Talk:Akrama School Bombing

Protests
There were public protests in Homs following the school bombing calling for the provincial governor, Talal al-Barazi, to resign. A New York Times article explains how these were led by "supporters of the government, angry that security forces did not prevent (the bombing)." But the report points out the similarities to 2011's anti-government protests, including their echoing of a ubiquitous chant re-worked into “the people want the fall of the governor.”

A Sky News report adds a mathematical angle, reporting thast the governor "is accused of playing down the atrocity after saying 30 pupils were killed," when in fact "a total of 54 people died, including 47 children under 12, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights." Last I saw, they were one child short of that tally, but point made - 30 is way smaller than 46/47. However, at one point, the SOHR were also saying 30 pupils died, just like the governor said. It was probably true when both said it, at the same time: as the SOHR section below shows, the numbers weren't fudged down, they grew with time as people died from their injuries. Do the people there really think he was trying to minimize the number? This sounds like a pretty stupid thing to think.

NYT implies that is the gist, saying the dissident have been posting pictures of Gov. Barazi with food aid delivered to al-Wa'er (the last rebel holdout district of Homs), calling him a friend of the terrorists over that. By this criteria, maybe they would suspect he allowed the attack due to negligence or fondness, or would try to minimize the crimes of his buddied. But it still seems like a stupid thing to think, and I have my doubts about these supposed masses of frustrated "pro-government" citizens. --Caustic Logic (talk) 13:58, 4 October 2014 (UTC)


 * Edward Dark shines some light on the protests. --CE (talk) 09:09, 8 October 2014 (UTC)


 * [...] Those protests were born of a community at the breaking point, fatigued and worn down by years of a conflict with no end in sight and getting bloodier. The ugly mood is further exasperated by the perceived indifference of state media to their plight, a point made clearly in the commentary of a protest video posted online. [...] Another point of great aggravation to regime loyalists in many cities across Syria is the rampant unrestrained corruption and criminality of many of the paramilitary militias linked to the regime, like the Ligan Shaabiya and National Defense Forces, which loot houses and run checkpoints and are notorious for taking bribes to let weapons or wanted men through, or pocketing fees to allow trucks with legitimate cargo to cross. This toll bridge operation is what people in Homs have blamed for allowing the suicide bombers to enter what should have been a secure area. This anger was, of course, directed at the governor, who's in effect the weakest link in the regime’s ruling apparatus, overshadowed by all the other military units and security agencies over which he has no control. [...] An important point to remember — and one missed by the overhyped coverage of the loyalist Homs protest by mainstream media — is that although regime supporters in Homs are seething with fury and resentment, they are hardly likely to switch allegiance to the side that murdered their children. [...]

SOHR

 * Facebook page, Oct. 1:
 * 2 powerful explosions were heard in the neighborhood of new Ekremah which is inhabited by Alawites, one of these 2 explosions caused by an explosion of a booby trapped car near the primary school of Ekremah al Makhzomi leading to kill and injure dozens of people, including children.


 * site, Oct. 1:
 * 18 people, including children, were killed while 40 other were injured due to explosion of 2 booby trapped cars ... The number is expected to go up because there are people who were seriously wounded.
 * It went up. Fatal injuries and deep lifetime maiming seem prevalent.


 * Facebook update 39 dead, including 30 children
 * FB 41 children and 7 adults.
 * Five more kids died, for 53 total Website, Oct. 1:
 *  rose to 53, the number of people who were killed by 2 explosions in Ekrima neighborhood in Homs city today, including 46 children most of them were under the age of 12, and 3 elements from the criminal security, including 1 officer, when they came to the area after the first explosion . the number of the dead is likely to rise according to the serious injuries.
 * their mourning this morning turned into a set-in, the civilians of Homs demanded of discharging Homs governor and his assistant “Luna al-Shebel” the director of the press office in the regime .
 * (the reasoning for the latter is not explained) --Caustic Logic (talk) 10:34, 3 October 2014 (UTC)