Syria Crisis Digest: April 7-April 13

Each week, HuffPost World will provide the top stories out of Syria and a recap of events in the country's year-long uprising, as President Bashar Assad’s regime continues its bloody crackdown.

April 7 - April 13 In Review

• Tens of thousands of protesters flooded the streets on Friday in the first major test of Assad's ceasefire promise. Syrian forces largely halted violence on Thursday, but activists say security forces killed at least 6 people on Friday and failed to withdraw from major city centers as the UN-brokered peace deal stipulates.
• Also on Friday, the UN Security Council debated a resolution to send a UN observer team to monitor the ceasefire.
• U.S. senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) visited the Syrian opposition in Turkey. Both senators called on the international community to arm Syrian opposition fighters and help set up zones within Syria where fighters can receive military training.
• In a new report, Human Rights Watch accused Syrian security forces of executing over 100 civilians and wounded or captured opposition fighters in the governorates of Idlib and Homs.
• On Monday, Syrian forces fired into a refugee camp across the Turkish border, wounding at least five people.

Media Not To Miss

Human Rights Watch -- 'In Cold Blood: Summary Executions by Syrian Security Forces and Pro-Government Militias'

Human Rights Watch released a video interview with a 27-year-old resident of Kherbet al-Jouz as well as an opposition fighter. The men's identities are hidden for security reasons.

The footage was released in conjunction with a 25-page report, "In Cold Blood: Summary Executions by Syrian Security Forces and Pro-Government Militias," which details incidents of extrajudicial executions of over 100 civilians.

Read more here.

BBC -- 'Syria: What Next?'

Robin Lustig argues that the Syrian crisis is far from over.

For more than a year, you have risked life and limb for a single, simple cause: Assad must go. You were ready to die for that cause, because you hated him, and his regime, so much.

Yet when the guns fell silent yesterday morning, Bashar al-Assad was still president. His tanks and trucks still roamed the streets. The eyes and ears of his secret police, the mukhabarat, were still everywhere. The snipers, probably, were still on the rooftops.

The Global Mail -- 'Syria's Propaganda War'

Middle East correspondent Jess Hill reflects on the limits of reporting on Syria. As the regime bars journalists from entering many parts of the country, reporters depend heavily on opposition activists for information. However, Hill notes that this makes it difficult for journalists to separate truth from rumor.

"Every time I report on Syria (from outside; I have not reported from inside the country), I'm always nervous that what I write later will turn out to be untrue. This uncertainty has weighed heavily on my mind for several months, and I've discussed it with several correspondents. Almost all of them agree: it's becoming harder to know who and what to believe."

Read the full article on The Global Mail.

Associated Press -- Photos Purporting To Show Protests Across Syria

This image made from amateur video and released by Douma Revolution in Syria on Friday, April 13, 2012, purports to show a large anti-government demonstration in Douma, Syria. (AP Photo/Douma Revolotion in Syria via AP video)

This image made from amateur video released by the Ugarit News and accessed Thursday, April 12, 2012, purports to show Syrians holding Syrian revolutionary flags during a demonstration in Deir el-Zour, Syria. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video)

This image made from amateur video released by the Shaam News Network and accessed Thursday, April 12, 2012, purports to show Syrians chanting slogans during a demonstration in Idlib, Syria. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video)

BBC -- 'Refugees Hope For Syria Peace'

In the video below, the BBC looks at cross-border violence and a processing camp for refugees from Syria. The clip includes an interview with a Free Syrian Army member ahead of the deadline for Kofi Annan's six-point plan.

Comments

[AskandThink]

07:44 PM on 04/17/2012

If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and waddles like a duck it is probably a duck thus Assad…. is a barbarian!

[ligligl]

07:13 PM on 04/15/2012

If I hear one more story about a hopeful deal made with Assad...

[Patriot1200]

07:04 PM on 04/15/2012

America stay away from this one. We need you home. Let Israel take care of this one

[AskandThink]

07:45 PM on 04/17/2012

That's not an America I would like to live in thank you.