Explosions in Syria Blog #2 9/7/12 4:06pm

On Friday September 7^th, two vehicles exploded in Damascus, Syria’s capital. The first vehicle was a motorcycle packed with explosives that blew up across from a mosque in the Rukneddine neighborhood. The explosion killed five officers and damaged a nearby medical center. The second vehicle was a car that ignited two hours later near the upscale Mazze neighborhood near the Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Justice. No one was killed in the second explosion but the reported damage is ghastly. The two explosions occurred just five days after two bombs exploded near the offices of the Syrian military's Joint Chiefs of Staff in Damascus, wounding four officers. Rebels against the country’s president, Bashar Assad, are attempting to overtake the government and claim power in Syria. The head of the Red Cross, an organization that aids with disasters worldwide, warned the president of the seriousness of the situation in Syria. The civil war began in March 2011 after citizens rallied for political change and the government became violent to regain control. Those who opposed the government began to fuel the battle, killing thousands of Syria’s inhabitants. President Assad blames the intervening of other countries for the uprisings but allowed the Red Cross to help the citizens. In the last two weeks alone, the organization has helped over 200,000 people in Damascus that have been displaced by the fighting. There are over 29 shelters housing people who have been affected by the civil war and need shelter, food, and education. The United Nations has raised over 347 million dollars and the European Commission has raised 64 million for humanitarian funding. According to the report, the war is only getting worse and the government’s grasp on the violence is slowly slipping away.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/09/07/world/middleeast/ap-ml-syria.html?_r=1&ref=world