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Pro-Assad Imam shot dead in Damascus
Published: 16 February, 2012, 18:19
Edited: 17 February, 2012, 14:42
TAGS: Conflict, Crime, Military, Politics, Maria Finoshina, Opposition, Syria
A leading religious figure has been assassinated in the conservative Midan area of the Syrian capital Damascus.
Sheik Mohammad Ahmad Ouf Sadeq was an imam at the mosque Anas bin Malek. When he was returning to the capital on Wednesday, an armed group intercepted his vehicle in Qadam Assali, in the Damascus suburbs. Sadeq, 36, had a Ph.D. in Sharia law, and is survived by four children. Some think the religious leader was killed because of his strong pro-Assad position, as he is said to have strongly condemned a January 6 terrorist attack Midan and called for national unity.
According to supporters of the imam, those who killed him want more bloodshed in the country.
“He was killed because he was calling for reform and the end of clashes,” said Sheikh Housaim Shouaib.“Those who did it – they only want chaos and more death.”
Members of the opposition also live in the area and tension there has been high.
Last month, a suicide bombing in the area killed 26 people and injured more than 60 others.
Also on Thursday in the south-western city of Daraa, where Syria’s unrest erupted months ago, the opposition claimed heavy clashes were taking place, as Assad’s forces attacked the Free Syrian Army.
RT spoke with the governor of the region, who said there was no Free Syrian Army in the city. He explained that there is no well-coordinated opposition military force, but rather a number of separate armed groups consisting mostly of army defectors and foreign soldiers.
Thursday has also seen a large anti-government protest, held at the funeral of a protester killed in an anti-Assad rally.
The demonstrators chanted anti-Assad’s slogans accusing him of mass killings. “We are afraid for our children and people and brothers and sisters”.
‘West wants Assad out just as it wanted Gaddafi’
Russ Baker, an award-winning investigative reporter and founder of WhoWhatWhy.com, told RT there significant similarities between current events in Syria and last year's in Libya.
“Western countries clearly want Bashar Assad out just as much as they wanted Gaddafi out, and we are seeing the introduction of tremendous amounts of force – very skilled, sophisticated operations."
In Damascus, Baker noted, militant operatives are bringing the battle directly to Assad – not a sign of a traditional peaceful uprising.
“That is not to say that there aren’t a large number of people in Syria who would like to get rid of Assad, but I think that the sentiment of part of the population is being dramatically helped along by outside forces,” he said.
Baker also pointed out that while the US and its allies demand Assad leave power, they do not say the same thing about other leaders who propagate similar types of violence and human rights violations.
16.02, 16:24
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Looking back at history, including recent history can teach us a lot of things.
In 1980's socialist Afghanistan the CIA was rewarding the anti-government terrorists with thousands of dollars if they murdered a pro-government mullah. Also the terrorists were rewarded with cash (upwards of 25 000 dollars) if they shot down a civilian plane thanks to the latest technology weapons (of that time) supplied by the Reagan Administration via the CIA and Pakistan's islamo-nazi dictatorship of Zia Ul Haq.
Ironically Gen. Zia Ul Haq, as well as some top generals of the Pakistani army and the US Ambassor in Pakistan were killed in an air crash in 1988, blamed as much on the KGB, the CIA, the Afghan secret services, the Indian secret services and even to some disgruntled sections of Pakistan's own army and governments.
I would not be surprised if the Syrian imam was murdered as much as because of his pro-Assad stance as well as because the FSA terrorists and their friends are rewarded with tens of thousands of dollars when they commit a high profile murder. It is obvious that AlCIAeda, and the islamo-nazis from the Saudi and Qatar monarchies would be highly interested in getting the anti-Assad terrorists to commit high-profile murders and reward them with lots of cash.
Western intervention will only inflame the violence in Syria just as western intervention has destroyed much of Libya, The imposing of the no fly zone by the UN (NWO) and arming the rebels has proved to be disasterous for the Libyan people.
Here in the UK, with the exception of RT, we hear very little of events in Libya now as the Governments propaganda machine, the BBC, and other media sources have reported very little since the death of Gadaffi.
It appears that our Government here has its own agenda to follow and that appears to be the safeguard of Middle Eastern oil supplies at any cost to the people living in those countries and also the enormous financial burden to the Taxpayers here. We should stay well away from intervening in another nation states affairs especially ones whose government is busy fighting proffesional terrorists
It will be interesting to see how the people of Syria will acept the new constitiution that has been drafted in which the article that keeps the ruling Baath Party in power has been annulled. This constitution will apparently be ready in march. It will be more interesting when people will be asked to freely vote for a new government and leader under the new constitution and how the Arab League and western anti Assad countries will react especially the terrorist organisation now creating mayhem. Even more interesting if the majority voted for Assad to retain office.