Who is in Assad's inner circle?

He is surrounded by military and intelligence figures, most of whom are either related to the president or are members of his minority Alawite community.

Maher al-Assad, Republican Guard chief

Maher (left) is said to have helped persuade
Bashar (right) to put an end to talk of reform

The president's youngest brother is said to be Syria's second most powerful man. He heads the Republican Guard, the elite force which protects the regime from domestic threats and is the only one permitted to enter Damascus, and commands the fourth armoured division.

Born in 1967, Maher studied at the University of Damascus. He later followed his older brother Basil into the military. Some thought he might be named Hafez's successor after Basil's death in 1994, but he was too young and Bashar was chosen.

Before his promotion to general, Maher commanded a Republican Guard brigade. This provided him with valuable military experience and allowed him to establish personal ties with many officers.

In 2000, shortly after Bashar became president, Maher became a member of Baath Party's second highest body, the Central Committee.

He has a reputation for being excessively violent and emotionally unstable, and allegedly shot and wounded his brother-in-law, Asef Shawkat.

In 2000, Maher is reported to have helped persuade Bashar to put an end to the political openness seen during the first few months of his rule - the short-lived "Damascus Spring". Years of suppression followed.

Three years later, Israeli media said Maher had attended a series of informal meetings in Jordan with the director of Israel's foreign minister and two Israeli-Arab businessmen to discuss resuming peace talks.

In 2005, Maher and Shawkat were both mentioned in a preliminary report by UN investigators as one of the people who might have planned the assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri.

When mass pro-democracy protests began in the southern city of Deraa in March 2011, Maher's fourth armoured division - a successor to Rifaat al-Assad's Defence Brigades which is deployed on Syrian territory bordering the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and controls the capital's approaches - was sent in to crush them. Human rights activists say dozens of people have since been killed.

At one protest in Deraa, many shouted slogans denouncing Maher, including: "Maher you coward. Send your troops to liberate the Golan."

By late April, witnesses said the fourth division's tanks had cut off Deraa and were shelling residential areas, while troops were storming homes and rounding up people believed to have been taking part in the protests.

The US subsequently announced sanctions against Maher, saying the fourth division had "played a leading role in the Syrian regime's actions in Deraa". The EU also imposed sanctions on Maher, describing him as the "principal overseer of violence against demonstrators".

Rumours persist that Maher might challenge his brother's rule - much like his uncle Rifaat attempted to seize power from Hafez in 1983 - but there is no evidence that he has sufficient power to challenge his rule.

Asef Shawkat, deputy chief of staff of the armed forces

Gen Shawkat was considered one of the president's top security chiefs.

However, he was replaced in 2010 as head of Military Intelligence and made deputy chief-of-staff of the armed forces. Although he was also promoted, opposition figures said he was seen to have been at fault in the 2008 assassination of Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughniyeh in an area of Damascus that fell under his responsibility.

The US said Asef Shawkat was a fundamental
 contributor to Syria's policy to foment terrorism

The US said Asef Shawkat was a fundamental contributor to Syria's policy to foment terrorism
Analysts disagreed, however, saying there was no political significance and that preparations were in fact being made to appoint Gen Shawkat chief-of-staff of the armed forces or defence minister.

Born in 1950 to a middle-class Alawite family in Tartous, he studied law at Damascus University. He joined the army in the late 1970s.

He rose through the ranks, but his fortunes changed spectacularly in the mid-1990s when he married Hafez al-Assad's only daughter, Bushra - despite misgivings from within the Assad family because he was a divorced father-of-five who was 10 years her senior. They eloped after the death of Basil al-Assad, who had objected to the match.

After receiving the blessing of Hafez, he was welcomed into the family and built a close relationship with Bashar. Bushra reportedly nurtured the relationship through her influential role as the president's secretary.

Former Vice-President Abdul Halim Khaddam said Gen Shawkat was a "smart, cultivated, and courageous officer with great ambitions", who had established ties with intelligence chiefs and other powerbrokers.

But there were reports of friction with Bashar's younger brother, Maher, who is alleged to have shot him in the stomach in 1999. He was allegedly flown to Paris for treatment at a military hospital.

Gen Shawkat later became the de facto chief of military intelligence, a title he officially acquired in 2005.

After the 11 September 2001 attacks, Gen Shawkat was one of the president's main liaisons to intelligence agencies in the US and Europe and helped set up a US intelligence operation in Syria, which was later shut down after relations between the two countries soured.

In 2005, Maher and Shawkat were both mentioned in a preliminary report by UN investigators as one of the people who might have planned the assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri.

The next year, Gen Shawkat was named a Specially Designated National (SDN) by the US, allowing his assets to be frozen. It said he had "been a key architect of Syria's domination of Lebanon, as well as a fundamental contributor to Syria's long-standing policy to foment terrorism".

Rami Makhlouf

A first cousin of Bashar al-Assad, Mr Makhlouf is arguably the most powerful economic figure in Syria. He has been the subject of persistent accusations of corruption and cronyism, and analysts say no foreign companies can do business in Syria without his consent.

Rami Makhlouf insists his businesses are legitimate
 and provide employment for thousands of Syrians

Born in 1969, Mr Makhlouf took over the businesses built up by his father, Mohammed, the brother of Hafez al-Assad's wife, Anisa Makhlouf. After Bashar became president in 2000, Mr Makhlouf's financial empire expanded.

In 2001, he and the Egyptian telecommunications company, Orascom, were awarded one of Syria's two mobile phone operator licences. After a court dispute over control of Syriatel, Orascom was forced to sell its 25% stake.

When Riad Seif, an opposition MP, criticised the "irregularities" in the awarding of the phone licences, he was arrested and imprisoned.

In addition to Syriatel, Mr Makhlouf is believed to control two banks, free trade zones, duty free shops, a construction company, an airline, two TV channels, and imports luxury cars and tobacco. He also owns shares in and is vice-chairman of Cham Holding, considered Syria's largest private company, and has stakes in several oil and gas companies.

In 2008, the US treasury banned US firms and individuals from doing business with Mr Makhlouf, and froze his US-based assets. It accused him of "corrupt behaviour", "disadvantaging innocent Syrian businessmen and entrenching a regime that pursues oppressive and destabilising politics".

"Makhlouf has manipulated the Syrian judicial system and used Syrian intelligence officials to intimidate his business rivals. He employed these techniques when trying to acquire exclusive licenses to represent foreign companies in Syria and to obtain contract awards," a statement said.

"Despite President Assad's highly publicised anti-corruption campaigns, Makhlouf remains one of the primary centres of corruption in Syria."

The US imposed sanctions on Mr Makhlouf's younger brother, Hafez- a senior official in the General Security Directorate - in 2007 for his connection with efforts to reassert Syrian control over Lebanon.

Former Vice-President Abdul Halim Khaddam said in 2009 that Bashar's rule had been marked by "transforming corruption into an institution" headed by Mr Makhlouf. He said corruption, suppression of dissent, and economic hardship were pushing Syrians over the edge.

Two years later, anti-government protesters in Deraa initially directed their wrath at Mr Makhlouf, some chanting: "We'll say it clearly, Rami Makhlouf is robbing us". A branch of Syriatel in Deraa was set on fire.

Opposition websites later accused Mr Makhlouf of financing pro-government demonstrations both across Syria and abroad, by providing flags, meals and money for those participating.

In May 2011, the EU imposed sanctions against Mr Makhlouf, saying he was an "associate of Maher al-Assad" who "bankrolls the regime allowing violence against demonstrators".

The tycoon insists his businesses are legitimate and provide professional employment for thousands of Syrians.

Following the US sanctions announcement in 2007, he told the BBC that the designation was tantamount to "a medal we hang on our chest", and was part of a "political ploy aimed at undermining important individuals".

Abdul Fatah Qudsiya, head of Military Intelligence

Gen Qudsiya is the head of Military Intelligence, the paramount security agency in Syria, which has a reputation for ruthless efficiency and whose leaders have wielded considerable influence over presidents.

As well as strategic and tactical intelligence, the agency has a critical role of ensuring the leadership's physical security and the loyalty of the army.

Before replacing the president's brother-in-law Asef Shawkat sometime between 2005 and 2009, he was head of Air Force Intelligence.

Earlier in his career, Gen Qudsiya - an Alawite born in 1953 - served as head of the Republican Guard's security office, and as personal secretary to the president.

Gen Qudsiya was asked in 2008 to lead the security committee investigating the assassination of Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus. The committee notably did not include Gen Shawkat, who was criticised for failing to prevent the killing.

In May 2011, Gen Qudsiya was included in a list of Syrian officials subjected to EU sanctions for their roles in violence against protesters. Military Intelligence is said to have played a prominent role in the crackdown, firing on crowds of protesters and killing a large number of civilians.

The US also imposed sanctions on Gen Qudsiya later that month, accusing his agency of using force against and arresting demonstrators participating in the unrest.

Ali Mamluk, head of the General Security Directorate

Born in 1946, Lt Gen Mamluk is head of the General Security Directorate (State Security), which plays an important role in quelling internal dissent.

He has served in the post since 2005, during which he was involved in some of the most sensitive issues concerning Syria. Before that he was deputy head of Air Force Intelligence.

A leaked US classified diplomatic cable discussing whether to impose financial sanctions on Gen Mamluk in 2007 said he was well known for his "objectionable activities regarding Lebanon, and his suppressing Syrian civil society and the internal opposition". The embassy in Damascus said sanctions against Gen Mamluk would "resonate well" in the country.

Despite this, Gen Mamluk discussed efforts to increase co-operation between Washington and Damascus on terrorism issues at a surprise meeting with US diplomats in 2010, according to a leaked US classified cable. He said the GSD had been more successful at fighting terrorism in the region because "we are practical and not theoretical".

In April 2011, the US government imposed sanctions on Gen Mamluk, saying he had been responsible for human rights abuses, including through the use of violence against civilians.

His agency had repressed internal dissent, monitored individual citizens, and had been "involved in the Syrian regime's actions in Deraa, where protesters were killed by Syrian security services", it alleged.

The next month, the EU also imposed sanctions on Gen Mamluk, saying he had been involved in efforts to crush anti-government protesters.

A Sunni, he is said to be on good terms with all of Syria's intelligence agencies - the heads of Air Force Intelligence and the Political Security Directorate were once his assistants.

Jamil Hassan, head of Air Force Intelligence

Maj Gen Hassan replaced Abdul Fatah Qudsiya as head of Air Force Intelligence in 2009. Though smaller than Military Intelligence, AFI is seen by some as the elite agency of Syria's intelligence empire. The agency owes its power to Hafez al-Assad, who was air force chief before coming to power in a coup. It plays a leading role in operations against Islamist opposition groups, as well as covert actions abroad, and has a reputation for brutality.

Gen Hassan, an Alawite, previously served as a security official in the eastern governorate of Deir al-Zour.

In late April 2011, personnel from Air Force Intelligence fired tear gas and live ammunition to disperse crowds of demonstrators who took to the streets in Damascus and other cities after noon prayers, killing at least 43 people, according to the US.

The next month, the EU said Gen Hassan was "involved in the repression against the civilian population" during the recent anti-government unrest, and imposed a travel ban and asset freeze on him.

Mohammed Dib Zaitoun, head of the Political Security Directorate

Maj Gen Zaitoun, a Sunni born in 1951, is the head of the Political Security Directorate (PSD), according to the United States and European Union.

The civilian agency is responsible for monitoring organised political activity, including surveillance of registered parties and political publications. It also has a regional surveillance brief, covering Arab, Palestinian and Israeli affairs.

Before taking up his current post in 2009, Gen Zaitoun was deputy head of the General Security Directorate (GSD).

In 2008, he was asked - along with other members of the president's inner circle - to investigate the assassination of Hezbollah's Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus.

In May 2011, the EU accused Gen Zaitoun of involvement in violence against demonstrators, and announced a travel ban and asset freeze. The US also imposed sanctions on him later that month, accusing him of human rights abuses.

Zuhair Hamad, deputy head of the General Security Directorate

Maj Gen Hamad is deputy to Ali Mamluk, the head of the powerful General Security Directorate.

He previously led its Special Intelligence Unit, he was responsible for monitoring newspapers, television channels and websites covering Syria, and writing daily reports for high-ranking officials. Opposition sources said he often summoned journalists for "clarification" on their stories, and accused him of often resorting to blackmailing them to limit criticism of the regime.

Human rights activists say Gen Hamad played a major role in the campaign of arrests against opposition and independent figures which intensified in the months leading up to the recent anti-government unrest.

Some consider him a rising star within Syria's security agencies.

Hafez Makhlouf, head of General Security Directorate in Damascus

Col Makhlouf is head of the Damascus branch of the General Security Directorate, the overarching civilian intelligence service in Syria.

Born in 1971, he is a maternal cousin and childhood friend of President Bashar al-Assad, and the brother of Rami Makhlouf.

Col Makhlouf is perhaps best known for being one of the two survivors of the high-speed car crash in 1994 that killed the president's elder brother, Basil, who was being groomed to succeed their father, Hafez.

In 2007, the US treasury department designated him an individual "furthering the Syrian regime's efforts to undermine Lebanese democracy" and froze his assets. It alleged that he had "supported the reassertion of Syrian control or otherwise contributed to Syrian interference in Lebanon". Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon in April 2005 after a 29-year military presence.

In May 2011, the EU imposed sanctions on Col Makhlouf, saying he was "close to Maher al-Assad" had been "involved in violence against demonstrators" as head of the GSD's Damascus branch.

The US treasury department announced new sanctions against him later that month, saying he had been "given a leading role in responding to protests in Syria, and was heavily involved in the Syrian regime's actions in Deraa, where protesters were killed".

Opposition activists have said Col Makhlouf enjoys greater influence over the president than the head of the GSD, Ali Mamluk.

Mohammed Nasif Kheirbek, deputy vice-president for security affairs

Gen Kheirbek is a member of the Alawite Kalabiya tribe, to which Bashar al-Assad belongs. Their families are also connected by marriage - a relative is married to one of Rifaat al-Assad's daughters.

The general, who was born in 1937 and is reported to have medical problems, has long served the Syrian regime and remains an influential adviser to the president. He was a very close adviser to the late Hafez al-Assad before being appointed deputy director of the General Security Directorate (GSD) in 1999.

He served in the position until 2006, when he was named deputy vice-president for security affairs. The next year, the US froze his assets for "contributing to the government of Syria's problematic behaviour", which it said included support of international terrorism, the pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, and the undermining of efforts in Iraq.

A leaked US diplomatic cable described Gen Kheirbek as Syria's "point-man for its relationship with Iran". It said designating him could "heighten Syrian and regional concerns about the [government's] willingness to accommodate an expansionary Iranian agenda".

Hisham Ikhtiar, director of the National Security Bureau (NSB)

Born in 1941, Gen Ikhtiar is the head of the Baath Party Regional Command's National Security Bureau (NSB), which co-ordinates the work of Syria's intelligence agencies and formulates recommendations for the president. Between 2001 and 2005, he was in charge of the General Security Directorate.

In 2006, the US imposed financial sanctions on Gen Ikhtiar for "significantly contributing to the Syrian government's support for designated terrorist organisations", including Hezbollah. While at the GSD, Gen Ikhtiar directed activities that "significantly contributed to the Syrian government's military and security presence in Lebanon", it said. In 2007, he was included on a list of Syrians forbidden to enter US soil.

Gen Ikhtiar was reportedly charged with quelling the initial pro-democracy protests in Deraa. The brutal crackdown launched by the security services in the southern city helped trigger the recent nationwide unrest.

In May 2011, the US treasury department imposed sanctions on the National Security Bureau, saying it had directed Syrian security forces to use extreme force against demonstrators.

Dhu al-Himma Shalish, head of Presidential Security

Gen Shalish is Bashar's cousin and head of Presidential Security. He once owned SES International, which the US government alleged in 2005 was a "vehicle to put military goods into the hands" of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and his regime.

He and his brother Asef, who managed SES, acted as a "false end user" for Iraq, helping to procure defence-related goods for the Iraqi military before the US-led invasion, it added. SES allegedly provided exporters with end-user certificates indicating Syria was the final destination, and then shipped them illegally to Iraq. He was said to have provided close personal assistance to Saddam's oldest son, Uday.

Ali Habib Mahmoud, minister of defence

Gen Habib was appointed defence minister in 2009, replacing Hassan Ali Turkumani. He previously served as chief-of-staff of the armed forces and is a decorated war veteran - he fought in the 1973 October War against Israel and led forces against Israeli troops invading Lebanon in 1982.

He also participated in the Gulf War as part of the international coalition to liberate Kuwait from Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

Born in 1939 in the coastal town of Tartous, Gen Habib joined the army in 1959 and worked his way up through the ranks before becoming major-general in 1986 and lieutenant-general in 1998. Between 1994 and 2000 he served as a commander of the Special Forces. He is a member of the Baath Party's Central Committee, its second most important body.

Before becoming defence minister Gen Habib was not particularly well-known outside Syria and even now, his profile remains low. But, he is one of a number of former and current officers with significant power.

The extent of Gen Habib's role in crushing the recent anti-government protests is not clear, but the army has been sent to major centres of unrest, including Deraa, Homs and Baniyas. Soldiers have been accused of killing innocent civilians and using tanks to shell residential areas.

In May 2011, the US accused Gen Habib of human rights abuses, and announced a travel ban and asset freeze.

Rustum Ghazali, head of Military Intelligence in Damascus Countryside

Gen Ghazali is the head of the Damascus Countryside branch of Military Intelligence, according to the European Union.

Rustum Ghazali was tasked with protecting
Syrian interests in Lebanon between 2002 and 2005

Born in 1953, he was previously chief of Syrian Military Intelligence in Lebanon, and was in the post when Rafik Hariri was assassinated.

Gen Ghazali assumed command in 2002, and was the "implementing agent of Syrian policies in Lebanon" until the Syrian withdrawal in 2005, according to the US treasury department. It accused Gen Ghazali of manipulating Lebanese politics to ensure officials and public policy remained committed to Syria's goals and interests. He reportedly used his influence to ensure former President Emile Lahoud's term of office was renewed, while Lebanon's military chiefs allegedly reported to him.

After the withdrawal from Lebanon little was heard of him. However, at the beginning of the protests in the city of Deraa, Gen Ghazali was sent by Bashar al-Assad to assure locals of the president's good intentions. He reportedly told them: "We have released the children" - a reference to several teenagers who were arrested for writing anti-regime graffiti inspired by the events in Egypt and Tunisia.

In May 2011, the EU said Gen Ghazali was head of Military Intelligence in Damascus Countryside (Rif Dimashq) governorate, which borders Deraa governorate, and was involved in the repression of dissent in the region.

Manaf Tlas, Republican Guard commander

The son of Mustafa Tlas - who served as defence minister for 33 years until he retired in 2004, and was a powerful supporter of the president following Hafez al-Assad's death - is said to be one of the president's closest friends.

He is currently a brigadier-general in the elite Republican Guard and became a member of the ruling Baath Party's Central Committee in 2000.

He reportedly introduced the president to members of the Sunni Muslim merchant class in an apparent attempt to broaden his base of support. His brother, Firas, is a prominent businessman.

In 2005, he told the Washington Post that Syria needed reform, but cautioned: "You need time. You need years. There's a generation you have to push forward." He argued that President Assad was still the reformers' best hope. The opposition dismissed his comments as a lie.

Mr Tlas reportedly held unsuccesful talks with opposition leaders following the outbreak of anti-government unrest in March 2011.

Related articles

• Six Cronies who are accomplices to Assad ( The Guardian) (syrianetf.wordpress.com)
• In unending turmoil, Syria's Assad turns to family (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• In unending turmoil, Syria's Assad turns to family (foxnews.com)
• Factbox: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's inner circle (syrianetf.wordpress.com)
• Maher Assad: Profile of the Syrian president's feared brother (telegraph.co.uk)

Assad delays Hama crackdown - why?

The United States, Britain, France and Turkey are spearheading a plan to preserve Bashar Assad as Syrian president while cutting away his support system of relatives and political and military chiefs and replacing them with "moderate opposition" figures, say Washington and Middle East sources.

Assad is lending the move qualified cooperation. Last week, he let the first foreign correspondents into the country to report from Damascus and even interview opposition members – although never far from his minders. He has also allowed Western go-betweens to establish mechanisms for "national dialogue" with opponents and rebel representatives as a mark of his willingness to gradually pacify protest and begin the process of democratic reform.

This move accounts forAssad's privileged position in US public statements. US President Barack Obama and other US officials have never said he must go – like the Egyptian, Libyan and Tunisian leaders - notwithstanding his uniquely brutal crackdown on dissent at the cost of thousands of lives.

This policy found public expression for the first time on July 1 when US National Security Adviser Tom Donilon told CNN:  "Al Assad has made terrible mistakes and obviously abused his people, but increasing pressure from the United States and Syria's neighbors may be pushing al-Assad toward more representative, responsive government."

Military sources are less optimistic.  Profound mistrust on both sides raises huge obstacles in the path of this objective. Washington, London, Paris and Ankara suspect that the as-yet non-existent national dialogue will not stop Assad continuing to send tanks and live bullets against demonstrators. The Syrian leader suspects the West is using diplomacy to throw him off guard against Turkish military intervention backed by the United States.

He will not have missed the report Sunday, July 3 in Turkey's largest daily Huriyet. The article captioned "A Turkish Buffer Zone inside Syria," asks: "Could Turkish troops enter Syria without seeking Damascus' permission first, and set up shop there? You bet."

Military sources point out that Turkish units have been deployed on the Syrian border ready to cross at a moment's notice for more than two weeks.

The Syrian president's Iranian military and intelligence advisers explain to him that a Turkish buffer zone would not just be there to care for Syrian refugees; it would become a stronghold for Syrian politicians claiming to speak for the opposition. They would establish a transitional administration there on the same lines as the anti-Qaddafi Libyan rebel authority in Benghazi which has already gained the recognition of 17 governments.

Assad's Iranian advisers warn him that the US and Turkey are preparing to apply to North Syria the lessons drawn from the Libyan conflict.

Sources add that neither Washington nor Ankara were prepared for another obstacle to their plans for Syria. The 300,000 residents of Hama, unaware of the diplomatic balls in play, are standing firm, determined to forcibly resist any attempt by the Syrian army to occupy their city.

The Syria ruler has therefore deployed large units around Hama, which are gnawing at its outskirts, but avoided ordering them to go into the city center. He knows that this order will result in a bloodbath savage enough to halt the Western bid for dialogue in its tracks and end the respite it has given him. More Syrians would then head for the Turkish border in their tens of thousands, giving Ankara the pretext for sending Turkish troops streaming into northern Syria.

Once again, all parties are eyeing the coming Friday to watch the number of protesters turning out in Aleppo, Syria's second largest town and its commercial hub. A sizeable outbreak of protest there would give Assad's grip on power another hefty jolt.

Related articles

• Troops and tanks sweep into restive Syrian city (ctv.ca)
• Syrian Rebels: 'No Talks Till Crackdown Ends' (news.sky.com)
• Syrian president sacks governor (edition.cnn.com)

US and NATO military build up against Syria

USS George H.W. Bush

The US and NATO continue to pile up military assets in the Mediterranean and Turkey.

The huge USS George H.W. Bush carrier cruising in the central Mediterranean opposite Syrian shores has been joined by the USS Truxtun missile destroyer which departed the Israeli naval base in Haifa on June 17 and the USS Barry guided missile destroyer which sailed out of the Italian port of Gaeta on the same day.

USS Barry

Also that day, Turkey assumed command of the Standing NATO Maritime Group-2 Response Force in the Mediterranean.

In Paris, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin issued another warning against military intervention in Syria on the Libyan model.

 USS Truxtun

Monday, it was reported that some sources described Turkish military helicopters as infiltrating northern Syria on reconnaissance missions and NATO planning to fly extra troops from Spanish and Germany bases to the Izmir Air base in western Turkey.

Related articles

• Turkish Actions Designed To Trigger NATO Confrontation With Syria? by Rick Rozoff (dandelionsalad.wordpress.com)
• The Destabilization of Syria and the Broader Middle East War (wakeupbd.wordpress.com)
• NATO welcomes Russian plan to build a common missile defense center - Rasmussen (rt.com)

War against Assad soon

There are reports of war fever in and around Syria after Syrian President Bashar Assad's speech Monday, June 20, sparked riots by disappointed protesters in Damascus and Latakia.

Military sources checked reports from Cypriot aviation sources that Syria had closed its airspace to civilian traffic and found its skies were still open.

According to other sources, some Iranian, Turkish military helicopters are infiltrating northern Syria on reconnaissance missions.

Arab sources report NATO is planning to fly extra troops from Spanish and Germany bases to the Izmir Air base in western Turkey to expand the current number of 400.

Damascus accuses Turkey of seeking to seize Syrian territory on the pretext of providing a buffer zone for Syrian refugees.

Yazan Khalifeh

Turkey to send troops into Syria.

A new and dramatic turn in the Syrian crisis;: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Friday night, June 10, ordered his army to move into northern Syria where battles were blazing in Idlib, Maarat al-Numaan and Jisr al-Shuhour. Exclusive sources report that the prime minister's office and high command in Ankara are still working out how to define the Turkish military mission in Syria. One proposal is to evoke UN Security Council's 1973 resolution which mandated the NATO operation in Libya to protect civilian lives against Col. Qaddafi.

Turkey would be acting to defend Syrian civilians against a crackdown which Erdogan called barbaric.

Ankara decided on military intervention Friday night, two days before Turkey's general election, after learning about the latest turn in the showdown between the Syrian government and the opposition.

Most of the day's reporting focused on the small northern town of Jisr al-Shughour near the Turkish border, where tanks blasted residential areas Friday night and killed an estimated 28 civilians to punish its residents for the 120 officers and soldiers killed in clashes with protesters Monday, June 6.

Away from the limelight, heavy fighting also raged in Idlib, west of Syria's second largest town Aleppo, and Maarat al-Numaan, a small western market city located on the highway between Aleppo and Hama.

In these places, the Syrian army encountered the guns of a Muslim Brotherhood militia fighting alongside a group of defecting soldiers, according to our military sources.

In the late afternoon, Assad sent tanks and attack helicopters armed with heavy machine guns to strike rebel positions. The casualty toll in this northern battleground is believed to be the highest of any day since the start of the uprising in early April.

The Turkish expeditionary force in Syria will have three missions:

1.  To stem the swelling stream of Syrian refugees fleeing massacre at the hands of government forces. Ankara has accepted over 3,000 refugees from Jisr al-Shughour who are desperate to escape certain slaughter; it is not prepared to take on tens or possible hundreds of thousands of Syrians fleeing from larger towns like Idlib, Maarat al-Numaana and the Kurdish regions abutting the Turkish border.

2.  To mark out a military zone on the Syrian side of the border where the Red Crescent will set up camps for Syrian refugees to shelter under Turkish army protection;

3.  Next week, the Turkish army will establish a military buffer zone in the Kurdish region of northern Syria near its main town, Qamishli.

The Erdogan government will be taking the chance of Assad deciding that the Turkish military incursion is an act of war. Fighting would then break out between the two armies.

DEBKAfile

Assad paid Golan demonstrators $1,000 apiece

Syrian President Bashar Assad's security machine is creaking judging by its failure to raise thousands of Palestinian and Syrian volunteers to brave the Israeli troops manning the Golan Sunday, June 5 - three weeks after his success in staging the first mass border incursion.

Intelligence sources reveal that even the few hundred willing to turn out demanded a fee: $1,000 for every demonstrator who managed to cut a piece of razor wire from the Israeli border fence – and exorbitant fee in Syrian terms - and $10,000 for the families of volunteers shot by Israeli troops before they reached their goal.

Syrian state TV reported 20 killed and 277 injured in clashes with Israeli border troops - figures which are not reliably confirmed.

Assad's home front is sinking fast, which was why he tried to stage a piece of nation-cementing drama on the Israeli border. He hoped the Golan dead would outnumber the many hundreds killed in his three-month crackdown on the protest movement against his regime and is therefore likely to keep on trying.

Sunday alone, scores died in Syrian tank-backed attacks on protesters in northwest Syria who are now using live fire against his troops. Sources report that Syrian security agents captured by protesters were hanged in broad daylight from electricity poles on city high streets Sunday, June 5, causing troops and police to flee in panic.

"We are deeply troubled by events that took place earlier today in the Golan Heights resulting in injuries and the loss of life," the State Department said in a statement.
"We call for all sides to exercise restraint. Provocative actions like this should be avoided. Israel, like any sovereign nation, has a right to defend itself," the US statement added.

DEBKAfile

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad "should be tried"

Hamza al-Khatib's death has become a rallying point for anti-government protesters

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should face trial at a UN court over the "brutal" treatment of his people, Australia's foreign minister says.

Kevin Rudd said incidents such as the alleged torture and murder of a 13-year-old boy by security forces had robbed Mr Assad of any legitimacy.

President Assad invited the boy's family to meet him and promised an inquiry, state television said.

Activists say more than 1,000 people have died in weeks of protests.

The 13-year-old boy, Hamza al-Khatib, has become an icon of the anti-government uprising in Syria, says the BBC's Jim Muir.

Activists say he was detained by security forces and tortured to death, while the authorities insist he was shot dead during a demonstration.

Mr Rudd called it a "brutal act" and accused Mr Assad of taking "large-scale directed action" against his own people.

"I believe it is high time that the Security Council now consider a formal referral of President Assad to the International Criminal Court," said Mr Rudd.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the boy's death showed the regime was deaf to the voice of its people.

Assad tortures children

Hamza al-Khateeb used to love it when the rains came to his small corner of southern Syria, filling up the farmers' irrigation channels enough so that he and the other children could jump in and swim.

But the drought of the last few years had left the 13-year-old without the fun of his favourite pool.
Instead, he'd taken to raising homing pigeons, standing on the roof of his family's simple breeze-block home, craning his neck back to see the birds circling above the wide horizon of fields, where wheat and tomatoes were grown from the tough, scrubby soils.

Though not from a wealthy family himself, Hamza was always aware of others less fortunate than himself, said a cousin who spoke to Al Jazeera.

"He would often ask his parents for money to give to the poor. I remember once he wanted to give  someone 100 Syrian Pounds ($2), and his family said it was too much. But Hamza said, 'I have a bed and food while that guy has nothing.' And so he persuaded his parents to give the poor man the 100."

In the hands of President Bashar al-Assad's security forces, however, Hamza found no such compassion, his humanity degraded to nothing more than a lump of flesh to beat, burn, torture and defile, until the screaming stopped at last.

Arrested during a protest in Saida, 10km east of Daraa, on April 29, Hamza's body was returned to his family on Tuesday 24th May, horribly mutilated.

The child had spent nearly a month in the custody of Syrian security, and when they finally returned his corpse it bore the scars of brutal torture: Lacerations, bruises and burns to his feet, elbows, face and knees, consistent with the use of electric shock devices and of being whipped with cable, both techniques of torture documented by Human Rights Watch as being used in Syrian prisons during the bloody three-month crackdown on protestors.

Hamza's eyes were swollen and black and there were identical bullet wounds where he had apparently been shot through both arms, the bullets tearing a hole in his sides and lodging in his belly.

On Hamza's chest was a deep, dark burn mark. His neck was broken and his penis cut off.

"Where are the human rights committees? Where is the International Criminal Court?" asks the voice of the man inspecting Hamza's body on a video uploaded to YouTube.

"A month had passed by with his family not knowing where he was, or if or when he would be released. He was released to his family as a corpse. Upon examining his body, the signs of torture are very clear.

Everything wrong in Syria is caused by the Jews, honest Mr. President.

Syria has condemned the imposition of sanctions on its president by the United States as being "part of a regional scheme, aimed primarily at serving Israel's interests", state media reports.

The Syrian government said that the sanctions "have not and will not" affect any of its decisions, nor would it affect Syria's stand on regional and international politics, the SANA news agency reported on Thursday.

The United States imposed sanctions a day earlier on Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, and six senior officials, citing alleged human rights abuses committed during a government crackdown on pro-democracy protests across the country.

Syria has termed the move an attempt to "prolong the crisis in Syria" on the part of the United States.
"The US measures are part of a series of sanctions imposed by successive US administrations against the Syrian people as part of a regional scheme, aimed primarily at serving Israel's interests," SANA said.
The White House announced the sanctions on Wednesday, a day before Barack Obama, the US president,  was to deliver a major speech on the uprisings throughout the Arab world.

The sanctions are part of "an effort to increase pressure on the government of Syria to end its violence against its people and begin transitioning to a democratic system", a US official told the AFP news agency on the condition of anonymity.

In a letter to congressional leaders, Obama said he issued the new sanctions order as a response to the Syrian government's "continuous escalation of violence against the people of Syria".

Obama cited "attacks on protesters, arrests and harassment of protesters and political activists, and repression of democratic change, overseen and executed by numerous elements of the Syrian government".
The sanctions will freeze any assets Assad and the six Syrian government officials have in US jurisdiction and make it illegal for Americans to do business with them.

The six officials are: vice-president Faruq al-Shara, prime minister Adel Safar, interior minister Mohammed Ibrahim al-Shaar, defence minister Ali Habib Mahmud, military intelligence chief Abdul Fatah Qudsiya and director of the political security directorate, Mohammed Dib Zaitoun

Dorothy Parvaz: Inside Syria's secret prisons

Dorothy Parvez, a reporter from Al Jazeera, who was imprisoned in Syria, later deported to Iran, was finally released on Wednesday 18 May 2011. She has published this rapport of her experience:


I was standing in two fist-sized pools of smeared, sticky blood, trying to sort out why there were seven angry Syrians yelling at me. Only one of them - who I came to know as Mr Shut Up during my three days in a detention center, where so many Syrians 'disappeared' are being kept - spoke English.

Watching them searching my bags, and observing the set of handcuffs hanging from the bunk bed wedged behind the desk in the middle of the room, I guessed that I was being arrested - or, at the very least, processed for detention.

"Why are doing this?" I asked.
"Shut up! SHUT UP!" said Mr Shut Up.

I'd arrived there moments before, dragged by a handful of hair from a car where I'd been wedged between two armed men. They'd tried to convince me that they were taking me to my hotel, but, of course, I knew that there was no way plain-clothed security personnel would be kind enough to escort me to my accommodatioI did, however, manage to resist being forced to wear a blindfold, figuring that if they were going to shoot me, they really didn't need a reason to do so.

After about 20 minutes, we pulled off the highway and through two checkpoints. By this point, the rather handsy security guard to my left had pulled my scarf over my eyes.

Armed guards opened a gate to what seemed like a military compound, filled with dozens of men, all plain-clothed, lurking in an atmosphere suited only to cracking skulls - so heightened was the sense of impending violence.

Welcome to mini-Guantanamo; perhaps one of many in Syria where protesters and bystanders alike have been swept up in the wide net cast by an increasingly paranoid government since the start of anti-government protests several weeks ago.

I'd ended up there because a scan of my luggage had revealed that I had a satellite phone and an internet hub with me - the commercially available type, nothing special, and just the sort of thing one might need while travelling in a country with spotty communications.

Still, if that was deemed suspicious, then my American passport, complete with its Al Jazeera-sponsored visa, sealed the deal. The agents couldn't seem to agree what I was, or which was worse: an American spy for Israel, or an Al Jazeera reporter – both were pretty much on a par.

Blindfolded, I was led to the first of my three cells - a tiny, sparse room, roughly three paces across and five length-wise. On the floor, on a ratty brown blanket, sat a young woman whose face was puffy from crying. She said she was 25 and from Damascus and indicated that she had been there for four days. She didn't know why she'd been picked up by the Mukhabarat, the Syrian intelligence service.

She said she was a shop assistant in a clothes store, and the designer stilettos that sat in the corner of the cell seemed to belie any suggestion that this was a girl who had left her house in order to participate in protests. She said she'd been speaking on her phone when she was hauled into a car, blindfolded and driven away.
She had no idea where she was, or how long she was to stay there. She had not been allowed to contact her family.

Our eyes moved to the month-long calendar etched on the wall, likely the artwork of a previous dweller. With unspoken glances, we each wondered how long she would remain there.

A man came to the door a couple of times before he took me from the cell, handcuffed and blindfolded me, and led me to what seemed like a courtyard.

He pushed me up against a wall and told me to stand there. As I did so, I heard two sets of interrogations and beatings taking place, about 10 meters away from me in either direction.

The beatings were savage, the words uttered by those beaten only hoarse cries – "Wallahi! Wahalli!" ("I swear to God! I swear to God!") or simply, "La! La!" ("No! No!").

I stood there for what seemed like an eternity, before someone approached me.

"Who do you work for?" he hissed.
"Al Jazeera. Online."
"Are you alone?"
"So alone."

I was taken to a second cell, this one, with smears of blood on the wall. I found what looked like a bloodless corner and perched until called upon again – at around midnight.

I was again handcuffed, but this time, before the blindfolds went on, I caught sight of a young man, no more than 20, chained to a radiator outside the hallway. He had a legal pad on his knees, was blindfolded, and was quivering so fiercely he could hardly hold the pen with which he was probably meant to ink some sort of confession.

Meanwhile, the beatings and cries outside continued.

I was taken through a labyrinth of stairs, before entering an office where my interrogator awaited me. I managed to talk him into allowing the blindfolds to be removed.

The man - let's call him 'Firass' - was slightly portly and could be affable when he wanted to be (he seemed concerned that there were women being kept at the facility, and tried to make things comfortable for me).
Firass even apologised for the fact that our "formal interview" was taking place in a room containing a bed, crates of potatoes and a refrigerator.

"It's just that we’re so busy these days," he said.
I wanted to ask why the Mukhabarat would be so busy if such a tiny minority was causing problems, but it didn't seem like a prudent moment.

Firass spoke very good English and, at first, seemed convinced that I was a spy.
Then he focused on Al Jazeera, putting the network on the same level as Human Rights Watch. The network had been making a "big problem" for Syria with the UN Security Council, he said.

After four hours of questioning, he sent me to a different room, this one a long-disused office where a terrified teenage girl was sleeping on the couch.

The next morning, my new roommate and I tried to get acquainted, without sharing too many details, as we had been forbidden to do so. She too had been plucked from the streets of a Damascus suburb for reasons she couldn’t understand.

She'd been there for eight days when I met her, and she looked ill. The food we were given three times a day - fetid, random and at times, rotting - mostly had the effect of making her vomit, but she was too hungry to stop eating all together.

There was a doctor on site, parked next to a sign that read "Assad is Boss", but the girl seemed too frightened to see the doctor - no wonder.

Most of the our days were spent listening to the sounds of young men being brutally interrogated – sometimes tied up in stress positions until it sounded like their bones were cracking, as we saw from our bathroom window (a bathroom with no running water, except for one tap in a sink filled with roughly 10 cm of sewage).

One afternoon, the beating we heard was so severe that we could clearly hear the interrogator pummelling his boots and fists into his subject, almost in a trance, yelling questions or accusations rhythmically as the blows landed in what sounded like the prisoner's midriff.

My roommate shook and wept, reminding me (or perhaps herself) that they didn't beat women here.
There was a brief break before the beating resumed, and my first impulse was to cover my ears, but then I thought, "If this man is crying, shouldn’t someone hear him?"

After all, judging from the sound of passing traffic and from what I could see through our window, there were no homes nearby – just a highway, a sprawling old security compound, and  what appeared to be an old prison; a few official buildings that had seen better days. That's all I could see from our cell.

When one of the Mukhabarat agents came in, my teenage cellmate proceeded to beg him to allow her to use her mobile phone to call her parents, which, of course, was not going to happen.

She asked about the beatings we'd heard outside, and was told that the men being punished were murderers who had shot people in Deraa.

Later, Mr Shut Up came and took my roommate away for interrogation, which made me worry. She returned an hour later, with no apparent resolution to her problem. She still looked out the window and cried, worrying about her parents, wondering if or when she'd see them again.

I couldn't help but wonder: what sort of threat does this girl pose to the Syrian state that they have to keep her in this rotting room? What are they so afraid of?

After three days, Firass told me I was free to return to Qatar – something for which I was very grateful.
He even took me to his boss's office – again, remember, no one has any names here – where I was given a lecture on Al Jazeera’s coverage of the troubles in Syria, mostly focusing on how a tiny, tiny minority was causing a problem for an essentially happy majority.

On my way out of the compound, I was finally allowed to see it for what it was – a shabby set of offices and cellblocks with pictures of Bashar al-Assad, Syria's president, framed in the sort of metallic stands that might promote two-for-one-drinks offers at the theatre, placed every few metres. The effect was farcical.


I was taken to the airport, but I was certainly not allowed to return to Qatar. Instead, I was dragged, kicking and screaming, onto a flight bound for Tehran (I'd entered Syria with an Iranian passport). Call it a strange brand of extraordinary rendition, if you will.

The Syrian authorities had alleged to the Iranians that I was a spy – a charge that can carry a death penalty in Iran.

Fortunately, in my case, the facts were borne out. After a couple of weeks of interrogations, the investigator charged with my case determined that I was not a spy, but a journalist.

On Wednesday, without drama or incident, I was released and put on a dawn flight from Tehran to Doha – it was a simple matter of a judge's approval.

Although I have written critically of some of Iran's policies, I was treated with respect, courtesy and care thoughout my detention there.

My room was spotless, my interrogator flawlessly polite, and the women who looked after me at the Evin Prison Women's Detention Centre saw to it that my every need was met – especially the sleeping pills I required, because every night, without fail, I would hear the cries of men screaming "Wallahi! Wallahi!" and wonder how their wounds will every heal.

Supposed voice of Assad says Oops

Remarks presented as coming from Syria's president said the country's security forces have made mistakes during the uprising against his regime, blaming poorly trained police officers at least in part for a crackdown that has killed more than 850 people over the past two months.

President Bashar Assad's comments, carried Wednesday in the private Al-Watan newspaper, came even as a human rights activist said Wednesday that Syrian troops have used heavy machine guns to attack a neighborhood in the central city of Homs.

Still, his remarks were a rare acknowledgment of shortcomings within Syria's powerful security agencies. Assad said thousands of police officers were receiving new training.

The brutal crackdown across Syria has sparked international condemnation, and the United States and European Union are planning new sanctions against the Syrian leadership. More than 850 people have been killed in the crackdown on protests that erupted in mid-March, according to Syria's top rights organization.

The Swiss government on Wednesday passed a measure restricting arms sales to Syria and freezing the assets and banning the travel to Switzerland of 13 senior Syrian officials. The arms embargo is largely theoretical because Switzerland hasn't exported weapons to Syria in over a decade, but any Swiss banks holding assets of the 13 officials will have to declare them immediately to the government.

But Assad got a boost from an old ally Wednesday, with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev saying Moscow will not support any United Nations resolutions that would open the way for interference in Syria's internal affairs.

General strike in Syria

Syrian protesters have called for a one-day nationwide general strike, urging students to skip school and workers to bring commerce to a halt in a new strategy of defiance against government crackdowns that appear to be becoming more brutal and bloody.

The strike, planned for Wednesday, marks a shift by opposition forces to strike at President Bashar Assad's regime from new angles: its economic underpinnings and ability to keep the country running during two months of widening battles.

A sweeping popular acceptance of the strike call would be an embarrassing blow to Assad and show support for the uprising in places, such as central Damascus, where significant protests have yet to take hold and security forces have choked off the few that have taken place.

"It will be a day of punishment for the regime from the free revolutionaries ... Massive protests, no schools, no universities, no stores or restaurants and even no taxis. Nothing," a statement posted on the main Facebook page of the Syrian Revolution 2011 said.

The strike call came as the United States and European Union planned new sanctions against the Syrian leadership.

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, warned on Tuesday of more pressure on Syria if the crackdown against pro-democracy protests continues.

Clinton said that both the European Union and the United States - which have already slapped sanctions on a number of senior Syrian officials but not on president al-Assad - were planning more steps.

"We will be taking additional steps in the days ahead," Clinton said, saying she agreed with Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief, who told reporters that the time for Syria to make changes was now.
Meanwhile, watchdog groups and Syrians fleeing into neighboring Lebanon added to the accounts of violence.

A Syrian rights activist, Mustafa Osso, said government agents chased and beat students taking part in a protest against Assad's regime at a university in Aleppo, Syria's second-largest largest city.

Security officials in Lebanon said at least 170 people entered the country Tuesday, including a 2-year-old girl with a shrapnel wound in her chest.

A pro-democracy activist in the central city of Homs expressed support for the nationwide strike, calling it "the only way to hurt the regime without putting people's lives at risk".

Yet the activist, speaking by phone to The Associated Press news agency, doubted the response would be big.

"The majority of businessmen and merchants are either supportive of the regime or fear for the businesses. They have too much to lose," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Obama to spank Assad: Assad to throw toys at Israel

Washington sources report exclusively that President Barack Obama has finally resolved to stamp down hard on Syrian President Bashar Assad in person as the man responsible for the inhuman Syrian crackdown on protest against his regime and the massacre of hundreds of dissenters.

Before his much-awaited speech on US relations with Middle East Muslim nations Thursday, May 19, Obama is preparing to impose sanctions on the Syrian president.  The White House is working on the final text of the announcement but has already decided to recall the newly-appointed US Ambassador to Damascus Robert Ford for consultations.

An American ambassador was last recalled from Damascus in 2005. It took five years for Obama to appoint Robert Ford to the post in late 2010.

The administration has also decided to authorize the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna to report to the UN Security Council that Syria was building a plutonium reactor for military purposes at Deir A-Zour, which it was bombed by Israeli in September 2007. Damascus has refused to cooperate with the nuclear watchdog in making the site available for inspection. The IAEA is therefore urged to seek the same Security Council for Syria as those imposed on Iran for its nuclear activities.

Barack Obama was finally convinced that Assad must be stopped without delay by the horrifying discovery of five hastily-dug dug mass graves near the protest center of Daraa in southern Syria. They containing scores of bodies of men, women and children shot in the head. This raised the civilian death told from Assad's savage three-month crackdown on dissent well past 1,000.

It is taken into account, DEBKAfile's military sources report that tough American measures targeting Assad will bring forth heightened Syrian-Israeli border tensions, potentially in the form of a limited Syrian military strike into Israel or Lebanon or both. Indeed his cousin Rami Makhlouf threatened that instability in Syria would cause instability in Israel.

The expectation of trouble to come was strengthened by the information reaching Washington that Syrian military intelligence and Ahmed Jibril's PFL-General Command had organized the forcible crossing of the Israeli border on the Palestinian Nakba (Catastrophe) Day, Sunday, May 15, of thousands of Palestinians streaming out of the camps in which they are held near Damascus. The operation was also synchronized with the Lebanese Hizballah.

According to this information, Syria and the PFL-GC are planning another mass incursion in the same format for June 5, the 44th anniversary of the 1967 War, when Syria lost part of the Golan after attacking Israel.