The BBC has been replete with reports on the situation in the Syrian town of Homs. However a Biased BBC reader suggests that we are not quite getting the full picture from the State Broadcaster;
“You will be aware of the BBC reporting on the Syrian government attacks on Homs and the killing of innocent civilians, however there seems to be no mention of the “freedom fighters” who are forcing civilians to remain in the town to act as human shields (just like the failure to report the use of civilians as shields in Gaza) nor of the wave of kidnappings that Christians in the town are now subject to (presumably from the same islamist “freedom fighters) see the information of this reported by the Barnabus Fund (extract below):
“The situation in the besieged city of Homs, Syria, is horrifying and becoming unbearable for Christians who are caught in the battleground. Many thousands are trapped in the city though others have managed to flee to the surrounding villages. Families are in desperate need of food and basics; prices have rocketed, supplies are running low, and it is often too dangerous to go out in search of food. More than 200 Christians have been killed, and the community has been beset by kidnappings. Two bombs were discovered in a church yard in Homs, although thankfully they did not explode. Christians were even blocked from leaving Homs by anti-government forces who were keeping them there as “human shields” in a bid to protect the areas they were controlling.”
Odd how the BBC seem to have missed this aspect, isn’t it? What with all that world class journalism, you might have thought someone would have thought the above worthy of comment? No?
As I have pointed out on this forum for years getting involved in these wars to overt turn the hard men is a big mistake.
Look at Libya, Iraq, Egypt and Afghanistan. Not one stable country out of the lot and Alky Ada is getting an ever bigger foothold.
At least when the strong men were in charge they kept things stable. Muslims don’t want or understand democracy, they don’t have the mentality for it. For them the Koran and a sword (or AK) is all they want.
If they can’t fight Jews or Christians they will fight each other. That won’t change,
I’m fed up with our press lying to us over these wars and cheerleading us into yet another conflict.
I’m not even sure I want I’m a dinner jacket gone, he might be barking mad but we could get far worse in Iran.
I just wish we’d left Saddam in charge of Iraq, we was a useful idiot.
At least Saddam’s Iraq was a secular country. Now it is a segragated bunch of Islamic theocratic feifdoms.
As I have pointed out on this forum for years getting involved in these wars to overt turn the hard men is a big mistake.
Look at Libya, Iraq, Egypt and Afghanistan. Not one stable country out of the lot and Alky Ada is getting an ever bigger foothold.
At least when the strong men were in charge they kept things stable. Muslims don’t want or understand democracy, they don’t have the mentality for it. For them the Koran and a sword (or AK) is all they want.
If they can’t fight Jews or Christians they will fight each other. That won’t change,
I’m fed up with our press lying to us over these wars and cheerleading us into yet another conflict.
I’m not even sure I want I’m a dinner jacket gone, he might be barking mad but we could get far worse in Iran.
I just wish we’d left Saddam in charge of Iraq, we was a useful idiot.
fAssad is fighting the MB. And not just any old MB, but the Syrian MB, that is far more vicious then any other brand of MB.
So what is the West, particularly USA, Britain and France, doing? They are planning to give arms and ammo to al-Qaeda/MB in Syria via Sunni Arabs in the region.
In the meantime
Barnabas Fund is launching a crisis appeal for Christians in Syria who are hungry and helpless amid the brutal fighting between government troops and rebels.
The key battleground of Homs is encircled by fighters from both sides, leaving the Christians there and in the surrounding villages – approximately 100,000 – in the firing line, many of them trapped in the city.
Barnabas Fund is providing urgent help for Christians in Syria. First orphans and now whole families are being evacuated, and are in desperate need of food and basics. Prices have rocketed, supplies are running low, and it is often too dangerous to go out in search of food. Even in some parts of the country not directly affected by violence, there is inflation of 30-50%, while in Homs itself some prices have tripled.
<b>More than 200 Christians have been killed, and the community has been beset by a series of kidnappings. The rebels make high ransom demands for the return of the captives, but in two known cases the victims’ bodies were found after the money had been paid. Some families are now becoming so desperate that they tell the kidnappers to kill their loved one immediately rather than subjecting them to torture. </b>
http://barnabasfund.org/UK/News/Latest-emergencies/Christians-in-Syria-need-your-help-today.
So there is torture as well. Why am I not surprised? Getting the ransom and yet murdering the kidnapped, was the standard MO in Iraq.
Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Christians have safe refuge in Syria after our “liberation” of Iraq. What will happen to a million Christians, Alawites, Druze and others if the Sunni MB take over? Where will they go?
Do not overlook the way the BBC regards Christianity, to be ignored at best and attacked when they get the least excuse.
For Islam Not BBC (INBBC):
Maronite patriarch: “Arab Spring” turning to winter
[Excerpt]:
“How can it be an Arab Spring when people are being killed every day? …They speak of Iraq and democracy, and one million Christians out of an original 1.5 million have fled Iraq.”
Also relegated by Islam-preferring INBBC:
“Syria: Armed mob attacks monastery for first time in anti-Assad revolt”
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/02/syria-armed-mob-attacks-monastery-for-first-time-in-anti-assad-revolt.html
I recall my old dad hearing a news report on trouble in some Arab nation and being moved to remark ‘…these people, they used to ride around on camels lopping each other’s heads off’.
Be thankful they don’t drink either.
They don’t need to. Apart from the widespread use of drugs, they are more irrational and hopped-up sober than most Westerners on alcohol or coke.
Too much for the BBC to tell us the results of any surveys about whether the Syrian people actaully WANT something other than Assad.
All seems a bit casual to me-and any Christian there would rather the devil he knows rather than some Muslim Brotherhood psycho fresh footed from the terrors of Egypt or Libya.
After seeing the low life scum destroying our war graves in Benghazi, a city which would have been destroyed last year but for our air campaign, the last thing I want to do now is get involved in Syria. They can kill each other to their hearts’ content, but one thing is sure, they all hate us.
Spot on Robin. Instead of smashing up grave stones (wow that’s tough of them) how come this retarded Muslim scum isn’t out fighting for their brothers in Syria?
Notice how Alky Ada etc don’t seem interested in coming to the aid of Muslims in Syria just as Alky Ada didn’t come to the aid of the Muslims in Benghazi either.
But they will move in once the ‘manly’ fighting has been done for them.
Muslims are basically cowards, they use children and women as shields and their way of fighting is to target the weak.
They can shove their Koran up their arses.
The BBC care nothing for Christians; their only concern is Islam and Muslims. The Muslims do not and are not ready for democracy or rational society. Just look at how they react when their precious book is accidently burnt. And we don’t react like this when they kick over and desecrate the graves of our sacred ward dead. Apart from the poor innocent women and children who we have a duty to help and send aid to I don’t care about Muslim uprisings as they hate us and our way of life. The BBC is promoting Islam at the expense of our Christian heritage and I for one will neber forget it.
There wasn’t much reporting coming out of Homs full stop. I expect you’re aware of the reasons.
I only spent a few minutes looking into this, but the extract on the Barnabus website is a bit different:
‘A senior Christian leader told Barnabas Fund that …people, including Christians, had been blocked from leaving Homs by anti-government forces. He said that the fighters wanted to keep them there as “human shields” in a bid to protect the areas they controlled from government troops. After negotiation, some, particularly women and children, were allowed to leave on Tuesday’.
So, it’s one unamed source, (we don’t know if he himself was among the group or he has heard it second-hand) , one incident, one group of disperate rebels. Oh, and they let the women and children go.
Any other reports I’ve seen are unconfirmed:
http://blogs.cbn.com/globallane/archive/2012/02/10/syrian-christians-under-seige.aspx
The BBC mentions claims that the Free Syrian Army used human shields here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17238220
Barnabus seem to be reporting fears that what happened in Iraq with the kidnappings of Christians might happen in Syria rather than there being any hard evidence that its happening, or that Christians in particular are a target.
The BBC have reported it here though:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16984219
The Barnabus Fund is concerned with Christians, but I guess you could say that ‘The situation in the besieged city of Homs, Syria, is horrifying and becoming unbearable for everyone caught in the battleground.’ That statement could apply to any resident of Homs, Christian or otherwise. A bit misleading I think.
But even if despite the above, so what? They would be rather minor parts of a much larger story, from a warzone with little reporting at all. To chose to read into that, that the BBC, across its many different newsrooms, and independent production companies, all decide not to report it because of a desire to bring about an Islamic Caliphate? As we say in Belfast David, ‘You’re not wise in the head’.
Bab Amr was a salafi stronghold dedicated to the violent overthrow of secular society….to deny this is nonsense whatever you think of Assad.
There are other reliable sources other than the BBC and this information comes through the Catholic networks.
Washington, D.C. (May 4, 2011) – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Christian communities in Syria have been threatened by Salafi protestors in recent weeks. While Christians desire peace, some have been intimidated by Salafis to either join protests demanding the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad or else flee the county. With the mass immigration of Christians from the Middle East, notably from Iraq, Lebanon, and the Palestinian territories, Salafis have threatened to push Christians out of Syria.
Last week in Duma, a suburb of Damascus, Salafis chanted, “Alawites to the grave and Christians to Beirut!” according to an ICC source and Tayyar.org, a Lebanese news agency. Christians in Syria are concerned that the agenda of many hard-line Islamists in Syria, including the Salafis, is to take over the government and kick Christians out of the country. “If Muslim Salafis gain political influence, they will make sure that there will be no trace of Christianity in Syria,” a Syrian Christian leader told ICC.
In a Christian village outside of Dara’a, in southern Syria, eye witnesses reported that twenty masked men on motorcycles opened fire on a Christian home while shouting malicious remarks against Christians in the street. According to another ICC source in Syria, churches received threatening letters during the Easter holidays telling them to join Salafi protestors or leave.
In Karak, a village near Dara’a, Salafis forced villagers to join anti-government protests and remove photos of President Assad from their homes. Witnesses reported that a young Muslim man who refused to remove a photo was found hanged on his front porch the next morning.
“People want to go out and peacefully ask for certain changes, but Muslim Salafi groups are sneaking in with their goal, which is not to make changes for the betterment of Syria, but to take over the country with their agenda,” said the Syrian Christian leader. “We want to improve life and rights in Syria under this president, but we do not want terrorism. Christians will be first to pay the price of terrorism. What Christians are asking for is the realization that when changes are happening, it should happen not under certain agendas or for certain people, but for the people of Syria in a peaceful way under the current government.”
Aidan Clay, ICC Regional Manager for the Middle East, said, “Unlike in Egypt, where Christians predominantly supported the revolution that removed President Hosni Mubarak from power, Syrian Christians have desired peace while demanding greater freedoms under the current government. Christians anticipate that only chaos and bloodshed will follow if Salafi demands are met. We urge the U.S. government to act wisely and carefully when developing policies that have deep political ramifications for Syria’s minorities by not indirectly supporting a foothold to be used by Salafis to carry out their radical agenda.”
Slightly tongue in cheek but Rod Liddle in this week’s Spectator asks why we’re not asking what proportion of Syrians actually support the rebellion. He implies that the political class (and the BBC audience) might well be very surprised by the answer. After all, Assad’s a scumbag alright but, there again, virtually all the leaders (actual and potential) in the whole Muslim world are scumbags
This is the Lebanon parallel to Bab Amr,; it took the Labanese weeks to sort out and finally they flattened it to destroy the system of booby traps and mines.
The salafi/takfiri have had weeks to set up their ‘defences’. This involves a complete take over of the suburb and its people subjected to the full force of jihadist discipline. Not a nice experience.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/sep/03/syria.lebanon