Social Media Monitor: The Minaret of Al Omari Mosque Destroyed

A cartoon by artist Ayham Jumaa, shows the artist’s hope that the minaret of Al Omari Mosque in the city of Deraa will be rebuilt after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad – Facebook
A cartoon by artist Ayham Jumaa, shows the artist’s hope that the minaret of Al Omari Mosque in the city of Deraa will be rebuilt after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad – Facebook

The minaret of Al Omari Mosque in the city of Deraa, one of Syria’s oldest mosques, was destroyed by shellfire on Friday, April 12. The mosque is believed to have been built in the seventh century and has a symbolic value for opposition supporters because it witnessed the first protest in Deraa in March 2011.

A YouTube video shows the minaret falling while a tank could be seen to next to the mosque. 

The pro-government Al Dunia TV station’s Facebook page accused Al Nusra Front of destroying the minaret:

"It is the terrorists of Al Nusra Front in the city of Deraa who targeted the minaret of Al Omari Mosque … the province of Deraa renovated the mosque during the past two years… how would the [government] renovate the mosque and then strike it at the same time? And why were there cameras ready to film the minaret the moment it fell? All the evidence shows that terrorists booby-trapped it with explosives and blew it up…"
“It is the terrorists of Al Nusra Front in the city of Deraa who targeted the minaret of Al Omari Mosque … the province of Deraa renovated the mosque during the past two years… how would the [government] renovate the mosque and then strike it at the same time? And why were there cameras ready to film the minaret the moment it fell? All the evidence shows that terrorists booby-trapped it with explosives and blew it up…”

Opposition supporters, such as Wael Tamimi, who presents himself on his Facebook page as a journalist, held the regime responsible for destroying the minaret:

"Al Omari Mosque in Deraa was greater than the regime could handle; it is a witness to the [birth] of the revolution…"
“Al Omari Mosque in Deraa was greater than the regime could handle; it is a witness to the [birth] of the revolution…”

Syrian National Coalition member Haitham al-Malih tweeted:

"They have killed the people, wrecked their homes and violated their honor and, finally, they destroyed the houses of God! How could they win [this war]!"
“They have killed the people, wrecked their homes and violated their honor and, finally, they destroyed the houses of God! How could they win [this war]!”

The Battle of Qamishli

Fighting erupted between opposition and regime forces near the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in Hassaka province on Friday, April 12.

The Kurdish National Council, an umbrella group for the main Syrian Kurdish parties except the PKK-affiliated Kurdish Democratic Union Party, criticized the fighting in a statement on its Facebook page:

"These acts do not serve the revolution, of which we are a part, and which aims to topple the despotic regime and building a democratic one."
“These acts do not serve the revolution, of which we are a part, and which aims to topple the despotic regime and building a democratic one.”

Syrian Kurdish legal activist Mustafa Ismail wrote a comment on Facebook  in which he criticized the KNC’s statement:

"The pompous statements made by some leaders in the Kurdish National Council mean that they do not accept that the Free Syrian Army enter the city. I say the following to them: …your bravado will not deter the FSA from entering Qamishlu [the Kurdish name for Qamishli]…Work and make less statements."
“The pompous statements made by some leaders in the Kurdish National Council mean that they do not accept that the Free Syrian Army enter the city. I say the following to them: …your bravado will not deter the FSA from entering Qamishlu [the Kurdish name for Qamishli]…Work and make less statements.”

Chemical weapons used in Syria

The Syrian government is likely to have used chemical weapons in the areas of Aleppo, Homs and Damascus, according to French and British diplomatic reports that were submitted to the United Nations.  The British daily The Times had reported that earth samples taken secretly in Syria were tested by the British Ministry of Defence and showed contamination with substances used in chemical warfare.

The Syrian government has refused to allow UN inspectors into the country.

In reaction to these reports, Syrian opposition supporters blamed the international community for its leniency towards the Syrian regime. Syrian writer Mustafa Hadid, who lives in Kuwait, criticized US President Barack Obama for his inaction on the issue.

"It will go down in history that the Barack Hussein Obama (the first black American president of Muslim origin) gave a bloody, rogue gang all the…facilitation it needs to wipe out the Syrian people [by means including] extermination by chemical weapons …"
“It will go down in history that the Barack Hussein Obama (the first black American president of Muslim origin) gave a bloody, rogue gang all the…facilitation it needs to wipe out the Syrian people [by means including] extermination by chemical weapons …”

FSA fires on towns in eastern Lebanon  

Over the past week, Syrian opposition fighters have targeted several Lebanese villages in the eastern Hermel area, which is a stronghold of Hezbollah, an armed Lebanese Shiitegroup that supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Recent reports have also indicated that fighters affiliated with Hezbollah have been increasingly involved in the Syrian conflict.

Yasser Zaatreh, a Palestinian columnist at the Jordanian daily Al-Dustoor, criticized Hezbollah in a tweet:

"… Hezbollah is getting more embroiled [in the Syrian conflict], not only on the border, but apparently inside Damascus as well."
“… Hezbollah is getting more embroiled [in the Syrian conflict], not only on the border, but apparently inside Damascus as well.”

Syrian-Palestinian Al Jazeera journalist Dima Khatib suggested that the fighting between the Syrian opposition and Hezbollah is a distraction from the real battle to liberate Palestine. She tweeted:

"Hezbollah fires at Free Syrian Army positions; The Free Syrian Army fires at Hezbollah positions. Palestine is watching, crying!"
“Hezbollah fires at Free Syrian Army positions; The Free Syrian Army fires at Hezbollah positions. Palestine is watching, crying!”