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

the free movement of residents. [188] Although General Dabi, the leader of the observer team, said the day proceeded well and "all sides
were very responsive", amateur video footage posted on the Internet appeared to show anti-government Homsis unsuccessfully
pleading with monitors to travel further into the Baba Amr neighbourhood, where extensive violence had been reported. [184] Avaaz
claimed similar scenes of civil protest and regime violence in Hama, where thousands of demonstrators marching to al-Assi Square in
the city centre were scattered by troops firing live ammunition, according to activists. Thirty-three deaths were reported in total
throughout Syria by the LCC, including 13 in Homs, four in Daraa, four near Damascus, three at Damascus University, three in
Hama, three in Idlib, two in Deir ez-Zor, and one in Latakia. The incident at Damascus University occurred when, the Observatory
claimed, a student recently detained and tortured by the regime opened fire on fellow students who vocally supported Assad. The
Syrian Arab News Agency reported on the school shooting, but made no mention of any political motivation on the shooter's part.
SANA also claimed a terrorist attack shut down a natural gas pumping operation in Homs Governorate. [188]
28 December At least 13 people were killed in fresh violence across Syria, activists said, as Arab League observers continued their
mission. Six of the dead were reportedly killed while protesting in Hama. Local rights groups say others were killed in Homs, Aleppo,
and Idlib. Video shared by activists from the protest in Hama showed gunshots being fired and black smoke rising above the city.
Dozens of men were marching through the streets, chanting "Where are the Arab monitors?" In Deraa, army defectors killed at least
four Syrian soldiers in an ambush. [190]
29 December Protesters demanded the removal of Mustafa Dabi as leader of the Arab League monitoring team as observers visited
Hama, where six more people were killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Al Jazeera reported that an
anonymous official with the observing mission in Syria had said monitors had witnessed shelling in Homs and it was apparent some
parts of the city were controlled by the Free Syrian Army. The official, whose report directly contradicted Dabi's account of the
situation, predicted the mission was doomed to fail. The LCC put the nationwide death toll at 35 for the day, [191] while the
Observatory said 26 were confirmed dead, with four deaths allegedly occurring in Douma after security forces fired live ammunition
into a crowd of about 20,000 massing at its Grand Mosque for a protest ahead of an expected visit by Arab League observers. The
Observatory said Douma residents responded to the shootings in their city by organising a mass strike and flooding into the city
square for a sit-in thousands strong. The report could not be immediately confirmed, nor could rumours that Arab League vehicles
were sighted in Douma. Hundreds also reportedly protested in Midan, a central Damascus neighbourhood, before being dispersed by
soldiers shooting tear gas. The Observatory claimed 150,000 marched in the streets in Idlib Governorate, its largest demonstration in
recent days. After meeting with Nabil Elaraby, head of the Arab League, Syrian National Council leader Burhan Ghalioun said he
feared the Syrian government held more than 100,000 detainees and could execute them "to say there are no prisoners" if Arab
League monitors demanded access to facilities in which they are imprisoned. [192]
30 December – "Friday of the March to the Freedom Squares" Activists said more than 130 protesters had been confirmed killed,
including six children, since the Arab League observers arrived in Syria earlier in the week. [193] During the day, that reported death
toll grew to 32 following attacks from security forces. BBC News gave a death toll of 35 for the day. [194] In what seemed to be the
largest day of demonstrating, with more than 500,000 people demonstrating in two governorates alone: Hama and Idlib, over 6
million people are said to have rallied in Syria against Bashar Al-Assad, according to activists. Tens of thousands protested in
Damascus, as well as tens of thousands in Homs. Smaller demonstrations occurred in Daraa, Deir Ezzor, and Aleppo. [195][196] Amateur
video posted online appeared to show an orange-vested Arab League observer in Daraa responding to residents' claims that snipers
were nearby by saying he had seen the snipers himself and telling them the monitors planned to ask the Syrian government to remove
any snipers from Daraa within 24 hours. [194] In Cairo, the SNC and the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change in Syria
signed onto a political roadmap for a transition to democracy in Syria to be put into effect if Assad is deposed. [197]
31 December Activists reported at least nine deaths, at least three of them in Homs, at least one in Damascus, and at least one in Al-
Bukamal, as security forces attacked large protests across the country. The LCC said some protests evolved from funeral marches for
demonstrators killed the day before. [198] Al Jazeera reported that the number of statements received by the network from Arab League
observers critical of the regime's crackdown had mounted over the past two days. Meanwhile, the SNC signed a deal with the National
Co-ordination Committee, to work together on developing a "parliamentary system for a democratic, pluralistic civil state [that]
guarantees the exchange of power through elections". [199] The head of the Arab League's observing team, General Mustafa Dabi, said
in an interview with the BBC News on Newshour that no observers saw snipers in Deraa, contradicting amateur video showing an
observer telling activists he saw snipers in the city centre. Dabi claimed that the observer was making "a hypothetical remark
only". [200]
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