Satellites spot Syrian violence from space BY STEPHEN CLARK

SPACEFLIGHT NOW

Posted: February 11, 2012

The U.S. State Department says satellite imagery of Syria shows escalating violence between government and rebel forces as the regime deploys armored divisions and artillery against major cities.



Images posted on the State Department's Facebook page Friday appear to show artillery batteries, armored vehicles, widespread fires and evidence of shelling in several Syrian cities.



Commercial satellite operator DigitalGlobe tasked its satellites to snap aerial imagery of Homs, a city in western Syria with a population of about a million people. Homs has been the epicenter for many of the clashes between powerful government forces and protesters.



The DigitalGlobe imagery of Bab Amr, a neighborhood of Homs, appears to show armored tanks, deserted streets and craters, which could be the result of shelling from artillery guns or rocket launchers.



Robert Ford, the U.S. ambassador to Syria, said the images offer proof of the brutality of the attacks. The protesters took to the streets last year demanding the resignation of Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad.



"Satellite photos have captured both the carnage and those causing it -- the artillery is clearly there, it is clearly bombing entire neighborhoods, and it marks a new low for the Assad regime," Ford wrote in a Facebook posting.



The State Department withdrew from the U.S. Embassy in Damascus on Monday, the same day the DigitalGlobe image was captured.



U.S. officials also released black-and-white satellite photos of what the government says are mobile rocket launchers and artillery on the outskirts of Homs and Az Zabadani, Halbun and Rankus, cities near the Syrian capital of Damascus.



The State Department did not disclose whether the black-and-white photos came from commercial or government reconnaissance satellites. Larger image available for download. Credit: DigitalGlobe/U.S. State Department



The following satellite photos show artillery and rocket launchers deployed outside Syrian cities, according to the State Department. Credit: State Department



Larger image available for download. Credit: U.S. State Department



Larger image available for download. Credit: U.S. State Department



Larger image available for download. Credit: U.S. State Department



Larger image available for download. Credit: U.S. State Department



Larger image available for download. Credit: U.S. State Department



Larger image available for download. Credit: U.S. State Department



