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Omar Aziz (anarchist)
Omar Aziz (18 February 1949 – 16 February 2013), also known by the ''nom de guerre'' or '' kunya'' Abu Kamel, was a Syrian anarchist, intellectual, and revolutionary. He is known for his role in working with the Local Coordination Committees during the early stages of the Syrian Civil War and for his writings advocating horizontal organization. Life Omar Aziz was born to a well-off family in Damascus in 1949. He studied economics at Grenoble University and later worked in the information technology sector in Saudi Arabia and the United States. He was married and had three children. Political activity and death Aziz returned to Syria in response to the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011, and quickly became involved in organizing with local communities which were in resistance to the government. Despite his age and personal health conditions, he worked actively and in person with local people, and was involved in aid distribution efforts. During his involvement in the rev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Amarah, Syria
Al-Amara ( ar, العمارة, al-‘Amārah), also known as al-Amarah Juwaniyyah ( ar, العمارة الجوانية, al-‘Amārah al-Juwwānīyah), is a prominent neighborhood in the old city of Damascus located a few meters away from The Grand Mosque of Damascus. History Damascus prides itself on being the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. The history of Damascus goes back well into 8000 BC. In every corner of its ancient alleys there's a taste of every historical era there was to be found. Amara District is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city. Its name derives from the Arabic word “Amara” which means building, denoting its routes which date back to the founding of Damascus. The Great Mosque of Damascus with its stunning minarets can be spotted almost from every house in the district and the souks of the old city can be reached within minutes. Description As soon as you dive into the old town from any of the entrances from the modern city, y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Truthout
Truthout is a non-profit news organization which describes itself as "dedicated to providing independent reporting and commentary on a diverse range of social justice issues". Truthout's main areas of focus include mass incarceration, prison abolition, social justice, climate change, militarism, economy and labor, LGBTQ rights and reproductive justice. Truthout's Executive Director is Ziggy West Jeffery and the Editor-in-Chief is Britney Schultz. Notable reporting and projects Controversial reporting on Karl Rove On May 13, 2006, after Jason Leopold posted on Truthout that Karl Rove had been indicted by the grand jury investigating the Plame affair, Rove spokesman Mark Corallo denied the story, calling it "a complete fabrication". Truthout defended the story, saying on May 15 they had two sources "who were explicit about the information" published, and confirmed on May 25 that they had "three independent sources confirming that attorneys for Karl Rove were handed an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human rights abusers to denounce abuse and respect human rights, and the group often works on behalf of refugees, children, migrants, and political prisoners. Human Rights Watch, in 1997, shared the Nobel Peace Prize as a founding member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, and it played a leading role in the 2008 treaty banning cluster munitions. The organization's annual expenses totaled $50.6 million in 2011, $69.2 million in 2014, and $75.5 million in 2017. History Human Rights Watch was co-founded by Robert L. Bernstein Jeri Laber and Aryeh Neier as a private American NGO in 1978, under the name Helsinki Watch, to monitor the then- Soviet Union's compliance with the Helsinki Accords. Helsinki Watch adopted a practic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al Akhbar (Lebanon)
''Al Akhbar'' ( ar, الأخبار, literally "''The News''") is a daily Arabic language newspaper published in a semi tabloid format in Beirut. The newspaper's writers have included Ibrahim Al Amine, As'ad AbuKhalil, Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, Sharmine Narwani, Pierre Abi Saab, and Amer Mohsen. Until 2015, it also had an English version published on the Internet. History and profile The newspaper began to be published and distributed in 2006, and is registered with the same license of the paper of the same name, established in 1953, owned by ''Akhbar Beirut'' S.A.L. (News of Beirut). It was established by the late Joseph Samaha (a leftist intellectual and former editor-in-chief of ''As-Safir'') and Ibrahim Al Amin (also a leftist journalist and political analyst). A 2009 survey by Ipsos Stat established that the daily is among the five most popular newspapers in Beirut. In December 2010, ''Al Akhbar'' received and published an advance copy of the US State Department cables by Wik ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harasta
Harasta ( ar, حرستا, Ḥarastā, syr, ܚܪܣܬܐ, Ḥarastā), also known as ''Harasta al-Basal'' or ''Hirista'', is a city and northeastern suburb of Damascus, Rif Dimashq, Syria. Harasta has an altitude of 702 meters. It has a population of 34,184 , making it the 43rd largest city per geographical entity in Syria. History During the Syrian Civil War, it was one of the earliest rebel-held cities in Syria (see Battle of Douma and Rif Dimashq clashes (November 2011–March 2012)). Before the war, Harasta had been home to the 104th and 105th Republican Guard regiments and has a high population of Alawites in the suburbs, although it was a site of several anti-government protests in 2011. Harasta was reported under rebel control by early 2012. In March 2012 and again on 21 October 2012 it was reported that Harasta was under heavy government shelling. On 25 October, the Syrian army fired heavy tank and rocket barrages, after rebels overran two army checkpoints on the edge o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adra Prison
Adra Prison ( ar, سجن عدرا) is a prison in Syria, on the northeast outskirts of Damascus. Political prisoners are held in the prison, along with a mixture of civil prisoners such as traffic offenders, murderers, and drug dealers. In 2014, the prison held more than 7,000 inmates, a dozen of them women, in space designed for 2,500. ''The Washington Post'' referred to the prison as "infamous". History Ghassan Najjar, an engineer who was imprisoned in 1980, reportedly went on two hunger strikes, one to protest conditions in the prison. His fellow inmates said he was beaten so badly by prison guards trying to force him to eat that he suffered spinal injuries. Mas'ud Hamid, a Kurdish journalism student, was held in solitary confinement in the prison for one year from 2003–04 before he was allowed monthly visits, and Human Rights Watch said that interrogators reportedly tortured him and beat him with a studded whip on the bottom of his feet. His room was , largely filled by a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mezzeh Prison
Mezzeh prison () is a now-defunct Syrian prison overlooking the capital, Damascus. Mezzeh (also transcribed as ''al-Mazzah'', ''el-Mezze'' etc.) is the name of a neighborhood in western Damascus. Both military and political prisoners were held at Mezzeh prison. The prison was an infamous embodiment of Syrian government repression. Widespread human rights abuses and torture has been reported from the Mezzeh prison throughout its history but most notably during the rule of Hafez al-Assad (1970–2000). History The hill-top structure dates back to crusader days. During the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, the French rebuilt it in 1920s and used Mezzeh to house anti-colonial fighters and political prisoners. However, the prison took on a central importance for Syrian political life only in 1949, after the first Syrian coup d'état. Coup leader Husni al-Za'im, then imprisoned his predecessor in Mezzeh, only to follow three and half months later when he was himself overthrown. Si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended Paris, and working-class radicalism grew among its soldiers. Following the establishment of the Third Republic in September 1870 (under French chief executive Adolphe Thiers from February 1871) and the complete defeat of the French Army by the Germans by March 1871, soldiers of the National Guard seized control of the city on March 18. They killed two French army generals and refused to accept the authority of the Third Republic, instead attempting to establish an independent government. The Commune governed Paris for two months, establishing policies that tended toward a progressive, anti-religious system of social democracy, including the separation of church and state, self-policing, the remission of rent, the abolition of child ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Air Force Intelligence Directorate
The Air Force Intelligence Directorate ( ar, إدارة المخابرات الجوية, ''Idarat al-Mukhabarat al-Jawiyya'') is an intelligence service of Syria, possibly the country's most powerful, owing its importance to Hafez al-Assad's role as the Air Force commander. Despite its name, it is mainly involved with issues other than air force intelligence, and took an active part in the suppression of the Muslim Brotherhood rebellion in the 1980s. Agents of this service have frequently been stationed in Syrian embassies or branch offices of the national airline. The service was headed for nearly thirty years by Maj. Gen. Muhammad al-Khuli, who was trusted by Hafez al-Assad and had an office adjacent to the president's in the presidential palace. In 1995, it was headed by Ibrahim Huwayji. As of 2019, it is headed by Gen Ghassan Jaoudat Ismail. Hassan previously served as a security official in the eastern governorate of Deir ez-Zor. He is a part of Bashar al-Assad's inner c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mezzeh
Mezzeh ( ar, ٱلْمَزَّة, al-Mazzah, also transcribed as al-Mazzah, el-Mezze, etc.) is a municipality in Damascus, Syria, due west of Kafr Sousa. It lies to the southwest of central Damascus, along the Mezzeh highway (also known as Fayez Mansour). It started gaining importance when the French constructed Mazzeh Military Airport, which was the main airport in Damascus until Damascus International Airport opened. It also held the notorious Mezzeh prison until 2000. The municipality includes the Damascus University and contains many foreign embassies. The current presidential palace sits atop Mount Mezzeh and overlooks all of Damascus. It is one of the most modern and expensive areas of Damascus, especially the areas along the highway. Districts *Al-Jalaa (pop. 3,514) *Western Villas (pop. 12,393) *Eastern Villas (pop. 13,776) *Mezzeh 86 (pop. 33,191) *Mezzeh al-Qadimeh (Old Mezzeh or Shaykh Sa'ad) (pop. 13,555) *Mezzeh Jabal (Mount Mezzeh) (pop. 22,655) *Al-Rabwa ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siege Of Darayya And Muadamiyat
The siege of Darayya and Muadamiyat was launched by the Syrian Armed Forces in late 2012 after rebels took over most of the Damascus suburbs of Darayya and Muadamiyat al-Sham in November 2012. Since then, the power grid in the area was cut off as the government attempted to storm the towns multiple times. During the siege the towns were continuously hit by airstrikes from the Syrian Air Force. On 24 August 2016 it was confirmed that the rebels and the Syrian Government made a deal in which the rebels would leave the city. They would be able to leave and would be sent up to Idlib with their families. The rest of the civilians would be relocated. The town of Muadamiyat al-Sham was also surrendered on 19 October under a similar agreement. The siege 2015 The rebels in Darayya launched an offensive in early August 2015, after months of preparations, in an attempt to push back government forces from the town and possibly reach the nearby Mezzeh military airport which had been us ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darayya Massacre
The Darayya massacre ( ar, مجزرة داريا) was a massacre carried out by Syrian government forces of Bashar al-Assad that occurred between 20 and 25 August 2012 in the town of Darayya in the Rif Dimashq province of Syria, during the Syrian civil war. Background From the start of the conflict, the city of Darayya outside Damascus had been a hotspot for protesters against the government. When hundreds were arrested, locals took up arms. Two months before the massacre, the police and state intelligence had withdrawn from the town. Soon after, 3,000 fighters from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) made Darayya their stronghold. They held a strategic position, situated on the edge of the military airport at Mezze, which was being used for air-strikes against rebel-held areas. Rebels and local residents reported opposition forces conducted mortar and rocket strikes against the base from Darayya. Also, a few days before the government attack, the rebels claimed to have killed 30 sold ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
