DAMASCUS // Up to 120 members of the Syrian security forces were killed in the latest protests against Bashar al Assad's regime, Syrian state television claimed last night.
Armed gangs carried out the massacre in the northwestern town of Jisrash Shugur, where there have been protests in the past few days, and gunmen also stole five tons of dynamite, the broadcaster said.
Syrian activists in Cyprus disputed the official account. They said there was a mutiny in the town, where security forces have been carrying out operations for three days.
Communications to the area 330km north of Damascus were cut and details of the claim were impossible to verify, but there have been unconfirmed reports by residents and activists of Syrians fighting back against Mr Assad's security forces.
"The armed groups are committing a real massacre. They have mutilated bodies and thrown others into the Assi river," the state broadcaster said. "They have burned government buildings.
"The police and security agents are confronting hundreds of armed men. They have managed to liberate one district controlled by gunmen."
The broadcaster said residents had "pleaded for help and the rapid intervention of the army".
"Armed gangs ambushed police who were on their way to rescue citizens being terrorised," it said, and the groups were armed with "light weapons and grenades and are using residents as human shields".
Elsewhere, eight guards at a post office were killed by armed gangs, who used the building's gas pipes to blow it up, the broadcaster claimed.
The interior minister warned the state would hit back, as Amnesty International called for UN action.
"The state will act firmly, with force and in line with the law. It will not stay arms folded in the face of armed attacks on the security of the homeland," said Mohammed Ibrahim al Shaar in a statement read on television.
However, two activists in Nicosia said the town was calm yesterday, and spoke of a mutiny at a local security headquarters, where shooting was heard the day before.
"I think they executed policemen who refused to open fire on demonstrators. There was a mutiny in the security service," one said.
The other said "shooting followed by an explosion was heard in the military HQ, apparently after a mutiny".
He said regime "snipers" had opened fire on protesters in the town, killing two. Demonstrators then gathered outside the headquarters and "shots and an explosion took place inside" the building, he added.
Yesteday's reports came a day after at least 40 people were killed, including 35 in Jisrash Shugur, said the head of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman.
He said 27 civilians and eight security agents were killed in the town as security forces pressed sweeps targeting anti-regime protesters in Idlib province.
Further north, in Idlib town, security forces dispersed a crowd of 1,500 demonstrators, he said.
Two civilians were reported killed on Sunday in the coastal town of Jabla, and security forces shot at protesters outside a building of the ruling Baath party in the eastern town of Deir Ezzor, killing three, Abdel Rahman said.
Six human rights groups in Syria issued a joint statement condemning "the excessive use of force to disperse peaceful gatherings of unarmed Syrian citizens".
They urged the government to "stop the spiral of violence and assassinations in the streets of Syria," and demanded an independent and transparent inquiry to unmask those responsible.
"As the death toll in Syria reaches staggering new heights, it is imperative that the UN Security Council - which has so far been silent on this issue - votes to condemn the killings," said Philip Luther of Amnesty International.
"It must also take decisive action and refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court," he said.
The latest violence comes despite Syria freeing more than 450 political prisoners since last Tuesday under a general amnesty announced by Mr al Assad.
Late on Sunday, the state news agency SANA also reported the creation of a committee to draft a law on political parties.
The current constitution stipulates that the ruling Baath party is "the leader of state and society", but political pluralism has been at the forefront of demands by pro-reform dissidents.
Rights groups say more than 1,100 civilians have been killed and at least 10,000 arrested in Syria since anti-regime protests erupted in mid-March.
Damascus blames the unrest on "armed terrorist gangs" backed by Islamists and foreign agitators.
* With reporting by Agence France-Presse, Bloomberg and the Associated Press
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
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Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The specs
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Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The biog
Year of birth: 1988
Place of birth: Baghdad
Education: PhD student and co-researcher at Greifswald University, Germany
Hobbies: Ping Pong, swimming, reading
RESULTS
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