Where Is The World?

"A major assault on Homs took place (Thursday). Civilian losses have clearly been heavy. We continue to receive grisly reports of summary executions, arbitrary detentions and torture." UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

To which Syria's UN Ambassador, Bashar Ja-afri, has responded, characterizing Ban's remarks as "extremely virulent rhetoric which confines itself to slandering a government based on reports, opinions or hearsay."

"All men who remained in the neighbourhood aged between 14 and 50 were arrested. We fear they will be massacred. Where is the world?"

That's a familiar-sounding question, isn't it? The revolutionaries have pleaded with NATO, with the United Nations, to become involved in their quest for a new administration for their country. They have, in the past, taken heart when Turkey and when the Arab League condemned the crackdown on the protesters whose initial peaceful demonstrations merited consideration and dialogue, not bloodshed.

It was never likely that NATO would become involved in what essentially represents a civil disagreement between an administration and a significant proportion of its population. And the United Nations, given the support that two members of the Security Council still threw behind Syria, was not about to do much more than wring its hands and declare the situation unsupportable.

So, it was over to the Arab League to produce some meaningful, useful measures that would dissuade Bashar al-Assad from further atrocities. The imposition of a recommended number of conciliatory actions, along with the introduction of Arab League monitors did absolutely nothing. Turkey's outright condemnation of the regime, and its encouragement of the rebel army was far more courageous than the useless actions of the Arab League.

But the situation, despite the attention of the world focused on the deaths of two foreign journalists reporting from the destruction within Baba Amro within Homs, and the wounding of two others, has simply accelerated. Government troops bombarded the city for weeks, surrounding it with tanks and artillery, shelling intensively, killing and wounding civilians.

Now that the rebels have been forced to withdraw for lack of ammunition and in the face of overwhelming numbers of the military, the still-defiant thousands of residents of Baba Amro are confronted with government troops arresting the youth and the men of the area, and killing whomever they wish, then further entertaining themselves by looting destroyed homes.

"The massacres are continuing. They are torturing them and killing (detainees) one by one. They are executing them in batches", warned an activist, communicating outside Baba Amr, via Skype. Yet protesters still flooded the streets after traditional Friday prayers, in Homs, Hama, Deir al-Zor, Daraa, Douma and several areas in Damascus.

Video footage released by activists, feature troops shooting at demonstrators.

An official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates confidently expressed satisfaction that the army had "cleansed Baba Amro from the foreign-backed armed groups of terrorists."