Syrian protesters 'forcibly disappeared' at rate of one every hour, say activists

[alp227]

Source: The Guardian

A sweep by government forces has seized one person every hour during the five-month Syrian uprising and detained them in secret, leaving their families no way to locate them, says a human rights group.

The group, Avaaz, claims 2,918 people have been "forcibly disappeared" since anti-government demonstrations began in Syria on 15 March. Most are accused of being involved in the rebellion that continues to undermine a regime long renowned as the Middle East's most formidable police state.

An additional 12,617 people also remain in detention; however their incarceration has been declared to family members. Tens of thousands more people have fled from towns and villages in northern Syria in the face of intensive military assaults that Damascus claims are ridding the area of criminals and collaborators.

The scale of the detentions in Syria has been compiled by a network of activists and researchers who have provided information to Avaaz. The group has gathered photos of many of the disappeared and is launching an awareness campaign today.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/28/syria-protesters-disappeared-avaaz

[Auntie Bush]

1. Did the Syrians learn this technique from the CIA or did we learn it from them? Which came first,

the chicken or the egg?

[KG]

2. when do we start bombing them?

[pampango]

3. Not to worry. Assad's tanks have nothing to worry about. The UN can't even write a nasty letter

to Assad since China and Russia veto any mention of it. The only high explosives being used are from the tanks aimed at civilians. We can all rest easy, I suppose.

[KG]

4. then, I guess we can't expect a daily cheerleading thread GD...

bummer... :P

[pampango]

5. Daily cheerleading thread...for Syrian civilians' resistance? That's a good idea.

A thread a day day might not keep Assad's tanks away, but it doesn't seem like too much in light of how long Syrians have kept their demonstrations going and growing in spite of the military crackdown.