Syrian security forces have killed at least 20 protesters since the European Union expanded its sanctions in response to President Bashar al-Assad’s crackdown on dissent.
At least two people died today in the central town of Talkalakh, in the Homs governorate, while several people were wounded in the northern province of Idlib, Mahmoud Merhi, head of the Arab Organization for Human Rights, said by phone from Damascus. Eighteen people were killed yesterday in Homs, Idlib and the Hama governorate, he said.
Nine people, including an army officer and five soldiers, were killed and 17 injured when a “terrorist group” ambushed a military bus in the central area of the country, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said yesterday. Security forces killed three people after pursuing the attackers, the news service said, citing an unidentified military official.
The EU has stepped up sanctions over the weekend, but that's only made the response from Al-Assad that much worse. Not sure how long this will keep up in Syria, but something's going to give and shortly. Of the big five UN Security Council nations, Russia is the one most in Syria's corner, but I can't imagine that will keep up for much longer either given the crackdowns being stepped up in response to sanctions.
We'll see where this goes, but Al-Assad can't have much longer.
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