On the Ground in Syria

by Regina Small

Because independent journalists are not allowed to move about freely in Syria, news outlets are depending on reports from people such as [Omar] Shakir and on information collected by international human rights groups to offer a picture of what’s happening inside Syria — where, according to the United Nations, government forces have killed more than 5,000 people in the nearly 12 months since protests against the regime began.

— As the U.S. closes its embassy and Russia blocks a U.N. resolution condemning the Syrian president, Syrian blogger Shakir spoke to Morning Edition’s Renee Montagne today about the assault on Homs: “’I just want [Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov] to come here inside Baba Amr,’ Shakir said, ‘and sleep one night if he can…. We cannot sleep…. We cannot find food…. I just want him to come here inside Baba Amr and suffer as we suffer and see what we see.’”