YES, WE have a Campbell Family Living in this Town in SYRIA, A mother
Father & Two sons ABT 20 Years old; Their Route, From Amhest county Va, to
TEXAS, To OKLA. To Cal. Married A Syrin & Returned to SYRA. lets Hope for the
Best. CUZ AT
A Sad & Dangerous situatian. LETS Hope for the BEST
A to think we have kin folks worrying the use of the word CUZ
CUZ AT
gs mark more unrest in Syria
By _Times-Dispatch Staff_ (
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/staff/38/)
Published: March 28, 2011
LATAKIA, Syria --
Gangs of young men, some armed with swords and hunting rifles, roamed
Sunday through the streets of a Syrian seaside city, closing alleys with
barricades and roughly questioning passers-by in streets scarred by days of
anti-government unrest.
The scenes in Latakia, a _Mediterranean_
(
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/topics/types/region/tags/mediterranean/) port once known
as a summer tourist
draw, were a remarkable display of anarchy in what had been one of the
Mideast's most tightly controlled countries.
_Syria_ (
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/topics/types/country/tags/syria/)
has been rocked by more than a week of demonstrations that began in the
drought-parched southern agricultural city of _Daraa_
(
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/topics/types/city/tags/daraa/) and exploded nationwide on
Friday,
with security forces opening fire on demonstrators in at least six places and
killing dozens.
The government has also tried to calm the situation with concessions, and
_President_
(
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/topics/types/position/tags/president/) _Bashar Assad_
(
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/topics/types/person/tags/bashar-assad/) is expected to
announce Tuesday that he is lifting a
nearly 50-year state of emergency and moving to annul other harsh restrictions
on civil liberties and political freedoms.
_Member of Parliament_
(
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/topics/types/position/tags/member-of-parlia...)
_Mohammed Habash_
(
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/topics/types/person/tags/mohammed-habash/) said lawmakers
discussed the
state of emergency during a Sunday night session and _Assad_
(
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/topics/types/person/tags/bashar-assad/) would make an
announcement about the issue on Tuesday. He offered no further details.
_Ammar Qurabi_
(
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/topics/types/person/tags/ammar-qurabi/) , an exile in
_Egypt_
(
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/topics/types/country/tags/egypt/) who heads _Syria's
National Organization for Human
Rights_
(
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/topics/types/organization/tags/syrias-natio...)
, said there appeared to be
divergent views within the Syrian leadership, with one branch that believes in a
crackdown and another that believes in dialogue.
He said _Assad_
(
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/topics/types/person/tags/bashar-assad/) must address the
people and show some transparency as quickly
as possible.
"People are asking themselves, 'Where is he? Why doesn't he make an
appearance?' " _Qurabi_
(
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/topics/types/person/tags/ammar-qurabi/) said.
"_Assad_
(
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/topics/types/person/tags/bashar-assad/) must choose
whether he wants to go the way of the
Moroccan _king_
(
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/topics/types/position/tags/king/) , who has pledged to
sponsor broad constitutional reforms, or the
Gadhafi way. Which is it going to be?"
A top adviser to _Assad_
(
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/topics/types/person/tags/bashar-assad/) offered the first
hint of reforms in an announcement
Thursday, saying the government had begun studying change to the emergency
law and other measures. That pledge did not stop protests from erupting in
cities across _Syria_
(
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/topics/types/country/tags/syria/) the following day.
Some of the worst violence appears to have taken place in Latakia, a
coastal city that is a mix of Sunnis living in its urban core and members of
Assad's minority Alawite branch of Shiite Islam in villages on its outskirts,
along with small minorities of Christians, ethnic Turks and other groups.
Few cars or people were on the streets and shops were closed on Sunday.
Soldiers patrolled in heavy numbers, stopping virtually anyone seen carrying a
bag. They pulled drivers to the side of the road.
Just before sundown, gangs of 10 to 15 young men began roaming the streets.
__._,_.___