Syria Live Blog - May 7

Syria Live Blog - May 7

Thousands continue to take to the streets across Syria, despite reform pledges by President Bashar al-Assad. Activists say hundreds have been killed by security forces. We bring you the latest news from various sources.

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Syria Spotlight

All times given are local (GMT+3)

• Timestamp: 

  11:53pm

  This blog is being wrapped up for now, but full coverage of developments in Syria can be found here.

• Timestamp: 

  11:38pm

  The UN General Assembly should strongly reject Syria's candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council, Human Rights Watch (HRW), the New York-based NGO, said in a statement today.
  
  Syria's attempt to join the council in the midst of its brutal crackdown on largely peaceful protests is a travesty, Human Rights Watch said.
   
  "It's outrageous that Syria can be condemned by the Human Rights Council one month and be an endorsed candidate in elections for that same body the next month," said Peggy Hicks, global advocacy director at HRW. "Every day that passes calls further into question the credibility of those who have supported Syria's candidacy."

  Human rights defenders in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa unequivocally have urged states to say no to Syria. Given the almost universal disdain for Syria's candidacy, the question remains why the Asian group continues to back Syria and to shut the door to other candidates.

• Timestamp: 

  9:34pm

  Dozens have staged demonstrations near the Syrian embassy in Amman, Jordan to express anger at events in neighbouring Syria, where mass demonstrations and security crackdowns have left hundreds dead.
• Timestamp: 

  9:30pm

  Click here to read a round-up of today's developments in Syria.

• Timestamp: 

  8:57pm

  Six people were killed as Syrian army troops raided the northern port of Baniyas, including four women protesters demanding the release of people who had been arrested, activists said.

  
  "150 residents of Baniyas had gathered on the highway between Baniyas and Latakia to ask for the release of those arrested in Marqab, where the women were from," an activist told the AFP news agency in Nicosia.

  "Members of the security forces asked them to leave and, when they refused to do so, they opened fire killing three of them and wounding five others who were hospitalised," he added.

  
  A fourth woman was also killed by the security forces, the activist said later.

  
  Another two people were killed and several others wounded in Baniyas, where the army has been carrying out a military operation since dawn, a spokesman for the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP by phone.

  "There are two killed and several wounded by intense gunfire but we don't know who fired," the spokesman said.
  

  The military confirmed it conducted an operation in Baniyas on Saturday.
  
  "Army units and security forces today pursued members of terrorist groups in and around Baniyas and neighbourhoods of (the southern flashpoint town of) Deraa to restore security and stability," said the military official.

  
  "They arrested people and seized a quantity of weapons that these groups have used to attack the army and citizens and scare people."
• Timestamp: 

  8:15pm

  In Syria, three women taking part in a pro-democracy march are reported to have been shot dead by Syrian forces near the city of Baniyas.

  
  The coastal city has become a flashpoint for anti-government protests in the country.

  
  Witnesses say tanks rolled in before dawn - and residents tried to stop them by forming human shields. The action comes just hours after thousands of people in cities and towns across the country turned out to protest.

  
  Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr has this report from Beirut.

  
  Severe reporting restrictions in Syria mean Al Jazeera cannot verify the content of the amateur footage included in this report.
  
   
• Timestamp: 

  7:23pm

  Amateur video, obtained by the Reuters news agency, uploaded to a social media website, purports to show Syrian security forces beating detained protesters and holding guns to their heads. 

  Reuters says it is unable to independently verify the content of the video. 

• Timestamp: 

  5:40pm

  A quick recap on today's developments in Syria:
  
  * Syrian forces raided the hotbed city of Baniyas and killed at least three protesters.
  
  * President Bashar al-Assad's opponents proposed he offer elections to end the crisis.
  
  * Dozens of tanks and armoured vehicles are entering Baniyas, on the northwestern Mediterranean coast, from three directions as electricity and communications were cut.
  
  * Tanks also encircled the nearby town of Baida.
  

  * The rights activists said residents of Baniyas formed human chains in a desperate bid to halt the military operation when it began around dawn.
  
  * Heavy gunfire was heard in Baniyas's south, a seaside sector of the city where most of the protesters live, while navy boats patrolled offshore, the activists said. 

• Timestamp: 

  5:10pm

  Syrian security forces have killed three women who were demonstrating on a road outside the city of Baniyas calling for the release of people who had been arrested, a human rights activist said.

  "150 residents of Baniyas had gathered on the highway between Baniyas and Latakia to ask for the release of those arrested in Marqab, where the women were from," the activist told the AFP news agency.

  "Members of the security forces asked them to leave and, when they refused to do so, they opened fire killing three of them and wounding five others who were hospitalised," he added.

  The military confirmed it conducted an operation in Baniyas.

  "Army units and security forces today pursued members of terrorist groups in and around Baniyas and neighbourhoods of [the southern flashpoint town of] Deraa to restore security and stability," said the military official.

  "They arrested people and seized a quantity of weapons that these groups have used to attack the army and citizens and scare people."
• Timestamp: 

  4:50pm

  Syrian security forces killed three women who were demonstrating on a road outside the city of Baniyas on Saturday, calling for the release of people who had been arrested, a human rights activist told the Reuters news agency.
• Timestamp: 

  4:25pm

  At least 30 buses with hundreds of security forces entered Deraa one hour ago, according to two Syrian opposition websites. 

• Timestamp: 

  4:00pm

  Government tanks are reported to have swept back into the Syrian coastal city of Baniyas - a flashpoint of anti-government protests.  

  
  Witnesses say troops rolled in before dawn and that residents tried to stop them by forming human shields. Communications to the city were cut on Friday night, and now it is shut off from the outside world.

  
  The move on Baniyas follows more nationwide protests on Friday that saw at least thirty people killed. 
  
  Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith reports on the latest from Syria:
  
   
• Timestamp: 

  2:28pm

  Syrian opposition figures called on president Bashar al-Assad to embrace democracy and hold elections within six months, saying he could transform the country and become a source of pride.

  Addressing Assad, The Syrian Revolution 2011 Facebook page said "The solution is simple: Stop shooting at demonstrators, allow peaceful demonstrations, remove all your photos and those of your father, release all political prisoners, allow political pluralism and free elections in six months."

  The page, a motor of anti-regime protests, said "you will be the pride of contemporary Syria if you can transform Syria from a dictatorship into a democracy. Syrians would be grateful for that, and it is possible to do". This is the first time that anyone in the opposition has offered such detailed proposals in seven weeks of protests in which hundreds have been killed in a violent crackdown.

• Timestamp: 

  1:32pm

  More footage emerges from yesterday's "day of defiance". This video, published by Sham News, an opposition outlet,  allegedly shows a protest in Damascus:
  
   

• Timestamp: 

  1:13pm

  The eastern part of Homs, Bab Tadmor, has also been surrounded by tanks, an eyewitness told Al Jazeera.

• Timestamp: 

  1:02pm

  Tanks have entered the coastal city of Baniyas, an eyewitness told Al Jazeera. He said that tanks entered the city from the southern entrance this morning.

  The eyewitness said that all shops are closed and people are hiding in their homes. "We are really scared that Baniyas will be a repeat of Deraa," he said. He also said that the secret police had labelled Baniyas Sheikh Anas Airout "a terrorist" planning to commit sabotage in the city. 

  "We are scared that this means that the secret police will commit sabotage and frame it on us or on 'armed gangs'," he said. Baniyas is home to one of Syria’s two oil refineries.

• Timestamp: 

  12:44pm

  US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released the following statement about the violence in Syria: 

  Violence in Syria

   I am deeply troubled that the Syrian government chooses to continue to use force and intimidation against the Syrian people.  The United States condemns in the strongest terms the Syrian government’s actions over the past five weeks and calls on it to immediately cease the killing, arrest, and harassment of protestors, activists, and journalists.  I am particularly troubled by ongoing reports of deaths of citizens at the hands of the Syrian government, including accounts today that at least 30 people were killed when Syrian security forces again opened fire on peaceful protestors throughout the country.  On behalf of the United States, I extend our sincerest condolences to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives.

  The Syrian people, like people everywhere, have the inherent right to exercise their universal freedoms, including peaceful assembly, expression, and speech.  The Syrian government must respond to the Syrian people’s call for change. It must realize that violence and intimidation will not answer their call. 

  The Syrian government's actions are neither those of a responsible government nor a credible member of the international community. We will continue to hold to account senior Syrian officials and others responsible for the reprehensible human rights abuses against the Syrian people. We welcome the European Union’s decision to join us in these efforts with similar steps.  We will also continue to work both unilaterally and with our international partners to determine the most effective next steps if the Syrian government chooses not to abandon its current  path.

• Timestamp: 

  11:19am

  All communications to Homs in northern Syria have been closed down according to activists. Landlines were switched off in Homs yesterday around 8pm and later at 11pm the mobile phone network and Internet was closed down, according to activists.

  All communication to the coastal city of Baniyas has also been closed down including landlines, mobile phone network and Internet.

• Timestamp: 

  10:55am

  More footage emerges from yesterday's "day of defiance". This video, published by Sham News, an opposition outlet, allegedly shows clashes between security forces and demonstrators in Baba Amr near Homs after Friday prayers:
  
  

• Timestamp: 

  9:01am

  Bahrain's foreign minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmad bin Mohammad Al Khalifa arrived in Damascus last night on an official visit to Syria. During the visit, the minister will convey a message from king Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain to president Assad pertaining to bilateral relations.

• Timestamp: 

  8:57am

  The focus of the government crackdown on protesters seems to have shifted from Deraa to Baniyas.

  All phone lines in Baniyas seem to have been cut. Residents have tried to protect their streets from Assad's security forces by setting up makeshift checkpoints and are trying to guard their rooftops from snipers.

• Timestamp: 

  8:25am

  Syrian army units stormed into the city of Baniyas with tanks overnight, attacking Sunni districts that had defied the autocratic rule of president Bashar al-Assad, a human rights campaigner said.

  The units entered the coastal city, a majority of whose residents are Sunni Muslims, from three directions, advancing into Sunni districts but not Alawite neighbourhoods, said the campaigner. Most communications with Baniyas have been cut but the campaigner was able to contact some residents, he said.

• Timestamp: 

  8:00am

  For more news and analysis on Syria, check out yesterday's live blog and our special Syria Spotlight page.