A Syrian cartoonist is arrested in October 2012 and disappears into the security services of Bashar al Assad. Now there are reports that the cartoonist died in prison, the cause described as everything from torture to an untreated illness. But not everyone buys the story. A dialogue begins on Facebook and Twitter about whether the cartoonist is really dead. His family — and many friends and colleagues — says he’s still alive though they haven’t seen or heard from him since the cartoonist was detained. Who to believe? That’s the morose challenge for relatives, friends and colleagues of those arrested in war-torn Syria.
As part of The Takeaway’s week-long focus on Syria, Ayat Shukairy, a listener from Detroit, joins the program to share updates from her family and friends currently living in Damascus, Homs, and Hama. Syrian government forces have reportedly stepped up their attacks on the besieged city of Homs. Roads in and out of parts of the […]
Back in February 1982, then-Syrian President Hafez al-Assad unleashed his troops on the city of Hama in an attempt to wipe out the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters. The Massacre lasted for a month and tens of thousands of Syrians lost their lives. Now the Syrian people are rising against the current president Bashar al-Assad […]
An opposition group said Syrian security forces opened fire on protesters in a Damascus suburb on Thursday, the latest incident of violence since Arab League peace monitors arrived in the country. Activists say over 20 people were injured outside the Grand Mosque in the Douma suburb, and two were killed. Eight other deaths were reported […]