Russia denounces U.S. support for Syrian rebels as death rates climb to 37,000

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
11/15/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Death toll in deadly conflict to reach 40,000 quickly

The Russian Foreign Ministry has denounced the recent U.S. backing of Syria's opposition in its quest to unseat President Bashar al-Assad. Since the deadly uprising which began early last year, an estimated 37,387 Syrians - the majority of them unarmed civilians have been killed in clashes between rebels and government troops. The death toll is expected to surpass 40,000 shortly.

Of the 37,387 who have been killed since fighting began, 6,992 were killed in Homs and 6,750 in the suburbs of Damascus, the Violations Documentation Center says.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Syria, which is one of Russia's only allies in the Middle East, remains steadfast in its support of the Assad regime. Russia's Foreign Ministry in its Twitter feed had scathing words to say about how the United States, France and Arab states continue to show its support for the rebels.

"The Syrian opposition has been given a false signal, strengthening the positions of extremists, including terrorists," a tweet reads. The ministry went on to say that support for the rebels went against international principles on Syria that had been established in Geneva.

"If the priority is Assad's fate, it will be paid for with new casualties in #Syria. Our key priority is to prevent such sacrifices," the Tweet quoting Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov read.

Lavrov had met with the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this week. The council openly backs the opposition. Both Russia and the council have been accused of supplying weapons to the conflict parties.

In the long list of those killed, Homs and Damascus remain the deadliest places in Syria. The Violations Documentation Center, an opposition group has kept a running total of those who have perished in the 20-month armed conflict.

The Violations Documentation Center publishes a thorough tally of those who have been killed during Syria's armed conflict, claiming to include in its count only those whose deaths are documented on video or with an ID card. It works closely with the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, a source commonly cited in reports on Syria.

Of the 37,387 who have been killed since fighting began, 6,992 were killed in Homs and 6,750 in the suburbs of Damascus, the center says.

The total number includes 3,061 government soldiers, which the group only recently started to include in its count.

The conflict rages on. Syria's perpetual flashpoints show no sign of diminishing. The violence has forced civilians to flee over the country's borders.

The U.N. refugee office says 414,838 Syrians are in neighboring countries registered as refugees or waiting to register. Turkey has single highest number with 114,944.

� 2012, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM

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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Syria, death toll, Russia, allies, rebels, civilians

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1 - 2 of 2 Comments

Paul-Emile Leray
6 months ago
DEFINE TERRORISM. WHAT is it? Please look it up in the dictionary. Look it up on google. Look it up on wikipedia. Who are the terrorists? Who is supplying the weapons? Who are the stockholders behind the corporations and companies? Who are the governments? Who are their allies and why? POWER AND CONTROL AND MONEY views the little man as a means towards their ends. Of course, they will put a medal on your chest and send some flowers to your family with a nice funeral and speech AFTER you possibly get killed for your country. Are the world leaders in the trenches? Are the politicians in the trenches? Are the judiciary members, shareholders, bankers, oil executives in the trenches? And how about the religious fanatics? Are they in the trenches? TRUE LEADERS lead by example and are capable of PEACEFULLY entering into dialogue. Debate and dialogue are DIFFERENT. PEACE is for the strong. WAR? FOR wimps and the weak and the stupid! A few thousand years of history hasn't shown that to enough people yet? What is the point of studying his-story if humans don't learn from it? We are one stupid species, aren't we? Where are the political leaders? I see PEACE in the entire middle east as a potential future reality. (and I can hear many laughing and ridiculing me already) Well, why not have people laugh so much they end up on the floor with stomach pains? I will go further. I see world peace as a future potential lasting reality. (now, there are many laughing) I don't care. Laugh all you want. World peace is possible. I hope many are laughing, because that is a sign I am likely right. The truth gets ridiculed. There might not be much hope with political leaders past a certain age, because they were brought up in schools and universities glorifying the war heros, and so forth. With the younger generations? It is possible. The older generations still think, many of them, that war is a cool macho thing and a sign of manliness, etc. At any rate, since everyone dies the older generations and baby boomers don't have much time left on the planet. Perhaps it is not such a bad thing. Most of them would rather be on the golf course or beach anyhow or inside sports stadiums.
Paul-Emile Leray
abey
6 months ago
With Obama as its head it is very difficult for America to speak the truth.

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