Violence surges in Homs as the U.N. debates a resolution on Syria

Violence surges in Homs as the U.N. debates a resolution on Syria

Around 60 people have been killed in the restive city of Homs in the past two days in a brutal siege by Syrian security forces and shabbiha, militiamen, according to activists and residents. Residents claim the killings were along sectarian divides, referring to the situation as “racial cleansing.” Reports could not be confirmed, but video showed the bodies of women and children. Meanwhile the Free Syria Army has released a video of seven captured men alleged to be Iranian — five of whom are purported to be members of the Revolutionary Guards — heightening suspicions over Iranian and Hezbollah military support for Syrian regime forces. Also, the United Nations Security Council will hold a meeting today “behind closed doors” on a resolution drafted by Morroco on Syria. The resolution would reflect the Arab League proposal calling for President Bashar al-Assad to yield power to his deputy and develop a transitional unity government that would hold elections within two months. Russia and China vetoed a draft resolution in October that would have condemned the regime violence in Syria. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said this draft is also “unacceptable” maintaining that the document must rule out the use of force. Russia is believed to likely take issue with another point concerning the prevention of arms transfers. Representatives from the Arab League will meet with the Security Council on Saturday to gain support for its proposals on Syria as the group’s observer mission as been subject to great criticism.

Headlines  

• A suicide car bomber killed at least 31 people and injured 60 in Iraq at a funeral procession in a Shiite neighborhood in sectarian violence that has seen casualties double those of last January.
• Egypt is preventing six U.S. pro-democracy workers from leaving the country in further pressure on NGOs, prompting the Obama administration to threaten withholding military aid.
• At least 22 people died in the northern Yemeni province of Saada when Sunni Salafis attacked a group of Houthi rebels.
• The Muslim Brotherhood announced they will not field a candidate in Egypt’s presidential elections.
• The Iranian Parliament will meet Sunday to discuss proposed legislation that would immediately cut off oil exports to Europe in retaliation for the EU oil embargo on Iran.

Daily Snapshot

An Iraqi man reacts after a suicide bomber set off an explosives-packed car near a funeral procession in the predominately Shiite neighborhoud of Zafraniyah in Baghdad on January 27, 2012. At least 31 people were killed in the capital’s deadliest day in a month, amid a political crisis that has stoked tensions (ALI AL-SAADI/AFP/Getty Images).

Arguments & Analysis

‘Egypt’s NGO suspicion’ (Sheila Carapico, The National Interest)

“The polyglot, intellectual vanguard of the Tahrir uprising, are more aware than most Americans of the complex interplay of idealism and domination in colonial history, inconsistencies in Palestine and Iraq and endless contestation over “foreign funding of NGOs.” Eschewing outlandish conspiracy theories, many informed Arabs are convinced by the realist account of American foreign policy as a quest for hegemony over popular rule. And like any political scientist studying an infusion of resources into a competitive environment, they will tell you that the work of democracy promotion is inevitably political-and thus very often contentious.” 

‘Why we have a responsibility to protect Syria’ (Shadi Hamid, The Atlantic)

“There are a number of reasons why intervention, today, would be premature…But it may not be premature in a month or in two. The international community must begin considering a variety of military options — the establishment of “safe zones” seems the most plausible — and determine which enjoys the highest likelihood of causing more good than harm. This is now — after nearly a year of waiting and hoping — the right thing to do. It is also the responsible thing to do.” 

‘How the occupation became legal’ (Eyal Press, The New York Review of Books)

“Even before the 1967 Six-Day War…officers in the army’s legal corps drew up guidelines for a separate system of laws that could be applied to territory under IDF control, rules they were convinced could strike a balance between order and justice. But by the time the first Palestinian Intifada erupted in 1987, detention without trial and convictions based on secret evidence had become standard operating procedure in the military courts entrusted with this task.”