The "Small Horn" Of Bible Prophecy Emerges!!!

The mysterious identity of the "King of the North" and "Small Horn" discussed here. The "Great War" of Daniel 10:1 (NIV) discussed here. The heavenly & earthly establishment of God's Kingdom discussed here at length. Answers such questions as when does Jesus' Kingdom Rule begin and end.

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Mary
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Re: The "Small Horn" Of Bible Prophecy Emerges!!!

#16 Post by Mary » Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:51 pm

Bahrain King Says Foreign Plot Foiled Against The Gulf State Amid Crackdown

By Associated Press
Article Source
Washington Post
Monday, March 21, 5:46 AM

MANAMA, Bahrain — Bahrain’s king said Monday that a foreign plot to “subvert security and stability” in the Gulf island kingdom has been foiled, and praised the Saudi-led force he invited to help quell the unprecedented unrest in this majority Shiite nation.

Any reference to a foreign conspiracy against Bahrain’s Sunni dynasty can be interpreted as jab at the region’s Shiite powerhouse Iran. Gulf Sunni kings and sheiks are concerned Iran will gain more influence in the oil-rich region by helping Bahrain’s Shiites in their revolt for greater political freedoms.

Bahrain is trying to crush a monthlong Shiite upraising against the Sunni monarchy that has been in power for 200 years. The revolt has been inspired by mass protests in Tunisia and Egypt that toppled the two countries’ presidents.

Bahrain opposition’s main demand is for a constitutional monarchy that would keep the royal family in power but would let people elected a government.

Authorities have vowed to root out descent. The king declared a three-month emergency rule and invited armies from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Sunni-ruled Gulf states to help quell unrest in Bahrain, the home of U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa praised the Saudi-led force and said “Bahrain is bigger and stronger today than ever.”

“I here announce the failure of the fomented subversive plot against security and stability,” the king was quoted as saying by state-run Bahrain News Agency. The king spoke to the commander of the Saudi-led force and said its troops give Bahrain strength and confidence.

Opposition leaders on Sunday called the rulers to pull the Saudi-led troops out of Bahrain.

Neither Shiite power Iran nor Sunni heavyweight Saudi Arabia are a solution for Bahrain, said Ali Salman, a senior opposition leader.

“We don’t want Iranians to come. We don’t want a big problem in this small country,” Salman said, adding that the solution to the country’s crisis has to come from its people.

Iran has condemned the presence of the Gulf force in Bahrain and Shiites across the Middle East have been outraged by the deadly crackdown of protest, that has killed at least 13 people.

Last week Bahrain asked the Iranian ambassador to leave the country.

On Monday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, told Iran’s state-run Press TV that Bahrain’s charge d’affaires in Tehran was informed on Sunday that one of the Bahraini diplomats in Iran must leave. No other details were immediately known.

Bahraini authorities have widened pressure on dissent after imposing emergency rule in the country, interrogating human rights activists and detaining doctors from the state-run hospital who helped treat protesters at the height of the uprising. Salmaniya medical complex remains under control of Bahrain’s military.

Security forces overran the main protest camp in the capital on Wednesday, setting off clashes that killed at least five people, including two policemen.



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Re: The "Small Horn" Of Bible Prophecy Emerges!!!

#17 Post by Mary » Tue Mar 29, 2011 8:50 am

Syrian Cabinet Resigns Amid Unrest



By ZEINA KARAM
Source Of Article
Associated Press
Image

DAMASCUS, Syria – Syria's Cabinet resigned Tuesday to help quell a wave of popular fury that erupted more than a week ago and is now threatening President Bashar Assad's 11-year rule in one of the most authoritarian and closed-off nations in the Middle East.

Assad, whose family has controlled Syria for four decades, is trying to calm the growing dissent with a string of concessions. He is expected to address the nation in the next 24 hours to lift emergency laws in place since 1963 and moving to annul other harsh restrictions on civil liberties and political freedoms.

More than 60 people have died since March 18 as security forces cracked down on protesters, Human Rights Watch said.

State TV said Tuesday Assad accepted the resignation of the 32-member Cabinet headed by Naji al-Otari, who has been in place since September 23. The Cabinet will continue running the country's affairs until the formation of a new government.

The resignations will not affect Assad, who holds the lion's share of power in the authoritarian regime.

The announcement came hours after hundreds of thousands of supporters of Syria's hard-line regime poured into the streets Tuesday as the government tried to show it has mass support.

Protests that began March 18 and ensuing violence has brought sectarian tensions in Syria out in the open for the first time in decades, a taboo topic here because the country has a Sunni majority ruled by minority Alawites, a branch of Shiite Islam. Assad has placed his fellow Alawites into most positions of power in Syria.

But he also has used increased economic freedom and prosperity to win the allegiance of the prosperous Sunni Muslim merchant classes, while punishing dissenters with arrest, imprisonment and physical abuse.

Many of the pro-regime demonstrators emphasized national unity Tuesday.

"Sectarianism was never an issue before, this is a conspiracy targeting Syria," said Jinane Adra, a 36-year-old Syrian who came from Saudi Arabia to express support for Assad.

"The Syrian people are one, there is no place for religious divisions between us," she said, flanked by her children, ages 3 and 5, carrying red roses and pictures of Assad.

Mohammed Ali, 40, said Assad was in touch with the Syrian people and aware of their need for reforms.

"This dirty conspiracy will be short-lived, we are all behind him," he said, cradling an Assad poster on his chest.

The president of 11 years, one of the most anti-Western leaders in the Middle East, is wavering between cracking down and compromising in the face of the protests that began in a southern city and spread to other areas.

The unrest in the strategically important country could have implications well beyond the country's borders given its role as Iran's top Arab ally and as a front line state against Israel.

Syria has long been viewed by the U.S. as a potentially destabilizing force in the Mideast. An ally of Iran and Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, it has also provided a home for some radical Palestinian groups.

But the country has been trying to emerge from years of international isolation. The U.S. recently has reached out to Syria in the hopes of drawing it away from Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas — although the effort has not yielded much.

The government-sanctioned rallies Tuesday dubbed "loyalty to the nation march" brought hundreds of thousands into the streets in the Syrian provinces of Aleppo and Hasakeh in the north and the central cities of Hama and Homs. School children were given the day off and bank employees and other workers were given two hours off to attend the demonstrations.

Still, many in Syria who see Assad as a young, dynamic leader and credit him for opening up the economy were shocked by the violence and came to express genuine support.

"The people want Bashar Assad!" chanted protesters in a central Damascus square. Men, women and children gathered in front of a huge picture of Assad freshly put up on the Central Bank building.

"No to sectarianism and no to civil strife," read one placard.

When unrest roiling the Middle East hit Syria, it was a dramatic turn for Assad, a British-trained eye doctor who inherited power from his father in 2000 after three decades of iron-fisted rule. In January, he said his country is immune to such unrest because he is in tune with his people's needs.


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Re: The "Small Horn" Of Bible Prophecy Emerges!!!

#18 Post by Mary » Sun Apr 03, 2011 4:20 pm

Yemen Unrest: Police Open Fire On Protesters In Taiz

BBC
Article Source
3 April 2011 Last updated at 09:51 ET
Image
Taiz saw a massive rally against President Saleh on Friday



At least one person has been killed and scores injured at a protest in the Yemeni city of Taiz where police opened fire, residents say.

Putting the number of injured at 100, a doctor said police had used live rounds, tear gas and truncheons to try to break up the protest.

Protests to demand President Ali Abdullah Saleh's resignation have gripped Yemen since February.

Mr Saleh said he was ready to discuss a "peaceful transition of power".

In office for more than three decades, he announced earlier he would not seek another term in office.

Yemen, the Arab world's most impoverished nation, is one of about a dozen countries in the Arab world and broader Midde East to have seen anti-government unrest this year.

Transition Plan

Taiz, a city of nearly half a million people 200km (125 miles) south of the capital Sanaa, has seen massive demonstrations against the president.


Image
Map of Yemen

Eyewitnesses told AFP news agency police had shot dead a young man who was tearing up a poster of the president.

They continued to fire as security forces pushed back the demonstrators to a square where they had been holding a sit-in as part of nationwide protests.

One activist, Bushra al-Maqtari, told Reuters news agency security forces were backed by tanks.

"Armoured vehicles and tanks are surrounding us," she said.

"They have spent three hours firing tear gas and bullets [in the air] in an effort to break up the protest."

On Saturday, the opposition coalition Common Forum called on the president to hand over power to his deputy, Vice-President Abdu Rabu Hadi.

Common Forum, which includes the five biggest opposition groups in Yemen, offered a five-point plan for the hand-over:


  1. President Saleh resigns and is replaced by Mr Hadi
  2. Mr Hadi announces a restructuring of the security forces to make them accountable to the government
  3. An interim government is created based on national reconciliation
  4. A new electoral commission is established
  5. Civil liberties are boosted and an investigation is launched into the killing of protesters


Speaking at a meeting in Sanaa with representatives from Taiz Province on Sunday, President Saleh called on Common Forum to "end the crisis through calling off protests and removing roadblocks".

Any transition, he said, would have to be made "through constitutional ways".


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Re: The "Small Horn" Of Bible Prophecy Emerges!!!

#19 Post by Mary » Sat Apr 16, 2011 9:09 am

Syria: Clashes At Mass Damascus Protest


15 April 2011 Last updated at 17:07 ET
Article Source
BBC News

Syrian security forces have used tear gas and batons to disperse tens of thousands of protesters in the capital, Damascus, witnesses said.

The protesters called for reforms, while some demanded the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad.

The protests, in Damascus and other cities, are believed to be the largest in a month of unrest in which about 200 people have been reported killed.

Mr Assad has made some concessions while cracking down on dissent.

Thousands of people were reported to have demonstrated in a number of other Syrian cities, including Deraa, Latakia, Baniyas and Qamishli - places where violence has been previously reported.

State media reported that "small demonstrations" had taken place in different parts of the country and security forces did not intervene.

Yellow card warning

The mass protest in the suburbs of Damascus marks a major escalation of Syria's month of unrest, which has largely bypassed the capital.

Analysts said Friday's protests were the largest since they began in the southern city of Deraa on 15 March.

The unrest is seen as the biggest challenge to Mr Assad, who inherited power from his father in 2000.

The protesters say they want greater freedoms, including a repeal of the decades-old security law, which bans public gatherings of more than five people.

Some are calling for the overthrow of the president, who rules with a tight grip through his family and the security forces.

Mr Assad has offered some concessions, forming a new government on Thursday and pronouncing amnesty for an undisclosed number of people detained in the last month.

He has also sacked some local officials and granted Syrian citizenship to thousands of the country's Kurdish minority - satisfying a long-held demand.

The demonstrators in Damascus held up yellow cards, in a football-style warning to President Assad, AP news agency said.

"This is our first warning, next time we will come with the red cards," one protester said.

'Legitimate demands'

Other witnesses said the demonstrators tore down posters of Mr Assad they passed along their route and called for the overthrow of the president.

Reuters quoted a witness who said 15 busloads of secret police had chased people into alleyways north of the city's main Abbasside Square.

Image
Map of Syria

The United Nations and a number of Western governments have decried President Assad's use of force to try to quash the protests.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Syria's authorities to stop using violence against their own people.

"The Syrian government has not addressed the legitimate demands of the Syrian people," she said after a Nato meeting in Berlin.

"It is time for the Syrian government to stop repressing their citizens and start responding to their aspirations."

Human rights campaigners say hundreds of people across Syria have been arrested, including opposition figures, bloggers and activists.

Mr Assad blames the violence in recent weeks on armed gangs rather than reform-seekers and has vowed to put down further unrest.

US officials have said Iran is helping Syria to crack down on the protests, a charge both Tehran and Damascus have denied.


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Re: The "Small Horn" Of Bible Prophecy Emerges!!!

#20 Post by Mary » Mon Apr 18, 2011 8:06 pm

Syria Protests: 'Thousands Occupy Homs After Funerals'


18 April 2011 Last updated at 19:27 ET
Article Source
BBC News
Image
Crowds were on the streets of Homs late on Monday
Thousands of anti-government protesters have occupied the centre of Syria's third largest city, Homs, insisting they won't leave until they bring down the country's leadership.

A woman told the BBC by phone crowds were still large late on Monday.

Earlier, funerals were held for some of those killed in Sunday's violence in the city, with crowds calling for the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad.

Syria's interior ministry has said the unrest amounts to armed insurrection.

Eight people died in Homs on Sunday after soldiers fired on crowds protesting at the death of a tribal leader in state custody.

The opposition says the occupation of the city centre will continue until their political demands are met. These include the immediate lifting of Syria's longstanding emergency laws and the release of political prisoners.

Activists say that checkpoints have been set up around the square to ensure that people coming in are unarmed civilians.

One opposition supporter, who said his brother was shot dead in Sunday's protests, said volunteers were providing the demonstrators with food and water.

Another, Najati Tayyara, told AFP news agency: "More than 20,000 people are taking part in the sit-in at Al-Saa Square and we have renamed it Tahrir Square like the one in Cairo.

"It is an open-ended sit-in which will continue until all our demands are satisfied."

The unprecedented wave of protests in Syria shows no sign of abating, despite promises of reform by President Assad, says the BBC's Kim Ghattas.

The persistence of the protests and the number of people out on the street make Syria's demonstrations even more striking then the other Arab uprisings, our correspondent adds.

'Ambush'

Syria's official news agency has also been reporting on events in Homs. It says three army officers including a brigadier-general, together with his two sons and a nephew, were ambushed and killed on Sunday by "armed criminal gangs" which then mutilated the bodies with sharp tools.

The northern town of Banias also saw anti-government protests on Sunday.

In a statement, the interior ministry said: "The course of the previous events... have revealed that they are an armed insurrection by armed groups belonging to Salafist organisations, especially in Homs and Banias."

The BBC's Lina Sinjab says using the Salafist allegation is seen as a threat to peaceful protests.

Many fear it means further violence by authorities against protesters under the pretext of fighting terrorist elements, our correspondent says.

President Assad has pledged reforms to try to calm weeks of protest, but protesters say the concessions are not enough.

Human rights groups say at least 200 protesters have been killed in the past four weeks as security forces try to quell the most serious challenge to Mr Assad's rule since he succeeded his father 11 years ago.


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Re: The "Small Horn" Of Bible Prophecy Emerges!!!

#21 Post by Mary » Tue Apr 19, 2011 9:39 am

Syria Lifts State Of Emergency Laws

Image
Syrian anti-government protesters in Banias, Syria. More photos »

Associated Press
Article Source
April 19, 2011

BEIRUT – Syria's official news agency says the cabinet has approved lifting the country's nearly 50-year-old state of emergency laws — a key demand of protesters.

The SANA news agency says the government Tuesday also abolished the state security court, which handled the trials of political prisoners, and approved a new law allowing the right to peaceful protests.

But it's unclear whether the moves will ease the crackdown on anti-government demonstrators. Just hours earlier, authorities issued a stern warning for protesters to back down.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria issued a stern warning to the nation Tuesday to stop protesting, hours after security forces opened fire with live ammunition and tear gas on hundreds of anti-government demonstrators during a pre-dawn raid that killed at least one person, witnesses said.

The statement raised the specter of an increasingly violent crackdown on the monthlong protest movement against President Bashar Assad's authoritarian regime. The uprising is posing the most serious threat to the Assad family's ruling dynasty.

The death toll from a security crackdown over the past four weeks has topped 200, human rights groups say.

The Interior Ministry called on Syrians to "assist" authorities in preserving national security by refraining from taking part in any protests or sit-ins under any pretext. In a statement broadcast on Syrian Television, the ministry said all laws will be implemented to safeguard the people's security and the country's stability.

Hours earlier, security forces fired on anti-government protesters staging a sit-in in a square in the central city of Homs, chasing them through the streets for hours.

Witnesses said at least one person was killed and many others wounded.
"They shot at everything, there was smoke everywhere," an activist in Homs told The Associated Press by telephone, asking that his name not be used because he feared for his personal safety. "I saw people on the ground, some shot in their feet, some in the stomach."

The streets were largely deserted by early afternoon, with people staying inside their homes.

Hundreds of people had gathered Monday at Clock Square in the center of Homs, bringing mattresses, food and water to the site for an Egypt-style standoff. They vowed to stay until President Bashar Assad is ousted — a brazen escalation of the monthlong uprising against the country's authoritarian regime.

An eyewitness said police used loudspeakers to call on protesters to evacuate the area around 2 a.m. Shortly afterward, security forces moved in, firing first tear gas, then live ammunition at fleeing protesters.

"They went up to people's homes, they arrested many," a Homs resident said by telephone. "We heard ambulances all night."

Three people in Homs confirmed the account, all of them asking for anonymity for fear of government reprisals.

The witnesses' accounts could not be independently confirmed because Syria has placed tight restrictions on media outlets and expelled foreign journalists.

At least 200 people have been killed over the past month as security forces have launched a deadly crackdown on a growing protest movement, human rights groups say. The government has coupled dry promises of reform with brutal tactics to quell the unrest, using the widely despised security forces and unleashing pro-regime thugs known as shabiha.

On Monday, the government blamed the weeks of unrest on ultraconservative Muslims seeking to establish a fundamentalist state — the latest effort to portray the reform movement as populated by extremists.

Assad has been playing on fears of sectarian warfare as he works to crush any popular support for the uprising.

The Egypt-style standoff in Homs followed funeral processions by more than 10,000 mourners for some of those killed in clashes Sunday that a rights group said left at least 12 people dead.

The protesters, mostly young men but including women and children, had set up tents, bringing in mattresses, food and drinks. One tent was named "National Unity Tent." Another "Martyrs" tent was set up to offer condolences for those killed a day earlier, according to an eyewitness.

"Please Go," one banner implored Assad.

The government has in the past blamed "armed gangs" seeking to stir up unrest for many of the killings.


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Re: The "Small Horn" Of Bible Prophecy Emerges!!!

#22 Post by Mary » Fri Apr 22, 2011 10:31 am

Syrian Security Forces Open Fire; 15 Killed


Image
Protesters gather in a square in the southern city of Deraa, Syria. More photos »
By BASSEM MROUE
Article Source
Associated Press – 24 mins ago

BEIRUT – Syrian security forces fired live bullets and tear gas Friday on pro-democracy demonstrations across the country, killing at least 15 people — including a young boy — as the uprising against President Bashar Assad's authoritarian regime defied a deadly security crackdown, witnesses said.

Protesters flooded into the streets after Muslim prayers in at least five major areas across the country, a sign that Assad's attempts to quell the monthlong protests with a deadly crackdown and promises of reform have all but failed.

"Bullets started flying over our heads like heavy rain," said one witness in Izraa, a southern village in Daraa province, the same region where the uprising kicked off in mid-March.

The protest movement has been the gravest challenge against the autocratic regime led by Assad, who inherited power from his father 11 years ago in one of the most rigidly controlled countries in the Middle East.

Tens of thousands of people were protesting in the Damascus suburb of Douma, the central city of Homs, Banias on the coast, the northeastern Kurdish region and the southern province of Daraa, where the uprising kicked off in mid-March.

Witnesses said they saw at least five corpses at the Hamdan hospital outside the capital. All suffered gunshot wounds.

In the southern province of Daraa, other witnesses said at least 10 people were killed when protesters marched in front of the mayor's office in Izraa. They said an 11-year-old boy was among the dead.

"Among the dead was Anwar Moussa, who was shot in the head. He was 11," said the witness.
Click image to see photos of protests in Syria
Image
The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

The protest movement has crossed a significant threshold in recent days, with increasing numbers now seeking the downfall of the regime, not just reforms. The security crackdown has only emboldened protesters, who are enraged over the deaths of more than 200 people over five weeks.

Friday's witness accounts could not be independently confirmed because Syria has expelled journalists and restricted access to trouble spots. Witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Activists promised that Friday's protests will be the biggest rallies yet against the regime led by Assad, who inherited power from his father 11 years ago in one of the most authoritarian countries in the Middle East.

The president has been trying to defuse the protests by launching a bloody crackdown along with a series of concessions, most recently lifting emergency laws that gave authorities almost boundless powers of surveillance and arrest.

He also has fulfilled a decades-old demand by granting citizenship to thousands among Syria's long-ostracized Kurdish minority, fired local officials, released detainees and formed a new government.

But many protesters said the concessions have come too late — and that Assad does not deserve the credit.

"The state of emergency was brought down, not lifted," prominent Syrian activist Suhair Atassi, who was arrested several times in the past, wrote on her Twitter page. "It is a victory as a result of demonstrations, protests and the blood of martyrs who called for Syria's freedom."

Earlier Friday, witnesses said security forces in uniform and plainclothes set up checkpoints around the Damascus suburb of Douma, checking peoples identity cards and preventing nonresidents from going in.

Syria stands in the middle of the most volatile conflicts in region because of its alliances with militant groups like Lebanon's Hezbollah and with Shiite powerhouse Iran. That has given Damascus a pivotal role in most of the flashpoint issues of the region, from the Arab-Israeli peace process to Iran's widening influence.

If the regime in Syria wobbles, it also throws into disarray the U.S. push for engagement with Damascus, part of Washington's plan to peel the country away from its allegiance to Hamas, Hezbollah and Tehran.


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#23 Post by Mary » Fri Apr 22, 2011 6:43 pm

'Nearly 40 Killed' In Syria Demos


– Fri Apr 22, 12:14 pm ET
Article Source
AFP
Image
AFP – A picture taken by a mobile phone
shows Syrian anti-government protesters holding
a banner reading, "National …


NICOSIA (AFP) – At least 38 protesters were killed by security forces during massive demonstrations on Friday across Syria, in one of the bloodiest days since pro-democracy protests erupted in mid-March, witnesses and activists told AFP by telephone.

The toll has been steadily rising throughout the day, according to the sources reached by AFP in Nicosia, with early reports speaking of at least 15 dead and that figure more than doubling by the late afternoon.

Dozens of people were also wounded when security forces opened fire with live rounds to disperse protesters who took to the streets in several cities in response to calls for "Good Friday" rallies, they said.

At least 14 people were killed in the town of Ezreh, in the southern province of Daraa, epicentre of pro-reform and anti-regime protests that broke out in mid-March, the sources said.

One person was killed in Hirak, also in the Daraa region.

Nine people died in the northern Damascus suburb of Douma, the sources added.

And six people were also killed in the Damascus neighbourhoods of Barzeh, Harasta and Al-Maadamiyah.

Two people were also killed in the northern city of Hama, site of a government-sponsored massacre of Islamists in 1982, and two others perished in the main Syrian port city of Latakia, while four died in central Homs.

Earlier other human rights activists spoke of several people killed and wounded in Homs, as well as in the Damascus neighbourhoods of Al-Maadamiyah, Zamalkah and Kabun.

The state news agency SANA reported that security forces "intervened" and fired tear gas and water cannon "to prevent clashes between protesters and citizens and protect public property."

"There were some wounded in these confrontations," which SANA said took place in Harasta and Hajar Asswad near Damascus, as well as in Hama and Hasaka in the northeast.

Thousands of protesters swarmed the mainly Kurdish city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria, while demonstrations also shook Banias in the north and Daraa.

The protests come despite decrees on Thursday by President Bashar al-Assad scrapping nearly five decades of draconian emergency rule and abolishing state security courts that operated outside the normal judicial system to try people seen challenging the regime.


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#24 Post by Mary » Sat Apr 23, 2011 1:04 pm

Syria Death Toll Hits 120 Over 2 Days, Group Says


By BASSEM MROUE
Article Source
Associated Press – 2 hrs 3 mins ago
Image

BEIRUT – The death toll from two days of violence in Syria reached 120 Saturday as security forces fired on tens of thousands of mourners who shouted for the regime's downfall during funeral processions, a human rights group said.

The mounting death toll prompted two Syrian lawmakers to resign in disgust over the killings. More than 300 people have been killed since the uprising against autocratic President Bashar Assad began more than five weeks ago.

The lawmakers, Nasser Hariri and Khalil Rifai, are from the southern region of Daraa that unleashed the protest movement in mid-March after teenagers were arrested there for scrawling anti-regime graffiti on a wall.

"If I cannot protect the chests of my people from these treacherous strikes, then there is no meaning for me to stay in the People's Assembly. I declare my resignation," Hariri told Al-Jazeera in an interview.

The resignations were exceedingly rare in Syria, where nearly all opposition figures are either jailed or exiled.

Ammar Qurabi, the head of Syria's National Organization for Human Rights, said 112 people were killed Friday and at least eight on Saturday. Friday was by far the deadliest day of the uprising.

But the bloodshed so far has only served to invigorate protesters whose demands have snowballed from modest reforms to the downfall of Assad. Each Friday, growing numbers of people in multiple cities have taken to the streets despite the near certainty that they would come under swift attack from security forces and shadowy pro-government gunmen known as "shabiha."

The heavy security crackdown on Friday and Saturday came after Assad warned a week ago that any further unrest would be considered "sabotage" after he made the gesture of lifting long-hated emergency laws, a step he ratified on Thursday.

It was a clear sign that regime was prepared to escalate an already bloody response, with nearly 300 already dead in more than five weeks.

The increasing bloodshed has drawn international condemnation.

In Washington on Friday, President Barack Obama condemned the latest use of force by Syria against anti-government demonstrators and said the regime's "outrageous" use of violence against the protesters must "end now."

Unrest was reported Saturday in Douma, a suburb of the capital, the southern village of Izraa and the nearby village of Sheikh Miskeen. The witness account could not be independently confirmed because Syria has expelled journalists and restricted access to trouble spots. They spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

"They prevented us from continuing our way to the cemetery," said the witness in Douma, who said he was among at least 50,000 people taking part in the funerals there.


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#25 Post by Mary » Sat Apr 23, 2011 1:19 pm

Yemeni President Agrees To Gulf Proposal On Crisis


By AHMED AL-HAJ
Article Source
Associated Press
Image
A Yemeni girl stands in front of female anti-government protestors attending noon
prayers during a demonstration demanding the resignation of of Yemeni President Ali
Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, April 23, 2011. A sea of hundreds of
thousands of anti-government protesters swelled along a five-lane boulevard
reaching across Yemen's capital Friday in the largest of two months
of demonstrations, as the government tried to halt military defections by arresting
dozens of officers. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
SANAA, Yemen — State-run TV says Yemen's embattled president has agreed to a proposal by Gulf Arab mediators to step down within 30 days and hand power to his deputy in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

The protest movement demanding his immediate departure said Saturday it also has agreed to the mediators' proposal but with reservations. It objects to an article that gives parliament the right to reject the president's resignation.

The parliament is dominated by members of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's party.

The leader of 32 years has been clinging to power in the face of more than two months of massive street protests against his rule.

State TV says Yemen's foreign minister delivered the government's acceptance to mediators from the Gulf Cooperation Council on Saturday.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Schools, government offices and private companies have shut their doors in response to the Yemeni opposition's call for a general strike aimed at putting more pressure on longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.

Thousands of protesters kept up sit-ins Saturday at city squares in at least five provinces, two months into the impoverished Arab country's uprising against the entrenched regime.

Saleh, who has been clinging to power, showed no readiness for new concessions. He accused the opposition Saturday of "dragging the country into a civil war."


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#26 Post by Mary » Sat Apr 23, 2011 1:33 pm

Syrian Security Forces Open Fire On Funeral


2 legislators resign in disgust over violence; 12 killed in new clashes
Image
MSNBC
Article Source
April 23, 2011


BEIRUT — Syrian security forces fired on tens of thousands of mourners during funeral processions Saturday, killing at least 12 people as the mounting death toll prompted two Syrian lawmakers to resign in disgust over the killings.

The lawmakers, Nasser Hariri and Khalil Rifai, are from the southern region of Daraa that unleashed the protest movement in mid-March after a group of teenagers were arrested there for scrawling anti-regime graffiti on a wall.

"If I cannot protect the chests of my people from these treacherous strikes, then there is no meaning for me to stay in the People's Assembly. I declare my resignation," Hariri told Al-Jazeera in an interview.

The resignations were exceedingly rare in Syria, where nearly all opposition figures are either jailed or exiled.

But the bloodshed so far has only served to invigorate protesters whose demands have snowballed from modest reforms to the downfall of President Bashar Assad. Each Friday, growing numbers of people in multiple cities have taken to the streets despite the near certainty that they would come under swift attack from security forces and shadowy pro-government gunmen known as "shabiha."

Friday was the deadliest day of the uprising, with at least 76 people killed as Syrian security forces fired bullets and tear gas at tens of thousands of protesters across the country. The crackdown signaled that the regime was prepared to turn more ruthless to put down the revolt.

The death toll continued to rise Saturday as security forces fired on funeral processions, killing at least nine people.

Witnesses said security forces killed four people in Douma, a suburb of the capital. Human rights activist Ammar Qurabi said five people were killed in the southern village of Izraa and the nearby village of Sheikh Miskeen.

The witness account could not be independently confirmed because Syria has expelled journalists and restricted access to trouble spots. They spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

"They prevented us from continuing our way to the cemetery," said the witness in Douma, who said he was among at least 50,000 people taking part in the funerals there.

Story: Syrian forces fire on protesters; dozens reported killed in deadliest day of uprising

In Washington, President Barack Obama said the violence was "outrageous" and called on Assad to obey the will of his people by giving them freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly and the ability to choose their leaders.

Kids among those killed

Among those killed Friday were a 70-year-old man and two boys ages 7 and 10, according to Amnesty International.

The scenes of carnage were posted on the protest movement's main Facebook page.

In Izraa, a man ran through the streets carrying the body of a young boy, whose hair was matted with blood from a gaping wound on his head, as another child wept and shouted, "My brother!"

Six Syrian human rights groups said security forces had killed 76 protesters in different parts of the country Friday. The groups, including the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria, called on the government to set up a judicial investigation committee to try those who shot at protesters and to release all political detainees.

The highest tolls were in the central city of Homs, where 19 people were killed, and in Izraa, where 18 were shot dead, the human rights groups said.

The bloodshed so far has only served to invigorate protesters whose demands have snowballed from modest reforms to the downfall of the 40-year Assad family dynasty. Each Friday, growing numbers of people in multiple cities have taken to the streets despite the near certainty that they would come under swift attack from security forces and shadowy pro-government gunmen known as "shabiha."

Besides the government crackdown, Assad has been trying to defuse the protests by offering a series of concessions, granting citizenship to thousands among Syria's long-ostracized Kurdish minority, firing local officials, releasing detainees and forming a new government. The recent lifting of emergency laws — which gave authorities almost boundless powers of surveillance and arrest — had been a top demand.


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#27 Post by Mary » Sat Apr 23, 2011 5:22 pm

Yemeni President Agrees To Step Down

Saleh accepts proposal by Gulf mediators to resign within 30 days in exchange for immunity


By AHMED AL-HAJ
Article Source
Associated Press
Image
An anti-government protester reacts during a demonstration demanding the
resignation of of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa, Yemen, on Saturday.
SANAA, Yemen — Yemen's embattled president agreed Saturday to a proposal by Gulf Arab mediators to step down within 30 days and hand power to his deputy in exchange for immunity from prosecution, a major about-face for the autocratic leader who has ruled for 32 years.

The protest movement demanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh's immediate departure said Saturday that it also accepted the latest draft of the deal but with reservations.

A day earlier, protesters staged the largest of two months of demonstrations, filling a five-lane boulevard across the capital with a sea of hundreds of thousands of people. A deadly crackdown by government forces and Saleh supporters has killed more than 130 people and prompted key allies to abandon the president and join the protesters.

The opposition movement, fed up with poverty and corruption under Saleh, took inspiration from the toppling of leaders in Tunisia and Egypt.

The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes powerful Saudi Arabia, has been seeking to broker an end to the crisis in the fragile and impoverished nation on the southern edge of the Arabian peninsula.

Under the latest draft, Yemen's parliament would grant Saleh legal protection from prosecution. The president would submit his resignation to lawmakers within 30 days and hand power to his vice president, who would call for new presidential elections.

Opposition voices reservations
Opposition spokesman Mohammed Kahtan described the Gulf council's initiative as "positive" and said the leaders of the opposition parties have all agreed on it.

Kahtan, however, listed several reservations. He said the opposition rejects the draft proposal's call for the formation of a national unity government within seven days of the signing of a deal and wants to see Saleh step down first.

"We would have to swear an oath to Saleh, who has already lost his legitimacy," he explained.

They are also against giving Yemen's parliament — dominated by Saleh's party — the power to approve or reject his resignation, which opens to the door to allowing the president time to stall.

State TV reported that Yemen's foreign minister delivered the government's acceptance to mediators on Saturday.

The foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheik Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, met in the Emirati capital Saturday with his Yemeni counterpart, Abu Bakr al-Qirbi, and urged him to accept the GCC plan, the official UAE news agency WAM reported.

Protests continued throughout the day and expanded to include a general strike.

Schools, government offices and private companies shut their doors in response to the Yemeni opposition's call for a strike aimed at putting more pressure Saleh to step down.

Thousands of protesters kept up sit-ins at city squares in at least five provinces, while Saleh accused the opposition of "dragging the country into a civil war" in a televised speech to a military academy.

Saleh has over the past two months used violence to try to quell the unrest. He has also offered concessions, including a pledge not to run again for president when his term is up in 2013 or allow his son to succeed him, but to no avail.


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#28 Post by Mary » Mon Apr 25, 2011 9:29 pm

Syrian Army 'Attacks Protest City Of Deraa'


25 April 2011 Last updated at 16:07 GMT
Article Source
BBC News
Image
Syria's army has advanced into the southern city of Deraa, using tanks to support troops amid an intensified effort to curb popular protests.

One activist was quoted as saying that security forces were "firing in all directions", and at least five people were reportedly killed.

Witnesses also said security forces had opened fire in a suburb of Damascus.

A prominent human rights campaigner said President Bashar al-Assad had launched a "savage war" on protesters.

In the US, the Obama administration is considering imposing sanctions on senior Syrian officials to pressure the regime to stop its violent crackdown, Reuters news agency quoted a government official as saying.

The official said steps taken could include a freeze on assets and a ban on business dealings in the US, but gave no time-scale for the measures.

According to a UN Security Council diplomat, the UK and other European states are circulating a draft statement condemning the violence in Syria.

There have been numerous reports of crackdowns and arrests around Syria over recent days, despite the lifting of an emergency law last week.

Deraa is the city in which protesters, many of whom are now demanding that President Assad step down, began calling for political reforms last month.

It is just a few miles from the border with Jordan, which has been closed by the Syrians, according to Jordan's information minister.

'Electricity cut'

Opposition activists said Monday morning's raid on Deraa involved as many as 5,000 soldiers and seven T-55 tanks.

Tanks surrounded the Omari mosque in the old city with snipers firing from rooftops, anonymous opposition sources said. The opposition reported than more than 25 people were killed, and their bodies could not be reached because of the fierce gunfire. This claim could not be independently verified.

One activist, Abdullah al-Harriri, told AFP: "The men are firing in all directions and advancing behind the armour which is protecting them."

"Electricity is cut off and telephone communications are virtually impossible."

While there are reports of growing strife among Syrian army officers on different levels - with suggestions that some soldiers have changed sides and are now fighting with the people of Deraa - foreign journalists have been prevented from entering the country, making information hard to verify.

But the BBC's Owen Bennett-Jones, in neighbouring Lebanon, says the use of tanks has not been reported elsewhere in Syria, and would mark a scaling up in the government's response to protests.

It appears from the latest reports that the government is absolutely determined to use force to suppress the protest movement, he says.

A leading Syrian campaigner, Suhair al-Atassi, said authorities had launched "a savage war designed to annihilate Syria's democrats".

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay denounced the escalation of the crackdown.

"The violence and ongoing repression of activists... indicates that either the government is not serious about those reforms or it is unable to control its own security forces," she said.

Wave of arrests

Opposition activists have in recent days been describing Deraa as liberated territory, and two members of parliament and a local religious official resigned on Saturday to protest against the killing of demonstrators there.

Image

In the Damascus suburb of Douma, where there have also been big demonstrations, witnesses said authorities had raided the neighbourhood, firing and making sweeping arrests.

On Sunday, at least 13 people were reported to have been killed in the north-western city of Jabla, while dozens of protesters died on Friday.

The unrest in Jabla on Sunday came after security forces moved into the Sunni old city following a protest there the previous day.

Witnesses said they were still patrolling the streets on Monday morning.

Many in the north-western town of 80,000 are members of the same Alawite minority as President Assad, and they have generally avoided joining protests until now.

The authorities have reacted erratically to demonstrations - sometimes promising to allow more democracy and freedoms, and other times opening fire on demonstrators.

At least 95 people were reported killed across Syria on Friday and a further 12 on Saturday, as mourners came under fire.

In total, more than 350 people have been killed since demonstrations started in March, activists say.


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#29 Post by Mary » Mon Apr 25, 2011 9:43 pm

Thousands Of Syrian Troops Raid Rebellious City

Image
A man throws a rock at a passing tank in a location given as Deraa, Syria. More photos »
By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY and DIAA HADID
Article Source
Associated Press

BEIRUT – Thousands of soldiers backed by tanks and snipers moved in before dawn to the city where Syria's anti-government uprising began, causing panic in the streets when they opened fire indiscriminately on civilians and went house-to-house rounding up suspected protesters. At least 11 people were killed and 14 others lay in the streets — either dead or gravely wounded, witnesses said.

The military raids on the southern city of Daraa and at least two other areas suggested Syria is trying to impose military control on the centers of protests against President Bashar Assad, whose family has ruled Syria for four decades. Residents and human rights activists said the regime wants to terrify opponents and intimidate them from staging any more demonstrations.

The offensive was meticulously planned: Electricity, water and mobile phone services were cut. Security agents armed with guns and knives conducted house-to-house sweeps, neighborhoods were sectioned off and checkpoints were erected before the sun rose.

"They have snipers firing on everybody who is moving," a witness told The Associated Press by telephone. "They aren't discriminating. There are snipers on the mosque. They are firing at everybody," he added, asking that his name not be used for fear of retribution.

The massive assault on Daraa appeared to be part of new strategy of crippling, pre-emptive strikes against any opposition to Assad, rather than reacting to demonstrations. Other crackdowns and arrest sweeps were reported on the outskirts of Damascus and the coastal town of Jableh — bringing more international condemnation and threats of targeted sanctions by Washington.

Razan Zeitounia, a human rights activist in Damascus, said the widespread arrests — including of men along with their families — appear to be an attempt to scare protesters and set an example for the rest of the country.

The attack on Daraa, an impoverished city on the Jordanian border, was by far the biggest in scope and firepower. Video purportedly shot by activists showed tanks rolling through streets and grassy fields with soldiers on foot jogging behind them.

Witnesses said busloads of troops poured in before dawn and snipers took up positions on the roofs of houses and high buildings while other security agents searched houses for suspected protesters.
Click image to see photos of protests in Syria
Image
"They are entering houses. They are searching the houses," said one witness. "They are carrying knives and guns."

He said people were crying out over mosque loudspeakers for doctors to help the wounded and there was panic in the streets.

"We need international intervention. We need countries to help us," shouted another witness in Daraa, who said he saw five corpses after security forces opened fire on a car. He spoke to the AP by telephone.

The forces occupied two mosques and a graveyard.

"Let Obama come and take Syria. Let Israel come and take Syria. Let the Jews come," shouted one Daraa resident over the phone. "Anything is better than Bashar Assad," he said, playing on Syria's hatred for Israel to highlight how much town residents despise their leader.

All witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Daraa, a drought-parched region of 300,000 in the south, has seen some of the worst bloodshed over the past five weeks as the uprising gained momentum. The area was ripe for unrest: The grip of Syria's security forces is weaker on the border areas than around the capital, Damascus, and Daraa hasn't benefited from recent years of economic growth. Meanwhile, Daraa has absorbed many rural migrants who can no longer farm after years of drought.

The city of Daraa was where Syria's uprising began in mid-March, touched off by the arrest of teenagers who scrawled anti-government graffiti on a wall.

A relentless crackdown since mid-March has killed more than 350 people throughout the country, with 120 alone dying over the weekend. But that has only emboldened protesters, who started with calls for modest reforms but are now increasingly demanding Assad's downfall.

State-run television quoted a military source as saying army units entered the city to bring security "answering the pleas for help by residents of Daraa."

Another military raid targeted the Damascus suburb of Douma, where rattling, heavy gunfire could still be heard late Monday. Soldiers, masked men in black uniforms and plainclothes security forces were manning checkpoints made from mounds of dirt throughout the area, a resident said.

In Jableh, men who tried to leave their houses were shot at by soldiers and thugs, three residents said, and only women were allowed onto the streets to buy food. Some quietly managed to bury seven men and a woman who were killed by security forces the day before, witnesses said. Security forces banned them from conducting funeral marches that frequently morph into protests.

Syria has banned nearly all foreign media and restricted access to trouble spots since the uprising began, making it almost impossible to verify the dramatic events shaking one of the most authoritarian, anti-Western regimes in the Arab world.

Syria is a close ally of Iran and a backer of the militant groups Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

There were conflicting reports about whether authorities sealed the Syrian border with Jordan, although the head of Syria's Customs Department said crossings at the frontier were open as normal.

A Jordanian taxi driver said the border was open, but the main highway linking Syria with Jordan was blocked.

"The situation on the highway is scary," he said. "Protesters are burning tires and hurling stones at the army, which is responding with live fire, shooting randomly at civilians."

Assad has blamed most of the unrest on a "foreign conspiracy" and armed thugs, and has used state media to push his accusations.

The violence has exacerbated sectarian tensions that had largely been kept in check under Assad's iron rule and secular ideology. The majority of the population is Sunni Muslim, but Assad and the ruling elite belong to the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Islam's Shiite branch that dominates in Iran, Iraq and Bahrain.

On Monday, Syrian TV repeatedly ran lingering, gruesome close-ups of dead soldiers, their eyes blown out and parts of their limbs missing, to back up their claims that they were under attack. The channel then turned to showing soldiers' funeral marches, with men waving red, black and white Syrian flags and hoisting photos of Assad.

Unrest in Syria has repercussions well beyond its borders.

Syria has a pivotal role in most of the flashpoint issues of the Middle East — from the Arab-Israeli peace process to Iran's widening influence. Instability has thrown into disarray the U.S. push for engagement with Damascus, part of Washington's hopes to peel the country away from Hamas, Hezbollah and Tehran.

The White House said Monday it was considering sanctions against the Syrian government in response to the brutal crackdown. The statement from National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor was the first time officials had said publicly that sanctions were possible.

Syria already is subject to numerous penalties as it is deemed a "state sponsor of terrorism" by the State Department, but it maintains diplomatic relations with Washington.

In recent days, there had been signs that the regime was planning to launch a massive push against the opposition.

Last week, Assad fulfilled a key demand of the protest movement by abolishing nearly 50-year-old emergency laws that had given the regime a free hand to arrest people without cause. But he coupled the concession with a stern warning that protesters would no longer have an excuse to hold mass protests, and any further unrest would be considered "sabotage."

When protesters defied his order and held demonstrations Friday — the main day for protests around the Arab world — they were met with a gunfire, tear gas and stun guns.

At the United Nations, France, Britain, Germany and Portugal were urging the U.N. Security Council to strongly condemn the violence against peaceful demonstrators.

In Geneva, the U.N. human rights chief, Navi Pillay, said Syria has turned its back on international calls to "stop killing its own people."


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#30 Post by Mary » Sun May 01, 2011 12:22 pm

Libya Crisis: UN To Quit Tripoli Amid Mob Attacks


1 May 2011
Article Source
BBC News
Image
The villa in Col Gaddafi's compound was
severely damaged in the strike
The UN is withdrawing all its international staff from the Libyan capital Tripoli following a mob attack on its offices.

UN buildings and some foreign missions were targeted by angry crowds following a Nato air strike that reportedly killed a son of Col Gaddafi.

A UN official told the BBC its staff would withdraw from Libya and the decision would be reviewed next week.

The UK expelled the Libyan ambassador after its premises were attacked.

A BBC team in Tripoli said the British embassy was completely burnt out with fires still smouldering and paperwork and other debris scattered outside.

In other developments, witnesses and rebel fighters reported heavy shelling by pro-Gaddafi forces of the port of Misrata on Sunday. The city has been besieged for two months.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said Libyan ambassador Omar Jelban was "persona non grata" and had been given 24 hours to leave the country.

By not protecting diplomatic missions, the Gaddafi regime had "once again breached its international responsibilities and obligations", said Mr Hague.

He added: "The attacks against diplomatic missions will not weaken our resolve to protect the civilian population in Libya."

The Italian foreign ministry has condemned the "acts of vandalism" on its embassy, describing them as "grave and vile". Italy - which closed its embassy in March and is represented by Turkey - recently joined the Nato mission in Libya.

There were also protests outside the US mission in Tripoli.

A UN official, who confirmed that its offices had been ransacked overnight, said the Libyan government had apologised, blaming an angry mob for the damage.

Most Western governments evacuated staff from Tripoli when an international coalition began air strikes on Libya several weeks ago.

Late on Saturday, the Libyan government said Saif al-Arab Gaddafi and three of Col Gaddafi's grandchildren had died in a Nato attack on a villa in Tripoli.

Foreign reporters were shown widespread damage to the building in Col Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound.

Nato has insisted its raid targeted a "command-and-control" building, and that all Nato targets were "military in nature".

Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said Col Gaddafi and his wife had been in the building at the time of the attack but they were both unharmed.

He said the air strike was against international law and "a direct operation to assassinate the leader of this country".

Nato is operating in Libya under a strict UN mandate to protect civilians.

"How is this helping in the protection of civilians? Mr Saif al-Arab was a civilian, a student," Mr Ibrahim said.

"He was playing and talking to his father and mother and his nieces and nephews and other visitors when he was attacked and killed."

Later on Sunday, Libyan state TV said funerals for Saif al-Arab Gaddafi and the other victims would be held on Monday after noon prayers.

The BBC's Christian Fraser witnessed the damage and said that if Col Gaddafi had been there, it is hard to imagine he could have walked away from the scene unscathed.
Image
Pro-Gaddafi supporters have made public
displays of loyalty for the embattled Libyan leader
Russia expressed "serious doubts" that the West was not targeting Col Gaddafi and his family.

"The claims of the coalition members that strikes over Libya do not have the physical destruction of Muammar Gaddafi and members of his family as their goal cause serious doubts," a statement from the foreign ministry said.

"Reports of casualties among civilians are being received in Moscow with increasing concern," it added.

In the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi, shots were fired in celebration following the reports that Saif al-Arab Gaddafi had been killed.

However, the claims were also treated with scepticism.

Mahmoud Shammam, spokesman for the anti-Gaddafi Transitional National Council (TNC) based in Benghazi, told al-Jazeera he believed it was "a ploy to fish for people's sympathy".

Khaled al-Urfi, a resident of the rebel-held western city of Misrata, told AP news agency: "We don't know if it is true or not because Gaddafi is a liar. I will only believe it if you put the body in front of me."

On Saturday, Nato officials said the alliance would not consider talks until government forces stopped attacks on civilians.

The vice-chairman of the rebel Transitional National Council also rejected the offer of negotiations.

He said the Libyan leader had "offered ceasefires only to continue violating basic human rights".
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