Syrian Civil War 2011-2012 - Societa italiana di storia militare

• The Syrian Revolution 2011 االسد بشار ضد السورية الثورة Facebook page
• Timeline: Syria unrest, Ahram Online
• Syria Unrest collected coverage with live blog at Al Jazeera
• Timeline of the Syrian civil war (January–April 2011) collected news and commentary at The Guardian
• Live updates on Syria’s uprising at NOW Lebanon
• Syria protests (2011) collected coverage at The New York Times
• Syria Comment by Joshua Landis
(May–August 2011)
May 2011
1–2 May Protesters throughout Syria remained defiant despite intensifying arrests and attacks in Daraa and Douma. [3] The Syrian
military continued shelling homes in Daraa with tanks. [4] As the military siege on Daraa continued, Assad's security forces allegedly
killed 40 civilians elsewhere in the town of Tel Kalakh. By 2 May, 4,000 people crossed the border into Lebanon. [5]
4 May The deadly military siege on Daraa continued. Arrests intensified in Damascus, with large protests anticipated for Friday after
prayers. [6]
5 May – "Siege of Homs" Main article: Siege of Homs Dozens of tanks were sent to the Syrian city of Homs as part of the
crackdown. [7] Syrian army tanks raided Saqba and other suburbs of Damascus. [8] The Syrian Army pulled out of Daraa [9] By the end of
the day, the army prepared to seize control of Baniyas. [10] About 100 tanks and troop transports converged on the town of Al-Rastan,
after anti-regime protesters toppled a statue of the late Syrian president Hafez al-Assad and pledged to press ahead with their
revolution despite sweeping arrests by Bashar al-Assad's regime. [11]
6 May – "Friday of Challenge" On 6 May, after Friday noon prayers, demonstrators rose in cities and towns across Syria to protest
the regime, especially in the suburbs of Damascus, the smaller cities of Homs, Hama, and Baniyas, and in Syrian Kurdistan. Video
and audio of security forces responding, in some cases with lethal force, appeared online within an hour of protests beginning. Eleven
members of the Syrian army were allegedly killed by an armed group in Homs in an attack on a military checkpoint. [12] At least three
dead and 20 injured were reported in Homs alone, with a total of 16 dead between Homs and Hama, and opposition leaders Mouaz al-
Khatib and Riad Seif were detained allegedly by secret police. Tens of thousands reportedly marched in Damascus and its suburbs,
and about 7,000 protesters wearing funeral shrouds and carrying olive branches and flowers gathered in Baniyas, vowing to "meet the
army peacefully", according to Al Jazeera, whose Arabic-language channel broadcast live from the city for some minutes. Several
thousand Syrians participated in a protest march to the vicinity of Deraa, but security forces maintaining a siege of the city refused to
let them enter with supplies for its inhabitants. [13][14] Following this "Day of Defiance", Amnesty International reported that activists
Razan Zaitouneh, Wa’el Hammada, Haitham al-Maleh, Hind al-Labwani, Omar al-Labwani, Jwan Yousef Khorshid, Walid al-Bunni
and Suheir al-Atassi had been forced to go into hiding. [15]
7 May – "Siege of Baniyas" Main article: Siege of Baniyas The Syrian army began a siege of Baniyas, with at least 6 civilians dead
on 7 May, among them 4 women. [16]
8 May – "Siege of Tafas" On 8 May, a 12-year-old boy was killed during a government crackdown in Homs and a 10-year-old boy
was arrested, anti-government activists claimed. [17] The Syrian army began a siege on Tafas, near Daraa, and arrested at least 250
people there. [18]
9 May The Syrian army continued its house to house raid on Baniyas, Tafas, Homs. Arrests were ongoing in Damascus as well,
where gunfire was heard. [19]
10 May The Syrian army prepared a siege on Hama, as the siege on Baniyas, Tafas, and Homs, and Damascus continued. [20] The
European Union imposed sanctions on 13 government individuals including Maher al-Assad, Bashar's brother, who commands the
security brigades. [21] Kuwait will also replace Syria for bid on membership of the UN Human Rights Council due to Syria's oppression
of protesters. [22]
11 May In an escalation of the siege on Homs, tanks were sent in and began shelling buildings, with at least 5 killed. Secretary
general of the UN Ban Ki-moon demanded that the UN have access to Daraa. [23]
12 May Mass arrests were carried out in Aleppo against students who protested. The siege of Homs, Tafas, and Baniyas continued.
Tanks were sent towards Hama. [24] Dael, Jassem, and Al-Harah were also under siege by tanks and troops. [25]
13 May – "Friday of Free Women" Bashar Al-Assad reportedly ordered the Syrian army "not to shoot" at protesters ahead of
expected Friday protests. [25] Security forces have set up checkpoints and roadblocks all across Syria. Demonstrations first began in
Hama and Qamishli and Homs. Towns across the Kurdish northeast protested as Kurds have been intensifying their protests.
Thousands rallied in Daraa where security forces fired warning shots. Thousands rallied in Damascus, where police presence was
especially large, particularly in the Midan suburb, where thousands of officers were deployed to stop them from entering other parts
of Damascus. People tried to protest in Baniyas and Latakia, but were shot at with live ammunition. [26] Three people were shot killed
by security forces in Homs, 2 in Damascus, and 1 in Daraa. [27][28] Despite the intensified crackdown and massive police and army
presence, the strength and the amount of protesters in Damascus appeared to have only increased. [29]
14 May – "Siege of Talkalakh" Main article: Siege of Talkalakh The government continued to prevent food from being sent to
Daraa, in an effort to starve people into stopping their protests. [30] The army launched a siege on Talkalakh, killing four civilians and
sending hundreds to seek refugee in Lebanon. Protesting occurred in several cities, including Daraa. Funerals for slain protesters were
held in Damascus's suburbs. The Kurds protesting in the north have called on all opposition forces in and out of Syria to unite into one
party aiming at transferring Syria from a dictatorship to a democracy. [31]
16 May The Syrian army's siege across the country continued, especially in Talkalakh, where 7 civilians were killed by Syrian army
snipers when trying to cross the border into Lebanon. By this point 5,000 people had crossed the border intio Lebanon. International