Syria Live: A Mass Killing Near Damascus

See also Today's Egypt (and Beyond) Live: The Perpetual Hope of the $4.8 Billion Loan
Sunday's Syria Live: International Support for the Insurgency?

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2107 GMT: Death Toll Rises. According to the Local Coordination Committees, 96 people have been killed so far today nationwide:

47 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its suburbs; 23 in Aleppo; 9 in Idlib; 8 in Homs; 3 in Daraa; 2 in Deir Ezzor; 2 in Hama; 1 in Raqqa; and 1 in Lattakia.

That number is over an hour old. With the amount of violence reported, expect it to rise by morning.

See our note on the casualty figures published by the LCC.

2059 GMT: Opposition Group Calls for Rebellion to "Correct its Path". The Local Coordination Committee of Douma has called for the unification of all rebel groups under the control of the Free Syrian Army east of Damascus. The goal is not just about combat effectiveness, however. The unification is important " for the sake of supporting and achieving the revolution goals in freedom, and dignity and in toppling the regime and building up a civil democratic state for all Syrians regardless of their backgrounds and religion."

Above all, the Free Syrian Army needs to "correct its path," according to the LCC.

2018 GMT: Lebanese Shiekhs Call for Jihad. Today, two prominent Lebanese clerics have called for a Jihad against Hezbollah in al Qusayr, across the border south of Homs:

Lebanese Sheikh Ahmad Al-Assir has called for jihad in #Syria and has announced the formation of the Free Resistance Brigades.

— NMSyria (@NMSyria) April 22, 2013

Video of Lebanese Sheikh Assir urging people to join the fight in Syria fb.me/IHDaxC3q messy situation just got messier thanks to HZ

— Nuff Silence (@NuffSilence) April 22, 2013

In the past hour two Lebanese shiekhs have issued a general readiness call for jihad in #Syria's Qusayr. #Lebanon

— Shakeeb Al-Jabri (@LeShaque) April 22, 2013

Everyone is worried #Syria's revolution and conflict will cause a civil war among Lebanese. Turns out it did, in Syria! #Lebanon

— Shakeeb Al-Jabri (@LeShaque) April 22, 2013

It is not clear how many jihadists will heed the sheikhs' call. Seems most who are willing to die for God are already in #Syria. #Lebanon

— Shakeeb Al-Jabri (@LeShaque) April 22, 2013

To recap, in recent weeks, Hezbollah fighters have played a key roll in defending Assad positions in Homs province. Syrian rebels then went on the offensive and engaged in cross-border attacks. This has heightened sectarian tensions, but also raised concern that Hezbollah fighters may increase their presence in Syria. Now, with this announcement, the fear is rising that sectarian violence will explode in both Syria and in Lebanon.

1910 GMT: Christian Bishops Kidnapped in Aleppo. The Lebanese Daily Star adds details on the kidnapping of two bishops in Aleppo:

The driver of Boulos al-Yazigi, the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Aleppo and Iskandaroun and Yuhanna Ibrahim, the Syrian-Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo, was killed during the attack.

The NNA reported that Ibrahim, Yazigi and the third man, also a priest, were driving from a village near the Turkish border to Aleppo. As they approached the city, they were met with an armed group that forced them out of the car.

They claim that rebels have done the kidnapping. However, we've seen no evidence at this point to suggest which side, and which faction, has kidnapped the bishops.

1855 GMT: Jabhat al Nusra Detractors Protest. We've often criticized the media's penchant for oversimplifying the Syrian crisis. When the media speaks of the opposition they often speak of the "moderates," as opposed to "Al Qaeda." This misses the fact that Jabhat al Nusra, while Jihadist, has no direct ties to the Al Qaeda leadership that conducted the 9/11 attacks, or that there are other Islamist groups that are less radical than Jabhat al Nusra and are opposed to that group. Of course, this dichotomy also misses the fact that Jabhat al Nusra has been fairly effective militarily, and their organizational skills have on occasion won them support among some members of the moderate opposition.

One of the most oversimplified aspect to the media's understanding of this dynamic is that many who live in territory under the control of Al Nusra do not like the radical group. There have been anti-Nusra protests in Deir Ez Zor, Al Bukamal, Al Raqqah, and other towns across the Jabhat-al-Nusra controlled areas. Some of those protests have been ignored by the Islamists. Others, such as one that reportedly took place earlier today, have been broken up:

Jabhat al-Nusra now dispersing protestors with machine gun fire. What hell awaits... youtube.com/watch?v=5vfVLP…

— michaeldweiss (@michaeldweiss) April 22, 2013

Early on, when Jabhat al Nusra was winning military victories and passing out bread, some in the opposition found a partner in Jabhat al Nusra despite ideological differences. As Michael Weiss, Eliot Higgins and others have pointed out, however, this marriage may soon end in a very messy, and very violent, divorce.

1830 GMT: Christian Bishops Kidnapped in Aleppo. Assyrian Archbishop Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim has been criticized by some for supporting the Assad regime. However, Ibrahim has repeatedly called for peaceful negotiations and a negotiated settlement, and has tried to put himself in a peace-brokering role. He has a strong track record of ecumenicism and inter-faith relations. In an October interview, he told the Huffington Post that he hoped a ceasefire could be negotiated in Aleppo, and he expressed hope that Syria's religious and diversity would be one of the key factors in rebuilding the country:

"The energy, the goodwill, the efforts of the all the Syrians coming from different backgrounds will help very much to rebuild Syria...Syria is not Iraq, is not Egypt, is not Libya. Those who are against any future are very tiny, a very small number," he said. "The coming constitution should mention all the rights of the religions. It should contain an opportunity to act in a positive way for all of society. And remember, we are a very religious society...I think religion can play a very positive way in the future of Syria."

Greek Orthodox Archbishop Metropolitan Paul Yazigi has also been criticised for supporting the regime, but he has also spent much of his life studying and working towards ecumenical understanding and interfaith harmony. According to his Wordpress, the focus of the church in Aleppo has turned towards humanitarian goals, as Christians there are stuck in the middle of the civil war that has torn the country apart:

Christians are not part of the ongoing process of violence. They are the calling voice into preservation of peace in our nation, and simultaneously, the initiatives to the democratic dialogue between the conflicting parties. Nevertheless, they suffer the same impacts and implications of war and violence that the conflicting parties are going through.

It is unclear who captured these two leaders, or where they are currently being held.

1819 GMT: Christian Bishops Kidnapped. A reporter for Al Jazeera and a prominent activist report that two prominent Christian Bishops have been kidnapped:

sources in #Aleppo Bishop Yazighi and Bishop Ibrahim were kidnapped and their driver killed in Aleppo as they were coming back from #Turkey

— dalal mawad (@dalalmawad) April 22, 2013

I don't know how this is not breaking news yet, but the most important Christian in Syria: Bishop Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim is kidnapped (1)

— The 47th (@THE_47th) April 22, 2013

Why I am almost certain: 2 seperate ppl I know have bn trying to reach the Archbishop are saying they haven't been able to all day #PT (2)

— The 47th (@THE_47th) April 22, 2013

So far, there are no accompanying details.

1803 GMT: Hezbollah at War with the Syrian People. George Sabra, now the new acting leader of the Syrian National Coalition (see previous update) has come out of the gate swinging. In statements today, he said that Hezbollah's interference in helping the Assad regime is tantamount to waging war against the Syrian people. He called on the Arab League to treat this as an act of war:

"What is happening in Homs is a declaration of war against the Syrian people and the Arab League should deal with it on this basis," George Sabra said shortly after the opposition bloc announced his appointment as interim chief.

"The Lebanese president and the Lebanese government should realize the danger that it poses to the lives of Syrians and the future relations between the two peoples and countries," he added.

These would be empty words not long ago, but the Arab League has given Syria's seat to the opposition. Hypothetically, this statement could push the Arab League for more action.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether the Arab League will act on Sabra's suggestion, however.

1550 GMT: George Sabra to Lead Opposition. Following the finalized resignation of Moaz al Khatib, the Syrian National Coalition has named George Sabra as the temporary leader of the opposition's main leadership body:

Sabra "was assigned today to carry out the functions of the head of the Coalition until elections for a new president," one of the Coalition's main constituent groups, the Syrian National Council, said in a statement on Monday.

Sabra, a Christian from rural Damascus, is described as a ""leftist, pro-Arab, secular opposition figure," by the The Carnegie Endowment which provides this bio:

Sabra was a co-founder of the Damascus Declaration opposition coalition in 2005, and in the same year, the Syrian Communist Party (Political Bureau) changed its name to the Syrian Democratic People’s Party. He remained in Syria after the uprising began in March 2011 and was imprisoned in July for two months on charges of inciting dissent. In October he went into exile in order to escape rearrest and joined the Syrian National Council as the representative of the Democratic People’s Party. Sabra presented himself as a candidate when the term of Syrian National Council chairman Burhan Ghalioun ended in May 2012, but he lost the nomination to Abdul Basit Sida.

1520 GMT: Death Toll Rising. After yesterday's extremely high death toll, reportedly the result of a massacre west of Damascus, the LCC is reporting that 57 people have been killed so far today, but most of those are in and around Damascus:

30 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its suburbs; 8 in Aleppo; 7 in Homs; 6 in Idlib; 3 in Daraa; 1 in Deir Ezzor; 1 in Raqqa and 1 in Lattakia.

The Local Coordination Committees (LCC) is an activist network operating both inside and outside of Syria. They claim to use stringent verification processes to ensure that a member of the LCC can vouch for any information posted either on their Facebook page or their website. The LCC also cooperates with an independent organization to populate database of those killed in the Syrian conflict, which can be seen at the website for the Center for Documentation of Violations in Syria.

The LCC's casualty figures are often a mix of insurgents and civilians, and never include regime casualties. Syrian State Media has stopped reporting regime casualty figures.

Also see our description of the Local Coordination Committees and how we utilize their reports in the Columbia Journalism Review.

1445 GMT: International Support - US Edition. A single chart explains everything we need to know about the international efforts to provide humanitarian aid to Syrians affected by this crisis. Despite calls from Gulf Nations and countries across the world to help Syria's people, the United States has delivered over one quarter of all the humanitarian aid:

It should be noted that Russia is on the list, but near the bottom, with Belgium just above and Switzerland just below, despite the fact that Russia has between 3 and 4 times as high a GDP of these two nations - and Belgium is a member of the european Union, another major source of humanitarian aid to Syrians. A supplier of Assad's military might, Russian officials have criticized other countries for causing more harm than good in the war-torn conflict.

Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar are also major players in this conflict, and the vast majority of the aid they've pledged has not been delivered. Their GDPs are approximately between 1/5th and 1/7th of Russia annual GDP.

1355 GMT: Another Massacre with Multiple Narratives. It's no surprise that with news breaking from opposition sources that the Assad government is guilty of another massacre near Damascus, the regime is already coming out with a counter-narrative that says the Syrian rebels were the ones doing all the killing. The Guardian has interviewed a member of the Syrian army who says that the army has uncovered mass graves after they liberated the town from the terrorists who held it.

James Miller takes over today's live coverage. Thanks to Scott Lucas for getting us started this morning.

0755 GMT: National Defense Forces

Reuters profiles the regime's creation of the National Defense Forces, portraying it as an attempt by the minority Alawite sect --- to which President Assad and much of the ruling elite belongs --- seeking a "reliable" force in contrast to an army in which most conscripts are Sunnis:

"After the events began, our leadership started to lose faith in the army and its effectiveness on the ground in a war like this. The Syrian army is an aging one. There is a lot of routine. A lot of soldiers fled. Some joined armed gangs (the opposition)," said a 35-year old military commander by telephone from Damascus....

"So we got the idea to make the National Defence Forces. They started out as popular committees patrolling their neighborhoods. Then they became armed groups. And in late 2012, they were legitimized under the name National Defence Forces (NDF)."

Although it is officially a "volunteer" reserve, Reuters claims from fighters that their salaries are paid by the military.

0625 GMT: EU to Lift Oil ban on Insurgents

European diplomats say the European Union will revise its oil embargo on Syria today, allowing EU companies to import crude and export oil production technology and investment cash to areas in the hands of the opposition.

A draft of the text to be agreed by the ministers says the EU "considers it necessary to introduce derogations" to its existing sanctions against Syria "with a view to helping the Syrian civilian population...in particular to meeting humanitarian concerns, restoring normal life, upholding basic services, reconstruction, and restoring normal economic activity".

Diplomats admitted the decision, possibly followed by the easing of other restrictive measures such as in the key financial sector, might be difficult and take time to implement. "But it will give a strong signal to Assad," said one.

Under the deal, firms seeking to import Syrian crude or invest in the energy sector would ask for authorization from their home governments, which in turn would confer with Syria's opposition National Coalition to secure agreement.

The EU banned investments in Syrian oil in September 2011, followed by a ban on imports of oil in December.

0525 GMT: Fighting Near Lebanon Border

Amid ongoing clashes near the town of Qusayr, State media claim that regime forces extended control over nearby Saqraja.

Lebanese security sources said insurgents fired rockets into Lebanese towns near the border Sunday, causing damage but no casualties. One attack landed at an orphanage with 450 children.

Opposition forces have warned that they will move the battle to Lebanon if Hezbollah continues to fight alongside regime forces.

0505 GMT: Head of Opposition Confirms Resignation Over International Inaction

On Sunday, Moaz al-Khatib, the head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, confirmed last month's announcement of his resignation.

A Coalition spokesman said the departure was over the "lack of real action by the international community". Al-Khatib left the cryptic comment on his Facebook page, "When a bird is in his cage, he remains imprisoned and paralysed. Yesterday I came out of the cage of deception that I was in.”

0450 GMT: Casualties

Amid the claimed mass killing in Jdeidat al-Fadel near Damascus, the Local Coordination Committees in Syria is asserting thst 566 people were killed on Sunday, including 483 in Damascus and its suburbs.

The Violations Documentation Center reports 57,662 people killed since the beginning of the conflict in March 2011, an increase of 132 from Sunday.

Of the dead, 45,565 are civilians, a rise of 98 from yesterday.

0440 GMT: Mass Killing in Jdeidat Al-Fadel

On Saturday, the Free Syrian Army withdrew from towns southwest of Damascus, saying that it wanted to prevent civilians from being killed as regime forces tried to seize territory.

It was not to be.

Yesterday activists reported that at least 80 people had been slain in Jdeidat al-Fadel as President Assad's military occupied the area. Videos and pictures showed the dead.

The circumstances have not been established, although claims are circulating that the regime army took away almost 500 people and that many --- one assertion was more than 200 --- were executed.

State news agency SANA merely said, "Armed Forces units inflicted heavy losses upon terrorists in the town of Jdiadet al-Fadl in Damascus Countryside, injuring a number of them nd killing others including Mohammad Rihan and Khaled al-Fares."

Other reports said the Free Syrian Army had run out of ammunition, prompting its departure. There have been months of fighting in the area, notably in and around the town of Jdeydet Artouz close to Jdeydat al-Fadel.