Syria: Human Rights Abuses Escalate, an Armed Revolt Looms

As reports continue to emerge about the grave human rights abuses being metted out by the Syrian government against protesters, there is a feeling that an armed struggle against the Assad government is an inevitable outcome. The latest report put together by activists and being circulated by prominent opposition member Radwan Ziadeh, describes the latest disturbing trend of women being kidnapped and raped by the civilian militia called the Shabiha. The Shabiha so far have been used by the Syrian government to repress protests and to terrorize the towns and cities where protests have been high. As violence from the security forces continues to mount, “protesters have begun taking up arms to fight back, observers say.” Increasingly, with peaceful protests unable to force the collapse of the Assad government there are “increasing reports of attacks on security forces and police patrols.”

As reported in the latest Washington Post editorial, averting a civil war in Syria “would require a stronger, quicker and more forward-leading U.S. response.” The editorial urges the President Barack Obama‘s administration to “drop its back-seat approach and lead a more aggressive effort to raise the pressure on Mr. Assad” by pressuring Russia, China and the Arab League “to endorse tougher sanctions, and urge Turkey to break with the regime and provide protection for refugees.” As Michael Singh states in a brief discussion of the testimony he gave before the House Foreign Affairs Committee regarding Syria, “preventing human rights abuses necessarily means supporting democracy.”