Top stories from DAWNS Digest.
Word of Another Massacre in Syria
There is increasing information about a mass atrocity event that has taken place in the Damascus suburb of Daraya. “Several other witnesses here and two activist groups have now offered accounts of what has begun to look like one of the deadliest and focused short-term assaults by the Syrian military since the uprising started nearly 18 months ago. Residents described how the Syrian Army first closed off the town, keeping civilians from fleeing, then methodically began a campaign of heavy shelling and house-to-house searches. Even as many of the details are still difficult to verify or determine — the exact number killed, how many were executed or died from shelling — evidence of what activists described as a massacre continues to mount. The death toll, rising all week, grew again on Sunday. A day after two activist networks, the Local Coordination Committees and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that more than 200 bodies had been found in the town, activists said another 15 bodies were discovered in the basement of a home in the area. That put the death toll for the week at more than 630 in the city, said the Local Coordination Committees, including nearly 300 people reported executed.” (NYT http://nyti.ms/RPTbQe)
At Least 7 Killed As Haiti Recovers from Isaac
The tropical storm was not as terrible as many had feared. However, at least 7 people were killed and parts of the country are still inaccessible. Cholera spread is now a big worry. “The death toll in Haiti continued to rise Sunday, as authorities struggled to recover form the damage left behind by Tropical Storm Isaac. Haiti’s Office of Civil Protection said at least seven people had been killed, including a young man who died in a landslide in DonDon, in northern Haiti. The tourist town of Jacmel, in Haiti’s southern peninsula, was particularly hard hit. On Sunday, the town was cut off by rivers and partially collapsed roads. Fallen trees riddled the city even as clean up crews were at work…Near the sprawling Haitian shantytown of Cite Soleil, residents waded through knee-high water. Power remained out in most of the capital Saturday after authorities cut electricity as a precautionary measure. The southern tourist city of Jacmel also lost power. As crews inspected the power grid, others worked to clear fallen trees, downed power lines and other debris from roads. But many quake refugees had refused to move, fearing thieves would steal their meager possessions or, worse, the government and aid groups would use it as an opportunity to shut down camps.” (Miami Herald http://hrld.us/RPVDWY)