Assassination attempt?

Rumors of an assassination attempt on Bashar al-Assad are circulating on the internet with no confirmation or denial.

I know we have at least on Syrian member here. Does anyone have any proper input?

There is more than one here, belonging to opposite camps.

The biggest Arabic-English paper Al Jazeera is frequently updated, and does not support the rumour.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/spotlight/syria/

The "doctor" is still using the "cleansing" threat. Such a shame to human values and humanity itself. In a democratic society, this would be unheard of. But, the World can only watch and pray for a resolution, before it turns more deadly. Refugee crisis alone is overwhelming the neighboring States, the UN, UNICEF and other organizations.

Yep turns out it was just some anonytroll.

Just rumors. Desperate people.

Two cars were bombed in Damascus (the Capital) today, though. It's scary.

:(

Pretty soon, Assad will be ruling a deserted empire!...:(

Correct the name, Al Asad. :)

Yup, we were 23 million human beings two years ago, now 21. :/

You lost 2 MILLION PEOPLE, Noura???

This is starting to sound like the Holocaust...when will this end??

Many of them are refugees. I have a friend in Jordan who is Syrian and there are almost 1,000 relatives and neighbors in her small village who are staying with their own relatives.

Thanks Larry, this sounds less worse than actual deaths!

I'm sorry to say this, Larry, but I wasn't counting refugees. 2.000.000 people are actually dead, and approximately 300.000 citizens are outside Syria, living in other Arabic countries. Statistics said that.

Noura, you must do something to protect yourself.

I agree, you must do something Noura! Can't you escape to another country? You might die! :(

Well, one month ago, I was going to Latakia (a safer city in Syria) with a couple of friends of mine, and before meeting them in my apartment, I had to go to work to say goodbye and all. I got stuck in traffic jams so they waited for me in the street near my house where a car bombed and killed one thousand innocent humans, including my friends.
The thing is if I was meant to die that day, I would've been ashes by now. It was just not my time.

Plus, where am I supposed to go? To the camps where there's nothing to eat but bread crumbs? No thank you.

Qatar has to stop sending weapons our way and we're fine.

I hope it will not be your time for a very, very long time, Noura. I am so sorry to hear about your friends. I wonder how you and your people will ever be able to forget about all the athrocities once war will be over.

1,000 people from one car bombing?...that surprises me a bit...I can't imagine a thousand people being that close to one car at any particular time? The Bali bombers of 2002 used two cars in the same area....one outside a popular pub and one across the street at a very busy nightclub.....202 people died that night and another 240 were injured.

1.5 tons of C4 bombed in an area where there is a hospital, a crowded square and two schools, aren't enough to kill that number of people? I don't think so. The national news said about 180 were dead and maybe 50 had been burnt to ashes and unrecognisable, and hundreds injured. But I don't believe it. I was there 15 minutes after what happened and I saw the blood and the building that fell to the ground. In no way, the victims are less than one thousand.

Thanks, Ingrid. It really is soothing to see people care, even though they live far away from all of this.

I think I'd go with the figure your national news gave...approx 180 dead would seem about right to me...a lot injured I'd figure if they were around this area...1000 people dead from one explosion...very must doubt it to be honest.

"Qatar has to stop sending weapons our way and we're fine."

^ And Iran and Russia should do that as well! They have and continue to supply Assad with the weapons to massacre his own people too, just like his father, including bombing the refugee camps. Here is the true story in pictures and satellite images:

http://www.google.com/search?q=satellite+images+of+syria+bombing&hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=LWhUUaGRCKq6igKj4ICIAw&ved=0CHsQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=600

Hellon, I know you weren't saying "I think I'd go with the figure your national news gave..." as a strict guideline, but it's actually a terrible idea to trust the media in Syria.

http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2011-2012,1043.html

It's almost at the bottom of the list of countries with regard to press freedom.

I respectfully disagree with that statement, ALS. I don't really need links to tell me about what's happening in my own country. Mr Bashar is our president and is protecting us from armed outsiders and Al Qaeda suicidal bombers, Iran and Russia are taking part in that. If they're against the policy of USA, that doesn't make them criminal. Syria is a sovereign state, ruled by an elected, wise leader who followed his fathers words and never considered his country as a good bargain, unlike the kings of Saudi and Qatar who built up castles and left their people starving.

The problem in Syria is due to the lack of political parties, to mass indoctrination and corruption. It is because of traitors and ignorants. But also, because our government said no to the crimes that are committed in Jerusalem.

Al-Asad always attempted to aid any nation in the Arabic World, believed in Pan-Arabism and was the one to put the war in Lebanon to an end in 2006. I'm sure any Syrian can attend to that.

Edit: Hellon, I was not just "guessing" there. I know people who work for ICRC and they assured me that the number of victims can reach 1.000. Also, that bomb (plus the massacre committed in Aleppo University) has been known to anyone living in Syria. The people don't listen to any media in here anymore, they can see the debris live. So yup.
Any other Syrian member in here?

I think the big problem is that we're used to a totally different lifestyle than you. On top of that, we a have different opinions of what is and isn't propaganda and whether or not propaganda is used for protection or malice.

I'm curious Nour (I ask with respect, not being facetious), why do you think people don't listen to the media and do you agree or disagree with the fact that people should be able to trust the media to bring them the truth about what's really happening in their country?

I watched a video of the UN questioning al-Assad on his motives about a year back. To me his reasoning (justifying the death of innocents because he found what I think were 6 terrorists among the thousands dead at the time) seemed more than flawed in terms of human rights. Can't his decisions and the actions of the government be defined as terrorism, too?

Hey Jordan. To answer your first question, I'd say the media here has developped a really bad reputation, especially the national channel. Even before the events started, the whole system was flawed. Bribes, contrabands, bureaucracy, corruptible judiciary... etc, and the media never revealed any of this. I mean the previous prime minister stole millions of pounds from the exchequer before he left but still, the media went extolling the government and praising the way things were applied. Till now, there are exaggerations and lies and worthless speeches that we got fed up with. Of course I disagree with this, but that being said, I don't trust any media, they all are biased and have hidden purposes.

I would've been more than willing to stand in the streets and raise signs demanding for freedom, if I didn't know that what's happening in Syria is a pre-schemed agenda, not a revolution. The government is the worst but if the government is overthrown now, an Al-Quaeda leader will take over and we don't need that. We don't want to get rid of our current problems by submitting to a complete tyranny. Mr Bashar promised that once the army controls the area and everything is back to normal, there will be new elections, so we'll see.

As for the six terrorists caught between the thousands dead...I never heard of it and I'm sure Bashar didn't explain it like that. Thousands were evacuated, maybe?

I would like to applaud the fact that this thread, while asserted with disparate, contradictory opinions, has been civil and conducted intelligently.

Thank you all.

I'm enjoying this too, Larry.

"As for the six terrorists caught between the thousands dead...I never heard of it and I'm sure Bashar didn't explain it like that. Thousands were evacuated, maybe?"

They were questioning him around the time of the assault on Homs back in '11.

I will respectfully back out of this conversation too, but do not feel autocracy/dictatorship in any form has any place in the civilized world. He also promised to "never attack/bomb" his own people, and that is exactly what happened (all in the pics). Yet, one has to believe his 'promises". Since Americans were not even close, they cannot be responsible for the bombings, can they be? :) Nor was the Arab spring revolution started by them. Perhaps the Russians(communists), the Iranians (with their track record of human rights violations), the Al Queda (religious fanatics, whose only mission is to kill non-believers and westerners in the name of Allah) and the unidentified aliens bombed and gassed these people, not Assad.

I sometimes wonder why the Warsaw convention is so slow in picking up criminals like Milosevic.

Yes, I do agree that post-Assad Syria is going to be a bigger mess, with the radicals and fundamentalists taking over in the name of religion, and women will bear the same fate as what happened in Iran, Afghanistan, and other ultra Islamist societies, under religious/Sharia rules, unfortunately -a step back to the middle ages.

Woke up to this heartbreaking news. Best to see it in pics:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2398691/Syrias-darkest-hour-Hundreds-childrens-bodies-piled-high-nerve-gas-attack-near-Damascus-leaves-1-300-dead.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

And the civilized world ...just watches innocent's plight.
What a shame. Was Hitler any different in the 1940's, when he decided on ethnic cleansing?

Sure some will quote (see above)....

They were all Al Qaeda....

Until now, our family has lost 12 members, but nobody in the government cares. 600 died yesterday. We're just desperate. Al-Qaeda is everywhere.

Noura I am so deeply sorry. You have been in my prayers constantly.

Thank you for posting/logging in so we know you are safe. I worry about you!