23rd/May/2012

Umayya for Researches and Strategic Studies

The Daily Monitoring Report

The Field Situation
- A big number of demonstrations took place countrywide, the biggest of which was in Aleppo. (7) - The official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) alleges claims that the military engineering units defused two explosive devices plated by an "armed terrorist group" on Ariha-Lattakia road, near the Ariaha town of Orm Al-Joz.(1)

Statistics

22nd/May death toll: 25

The Military Situation

The Political Mobility

- Brigadier General Mustafa Sheikh, head of the Free Syrian Army (FSA)'s military council, denied any link between the FSA and the alleged kidnapping of Lebanese Shiite citizens in the Aleppo rural area of Izaz, adding that he knew about the matter through a call phone from Lebanon asking him to - Fierce clashes took place between the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the government forces in the Aleppo rural town of Al-Atareb.(1)(4) - Al-Assad's helicopters bombed the Idlib villages of Kafr Roma, Hass, Kafr Nabl, Ma'arat AlNu'man, Abdita and Ihsem, destroying houses and injuring several people, some of them are in a critical condition, amid reports about violent clashes between Al-Assad's forces and the FSA in Idlib's Kafr Roma and Sarmada.(1)(2)(4) - Security forces raided houses in the village of Kawkab and opened fire in the town of AlLatamina in Hama's countryside in an attempt to storm the town. This came amid reports of injuries and limited clashes with the FSA.
(1)(4)

mediate for the release of the hostages.(1) - Adib Shishakli, member of the Syrian National Council (SNC), said the United Nations officials' hasty conclusions is subject to criticism, saying that it would be better if the United Nations commission an international committee to investigate the matter, rather than talking about a third or fourth or tenth party.(1) - Molham Al-Drobi, member of Syria's Muslim Brotherhood group, said if Burhan Ghalyoun, head of the Syrian National Council (SNC) insisted on withdrawing from the council, the council would immediately convene to elect a new leadership at all levels.(3) - Human rights activist Rima Fuleihan, who resigned from the SNC last year, said that the SNC IS on the brink of collapse unless it becomes representative of all opposition forces.(3) - Man Akel, a Syrian Alwite opposition leader, urging sons of his Alwaite sect, to which Bashar AlAssad belongs, not to fear for their fate if the Syrian leader falls, arguing the "end of totalitarianism" is the best guarantee for the survival of their community, adding that the Assad regime is "clinically dead". The Alwaite and secular Syrians should accept the idea of the rise of Islamists in the revolution.(3) - Salama Kila, the Palestinian leftist thinker, who has been released a few weeks ago and expelled from Syria, describes the Syrian prisons as "human slaughterhouses," and the "hell on earth", saying that he was about to die under the continuous brutal torture by the investigators.(5)

- Five people were martyred due to a roadside bomb in Damascus rural neighborhood of AlQaboun. city. Al-Assad's forces launched raids and arrests in districts of Barzeh and Saber in the same
(1)(2)(3)(4)(7)

- Security forces open fire on a crowd took to street to receive the United Nations observers in the Deir Al-Zour town of Al-Busaira, killing two people.(3)(7) - Al-Assad's security forces carried out crackdowns and arrests in the Aleppo neighborhoods of Tariq al-Bab, Al-Maiser, Al-Sha'ar, Al-Sakhour and Salaheddine.(1)(2)(4)

The Internal Situation

- The UN observers visited Idlib's Ma'arrat Misrin. Hundreds of protesters marched along with their convoy, chanting slogans calling for the overthrow of the Assad regime.(4)

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23rd/May/2012
Activities of Civil Organizations
- Amnesty International referred to the United Nations' failure to refer the crimes of Al-Assad's regime to the International Criminal Court in spite of the fact that there are clear evidences for committing crimes against humanity at the hands of Al-Assad's troops.(2)

Umayya for Researches and Strategic Studies

also called for immediately releasing them regardless of the body responsible for that kidnapping.(1) - Mohamed Kamel Amr, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, warns Al-Assad's regime against using more violence, asserting that that would lead the crisis to the point of no return and also would open doors for the foreign interference which is rejected by Egypt. Meanwhile, he called on the Syrian opposition to unite to present a unified front for the external world.(1)

Arab Political Stances

International Political Stances

- The United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Kimoon said" Syria is currently facing a very important moment with regard to searching for a peaceful solution to the crisis there."(7) - General Robert Mood, chairman of the UN monitor- The Lebanese activist Shadi al-Mawlawi- after being freed on bail by the Lebanese judiciary- asserted that he backs the Syrian revolution and the Syrian refugees.(1)(2)(5) - Lebanese Shiite families claim that the Free Syrian Army (FSA) kidnapped not less than 13 of their sons in Aleppo during their return from Iran through Syria to be exchanged for FSA's detainees who were previously arrested by Al-Assad's regime.(1)(2)(3)(6)(7) ing mission in Syria, said" We were encouraged to witness the civilian and military monitors say that the readiness to establish dialogue is increasing, and the discussions now are that how to work on the ground for building confidence and making progress."(1) - A French military source said that the Syrian opposition is in dire need of organizing its ranks in a better way, adding that the current situation serves the interests of the Islamic groups!.(3)

Sources:
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) Asharq Al-Awsat The London-based Al-Hayat The Kuwaiti Al-Watan Al-Quds Al-Arabi The Lebanese Al-Mustaqbal The Syrian Al-Baath Reuters AFP The Qatari Al-Jazeera The Israeli Haaretz Washington Post wall Street Journal The Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth The Guardian The Telegraph Russia Today

- Lebanon's Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour announced that he would release- during the coming few hours- the Lebanese people who were claimed to be kidnapped on Tuesday near the Syrian borders during their return from Iran for visiting the religious places.
(2)

- The office of Kofi Annan, the UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, unveiled that the head of United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations Herv Ladsous convened on Monday and Tuesday with Al-Assad's governmental officials and opposition's representatives in Homs city.(1)

- Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri condemned kidnapping the Lebanese citizens in Syria, expressing his full solidarity with their families. He

This Report was issued by Umayya for Researches and Strategic Studies, and it contains pure news that do not reflect an opinion. Edited by Abed Alrhman Alsarraj Page 2