Syrian government widens border crackdown

Some 12,000 Syrians have fled to refugee camps in Turkey

Uncertainty continues in Syria's border areas as the government's security forces widen their reach and thousands more are forced to flee from their homes.

 

On Saturday, 25th June, tanks moved into the village of Najia, after similar operations were carried out in Jisr al-Shughur on 12th June and Khirbet al-Joz on Thursday 23rd June.

 

Troops also moved into the village of Bdama on Saturday, which Reuters called a 'nerve centre', providing food and supplies to several thousand Syrians who have fled the besieged frontier towns, but have chosen to take shelter in fields on the Syrian side of the border, rather than cross into Turkey.

Umit Bektas, a Reuters photographer said he had seen armoured vehicles taking up positions on the Syrian hillside, apparently with the aim of preventing more Syrians from crossing the border.

It is believed that the government is carrying out a 'scorched earth' policy in the border region.

Some 12,000 Syrians have crossed into Turkey in recent weeks, and most are now residing in temporary refugee camps set up by the Turkish government.

The crackdown has been portrayed in a very different light by the Syrian government. The pro-government daily newspaper Al-Watan said of the attacks on Khirbet al-Joz, that the town was a "key crossing for armed groups from and to the Turkish" border. It said the army was 'now cleansing' the village of armed gangs, securing roads and protecting residents.

The State news agency SANA took a similar approach to the refugee question, saying families were returning from Turkey to Jisr Al-Shughur.

“Almost 730 people have returned…They had fled from the terror of the terrorist groups in the region,” it said.



There has been tension near Syria's borders with both Turkey and Lebanon



Violence is also occurring near the Lebanese borders, with activists saying people were forced to flee from the border towns of Al-Hit, Dweik and Quseir on Friday and Saturday.

At least five civilians were killed in Quseir on Saturday during house searches and funerals for anti-government protestors, killed during demonstrations on Friday. Quseir is located near the flashpoint city of Homs and only 15km from the Lebanese border.

The government of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has been hit by waves of protests since mid-March.

Sources: Al-Jazeera, BBC News, Dawn.com, Reuters

For more information, please see the Menas Borders website here.

Thousands flee Syrian violence to Turkey

Thousands of Syrians have crossed the border into Turkey, as the government crackdown in northern Syria continues.

More than 5,000 refugees have registered with officials, and are now staying in a three refugee camps in the border region.

It is believed that another 5,000 have entered the country unofficially, and hundreds more are massed at the border, assessing the situation, according to the BBC.

People fled after 15,000 soldiers moved into the town of Jisr al-Shughour, which lies 12 miles south of the Turkish border.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 189 people have been killed in Jisr al-Shughour in recent days, and critics say the government is carrying out a "scorched earth" policy.

 

The government says 120 security personnel were killed in the town last week by “armed gangs” and that the army operation is to find those responsible. Unofficial reports, however, suggest that the deaths were a result of a mutiny within the army, in response to orders to open fire against protestors.

 

The army reportedly seized Jisr al-Shughour on Sunday 12th June, and is now preparing to move on to the nearby town of Maarat al-Numan, where it says it is pursuing armed men who escaped the weekend offensive.

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an ally of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, has pledged to keep the border open.

“We will keep our doors open to all our Syrian brothers taking refuge in our country,” he said. “When deaths are getting heavy and our brothers are seeking this kind of refuge, it would be impossible for us to close our doors.”

Erdogan has previously described Assad as a good friend, and their families have vacationed together, but it appears that Erdogan is trying to distance himself from Assad. On 9th June, he called Syria's crackdown on anti-government protesters "inhumane", and said Turkey could support a UN Security Council resolution condemning the regime.

Syria has been hit by waves of protests since mid-March, and human rights groups reported that over 30 people were killed in nationwide protests on Friday 10th June, as thousands of people continue to defy official orders to stay off the streets.

The government crackdown on protestors has led to some 1,400 deaths, and the apparent army mutiny in Jisr al-Shughour has led some to fear that the country may be heading towards civil war.

 

Sources: BBC News, Bloomberg, The Atlantic Wire, The Telegraph

For more information, please see the Menas Borders website, here.

Palestinians clash with Israeli troops at borders

Clashes took place at the Maroun Al-Ras border between Lebanon and Israel

Israeli forces have fired on groups of protesters at borders with the Palestinian territories, Syria and Lebanon during clashes on Sunday 16th May.

Protests erupted in the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, as well as on Israel's sensitive northern borders, and resulted in Palestinians clashing with Israeli troops and police leaving at least 13 people dead and hundreds injured.

Demonstrators were marking “Nakba” or Catastrophe, the term for the 1948 war which saw the founding of the Israeli state as well as the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

 

Nearly 10,000 border police officers were stationed throughout the country in preparation for the day, however the clashes on its borders were largely unexpected, according to The Guardian.

 

Facebook and other social media outlets appear to have played a part in organising the demonstrations, which seem to have gained impetus from the uprisings in a number of countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

The clashes on Sunday are the first time that the protests of the so-called Arab Spring have been directed at Israel.

Every year Nakba is marked with demonstrations, and security forces in Israel expected larger numbers than usual in this first Nakba since the start of the protests which have swept the Arab world since January.

But never before have protesters marched on Israel's borders in all directions.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a televised address on Sunday in which he said he hoped “calm and quiet will quickly return, but let nobody be mistaken: we are determined to defend our borders and sovereignty.”

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also called for calm and urged all sides to show 'utmost reponsibility'. He called for a renewed effort to reach comprehensive peace in the region.

Clashes took place at four separate borders or crossing points, according to the BBC: on the Golan Heights, at the border with Lebanon, at Erz in Gaza and near Ramallah in the West Bank. Clashes also occurred within east Jerusalem.

Thousands of Palestinian refugees in Syria marched towards Majdal Shams, a village in the Golan Heights that Israel captured from Syria in 1967.

After the protesters "violently rioted" in the words of the Israeli military, its troops fired "selectively" on the group. At least two people were killed, although the real number may be as much as ten.

Resident reports suggest that some 200 protestors managed to cross into Israel, a rare incident at the usually tightly controlled border.

Israel accused Syria of provoking the confrontation to divert attention away from its own internal problems, and said the provocation was an attempt to exploit Palestinian nationalism in the wake of regional unrest. The Israeli military has also suggested Iranian involvement.

Syria was quick to condemn what it called Israel's “criminal activities”, and the foreign ministry called on the international community to hold Israel responsible for the deaths.

The confrontation could be seen as beneficial to the beleaguered Syrian regime of President Bashar Al-Assad in a number of ways. It will divert attention away from internal troubles by focussing on the external Israeli enemy.

It will also allow al-Assad to cast himself as the only person who can bring stability to Syria, and will suggest to Israel and the US that should al-Assad go, Israel could face a much more militant neighbour.

Lebanon's border town of Maroun al-Ras also saw Israeli troops firing upon stone-throwing protestors, leaving at least two dead.

Protestors, which had received support from Hezbollah according to the Guardian, broke through the Lebanese army's barricade, however they were eventually dispersed.

Dozens of buses had brought protesters to the area under the rally slogan of “March for the return to Palestine.” Many of the protesters came from the 12 crowded refugee camps in Lebanon where some 400,000 Palestinian refugees live.

Israel's internal borders also witnessed problems. At the Erez border crossing from Israel to Gaza, Israeli troops fired on protestors with machine guns, injuring at least 125. The Israeli military said it shot dead a man trying to plant a bomb near the border.

In the West Bank, clashes occurred after some 600 people marched from Ramallah towards the Qalandia checkpoint into Jerusalem. There were also reports of clashes in other areas of the West Bank, and soldiers dispersed groups of activists who were stoning Israel Defence Forces (IDF) positions in Ramallah itself.

Tensions were also high in east Jerusalem after a Palestinian youth was shot during a riot on Friday in the capital's Silwan neighbourhodd.

Milad Ayish, 17, died after being shot in the stomach, during a confrontation between police and masked Palestinian youths.

The clashes left dozens injured and 34 people were arrested for rioting. Youths threw stones at security personnel and at Jewish homes during the funeral procession for Ayish on Saturday, and tension remained high on Sunday, when more clashes took place.

Lebanon has filed a complaint with the UN about Israel's actions, while Israel has also complained to the body that Lebanon and Syria violated its international borders.

Sources: Associated Press, BBC News, The Guardian, Jerusalem Post

For more information, please see the Menas Borders website, here.