June 16th, 2011
09:06 AM ET

World outrage boils over Syrian crisis

Syrian refugees continue to flee across the Turkish border to escape violence, as world powers amplify their outrage over the Damascus regime's tough crackdown on peaceful demonstrators.

The number of Syrian refugees now in Turkey stands at 8,904, Turkish emergency officials said on Thursday. This increase comes as the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with a special Syrian envoy to help stem the growing tide of refugees.

Violence in the country and an offensive in and around the town of Jisr al-Shugur spurred thousands to hightail it to the border region, and Turkish officials are worried that the crisis could deteriorate and destabilize the area.

On Wednesday, the U.N. human rights office called for "a thorough probe into the allegations of widespread abuses committed by Syrian authorities during their violent crackdown."

"The most egregious reports concern the use of live ammunition against unarmed civilians, including from snipers positioned on rooftops of public buildings, and the deployment of tanks in areas densely populated by civilians," according to a preliminary report prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

"As of mid-June, the number of those killed during such incidents is believed to have exceeded 1,100 persons, many of them unarmed civilians; among them were women and children," it said, according to a U.N. statement.

The OHCHR said reports indicate than up to 10,000 people have been detained over three months, and it has received information that security forces "have perpetrated acts of torture and other cruel and inhuman treatment against detainees, resulting in death in custody in some cases."

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soundoff (14 Responses)
  1. TvNYC

    The end of the world is near!! Next country to have issues is Jerusalem!

    June 16, 2011 at 9:36 am | Report abuse |
  2. TvNYC

    Make that Israel!

    June 16, 2011 at 9:37 am | Report abuse |
    • Actually

      Make that, "There is no end to the world".

      But god willing, someday, there will be an end to reactionary, ignorant doomsayers.

      June 16, 2011 at 11:35 am | Report abuse |
    • kme

      Oh noes, not another end of the world! What is this now, like 50? Chicken little...less...none.

      June 16, 2011 at 12:15 pm | Report abuse |
  3. citizen

    American lawmakers are no where near as outraged as they were about I r. Aq and l i- bya.

    June 16, 2011 at 9:38 am | Report abuse |
  4. citizen

    Oh, that's right, Syria has a real army. Bahrain is the home of the 5th fleet and Saudi Arabia subsidies our gluttony to support an archaic monarchy.
    Record year for beheadings over there.

    June 16, 2011 at 9:43 am | Report abuse |
  5. Joey Isotta-Fraschini

    The world may have been whipped up into a sense of outrage.
    I am not outraged.
    Also, to me, a monarchy is not necessarily archaic.

    June 16, 2011 at 9:54 am | Report abuse |
  6. Observer

    Israel does these things every day. What's the big deal? Assad should declare Syria a Zionist state and the militants as Palestinians and then he can get a standing ovation or two in congress for his brutal repression and statements from Obama on how Syria's security is paramount.

    June 16, 2011 at 10:17 am | Report abuse |
  7. citizen

    Joey,
    Common people attempt to stand up to an unjust government and are then murdered in the street. You have no outrage? No slight stiring of emotion.
    Sounds as if you have no empathy whatsoever. But perhaps this is the characteristic that made you outstanding in your field.

    June 16, 2011 at 10:34 am | Report abuse |
  8. Joey Isotta-Fraschini

    To citizen:
    I don't want to fight with you. We can disagree on complex political issues that we see differently.
    My field is based on emotion.

    June 16, 2011 at 10:53 am | Report abuse |
  9. jracforr

    There is not much we can do for Syria they will be sending thousands if not millions of refugees all over the world and the descendants of these people will be the better for having left Syria not unlike the French Protestants. we are more likely to influence Egypt and Pakistan for good

    June 16, 2011 at 12:49 pm | Report abuse |
  10. jracforr

    The state of israel find itself in the center of turmoil because it is created in an era similiar to that which brought Abraham into Canaan infact Israel should be able to offer Egypt the wisdom and insight of Joseph at this junction in time. Instead it is focused on driving the Arabs from Jerusalem, a fatal mistake if ever there is one

    June 16, 2011 at 1:08 pm | Report abuse |
  11. RUFFNUTT

    I see that these so-called human rights activists are up in arms over what's going on in Syria today, but where were these people back in the 1970's and 80's when both the dictators of Chile and Argentina were torturing and murdering their own people in droves? And now, what about Yemen? I smell a double standard here!

    June 16, 2011 at 1:27 pm | Report abuse |
  12. Cesar

    Good post RuffNutt,thank you.

    June 16, 2011 at 5:59 pm | Report abuse |
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