CNN.com Syrian regime faces EU condemnation; more protests unfold
(CNN) -- The European Union is drafting a declaration on Syria that could call into question the "legitimacy" of the Bashar al-Assad regime, and injuries have been reported as more anti-government demonstrations erupted across the country on Friday. A representative for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said European Union leaders are preparing a final declaration on Syria on Friday. A line in the draft version says that "Syrian authorities by choosing aggression instead of broad reforms are calling into question the legitimacy of the regime" but that line is subject to change. This comes a day after the alliance voted Thursday to expand sanctions against Syria by freezing the assets of seven people and four businesses with connections to the regime. Among those sanctioned were three commanders in Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps accused of helping the "regime suppress protests" and "providing equipment and support" to the government, according the EU Official Journal. One of the three is Brig. Cmdr. Mohammad Ali Jafari, the corps' general commander. Two of the those sanctioned were first cousins of al-Assad. They are Zoulhima Chaliche, head of presidential security, and Riyad Chaliche, director of the military housing establishment. Two others were business associates of Maher al-Assad, the president's brother and commander of the army's 4th Division and "strongman of the Republican Guard." Maher al-Assad was among 23 Syrian officials sanctioned by the EU in May, and he is regarded as the "principal overseer" of the crackdown against protesters. Others sanctioned at that time were President al-Assad, Ali Mamluk, the head of Syria's general intelligence directorate, and Rami Makhlouf, the Syrian businessman and cousin and confidant of the president. Anti-government protests have raged for more than three months, with protests gaining momentum amid a tough government crackdown. Demonstrators took to the streets on Friday after Muslim prayers as they had on past Fridays in recent weeks. Protests were held in Hama, Homs, Deir El Zour, Idlib, Qameshli, Latakia, and in the al-Midane and Qaboun neighborhoods in Damascus, according to Rami Abdelrahman, head of the London-based Syria Observatory for Human Rights. Abdelrahman said that in al-Kasweh, in the province of Damascus, security forces fired at protesters resulting in a number of injured people. The number of estimated deaths has exceeded an estimated 1,600, Abdelrahman said, with 1,316 civilians and 341 soldiers and security forces killed. An estimated 10,000 people have been jailed, he said, but that number is fluid because there have been many releases and new detentions. Nadim Houri of Human Rights Watch said the number of people killed so far is 1,350. The military crackdown has spurred the flight of refugees from Syria into Turkey. At least 11,739 refugees are now in Turkey, the Hatay governor's office in Turkey said Friday. CNN's Nada Husseini, Carol Jordan and Joe Sterling contributed to this report Links referenced within this article Find this article at: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/06/24/syria.unrest/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 Click Here to Print SAVE THIS | EMAIL THIS | Close Uncheck the box to remove the list of links referenced in the article. © 2008 Cable News Network. ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
