Syria: Assad Talks as His Tanks Continue to Pound Protesters

August 09, 2011 from Euronews

Syria's leader Bashar al-Assad has been meeting with the visiting Turkish foreign minister, but while he talked his tanks continued to claim lives as protests against his regime continue. In the east of the country 20 people were reported killed in Deir al-Zur, and another 30 lost their lives in Hama as armour continued to crush resistance there. Ahmet Davutoglu brought a message from Ankara calling on Assad to return his army to its barracks, a message underlined from Washington, but there is no sign of a change in tack from Damascus.

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Bashar al-Assad

Bashar Hafez al-Assad is the President of Syria and Regional Secretary of the Syrian-led branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. He has served as President since 2000, when he succeeded his father, Hafez al-Assad, who had ruled Syria for 30 years prior to his death. Al-Assa... Explore this topic

Syria

Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest. A country of fertile plains, high mountains and deserts, i... Explore this topic

Deir az-Zour

Deir ez-Zor, also spelled Dayr al-Zawr, Der Ezzor, Deir Azzor, and other variants, is the 6th largest city in Syria and the largest in the eastern part of Syria. Located 450 km to the northeast from the capital Damascus on the shores of Euphrates River, Deir ez-Zor is the capi... Explore this topic

Hama

Hama north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 312,994 (2004 census), Hama is the fifth-largest city in Syria after Aleppo, Damascus, Homs and Latakia. The city is renowned for its seventeen norias used for watering the gardens, ... Explore this topic

Syrian Civil War

The Syrian civil war is an ongoing armed conflict in Syria between forces loyal to the Syrian Ba'ath Party government and those seeking to oust it. The conflict began on 15 March 2011, with popular demonstrations that grew nationwide by April 2011. These demonstrations were pa... Explore this topic

Protest

An act of defiance or objection by an individual or group of people. Protests can take many forms: peaceful or violent, direct or indirect, large or small. Protests in the news are often political in nature, as groups of citizens voice their disagreement or dissatisfaction. Pr... Explore this topic

Damascus

Damascus, commonly known in Syria as ash-Sham and nicknamed as the City of Jasmine, is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo. It borders Quneitra, Daraa and As-Suwayda to the south, Jordan to the east, Homs to the north, and Lebanon to the west. It is a... Explore this topic

Syrian army

The Syrian Army, officially the Syrian Arab Army, is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It is the dominant military service of the four uniformed services, controlling the senior most posts in the armed forces, and has the greatest manpower, approximately 80 per... Explore this topic

Ahmet Davutoglu

Professor Ahmet Davutoğlu is the Foreign Minister of Turkey. He is also a political scientist, an academic and an ambassador at large and was formerly chief advisor to the Prime Minister. Explore this topic

Turkey

Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey, is a transcontinental country, located mostly on Anatolia in Western Asia and on East Thrace in Southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armen... Explore this topic

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Bashar al-Assad

Syria

Deir az-Zour