Syria Rocked by Fresh Bloodshed

Renewed violence across Syria has left dozens dead, as Arab League observers continue their mission to oversee a peace plan for the country.

In the capital Damascus, state TV said up to 26 people died when a suicide bomber detonated explosives near a bus.

Opposition groups say the government staged the blast to influence the Arab League mission.

Elsewhere in Syria, activists say 29 people have been killed by security forces during anti-government protests.

The Damascus blast happened at a busy junction in the Midan district and state TV showed the shattered blood-stained windows of what appeared to be a bus carrying policemen.

The BBC’s Lina Sinjab is in Damascus.

Read the Transcript
The text below is a phonetic transcript of a radio story broadcast by PRI’s THE WORLD. It has been created on deadline by a contractor for PRI. The transcript is included here to facilitate internet searches for audio content. Please report any transcribing errors to theworld@pri.org. This transcript may not be in its final form, and it may be updated. Please be aware that the authoritative record of material distributed by PRI’s THE WORLD is the program audio.

Lisa Mullins: I’m Lisa Mullins and this is The World. There was a new wave of violence in Syria today. Dozens of people were killed. Syrian government officials say that includes at least 26 people killed by a suicide bombing in Damascus. The explosion reportedly targeted a police bus. We’ve reached the BBC’s Lina Sinjab in Damascus where there is disagreement about who’s responsible for today’s bombing and for previous attacks as well.

Lina Sinjab: The government blames them on terrorist groups who are destabilizing the country. However, the opposition have a different view on the situation and believe the timing of these bombs are to show the Arab League observers who are in town that the country is under attack by terrorists and by al-Qaeda.

Mullins: So what is the evidence if the government says that this was the opposition. It says that this was a suicide bomber, what is the evidence that that was indeed the case?

Sinjab: Well, there is not evidence. It’s just an accusation that the government is pointing the fingers toward the terrorists. Of course, since day one of this uprising there have been many accusations the government has played against several groups, starting from the Salafis to the al-Qaeda, to terrorist groups, foreign elements sometimes, people who are traitors who are working with the Israelis. But although they have arrested many people and claimed that they have testimonies of being terrorist groups, we haven’t seen any of their trials to show the evidence of these attacks.

Mullins: When these things happen, explosions like these and they seem to represent an escalation of the bloodshed there, who investigates them?

Sinjab: Immediately the whole area is sealed off by the security and the official forces. And only a limited access is given to the media people. We know for sure that the Arab League observers were on site today. They have been filming. All of what we managed to have access to was the footage that the Syrian television and the pro-government broadcasters have been broadcasting from the site. And of course, soon after the attack and as the cameras were there, pro-Assad supporters started people chanting either Assad or nobody. So this immediately appears on the stage to show the audience, to show the Arab League observers who are arriving that people are in full solidarity with the president.

Mullins: Does that mean that President Assad does not necessarily have control over the area if it’s true that this was a suicide bomber, which is what the government itself is saying. Is the government incapable of preventing things like that?

Sinjab: Well, that’s what the government are trying to portray, but at the same time if one visits the city and sees the number of security personnel that are surrounding areas where protests take place it’s hard to believe that they lose control. It’s hard to believe that anything would happen without their own knowledge.

Mullins: The BBC’s Lina Sinjab in Damascus, the capital of Syria, thank you very much, Lina.

Sinjab: Thank you.

Copyright ©2009 PRI’s THE WORLD. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to PRI’s THE WORLD. This transcript may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior written permission. For further information, please email The World’s Permissions Coordinator at theworld@pri.org.