China Cracks Down On Free Tibet Activists; Violence In Syria Spreads
KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: Welcome to NEWS STREAM, where news and technology meet. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And we begin in Syria where violence has spread to the town of Aleppo as government forces continue to attack Homs. Greeks brace for violence as protests show their opposition to more austerity measures for the country. And a winter chill descends over Afghanistan and it is taking its toll on the country's children. "Everyone is waiting for their turn to die," now those desperate words from an activist in the Syrian city of Homs where an opposition group says more than 100 people were killed on Thursday. This footage, it appears to show a rocket attack on the neighborhood of Baba Amr (ph) in Homs. And in the same area, the poster of this YouTube video says a mosque was attacked, although CNN can't verify the authenticity of the footage. There are also reports that the opposition is fighting back. And here, a government checkpoint is apparently blown up before a barrage of gunfire. And further north in Aleppo Syrian state television reports that terrorists caused two explosions that killed several soldiers and civilians. Now tens of thousands of people are taking to the streets across Syria today. And protesters are calling the march, quote, Russia is killing our children. It's in response to Russia's veto of the UN resolution on Syria last weekend. And the activists are calling for help from the international community, including Danny who posted this video online.</s>DANNY", SYRIAN ACTIVIST: This is one of the houses in Baba Amr (ph). Look at these children. Is this how the Assad regime is supposed to treat our children? Now you see what Assad regime is killing children. What is the UN going to do about this? What is the UN going to do about this? Nothing. They're going to sit and discuss and see what they're going to do -- going to do this peacefully, they don't solve peacefully with this murderer after what he did to these children. They've been hitting us from 6:00 am until -- it's 2:00 pm now. We have over 100 bodies, over 200 under</s>LU STOUT: Now let's step back and look at how we got to this stage in Syria. The uprising, it began 11 months ago in the wake of similar movements in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Last March, in the city of Daraa protesters called for the release of children detained for writing political graffiti and the government clamped down on the demonstrations immediately. And then soon after, President Bashar al Assad announced reforms and promised to lift a 48-year-old state of emergency law, but the violence continued. And the momentum grew. And protesters demands became unequivocal calls for the president to step down. Eventually defecting soldiers formed the Free Syrian Army, but opposition groups now appear to be increasingly fractured. Media coverage has been difficult as journalists are only allowed rare and controlled visits to Syria. And CNN and other news organizations have relied in part on amateur video posted online to tell the story. Now UN officials say at least 6,000 people have been killed in the violence. An opposition puts that number at more than 7,000. And as we have reported, western journalists are severely restricted in Syria, but we can get the latest from Ivan Watson who is covering events for us from Istanbul. He joins us now. And Ivan, what is your read on the state media reports of bomb attacks in Aleppo. What's really happening there?</s>IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's clear that from residents there that we've spoken to that there were at least two major explosions in Aleppo. That is the second city of Syria, a city that has largely been spared the violence that is destroying other opposition bastion cities like Homs, that violence that they are facing. In Aleppo two explosions this morning outside of security headquarters there. State media is saying that at least 25 people were killed and 175 wounded. They are calling these terrorist attacks. We're also seeing violence in other parts of Syria as well. Take a look at some footage that was shot by amateurs posted online. They're describing this as a suburb outside of the capital Damascus where you hear a volley of furious gunfire being exchanged. Residents of Damascus, Kristie, have been telling me about Syria military offensives in some of these suburbs and in the surrounding countryside in recent days. And this video seems to back up those accounts -- Kristie.</s>LU STOUT: You know, attacks are intensifying across Syria, including of course, Homs. What is the humanitarian situation there as residents, they remain trapped after a week of fighting?</s>WATSON: Well, once again the activists are telling us that the morning began at dawn with more rockets, more artillery being fired into this densely populated city of some one million people. Residential neighborhoods with shelling apparently going indiscriminately against for the better part of a week. Another video has emerged, this from a doctor in a makeshift clinic making an appeal to the international community. Take a listen to what he had to say.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All the cases are gunshot wounds and in critical condition, most of the wounded are in a coma. We are waiting for God's mercy. Look my brother, look at him and him. This man is in a complete coma. This is man is in very bad shape. This man has a complete gash and torn. Come here and see. This man was shot in the stomach. We cannot offer him any treament, except keeping watch. We wait for God's help for us. I appeal to all human rights organizations. I call upon the Red Crescent to enter Bab Amr immediately to stop this genocide.</s>WATSON: Desperate pleas for help. Meanwhile if diplomats we're talking to from a number of different governments around the world are indicating that it appears there shall be some kind of a meeting, an international conference of a group that is being proposed, something called the Friends of Syria group that may gather in about two weeks to discuss further measures to try to deal with this crisis, that's proposed perhaps two weeks from now. That leaves a lot more time for killing in the days ahead -- Kristie.</s>LU STOUT: That's right. Meanwhile, a very dire situation there in Homs and elsewhere. Also wanted to ask you a question, Ivan, about the Free Syrian Army. What is their status? Can they handle an even more drawn out fight against Damascus? And I also understand that there's this debate underway on whether or not they should be armed.</s>WATSON: The Free Syrian Army is not a monolithic structure. I mean, I think the name is a little bit misleading. These are pockets, groups, bands of defecting soldiers, in some cases joined by volunteers, who are trying to organize, defense and sometimes offensive operations against Syrian security forces. Today, we've had conflicting accounts from men claiming to be spokesman for the Free Syrian Army as to whether or not they were in the vicinity of the bomb attacks in that city of Aleppo. There are calls for members of the Syrian opposition in addition asking for medicine and blankets and basic supplies, heating oil -- it's winter in Syria -- also calling for weapons. And we do know that there is some smuggling going across borders: Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, to try to arm some of these volunteer fighters and defector soldiers. But the Free Syrian Army, I think, it's not clear to us that it is lead by one official, that it has a hierarchical structure, rather it is described to me by one Syria analyst as a group of franchise operations that have sprung up somewhat in parallel to the beginning of the uprising movement itself -- cells, revolutionary groups that spring up and protest against the government. And by its very nature, because there's not a hierarchical structure, it's hard for a police state like Syria to circle up and grab all the leaders in one fell swoop -- Kristie.</s>LU STOUT: Some valuable context there, the FSA is a franchise movement, as you put it. Ivan Watson joining us live from Istanbul, thank you very much indeed for that. Now let's take a look right here at just a few of the most powerful images taken in Homs just over the last week. This one, it's an unforgettable image, it shows a wounded girl recovering with her family. This took place on Sunday. And here, blood on the streets is visible in the Khaladia (ph) neighborhood. This photo taken on Saturday. And you can see the rest of those pictures in an online gallery. Go to cnn.com. Now Tibetan and human rights groups say that Chinese security forces are brutally putting down protests. Now that is reportedly happening in these two provinces bordering the Tibetan autonomous region. And several ethnic Tibetans have set themselves on fire in a desperate act against Chinese rule. But the violence has been mostly hidden from the outside world. Now China is restricting media access to these remote Tibetan communities. And that comes ahead of two important dates. Now February 22 is the Tibetan New Year. And March 14 will mark the fourth anniversary of deadly riots in Lhasa. Now Chinese authorities blamed trained separatists for instigating the violence. They've also disputed recent reports of self immolations. Now Eunice Yoon has more from Beijing.</s>EUNICE YOON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Seven officials in Tibet have been fired after a bout of unrest in Tibetan parts of China. The Communist Party boss in the autonomous region has reportedly sacked the security personnel for leaving their posts during the lunar New Year holiday. According to the state run Tibet daily newspaper, the officers were dismissed for neglecting their duties and endangering stability. The firings come amidst and upsurge in violence in the region. Human rights groups who are holding vigils, say another Tibetan monk has set himself on fire in western Sichuan province to protest China's policies, possibly the 20th self immolation in the past year.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This a very difficult situation to</s>YOON: A U.S. broadcaster reports that two Tibetan brothers have been shot dead by Chinese security forces in the same area for taking part in anti-government protests. The reports are difficult to confirm, because foreigners, especially journalists, have been blocked from traveling to Tibetan populated parts of China, which Tibetan activists say are now seeing their worst protests in four years. Chinese authorities say the protesters are separatists, encouraged by the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. The Tibet government in exile says it supports the Tibetan people.</s>YOON: Regional authorities have been warned that they need to maintain stability in the area, especially ahead of the Tibetan New Year, or face dismissal or criminal charges. Eunice Yoon, CNN, Beijing.</s>LU STOUT: And ahead on NEWS STREAM, Greece comes up with a budget plan, but the EU says it is not tough enough. Right now, violence is breaking out on the streets. And in Afghanistan, displaced by war, killed by the cold, parents in refugee camps say that they are afraid of losing their children, and many already have.