The Syrian government has sought to portray the uprising as an armed insurrection by Islamist extremists and “gangs,” and though it is clear that there have been instances of armed confrontation, the protests, for the most part, have been peaceful.
Residents of Hama reported an upsurge in bombardments and mass arrests there Sunday, with troops using tank fire to keep people indoors and then pushing into neighborhoods to hunt down those who had participated in the demonstrations.
Arab nations joined the international chorus of condemnation against President Bashar Assad's regime Monday, with Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia pulling out their ambassadors as a besieged Syrian city came under fresh artillery fire. (Aug. 8)
An activist contacted by satellite telephone said that the city had come under sustained bombardment throughout the day and that at least 40 people had been killed. More than 500 were detained, he said, as troops searched neighborhoods with lists of names.
“If they go to a house and they don’t find the name on the list, they destroy everything,” he said. “Deir al-Zour was a cover for what has been happening in Hama. In seven days, this is the worst day yet.”
The widening crackdown has drawn mounting condemnation from world powers, which have been reluctant to act against strategically significant Syria, whose alliances with Iran and groups such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement give it a linchpin role in the region’s balance of power.
The Arab League, which had remained silent on the violence in Syria, joined the chorus of international condemnation for the first time Sunday, expressing “growing concern and serious distress” at the harsh tactics being used.
Saudi Arabia, one of the league’s most powerful members, announced Monday that it was withdrawing its ambassador from Syria, a significant gesture of disapproval from the autocratic kingdom, which has sought to hold at bay the clamor for reform generated by revolts in the region.
In a written statement read out on al-Arabiya satellite television, Saudi King Abdullah said: “What is happening in Syria is not acceptable for Saudi Arabia. Syria should think wisely before it’s too late and issue and enact reforms that are not merely promises but actual reforms. Either it chooses wisdom on its own or it will be pulled down into the depths of turmoil and loss.”
The Arab League also called on Assad to enact political changes, saying there “is still a chance” for reform to work.
But after months of bloodshed in which at least 2,000 people are thought to have died, many Syrians say that it is too late for the government to reform and that, in any case, they would not trust any gestures enough to take them seriously.
On Saturday, the government said it would hold free and fair elections. Hours later, security forces detained a leading democracy activist, Walid Bunni, and his two sons.
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