Syrian Weekly Press Roundup

The Syrian press has continued to downplay demonstrations and domestic tension this week, and most papers have reported widely on reform projects and foreign attempts to intervene in the country's domestic affairs. Hardly any article has reported on violent clashes, or even attacks by alleged "terrorist groups". In a rare account, Syrian state news agency SANA reported July 5 that four army officials were killed "by terrorist groups in Hama, Idlib and the outskirts of Damascus". The agency did not give any overall account of how many have lost their lives during recent events. The army continued their attacks in the areas Jabal Zawia and Mara Naman, and according to eyewitnesses, the army also broke into the small cities Kafr Nubl, Kafromo and Hass, all north of Damascus, in the middle of Syria, without opening fire or imposing a curfew, according to semi-independent daily AL-WATAN July 6. According to an unnamed official talking to the daily, the army "only targeted armed groups, and not those who demonstrate peacefully." The same day, Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Muallem denied claims that the Syrian army had intervened in the city of Hama, Syria's fourth largest city north of Damascus, but admitted that the situation in the city was tense, according to AL-WATAN. The daily added that although the army had not yet performed any action in the city, "the citizens disaffection with the increasing acts of sabotage has made them call for the army to re-impose stability in the city."