Turkey turns away opposition convoy headed for Syria

China’s Middle East envoy Wi Sike urged all Syrian parties to remove all obstacles hampering the Arab monitors from assuming their duties, following his meeting with Arab League Secretary General Nabil el-Araby on Thursday.     

In a press conference held in the United Nations, Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci said that the Syrian government took practical measures to mitigate the crisis, adding that weapons in the hands of the opposition foster violence on a broader scale.   

Human Rights Watch reported on Thursday that peaceful protesters trying to reach the location of Arab League observers in the village of Jisr el Shoughour in northern Syria, came under fire from Syrian security forces. It added that nine protesters were injured after security forces opened fire on the protesters who refused to scatter.  

The demonstrations continued in a number of Syrian cities such as Al Bab, Aleppo, Douma, Damascus countryside, Kankar and Harsata. In Homs, the coordinative committee of Homs’ tribes also organized a demonstration.  

Assad supporters took to the street in Tartous and Mousyaf in Hama, calling for fighting terrorism. Turkish authorities prevented a convoy of four buses and well over 20 cars carrying hundreds of Syrian activists holding banners reading “freedom convoy” from entering Syria via Turkey.