Syrians Mark Bloody Ramadan

::jseblod::onislam_article::/jseblod::::onislamarticleaction::::/onislamarticleaction::::artpretitle:: ::/artpretitle::::artsubtitle:: ::/artsubtitle::::artseries:: ::/artseries::::artlead::With a somber mood, Syrians marked the beginning of the holy fasting month of Ramadan on Monday, August 1, a day after the killing of dozens of civilians in a brutal army assault on the central city of Hama::/artlead::::artepigraph:: ::/artepigraph::::artbody::DAMASCUS – With a somber mood, Syrians marked the beginning of the holy fasting month of Ramadan on Monday, August 1, a day after the killing of dozens of civilians in a brutal army assault on the central city of Hama."Syria is witnessing a war of sectarian cleansing,” the Muslim Brotherhood said in a statement cited by Reuters.“The regime has linked its open annihilation with the crescent of Ramadan.“It is a war on the identity and beliefs of the Syrian nation ... on Arab Muslim Syria," it said in a statement.At least 80 people were reportedly killed when army troops stormed Hama on Sunday to quell anti-regime protests ahead of Ramadan, which starts Monday.Security forces, dominated by President Bashar Al-Assad's minority Alawite sect, had besieged the Sunni Muslim city of 700,000 for nearly a month before Sunday's crackdown on the eve of Ramadan, a holy month when Muslims fast in daylight hours.Many people flock to mosque prayers at night, occasions which protesters may use to launch more frequent protests.In a letter to the military, Assad reiterated that Syria was facing a foreign conspiracy to sow sectarian strife designed to "tear Syria into small stateless that compete to satisfy those who worked to slice them up"."All of Syria's honorable people are sure that we will emerge stronger from the crisis," Assad said."They wanted to wreak sectarian strife that destroys everything. We managed to prevent sectarian strife and examine ourselves to find out the errors and treat them."Inspired by Arab Spring revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, mass protests erupted against Assad’s 11-year rule in March.Hama has particular significance for the anti-regime movement as Assad's father, the late President Hafez al-Assad, sent in troops to crush an Islamist-led uprising there in 1982, razing whole neighborhoods and killing up to 30,000 people in the bloodiest episode of Syria's modern history.Assad and the ruling family are from the minority Alawite sect, which has dominated Syria, a majority Sunni country, since the ruling Baath Party took power in a 1963 coup.In 2000, Assad succeeded his late father, keeping the autocratic political system he inherited intact, while expanding the share of the Assad family of the economy through monopolies awarded to relatives and friends.World CondemnationsThe Hama deadly assault has drawn world condemnations."The authorities think that somehow they can prolong their existence by engaging in full armed warfare on their own citizens," US Press Attache J.J. Harder told Reuters.Footage posted on social media showed large parts of the city covered in smoke, and panic-stricken groups around dead or wounded people in the streets as gunfire rang out.Other footage purporting to be from the city of Homs showed crowds chanting: "Hama, we are with you until death, Deir al-Zor, we are with you until death."Residents said at least 11 civilians had been killed in a weekend crackdown in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor.In Deir al-Zor city, gunfire echoed through empty streets after pre-dawn prayers."Most people are in their houses, but we can hear shooting in the streets," a resident said.US President Barack Obama said he was appalled by the Syrian government's "horrifying" violence against its people in Hama and promised to work with others to isolate Assad."Syria will be a better place when a democratic transition goes forward," Obama said in a statement.Several European countries also condemned the Hama assault.Italy and Germany called for a UN Security Council meeting, but Britain ruled out any foreign military intervention."We do want to see additional sanctions," British Foreign Secretary William Hague told the BBC."We want to see stronger international pressure all round. Of course, to be effective, that can't just be pressure from Western nations, that includes from Arab nations, it includes from Turkey".Seeking military action against Syria, even with UN authority, was "not a remote possibility", he said.The UN Security Council was expected to hold closed-door consultations on Monday.Russia and China have previously opposed any condemnation of Syria in the council, where they hold veto powers.The European Union plans to extend sanctions on Monday by slapping asset freezes and travel bans on five more Syrians.EU sanctions already target Assad and at least two dozen officials, as well as Syrian firms linked to the military.Turkey, one of Assad's main allies until the uprising, felt "great disappointment and sadness" over Sunday's death toll, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said, blaming the use of tanks and heavy weapons for the high number of casualties."Such a start to Ramadan for Syrians is not acceptable. We condemn the attack," Davutoglu said."Our advice to Syrian officials has been the same all along: the promised reforms should be carried out right away."::/artbody::::artendnote:: ::/artendnote::::artfootnote:: ::/artfootnote::::artmainimage::oimedia/onislamen/images/mainimages/Syria Ramadan bloody.jpg::/artmainimage::::artcaption::Syrians mark Ramadan, a day after a deadly army assault on Hama::/artcaption::::artalt::Syria, Ramadan, Assad::/artalt::::artauthor:: ::/artauthor::::artboximage::::/artboximage::::artinterviewer:: ::/artinterviewer::::artcompiler:: ::/artcompiler::::artreviewer:: ::/artreviewer::::arttranslator:: ::/arttranslator::::artsource::OnIslam & News Agencies::/artsource::::artreference:: ::/artreference::::artlink1::Assad Seeks to Crush Uprising Before Ramadan::/artlink1::::artlinkurl1::http://www.onislam.net/english/news/middle-east/453287-assad-seeks-to-crush-uprising-before-ramadan.html::/artlinkurl1::::artlink2::Syria’s Revolutionary Ramadan::/artlink2::::artlinkurl2::http://www.onislam.net/english/news/middle-east/453270-syrias-revolutionary-ramadan.html::/artlinkurl2::::artlink3::Assad Accused of Fomenting Syria Strife::/artlink3::::artlinkurl3::http://www.onislam.net/english/news/middle-east/453150-assad-accused-of-fomenting-syria-strife.html::/artlinkurl3::::artlink4::Syria Opposition Unites Against Assad::/artlink4::::artlinkurl4::http://www.onislam.net/english/news/middle-east/453061-syria-opposition-unites-against-assad.html::/artlinkurl4::::artlink5::Syria Extends Army Swoop to Hama::/artlink5::::artlinkurl5::http://www.onislam.net/english/news/middle-east/452897-syria-extends-army-swoop-to-hama.html::/artlinkurl5::::button_submit::::/button_submit::::jseblodend::::/jseblodend::