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

18 December Armed clashes erupted in Syria Sunday, killing at least 15 civilians and 6 Syrian soldiers, activists said. Isolated and
faced with a possible civil war, Syria appeared to be bending toward allowing Arab League observers in as a step toward ending the
conflict. [164]
19 December In a statement sent to AFP in Nicosia, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said between 60 and 70 army deserters
were gunned down as they abandoned their positions in the Idlib towns of Kansafra and Kafr Awid. The Observatory reported earlier
that security forces shot dead at least 6 civilians on Monday, even as Syria's regime agreed to allow Arab observers into the country to
monitor a deal to end a bloody protest crackdown. [165] According to locals, the reported death toll for the day rose to well over 100
with the killings of the army deserters, crackdowns throughout the country, and fighting between Syrian soldiers and Free Syrian
soldiers. [166]
20 December At least 100 Syrian army deserters were killed or wounded in clashes and 49 civilians killed Tuesday, a rights group
said, as Damascus faced new demands to halt its bloody crackdown on dissent. The Gulf Cooperation Council urged the Syrian
government to "immediately halt its killing machine, put an end to bloodshed, lift all signs of armed conflict and release prisoners, as
a first step towards implementing the protocol". [167][citation needed] The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 14 members of the
security forces were killed in southern Daraa province, where the protests broke out in mid-March. [168] Forces loyal to Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad killed 111 civilians in the northwestern province of Idlib, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
reported. [169]
21 December Syrian security forces were accused of massacring the entire village of Kfar Owaid, about 30 miles from the Turkish
border, with rockets, machine guns, tanks, and nail bombs. The Syrian army surrounded the unarmed villagers in the Budnaya Valley
after forcing them to flee their homes, activist groups and a witness said. The troops allegedly killed the more than 100 people trapped
inside in an attack that lasted for hours, in one of the deadliest single events of the uprising to date. [170][171] Under a new law, the
Syrian government said it would execute anyone smuggling weapons for the sake of committing "terrorist acts". According to Al
Jazeera, became clear that "army defectors have taken control over some towns and villages, almost as though they have created some
sort of safe area, where protesters from other regions were seeking a safe haven and where defectors were able to operate from". [172]
The Syrian official media reported that the army arrested tens of armed men and seized weapons in operations across the country. [173]
SANA reported that Assad supporters gathered in Damascus' Umayyad Square to honor the army and to watch the unveiling of a 7-
meter statue of a Syrian soldier. [174]
22 December Fresh raids and gunfire by government forces on Thursday killed at least 19 people, most of them in the central city of
Homs and northern Idlib province, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination
Committees. [175] The Syrian government updated the casualty figures of its soldiers to 2,000, as the Arab League prepared an agreed
observer mission into the country, amongst rising civilian, defector, and soldier deaths from ongoing clashes in the Zawiya mountains
near Idlib. [176]
23 December – "Friday of the Protocol of Death" Two car bombings in Damascus at security offices killed civilians and some
soldiers, leaving 44 dead and 163 wounded. Syrian officials said that Al Qaeda was suspected of carrying out the attack. A website,
which supposedly belonged to the Muslim Brotherhood, emerged claiming the attacks. It was later revealed that the website was fake
and made by the Syrian regime only one day before the bombings. Also, many members of the organization were interviewed on
several channels and denied any relation between them and the Damascus events. [177] Meanwhile, the opposition said the Syrian
government may have orchestrated the attacks to reinforce its narrative of a country beset by terrorist-related violence. [178] The
government of Lebanon had reportedly warned Damascus two days prior that Al Qaida infiltrated Syria from Arsal, Lebanon. [179]
Daily Friday protests occurred throughout Syria, most notably in Idlib, Homs, Qamishli, Hama, Damascus and its suburbs. As many
as 28 people were killed as Syrian security forces continued with its crackdown against protesters and dissents in the country, Al
Arabiya reported, citing Syrian activists. [180]
24 December Thousands rallied in support of Assad in Damascus at the funeral of the victims of the previous day's bombings,
blaming the attacks on the Syrian opposition and Qatar. Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby condemned the attacks in a
statement. [178] Meanwhile, Oil Minister Sufian Allaw said oil production in Syria had fallen by between 30 percent and 35 percent due
to foreign sanctions preventing exports. [181] Sudanese General Mohammed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi, the leader of a planned Arab
League observer mission, arrived in Damascus to meet with the Syrian government ahead of the mission's official start. [182]
25 December Burhan Ghalioun called for the Arab League and the United Nations Security Council to coordinate efforts to hold the
Syrian government accountable for the bloodshed. In the Homsi neighborhood of Baba Amr, at least 15 civilians were killed by
artillery bombardment, activists said. As many as 4,000 soldiers were reported to have surrounded the city. [183]
26 December Residents said at least 34 were killed in Homs, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights in London said four
died in Hama, two died in Idlib, one died in Daraa, and one more died in a suburb of Damascus as a result of security forces' actions,
for a total death toll of 42 throughout the country related to the uprising for the day. [184] Some Homs residents posted amateur video to
the Internet showing what appear to be army tanks moving through the city, firing on apartment buildings with machine guns and
mortar rounds, and mangled bodies and pools of blood, as well as ruined cars and power lines, in the streets of the city. At least one
resident reported seeing army ambulances carrying wounded soldiers, suggesting that militant elements of the Syrian opposition were
fighting back against the military crackdown in Homs. The Observatory also reported clashes and arrests in Aleppo. [185] Meanwhile,
50 Arab League monitors headed to Damascus as opposition members sought to downplay the mission, saying Syrian authorities were
likely to stymie its chances of uncovering the truth and block observers' access to some of the worst-hit parts of the country, and the
French government insisted on greater transparency. [186] The observers arrived in the Syrian capital after sundown, sources told
Reuters. [182]
27 December At least 11 tanks that had been shelling the neighbourhood of Baba Amr in Homs, according to residents and
opposition activists, reportedly withdrew ahead of Arab League monitors' visit to the city. [187] More than 2,000 Homsis turned out for
a sit-in protest awaiting the Arab League team's arrival, an activist said. [188] Al Jazeera reported thousands more marched in protest at
the funeral of a city resident killed the previous day. [189] The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the number of protesters in the
Khalidiyah neighbourhood at 20,000, while the Local Co-ordinating Committees said turnout there was closer to 35,000. [188] Over
70,000 [184] protesters reportedly converged on Clock Square in the center of the city, apparently after hearing Arab League monitors
were in the area, but an activist said security forces began firing tear gas and live ammunition and prevented them from occupying the
square. Elsewhere in Homs, including in besieged Baba Amr, the Observatory said gunfire, including volleys from snipers, impaired