nations have accused Assad's forces of crimes against humanity.
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The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that several houses had been burned in Mezzah and that there were additional clashes in the outskirts of Damascus outskirts, where armed rebels were able to destroy some heavy military vehicles.
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An unnamed diplomat there told the Reuters news agency that Syria "most likely" be suspended from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, a move Iran opposes.
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The AFP reports:
The secretary general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, has said that war-ravaged Syria will not be represented in the summit.But foreign ministers gathered Monday to prepare the meeting were expected to "announce the suspension of Syria's membership as recommended by member states," Ihsanoglu said.On Monday, he told the meeting that he was "sorry Syria has entered a dark tunnel which has no clear end." adding that this "is the expected outcome of
ignoring the demands of the people."Syria is "living the horrors of a grinding war from which the OIC has repeatedly warned," he said.
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Rebels in the town of Ariha are stepping up efforts to block a main artery to Aleppo, a key route due to its proximity to the Aleppo-Latakia highway that connects Syria's largest city with the Mediterranean coast.
Al Jazeera's Khadija Magardie has this exclusive report.
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Here's a still image from the video - which can be viewed here (in Arabic):
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Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said Tehran opposed foreign intervention in the Syrian conflict, in particular the establishment of any no-fly zone.
"The Syrians are looking for a way out of this crisis without any foreign interference, of course we do not agree to any foreign intervention in the Syrian crisis, including the no fly zone," he said.
He was speaking a day after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said her country and Turkey would study a range of possible measures to help Assad's foes, including a no-fly zone.
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Kurds in the northeastern province of al-Hasakeh are working to ensure a future in the new Syria, as battles rage in different parts of country.
While the government is still strong in Hasakeh's city of Qamishli, it is granting more freedom to Kurds.
In their crackdown on protests Security forces reportedly refrained from using excessive force against people in Qamishli, and went as far as allowing the Kurdish flag to fly high over the city.
Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel Hamid is the first international journalist to reach Qamishli.
