Talk:June 2011 Jisr ash-Shughur clashes

Comments
Is this supposed to be (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jisr_ash-Shugur)? I cannot find reference to a Jisr al-Shughour anywhere. I was going to put the map of the location up, but it is not existent.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Jisr+Ash-Shughur,+Jisr+ash-Shugur,+Idlib+Governorate,+Syria&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&safe=active&ie=UTF8&hl=en&geocode=FQV8IgIdCTMqAg&split=0&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=23.875,57.630033&hq=&hnear=Jisr+Ash-Shughur,+Jisr+ash-Shugur,+Idlib+Governorate,+Syria&ll=35.814403,36.320028&spn=0.025683,0.038581&t=h&z=15

Merge
Does this particular event merit its own article? Should it be merge into either Jisr al-Shughour or the 2011 Syrian uprising?213.1.240.149 (talk) 18:14, 8 June 2011 (UTC)

Given the available sources, there is no more reliable information than if the events were occurring on Venus. Fatidiot1234 (talk) 18:44, 12 June 2011 (UTC)

Massacre
This is not a siege, as there was no major concerted battle between clearly defined forces. At best it could be considered a clash. However, there are reports that the soldiers who were killed were executed by their own commanders for refusing to kill protestors. That would make it a massacre and not a battle. ArcherMan86 (talk) 21:05, 10 June 2011 (UTC)

At this point massacre seems like a loaded word, as more information comes or if that term becomes accepted then it might be ok to change it, but at this point "massacre" is just as inaccurate as "siege", merging this into the 2011 Syrian uprising might help sort this out, as a popular name for this event has yet to be determined and it better fits under that article. "Battle" seems by far to carry the least connotations but has a more accurate denotation to match these events. If anything "uprising" may become more appropriate based on your description, that the governemnt is acting in response to rebellion by police and military as well as civilian protests. Attwell (talk) 08:56, 12 June 2011 (UTC)

Aljazeera
Aljazeera is becoming increasingly flaky. Before, they put whatever rumors they heard in their live blog, and if the facts turned out to be untrue, they left it anyway. Now it appears they're removing them, but not with the 'red print' other news sources use to show corrections. The original summary here WAS accurate, as the phrase shows up in a Google search although the cache has now been overwritten. However, I assume it was removed because the witness turned out to be not reliable, not talking about this siege, or whatever - who knows? There's no way to really corroborate anything. Flatterworld (talk) 07:09, 12 June 2011 (UTC)

Extremist Town
From what I have read, Jisr al-Shughur has been a dangerous place in Syria for a long time, but especially since a revolt in the town in 1980. Many Syrians in the bigger cities say it's basically a little Saudi Arabia in Syria, residents are VERY extreme Sunni Muslims, very young female children are made to wear headscarves even though according to Islamic law only girls who have been through puberty are required to do so. In addition, women in Syria are advised to avoid driving (if they do) near Jisr al-Shughur, as cases of attacks on women who drive are common.

In the 1980 revolt Sunni extremists burned down the local Baath Party office in the town, not for any motivations of liberal democracy but because they regard the secular government (and also the Alawites) as heretics. Slogans among Sunnis in Syria such as "Alawites in the coffin, Christians to Beirut" are not uncommon.

I think it's time for some reflection and time to accept that the "democratic" cries from Sunni protestors in Syria are for foreign consumption, they are reactionary, what these protestors are struggling against is secularism, women's rights, which also explains their links (and sympathies) to the Islamic government in Turkey. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.253.137.221 (talk) 05:54, 16 July 2011 (UTC)