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

alone by security forces. United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a statement saying Assad is about to lose
legitimacy. [59]
4 June Mass funerals were held in Hama and other cities. The death toll from Friday's protests risen to 72. Tanks were sent to Hama
in preparation for another siege on the city. [60] The Syrian government reportedly began using helicopter gunships on protesters,
[61][unreliable source?]
killing at least 10 in Rastan.
6 June Syrian state TV reported that 120 soldiers were killed in Jisr al-Shughour by what the news agency called "armed gangs"
launching an ambush. Residents claim that the soldiers were in reality executed by the Syrian army itself for refusing to fire on
protesters. Alleged video of the dead soldiers purport to show that they were manually executed by being shot in the back. [62] The
government also claimed 20 protesters were shot and killed by Israeli Defense Force soldiers in the Golan Heights during
demonstrations in the Israeli-occupied Syrian territory. [63][64][65]
10 June – "Friday of Tribes" and "Siege of Jisr ash-Shugur" Main article: Siege of Jisr ash-Shugur On 10 June, the Syrian Army
began military operations against the towns of Maarat al-Numan and Jisr ash-Shugur near the international border with Turkey. These
operations reportedly included the deployment of troops, tanks, artillery, and even attack helicopters. Refugees streamed out of the
towns in Idlib Governorate, with well over 2,000 fleeing into Turkey, Ankara and the United Nations claimed. Anti-government
activists in Idlib claimed 23 Syrians were killed, many of them by shelling and helicopter assault against Maarat al-Numan, which
was apparently a reprisal attack for the claimed deaths of officers days earlier. Amidst the violence in the northwest, demonstrators
rallied in Aleppo, [66] Latakia, and Damascus. Fifty student activists were reportedly detained in Aleppo, [66] nine protesters were shot in
Latakia, and at least four protesters were killed in Damascus, as well as two more protesters elsewhere in the country, according to
activists. The government claimed a police officer was killed in Damascus as well, but demonstrators said their protests were peaceful
and no member of Assad's security forces was harmed. [67] Britain and France prepared a UN resolution condemning the crackdown on
protesters in Syria. [68] Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan condemned the Syrian crackdown on protesters and said that the
Syrian army had committed atrocities. [69] A second child named Tamer al-Sharey, age 15, was claimed to have been tortured and
killed by Syrian police. Tamer al-Sharey was allegedly abducted by police, tortured, and killed, in a death similar to that of Hamza al-
Khateeb, aged 13. Video footage allegedly shows the body of the dead 15-year-old. [70]
13 June By 13 June, helicopter gunships and tanks breached the nearly empty town of Jisr ash-Shugur. Many residents left the city,
with many fleeing to Turkey. The Syrian army reportedly engaged in battle with some army defectors, some witnesses who spoke to
international press asserted, and conducted house-by-house arrests. Civilians were shot on sight, including a 16-year-old boy,
according to some witnesses. Other witnesses reported that many of the troops who came into Jisr ash-Shugur were Iranian, though
the Iranian government has repeatedly denied it is offering any military assistance to Syria to put down the uprising. [71][72] Soldiers
who refused to shoot at people, even if they just shot in the air, were allegedly executed. [73][74]
14 June The security branch of Jisr ash-Shugur largely defected, and the Syrian government decided to expand the siege and surround
the northern town of Maraat al-Numaan. [75] The Syrian army sent troops into Ariha, and shot dead six civilians. Another six civilians
also died in Deir Ezzor, when security forces shot the protesters there. The Syrian army was sent to Abu Kamal as well. [41] A
journalist who snuck into Daraa reported that the Syrian army has blocked off most of town, and will not allow any supplies to come
through. Consequently, Daraa is about to face a famine. 5000 residents there are being held in the local stadium, now used as a
detention facility. [76] For the first time, the Arab League condemned Syria's crackdown and repression. [77]
16 June As the protesting and the Syrian's army's siege on Deir-el Zour, Jisr ash-Shugur, and Daraa continued, the Syrian army
prepared to launch a siege at the Iraqi border town of al-Boukamal, the town of Khan Shaykoun, and the city of Maraat al-Numaan.
Much of Maraat al-Numaan's civilian population fled the city. [78] Rami Maklouf, Syrian's richest businessman and owner of Syriatel,
Syria's largest phone company, publicly resigned "to do charity work" and quit business life. Maklouf was a close confidant of
president Assad. [79] UN Chief Ban Ki Moon condemned the violent crackdown. [80] The Syrian opposition planned more protests for
Friday, in what they dubbed as Friday of Saleh al-Ali. Saleh al-Ali was a renowned Syrian Alawite who commanded the Syrian
rebellion against the French Mandate in the early 20th century. The opposition said it hoped to achieve Alawite support for the
protests. [81]
17 June – "Friday of Saleh al-Ali" Demonstrators claimed this Friday of protesting to be the largest one yet. Activists say 19 were
killed nationwide by,security forces, including the first death in Aleppo. Tens of thousands protested in Daraa, as well as in Deir al-
Zor, Homs, Kiswa, and Hama, as well as other cities. Tripoli, Lebanon, saw anti-Syrian regime demonstrations, where two people
died in a clash between Sunni's and Alawites. A total of 2000 people have been arrest in Jisr al-Shugur, and a reported 130 civilians
killed there. [82][83] Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the London-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, said five people were killed
in Homs after security forces fired at a crowd of around 5,000 people. The state news agency SANA said a member of the security
forces was killed and more than 30 were wounded by gunfire in Homs. [84] Abdel Rahman also reported of casualties in Banias after
"intense firing to disperse the demonstrations," and of hundreds of protesters in Suweida dispersed by Syrian forces wielding clubs.
He also said there were anti-regime demonstrations in Daraa province and Jableh, and two deaths in Harasta and two in Deir Ezzor.
SANA reported of rallies in several cities and towns including Hama and Deir Ezzor, and said that six members of the security forces
were wounded when gunmen attacked a recruitment centre in Deir Ezzor. [84] Other activists who reached Agence France Presse in
Nicosia by telephone reported that two people were killed in Dael in the Daraa province and one in Douma. Witnesses also told AFP
that a gunman killed a policeman and wounded at least four after he fired on a police station in Rikn al-Deen. In a separate incident,
SANA reported of three policemen wounded by gunfire in the Qabun neighbourhood of Damascus. [84] Activists also said there were
protests in Latakia and Maaret al-Nooman, and that 4,000 demonstrated in Qamishli and about 3,000 in Amuda. Abdullah al-Khalil, a
rights activist, said that 2,500 people demonstrated in Raqqa without intervention by security forces. [84]
18 June The Syrian Army stormed Bdama, just two kilometers from the Turkish border, and seized control of the town, making
several dozen arrests. Refugees claimed troops were shooting indiscriminately at residents of the town who stayed behind and
appeared on the streets. In response to the use of lethal force in security clampdowns both in Idlib Governorate and elsewhere in
Syria, demonstrators reportedly protested overnight in Albu Kamal, Deir al-Zor, Madaya, Homs, Hama, Latakia, and several districts
of Damascus in defiance of the ban. [85]
19 June Opposition activists established a "National Council" to "lead the Syrian revolution, comprising all communities and
representatives of national political forces inside and outside Syria," said their spokesmen, Jamil Saib, in a statement near the Turkish