Homs; not to be confused with homes

'Many dead' in fresh Homs attacks

The BBC's Jon Donnison: 'The Syrian government has acknowledged these deaths'

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Syria Crisis

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Activists believe as many as 47 people have been killed in an attack by pro-government militia in the embattled Syrian city of Homs.

Women and children are among those reported to have been tortured and killed on Sunday night in the neighbourhood of Karm el-Zeytoun.
The Syrian government acknowledged the deaths, but blamed "armed terrorists".
The attack happened hours after UN-Arab League peace envoy Kofi Annan ended his two-day mission to Damascus.
Homs has been under assault for weeks as government forces have tried to root out rebel fighters. Parts of the city are devastated.
'Deeper catastrophe'
Syria is being discussed at a meeting of UN Security Council foreign ministers in New York.
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said that the Security Council had so far failed in its responsibility to the Syrian people "in the eyes of the overwhelming majority of the world".
"It should be possible for the Council to call for an immediate end to the brutal repression and violations of human rights; to demand an end to all violence and immediate and unhindered humanitarian access," he said.
He called on the Council - which include Russia and China, who have opposed previous resolutions on Syria - to "adopt a resolution containing these essential elements".
Mr Hague's comments echoed those of the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who said the Syrian government had "failed to fulfil its responsibility to protect its own people and instead has subjected its citizens in several cities to military assault and disproportionate use of force".
Mr Ban said the Council must unite "to help Syria pull back from the brink of a deeper catastrophe".
'Burned alive' Hundreds of families fled the Karm el-Zeytoun area of Homs on Monday after reports of the attack in their neighbourhood overnight, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
One activist in Homs, Hadi Abdallah, told AFP the bodies of 26 children and 21 women were found, some with their throats slit and others bearing stab wounds.
Both the opposition Syrian Revolution General Commission (SRGC) and the Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC), an activist network in Syria, put the toll at 45.
The SRGC said that some of the victims had been burned alive with heating fuel poured over them and others had their necks and limbs broken.
Mulham al-Jundi, an opposition activist and member of the SNC, said Karm el-Zeytoun was experiencing a military bombardment similar to the one seen in Baba Amr district in recent weeks.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague: ''It is time for the Security Council to show unity and leadership''

He told the BBC government troops were firing rockets from tanks outside the neighbourhood, then going in and "killing the families who stay inside these areas".
Reports are difficult to verify because of tight restrictions on independent media operating in Syria.
Footage posted on YouTube, said to show the bodies of men, women and children killed in the attack, made for grim viewing, said the BBC's Jon Donnison in neighbouring Lebanon.
In one video, at least 11 bodies can be seen, including at least four young children covered in blood, he adds.
Syrians have been urged to go on strike on Tuesday in a "day of mourning" organised by the LCC.
The LCC said last Thursday that at least 44 people - including 20 from one family and 16 from another - were killed in the Jobar district of Homs.
'Concrete proposals' Syrian state television accused "armed terrorist gangs" of carrying out the killings, saying the bodies had been filmed in an effort to discredit the government.
Both the LCC and the Observatory blame the pro-government Shabiha militia for the attack.
The Shabiha has been blamed for many of the atrocities carried out since the uprising began nearly a year ago.
Activists say their presence has allowed the government to deny any involvement in the most brutal actions against protesters.
Kofi Annan left Syria on Sunday after two days off talks with President Bashar al-Assad, saying he was "optimistic" about the possibility of a ceasefire, humanitarian access to affected areas and future political dialogue.
He said he had presented Mr Assad with "concrete proposals" to bring an end to the bloodshed, but gave no hint that a deal was imminent.

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17336560

1.      What is the link to Crisis Management?

Although globally more than 100,000 people die every day. Many people die, that shouldn't have, well maybe a lot more than many; but the people who die on a day to day basis in Syria is crisis on many fronts - not only are people dying due to tank shelling and gunfire, information leaking from Syria has informed the UN and other international organizations that people are being tortured and killed in brutal ways. 

2.      What stage of Crisis Management does the system appear to be at?

 This situation seems to be at the full blown crisis stage. It may be a huge risk for people residing in cities other than Homs but it surely seems to be an overall crisis for the whole country. It also can be deemed a crisis for the world, especially the UN and US. For the UN, because they have no power to do anything in this situation as long as China and Russia veto all sanctions made. US for the reason that they are blatant hypocrites in criticizing Bashar Al-Assad's regime while they empower warlords all over Africa and the Middle-East. Not only do they employ warlords all over the world, they have their own; recently reports about a staff sergeant killing 16 Afghan villagers released. 9 of them being children, the youngest of those being 2 years old. If US is attempting at managing a crisis in Syria may be it should try and clean up its own act first. Recent facts about war crimes such as: urinating on dead Afghan bodies, shooting women and children civilians in Iraq and now Afghanistan has come to be a common occurrence. If a regime is due for change it may also be the US.

3.      How well does the system appear to be handling the situation?

The system does not appear to be handling the situation at all. Although Arab league implemented monitors to review the situation in Syria they are powerless. Kofi Annan has been put in charge of this situation and has made no progress since. Sanctions drafts have been made but Russia and China ensure that they are not implemented. Russia does so for obvious reasons of the strong trading bond with the two nations; China, does so to ensure the UN does not intervene with China, one day. 

4.      What level of crisis preparedness does the system appear to have?

Although the UN was created for these kinds of crises, it seems to not have any crisis preparedness at all. Syria seems to have more preparedness through the use of Syrian state TV which informs the public that the Syrian army is fighting to free Syria from "terrorists" within Syria.

5.      What personal reactions/feelings does the description trigger in you?

This situation brings a mix of anguish and sorrow. At this point with the movement of the Arab Spring it seems that sorrow is more the feeling I have for this situation. The reason I feel that is that we have once again, normalized a crisis when it comes from the Middle East, South Asia, or Africa. It seems like these situations come about too often and therefore no one really cares anymore. We are very saddened by a train crash in Poland, and a cruise ship accident on the coast of Italy, or a horse that dies with its owner in northern Canada and we should be saddened, these are no doubt reasons to weep but to not value a human life as equal no matter where the location seems to be much more saddening. 

6.      What advice would you offer to those involved?

In this situation I do not know what advice to offer. I think the people of Syria have done all they could to stop the violence from occurring. There really is nothing else they can do. On the other hand the delivering arms to rebel groups by the UN or the Arab League is definitely not the answer to this crisis either.  Although very disappointed to say this, the right thing to do may be to allow ethical paralysis - do nothing. Since the issue is every colour of the rainbow except black and white no action is the right action. The only advice that can be given to those involved, is to be patient...