protests in Homs demand accountability for perpetrators of murder, violations
Thousands protested in the Syrian city of Homs, denouncing the repeated killings and abuses, amid growing calls for accountability and protection.
Thousands of members of the Murshidi sect participated in massive and angry sit-ins today, which began simultaneously in the city of Homs and several towns and villages in the countryside, including Karm al-Loz, al-Ghasaniyeh, al-Aqrabiyah, Sheen, Maryamin, al-Suwayri, Jan Kamra, Nuzhat al-Alyat, al-Bahlouniyeh, and Baydar al-Rafi'. They protested against what they described as the systematic targeting of the sect, according to local sources.
Protesters raised slogans demanding that the transitional government in Syria pursue the perpetrators involved in the killing and torture of members of the sect. They called for their public accountability, just retribution, and transparent media coverage of prosecution and trial procedures.
The protesters emphasized that the recurrence of these crimes in the absence of accountability poses a serious threat to civil peace. They held the security, judicial, and political authorities responsible for putting an end to these violations.
These actions follow a series of crimes, most notably the murder of engineer Mahmoud Ghosa (59 years old) after he was kidnapped from the city center. Prior to that, two young men were killed after being kidnapped from their workplace in the Adawiya neighborhood. Their bodies were later found murdered in cold blood.
Similar sit-ins have taken place in Homs and its countryside, as well as areas in the Hama and Latakia countryside, in recent weeks, protesting the insults directed at the sect and its religious figures, and what protesters described as a "systematic targeting" that began last December.
T/S
ANHA
