visionary Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/middleeast/article3841964.ece Rebels ready to retake strategic town from Hezbollah Syrian rebels are poised to avenge their defeat at the hands of Hezbollah and lay siege to the strategic town of Qusayr, which was seized by the Lebanese Shia militia two months ago. The Free Syrian Army said that the fighters expelled from Qusayr after a 17-day battle have regrouped. Their arsenal has been boosted by ammunition captured when they overran a Syrian army base two weeks ago. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/14/us-kuwait-cleric-idUSBRE97D0AD20130814?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews Kuwait bans cleric's TV show after sectarian remarks Kuwait has banned the television show of a prominent Sunni Muslim cleric, accused of instigating hatred with speeches and comments on social media calling for arming rebels fighting the army of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Information Minister Sheikh Salman al-Humoud al-Sabah said authorities would investigate how a show involving Shafi al-Ajmi was allowed to be broadcast on state television. It was cancelled after the first episode aired on Monday. Ajmi has also called for supporters to torture and kill fighters in Syria linked to the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah, evidence of how the Syria conflict has aggravated Sunni-Shi'ite tensions across the Middle East. "The Ministry of Information does not approve of airing episodes for any individual who instigates hatred and promotes such rhetoric," Sheikh Salman told local media. His remarks were confirmed to Reuters by his office on Wednesday. Ajmi has nearly a quarter of a million followers on Twitter, and his comments, aired widely on YouTube, are regularly laced with sectarian references. http://www.kansascity.com/2013/08/13/4408314/war-in-syria-stokes-feuds-between.html War in Syria stokes feuds between Lebanese clans The Syrian civil war has spawned another violent but low-grade conflict that pits village against village, clan against clan and Muslim sect against sect among Lebanese living on the border. Escalating retaliations have triggered kidnapping and ambushes, and have left partisans captured, wounded and dead. Consider the hard-edged tone set Tuesday, when the previously little-known Brigade of the Four Martyrs gathered reporters to announce that it planned to murder the mayor of the Bekaa Valley town of Aarsal. The predominantly Sunni Muslim residents of Aarsal strongly support the rebel forces that are challenging President Bashar Assad’s regime in neighboring Syria. The brigade is widely thought to have ties to the powerful Jaafar clan of Shiite Muslims, a sect that's generally sided with the Assad regime. The militant group made its threat against the Aarsal mayor, Ali Hujeiri, just days after gunmen in nearby Labweh wounded him, killed one of his relatives and briefly abducted another man. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/08/13/199295/us-journalist-marks-year-in-captivity.html?storylink=addthis#.Ugtv7PjD9lB U.S. journalist marks year in captivity as risks increase for war reporters Tuesday marked a year since American journalist Austin Tice was detained while covering the civil war in Syria, one of at least 14 news media workers who’ve vanished or been seized in the past year, according to press advocacy groups. Tice’s family in his hometown of Houston was reluctant to speak at length about the milestone, explaining that they didn’t want to complicate efforts toward winning his release or to single out a particular day when each one is excruciating for detainees who’ve been snatched from Syria’s battlegrounds and kept incommunicado for months. “We don’t even know if Austin knows what day it is,” Marc Tice, Austin’s father, said in a phone interview. “To him and the other journalists missing or captive, it’s just another horrible day for them, and for millions of Syrians.” http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/14/us-syria-crisis-reservists-idUSBRE97D0K920130814?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews Syria's Assad exempts reservists from loan payments to aid morale Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has exempted thousands of army reservists called up during the civil war from paying debt installments and late fines during their service, the state news agency SANA said on Wednesday. The decree was likely meant to boost soldier morale and discourage defections at a time of great strain almost two and half years into a shattering civil war that has seen Islamist-led rebels seize large tracts of Syria. The law "postpones financial installments for (reservists) with public banks who joined the military reserve service until the end of the service ... (and all late payment) fines due over the period of service will be exempted," SANA said. https://twitter.com/THE_47th Meanwhile: terror org Islamic State of Iraq & Syria hs sent a carbomb in2 HQ of Islamic grp Ahfad Al Rasool HQ in Riqqa, killing at least 6.1:42 AM Islamic State of Iraq & Syria (Isis) now matching Assad's brutality whn dealing w/demos agnst it, firing RPG on crowd1:45 AM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf Reports that's the fighters in MaaratAlNouman Idlib have liberated 2 checkpoints near Hamdiyeh base and destroyed all tanks in Hamdiyeh!! as a result of 3 car bombs at the bases!3:06 AM didn't take over...just caused several explosions using BMPs full of explosives...took tanks and withdrew4:48 AM https://twitter.com/MouriKawji Multiple sources saying that Assad is in a hospital near Tartous recieving treatment after his convoy was attacked on Eid4:59 AM probably just a rumor based on the claims of hitting his convoy a few days ago. https://twitter.com/NOW_Syria Regime planes conduct 2 air raids on Damascus’ Sayyida Zeinab, activists say6:00 AM https://twitter.com/Charles_Lister Many reports, now including Syrian Observatory, claiming Italian Jesuit priest Father Paolo Dall'Oglio has been killed in Al-Raqqa.6:48 AM PT: Syrian Observatory claims Raqqa-based activists have claimed to confirm Dall'Oglio was killed 2 wks after his capture in ISIS prison.6:52 AM PT: 1 point to remember: Raqqa witnessing increasing anti-ISIS sentiment. SOHR statement cld feasibly be true, or based on misinformation.6:55 AM Jabhat al-Nusra claim to have seized 9M113 Konkurs ATGM during fighting yesterday in Al-Haweiqa, Deir ez Zour, Syria pic.twitter.com/2Xt7zUmMe07:58 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Aug-15/227502-new-saudi-supplied-missiles-boost-rebels-in-south-syria.ashx#axzz2c3AoI8uf New Saudi-supplied missiles boost rebels in south Syria Rebels in southern Syria have fired newly acquired anti-tank guided missiles supplied by Saudi Arabia in a significant boost to their battle against President Bashar al-Assad, rebel, intelligence and diplomatic sources say. Several Russian-designed Konkurs anti-tank weapons were used in a rebel attack this week on an army position in Deraa city near the Jordanian border, said a source in a rebel brigade linked to the Western-backed Supreme Military Council. Missiles were also fired around Laja, a rebel stronghold in the rugged region stretching north to the outskirts of Damascus, according to Faiq al Aboud, a member of the Al-Mutasem Bi'Allah brigade whose account was corroborated by other fighters. The recent flow of Saudi-backed arms reflects concerns in Riyadh at the slow pace of progress by rebels in the south and concern that al Qaeda-linked groups could exploit the stalemate to expand their presence, said a Western diplomatic source. https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/nownews/syrian-rebels-capture-iranian-soldier Syrian rebels claim capture of Iranian soldier A Syrian rebel group known as the Al-Qods Battalion of Aleppo’s western suburbs announced that they have captured an Iranian Revolutionary Guard soldier. In a YouTube video published on Thursday, a Syrian rebel shows the Iranian soldier’s ID and personal documents. Later in the video, a man asks the Iranian man about his name and his parents’ names and what city he comes from, and the soldier, who is named Abdullah, replies. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/15/us-syria-crisis-execution-idUSBRE97E0PB20130815?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews Islamist rebels execute two Shi'ite youths in Syria: monitoring group Two youths from Shi'ite villages in northern Syria have been executed by members of an al Qaeda-linked Islamist rebel group, according to a video uploaded to the Internet on Wednesday by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The British-based monitoring group, which is opposed to President Bashar Al-Assad, said the execution took place on Tuesday or Wednesday in Aleppo province. The executions are the latest incident of sectarian violence in Syria's nearly two and a half year civil war, which began with peaceful protests but has descended into sectarian hatred, pitting Sunni majority rebels against Assad's Alawite sect and Shi'ite Hezbollah. In the video, two blindfolded youths kneel before a masked man who reads a statement in the name of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, one of the strongest rebel groups in Syria. The man identifies the youths as coming from Nubul and al-Zahra, predominantly Shi'ite villages in the mostly rebel-held countryside northwest of Aleppo city. He says the group kidnapped them to exchange them for prisoners but was now executing them in response to the failure of that exchange. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/15/us-usa-jordan-syria-idUSBRE97E0RE20130815?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews U.S. mission in Jordan could last years as Syria war rages: Dempsey The top U.S. military officer told American troops in Jordan on Thursday that their mission to help the kingdom contain the fallout from Syria's war would likely last years, as the United States bolsters support for the key regional ally. General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, addressed a group of mostly U.S. planners who have arrived over the past several months as America expands assistance that now includes stationing F-16 fighter jets and Patriot missiles there. The U.S. military has roughly 1,000 troops stationed in Jordan. https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentaryanalysis/the-southern-front The Southern Front, Part I This is the first of a two-part special report on the emerging battleground in southern Syria. https://twitter.com/markito0171 Rebel-forces try to advance from Naima towards eastern entrance of Daraa under aerial bombardmenthttp://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=32.628207&lon=36.132531&z=15&m=b&gz=0;361242914;326201472;4720;105901;115442;124695;151491;15904;14162;0;0;1004808:35 AM Damascus Rebels killed the SAA-Chief of operations in Ghouta1:53 PM Jul 14 Syria Idlib Rebels liberated 2 barriers in Ariha- captured 2 T-72 tanks + 1 BMP& lot of weapons + ammunition3:05 PM Jul 14 Hama Rebels captured checkpoint in Shayzar http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=35.261529&lon=36.557608&z=15&m=b3:06 AM https://twitter.com/markito0171 Daraa Rebels captured fortifications in the vicinity the Hagana battalion http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=32.592392&lon=36.083275&z=17&m=b …4:05 AM Rebels down regime warplane over Khalkhala Military Airport in Rif Damascus' East Ghouta8:37 AM Damascus Heavy battle south of DeirSalman Rebels blast 2 Hezbollah HQ, 1 tank & 1 BMP in village Shamiyahttp://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=33.461950&lon=36.492076&z=15&m=b&search=%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A910:05 AM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=716877278339411&l=4d00d8bf18 Local Coordination Committees in Syria By the end of Wednesday, the coordination committees were able to document 60 martyrs, among them 10 children, 3 women, and 2 martyrs under torture: 18 martyrs were reported in Aleppo; 12 in Damascus and its suburbs; 11 in Idlib; 8 in Daraa; 7 in Deir Ezzor; and 4 in Homs ------------------------------------------------------- https://twitter.com/LBCI_News_EN BREAKING: Explosion heard near Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut southern suburbs - Witness REUTERS11:17 AM https://twitter.com/Naharnet Future TV: An explosion has been heard in the Bir al-Abed area. http://www.naharnet.com/11:17 AM Al-Mayadeen: The blast went off on the Bir al-Abed-Ruwais road in Dahieh. http://www.naharnet.com/11:23 AM https://twitter.com/THE_47th ****ING MY EARDRUMS DEFILBERATED FROM THE SOUND OF THE EXPLOSION.. AND IM KILOMETERS AWAY11:18 AM Pic of the explosion (photo not mine) pic.twitter.com/qTrPzLjrBe11:18 AM Explosion happened in Ruwais, Dahiye.. Just next to Hizbollah's security square11:19 AM https://twitter.com/Skytwitius 1 dead. 3 injured Blast near Hezbollah complex. Beirut.11:24 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=USRTX12NYW#a=1 Gallery: Building collapse in Syria A residential building collapses in Aleppo after what activists say was shelling by forces loyal to President Assad. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/16/us-lebanon-explosion-syria-idUSBRE97F0PP20130816?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews Nasrallah says ready to fight in Syria himself Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah renewed his commitment on Friday to the battle in Syria, where the Shi'ite militant group has been fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad's forces, saying he was ready to go himself if needed. Nasrallah said Thursday's car bomb in Beirut would only reinforce Hezbollah's determination to fight in Syria and defeat radical Sunni Islamists he said were behind the attack. "If the battle requires me to go (to Syria) ... I will go," he said. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/16/world/middleeast/for-the-us-in-jordan-command-central-is-a-steel-warehouse.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0 With Eyes on Syria, U.S. Turns Warehouse Into Support Hub for Jordan On the outskirts of Jordan’s capital is a corrugated steel warehouse that serves as a testament to the fact that with enough plywood, electrical cable and bottled water, any austere structure anywhere in the world can be converted into an American military headquarters. The Defense Department is using the warehouse to coordinate support for Jordan’s military as the kingdom copes with a refugee crisis spawned by civil war in neighboring Syria — and to help prepare for what could be done if violence spills across the border. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, addressed some of the 273 staff members in the amphitheater-like operations center on Thursday, saying the mission is meant to reassure Jordanians “that, in a very volatile region and at a very critical time in their history, that they can count on us to continue to be their partner.” Although American humanitarian relief is led by the State Department, the military is helping, too, and has installed a sanitation system for some of the half-million Syrian refugees inside Jordan, as well as surveyed roads and offered assessments for improving supply routes. https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/mena/iraq-fm-iran-arms-to-syria-down-but-not-over Iraq FM: Iran arms to Syria down but not over Iran has reduced flights of arms to Syria but Iraq cannot stop them completely and should not be treated as a "whipping boy," its foreign minister said Friday. The United States has criticized Iraq for allowing Iran to fly weapons to Syria in support of embattled President Bashar al-Assad in a two-year-old civil war that has claimed more than 100,000 lives. On a visit to Washington, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said that Iraq has inspected Iranian planes and complained to Tehran but that Baghdad did not have the means to prevent the flights. "I can tell you now they have gone down. They may not have stopped," Zebari said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Saying that Russia also supplied Assad with weapons by sea, Zebari added: "We don't want to see, to take or to view Iraq as a whipping boy, let's say, for failing to hold others to their commitment." https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/lebanonnews/fsa-not-involved-in-dahiyeh-explosion-spokesperson-says FSA not involved in Dahiyeh car bomb, spokesperson says Free Syrian Army spokesperson Louay Moqdad on Friday denied any connection in car bomb Thursday that targeted Beirut’s Dahiyeh. “The Free Syrian Army does not have any connection to the Dahiyeh attack,” Moqdad told Future TV. He also criticized the speech held earlier in the day by Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and deemed it “incomprehensible.” “[Nasrallah’s] speech is incomprehensible… there is no excuse for Hezbollah’s participation in the war in Syria,” he added. http://www.theloopcast.com/2013/08/16/72-the-sunni-jihad-in-syria/ The Sunni Jihad in Syria Thomas Hegghammer (@hegghammer), Aaron Zelin (@azelin), and I (@rejectionking) discuss the Sunni side of the Syrian Jihad. We discuss Qardawi's call to jihad and the theological underpinnings of that statement, foreign fighters in terms of numbers and motivations, the relationship of the Syrian jihad to the Sunni religious establishment in Saudi Arabia, and briefly comparing the jihad in Syria to previous contemporary jihads. http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/contents/articles/politics/2013/08/syria-italian-priest-abducted-raqqa.html Father Paolo: The 'Icon' Of the Syrian Revolution News about the disappearance of Father Paolo Dall'Oglio in Syria is two weeks old. The identity of his abductors, supporters of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, is also old news. What is new though is that demonstrations against jihadists affiliated with al-Qaeda were held in the Syrian city of Raqqa to demand the release of the Italian Jesuit priest. Father Paolo, who in the 1980s rebuilt the Syriac Catholic Monastery of Saint Moses the Abyssinian north of Damascus, always called for interfaith dialogue in the land of Islam. But his messages soon came under threat, as a result of the civil war that ravages Syria, his adoptive home since the late 1970s, when he decided to resign from the Italian army and embark on a journey of contemplation eastward. The first thing he did was to take up residence high atop the mountain, to where he attracted volunteers from the surrounding countryside, as well as Muslim and Christian youth, who restored life to the mountain. The Monastery of Saint Moses, and Father Paolo’s hospitality and charitable association, thus gained fame throughout Syria. https://twitter.com/markito0171 Damascus Rebels destroyed 4 tanks + 1 BMP & killed many Assad-forces in southern Marj al-Sultan areahttp://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=33.464152&lon=36.459224&z=14&m=b1:10 PM Jul 15 Daraa Battle at border-post/Hagana continues http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=32.592130&lon=36.084809&z=16&m=b4:44 AM Aleppo Airstrike in Bustan al-Qaser district killed ~20 people7:19 AM Germany stopped development funds for Egypt & tranfer this money for Syrian refugees in Jordan8:02 AM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=717642848262854&l=95772dbc88 Local Coordination Committees in Syria By the end of Thursday, the coordination committees were able to document 51 martyrs, among them 3 children and a martyr under torture: 18 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its suburbs; 14 in Aleppo; 9 in Idlib; 5 in Daraa; 4 in Homs; and 1 in Hama Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 http://www.unhcr.org/520e158f9.html Sudden, massive influx of Syrians into Iraq's Kurdistan region Thousands of Syrians have streamed into northern Iraq in a sudden movement across a recently constructed bridge as the total fleeing war continues to rise, the UN refugee agency said on Friday. UNHCR field officers reported the first group of some 750 Syrians crossed over the pontoon bridge at Peshkhabour at the Tigris River before noon on Thursday but in the afternoon a much larger group of 5,000 to 7,000 people followed. "The factors allowing this sudden movement are not fully clear to us at this stage and as of this morning we are not seeing further large scale crossings," UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told a news briefing in Geneva. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/16/us-syria-crisis-chemical-idUSBRE97F0JQ20130816?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&dlvrit=992637 U.N. chemical weapons team to visit Syria on Sunday A U.N. mission to investigate alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria's civil war tentatively plans to enter the country on Sunday, officials said on Friday. The team, consisting of weapons experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, plans to look into claims of use of sarin gas and other toxic nerve agents. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday details of the trip had been worked out with the Syrian government and that the team's departure was imminent. An official told Reuters on Friday the team would cross into Syria on Sunday, assuming security conditions permitted. A diplomat in the region confirmed the timetable. http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/94428 17 Dead as Qaida Attacks Syria Kurd Town Al-Qaida loyalists attacked a mainly Kurdish town in northeastern Syria sparking fighting in which 17 people were killed, two of them ambulance crew, a watchdog said on Saturday. The assault on the strategic border town of Ras al-Ain, from which the jihadists were expelled by Kurdish militia last month, sparked an exodus of civilians into neighboring Turkey, an activist said. The attack on the town was part of a wider offensive by Al-Qaida against several Kurdish majority areas of northern and northeastern Syria that began on Friday and was continuing on Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Four Kurdish militiamen and 11 jihadists made up the rest of the dead, the watchdog said. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/16/syria-refugee-crisis_n_3768969.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003 Syria Refugee Crisis Captured In Shocking Infographic In July, the United Nations said Syria's civil war has led to the worst refugee crisis since 1994, when Rwanda was gutted by genocide. Almost 2 million Syrians have already fled their war-torn country since the start of the civil war in 2011. This year, an average of 6,000 Syrians a day have left the country in search of shelter. "It's brutal," Daryl Grisgraber, a senior advocate at Refugees International, told Fox News last month of the refugees' living situation. "It doesn't appear that there are people starving to death, but they have just about every other problem you can imagine." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/16/syria-airstrike_n_3768129.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003 Syria Airstrike Leaves At Least 15 Dead And Dozens Wounded Syrian warplanes struck targets in a rebel-held district in the contested northern city of Aleppo Friday, killing at least 15 people, wounding dozens of others and leaving some buried under the rubble of buildings, activists said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Aleppo Media center said the airstrike targeted three buildings that were almost completely flattened in the rebel-held district of Kalassa, killing at least four children. They said many people were missing and residents were struggling to save people trapped under cement blocks and debris. The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists on the ground in Syria, said the death toll was likely to rise because many of the wounded were in critical condition and others were missing. The Aleppo Media Center, which tracks violence in the city, said 33 people were killed and over a hundred wounded in the airstrike. The different figures could not be reconciled. https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/lebanonnews/aoun-against-hezbollahs-participation-in-syria-war Aoun against Hezbollah’s participation in Syria war Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun voiced in remarks published Saturday his opposition to Hezbollah's participation in the Syrian war. “This is a private initiative for Hezbollah, there is no agreement between us and them in that matter. We are against any intervention outside the Lebanese territory,” Aoun said in an interview with Al-Hayat newspaper. Aoun also reiterated that "Al-Qaeda is present in Lebanon, but under different names." He also noted that the Lebanese army is not doing its job properly on the borders, due to its limited equipment. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=718353158191823&l=7f91385511 Local Coordination Committees in Syria By the end of Friday, the coordination committees were able to document 104 martyrs, among them 14 children, 11 women, and 3 martyrs under torture: 47 martyrs were reported in Aleppo; 24 in Damascus and its suburbs; 14 in Daraa; 8 in Hama; 5 in Idlib; 5 in Homs; 2 in Quneitra; and 1 in Deir Ezzor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 18, 2013 Share Posted August 18, 2013 http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-syria-arms-20130817,0,2608869.story U.S. has yet to deliver arms to Syria rebels More than two months after they were promised, U.S. weapons and ammunition have not reached America's allies among the Syrian rebels, and their delivery date remains unclear, according to the Syrian opposition and Middle Eastern diplomats. Khalid Saleh, an official of the Syrian Opposition Coalition, said in a telephone interview from Turkey that, while U.S. officials continue to promise arms, "nothing has come through yet, and we haven't been given a specific date when we'll see them." The rebels, who have been pressing for months for anti-tank and antiaircraft weapons, have still not been told what kind of military aid they will receive, he said. The White House announced June 13 that, in light of its conclusion that the Syrian government had used lethal chemical weapons in the 2-year-old civil war, the administration would provide "military assistance" to the rebels. The deliveries, which White House officials promised in "weeks, not months," were seen as a step toward greater U.S. military involvement. U.S. agencies have so far provided only nonlethal equipment, such as mobile radios, and $1 billion in humanitarian aid. https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentaryanalysis/the-southern-front-part-ii The Southern Front, Part II This is the second of a two-part special report on the emerging battleground in southern Syria. Part I is available here. It’s usually difficult to get high-level FSA commanders to talk openly about the ideological differences, and indeed physical confrontations, that are beginning to define FSA-al-Qaeda relations in Syria. Fahad was more forthcoming than most and offered an example of what analysts are already beginning to observe as percolations of sahwa, or an Anbar-style “Awakening” to expel or marginalize extremists. Popular demonstrations against the Islamic State, many of which have been violently suppressed, have been ongoing for weeks. Yesterday, al-Qaeda blew up the headquarters of the widely-respected FSA-linked Ahfad al-Rasul Brigade in Raqqa, killing its commander. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, jihadists in that same province almost certainly detained and may have murdered Father Paolo Dall’Oglio, a Jesuit priest and Christian hero of the revolution. Few Syrians I’ve spoken to lately believe that al-Qaeda-run bakeries, much less the distribution of Teletubbies or the hosting of musical chairs during Ramadan, will keep the jihadists in good odor in the long term. https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentaryanalysis/the-southern-front Part I http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/as-islamist-rebels-rise-in-syria-liberal-activists-take-a-step-back/2013/08/17/fa95d2e2-043a-11e3-bfc5-406b928603b2_story.html As Islamist rebels rise in Syria, liberal activists take a step back Two years ago as he hung cuffed to a wall in one of the Syrian intelligence service’s notorious detention centers, Anas Ghaibeh couldn’t have imagined a day when he’d doubt whether the regime should fall immediately. But now he says, he’s not so sure. Like many youth activists who took to the streets to demand President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster in the spring of 2011, Ghaibeh, who is 28, says he feels as though the revolution has been hijacked, with al-Qaeda-linked foreign fighters playing an increasingly prominent role in challenging government forces. If the regime falls today, it is likely to bring only more chaos and bloodshed, he says, a difficult admission for someone who has already sacrificed so much in seeking its end. As the war has progressed, many of the young liberals who organized protests and beamed their images to the world as the winds of change first reached Syrian soil more than two years ago complain that they have been marginalized. They now have to fight on two fronts, they say — not just against the government, but also against extremist Islamist rebel groups, which, despite their supposedly shared aims, are increasingly targeting secular activists. https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/mena/israel-retaliates-after-syria-shells-hit-golan-heights Israel retaliates after Syria shells hit Golan Heights The Israeli army fired into Syria after shells from the neighboring country hit the Israeli-occupied sector of the Golan Heights on Saturday, a military spokesperson said. "Today, several shells fired from Syria landed in the central Golan heights, adjacent to the Israel-Syria border," he told AFP. Israeli military "forces carried out a pinpoint strike, targeting the source of the shooting. A hit was confirmed." The spokesperson said at least three shells were confirmed to have hit Israel. He could not say whether the army considered the incidents cases of stray fire spilling over from the conflict in Syria. Army radio reported the Israeli attack demolished a Syrian military position. A defence source told AFP the Israeli response took place after the Jewish state filed a complaint to the UN Disengagement Observer Force, which monitors the 1974 ceasefire line between Israel and Syria. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=719468988080240&l=ead51f6df6 Local Coordination Committees in Syria By the end of Saturday, the coordination committees were able to document 92 martyrs, among them 14 women, 4 children, and a martyr under torture: 22 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its suburbs; 20 in Aleppo; 14 in Daraa; 12 in Raqqa; 11 in Idlib; 7 in Quneitra; 4 in Deir Ezzor; and 2 in Hama Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 http://jcpa.org/article/the-kurdish-awakening-in-syria-could-it-lead-to-regional-war/ The Syrian Spark After largely sitting on the sidelines of the Syrian revolution, political groups from Syria’s Kurdish minority have moved decisively to claim control of Kurdish-populated areas. In July 2012, Syrian opposition activists reported that a group called the Free Kurdish Army had taken control of several towns in northeast Syria on the Turkish border, such as Amuda and Qabani. Few analysts paid attention to this news at the time, since most observers were focused on what appeared to be the disintegrating Assad regime. Today, for the first time in modern Syrian Kurdish history, Kurds have created an exclusively Kurdish-controlled enclave.1 Kurdish-liberated areas are being administered by local councils, and Kurdish spokesmen have indicated they are planning to form a provisional Kurdish government due to the absence of any central authority. The Kurds have faced resistance to their new gains, not just from the Assad regime, but from other rebel forces, namely the jihadist groups Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. The jihadists are prepared to fight to maintain control of the Syrian border areas with Turkey and Iraq, respectively, in order to ensure that arms continue to flow into their hands. The border areas are no less important to the Kurds. For them, control of the border regions means that there can be territorial continuity between Syrian, Iraqi, Turkish, and possibly Iranian Kurdistan – the necessary condition for an independent and united Kurdistan. In July 2013, the jihadists carried out a series of attacks on Kurdish towns. They killed a respected Kurdish leader, Issa Hassou, with a car bomb.2 Kurdish forces reacted swiftly, and after some major battles with the jihadists, regained lost territory and expanded their control to new areas. The Domino Effect News of the fighting between Syrian Kurds and jihadists spread east to Iraq. The president of Iraqi Kurdistan, Massoud Barzani, was livid. He heard rumors that the jihadists were ransacking Kurdish villages and holding hundreds of Kurds captive. Therefore, for the first time since the start of the Syrian civil war, Barzani threatened to intervene on behalf of Syrian Kurds. He said if Kurds were “under threat of death and terrorism,” then Iraqi Kurdistan would be “prepared to defend them.”3 Barzani accused al-Qaeda of being responsible for the slaying of innocent Kurdish women and children and urged all Kurdish parties to go to Syria – “Western Kurdistan,” as he called it – in order to verify the tragic news. Immediately after Barzani’s statement, Iranian Kurds also announced they were ready for battle. The Iranian wing of the Kurdish Labor Party, known as the Party of Free Life, said they were prepared to send men to join their Kurdish “brothers” in the fight against the jihadists.4 In parallel, the Kurdish leadership in Syria is trying to convince young Kurdish fighters who have joined jihadist groups to return to Kurdish militias or to Kurdish units within the Free Syrian Army (FSA). The Kurdish Ulema (Muslim legal scholars) published a “fatwa” with their plea. One such group, the Kurdish Front Brigade, was formed at the beginning of the Syrian revolt against Assad and functions as part of the FSA. - See more at: http://jcpa.org/article/the-kurdish-awakening-in-syria-could-it-lead-to-regional-war/#sthash.ZRxPk6Vc.dpuf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Aug-19/227831-more-than-20000-syrian-refugees-cross-into-iraq-un.ashx#axzz2cPFlLOCv More than 20,000 Syrian refugees cross into Iraq - U.N. More than 20,000 Syrian refugees have entered northern Iraq since Thursday in one of the largest crossings in the more than two-year-old conflict and the influx is continuing, the United Nations said on Monday. Syrians began pouring into the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq last Thursday, taking advantage of a new bridge along the largely closed border, the U.N. says. "It looks like the total from last Thursday to now is somewhere in the region of 20,000 or more coming across," Adrian Edwards of the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said. "If not the biggest influx across the border at a single time then it is among the largest in the whole Syria crisis." http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Aug-19/227827-syria-army-retakes-rebel-positions-in-latakia-news-agency.ashx#axzz2cPFlLOCv Syria army retakes all rebel positions in Latakia: report The Syrian army has recaptured all rebel-held positions in Latakia, President Bashar al-Assad's home province, state-run SANA news agency reported Monday quoting a military source. "The army retook control of the Nabi Ashia mountain range and adjoining areas in the north of Latakia province," the source said, of villages seized in early August by rebels trying to topple Assad. On Sunday state television reported that the army had reclaimed rebel-held villages in the coastal province, hinterland of Assad's minority Alawite community. A Syrian security force, however, told AFP the army still had to recapture the Salma region, a strategic area along the border with Turkey that has been in rebel hands since the end of last year. Rebels positioned in remote enclaves in Latakia's mountains launched the "battle for the liberation of the Syrian coast" about two weeks ago. They quickly captured a dozen Alawite villages near Qordaha, home town of Assad's later father and long-time president Hafez al-Assad. Not sure how accurate this is, as the regime has been claiming this for days now and the rebels shot down a plane in the area yesterday. http://www.euronews.com/nocomment/2013/08/19/scenes-of-destruction-in-syrias-shabaa/#.UhHnHMZHaRw.twitter Scenes of destruction in Syria’s Shabaa Relentless shelling by Syria’s army has left the town of Shabaa in the suburbs of the capital Damascus battered and destroyed, local residents said. The strategic town is located five kilometres south of Damascus and has endured days of bombardment, leaving the town visibly shattered. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-19/syrian-opposition-urges-un-team-to-inspect-areas-it-controls.html Syrian Opposition Urges UN Team to Inspect Areas It Controls Syria’s main political opposition group called on United Nations inspectors to probe claims of chemical weapons use in areas controlled by rebels fighting troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. The inspectors, led by Swedish chemical weapons expert Ake Sellstrom, arrived in Damascus yesterday after Syria invited them to investigate allegations about the use of chemical weapons in the conflict that began in March 2011. A statement from the opposition Syrian National Coalition said only visiting sites under government control “won’t be enough” because it won’t allow the inspectors to reach “sound, real and conclusive” results. http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/syria/aid-groups-work-reunite-lost-syrian-children-parents-jordan-refugee-camp Aid groups work to reunite lost Syrian children with parents at Jordan refugee camp Save the Children and the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Sunday inaugurated the Lost Child Tent project at a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan. The first project of its kind has been funded by OCHA and implemented by Save the Children International at the Zaatari Camp. A team of 25-Syrian volunteers will help run the project; the team has received training and equipment to help them in their duties. The project has distributed metal signs and information about the camp's sectors to help families find lost children. Children will be provided with a bracelet and information card to help the team identify them within and outside the camp. "In the past four months we recorded more than 1,150 lost child case, some of it was out of Zaatari camp, all 1,150 cases have been relocated to their families in two to three hours, nothing more than that, except 12 cases that we've experienced which was outside the camp of Zaatari," said Ghandi Al-Bakkar, Save the Children's Protection Manager. https://twitter.com/markito0171 Idlib Defection of 20 soldiers from Wadi Deif Army Base in Maarrat-an-Numan in full gear join FSA http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=35.643347&lon=36.701632&z=15&m=b4:33 AM Aug 18 reports claim many alawite officers & watchdogs leave Idlib army-bases to reinforce Assad-forces in Latakia mountains5:09 AM Aug 18 Severe clashes take place in Esterba area of Lattakia countryside. Regime claimed regain control last week7:49 AM Aug 18 Idlib MaarratNuman Clashes & shelling in surroundings of Wadi Deif Army Base2:35 AM https://twitter.com/NOW_eng Regime warplanes are shelling Latakia’s Jabal al-Akrad, activists say4:20 AM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=720707044623101&l=64935a24e3 Aleppo: FSA destroy 2 helicopters inside Kwers Military Airport https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=720312804662525&l=a68d47ccce Local Coordination Committees in Syria By the end of Sunday, the coordination committees were able to document 91 martyrs, among them 18 children, 13 women, and 6 martyrs under torture: 31 martyrs were reported in Aleppo; 18 in Damascus and its suburbs; 15 in Idlib; 14 in Daraa; 5 in Hama; 4 in Homs; 3 in Deir Ezzor; and 1 in Quneitra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/syria/us-and-russian-officials-meet-hague-Syria US and Russian officials to meet in The Hague on Syria A leading diplomat from the US State Department and the U.S. ambassador to Syria will meet with a Russia delegation in The Hague next week to discuss plans for a peace conference to end the civil war in Syria, a spokeswoman for the State Department said on Monday. "We have long agreed with Russia that a conference in Geneva is the best vehicle for moving towards a political solution," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a daily briefing for reporters. She did not offer a specific date for the meeting but said Wendy Sherman, undersecretary for political affairs at the State Department, would attend, along with US Ambassador Robert Ford. The Russian delegation is likely to include deputy foreign ministers Gennady Gatilov and Mikhail Bogdanov, Russian Interfax news agency reported. It quoted Gatilov as saying that the sides hoped to make progress on who should attend the conference. http://www.aa.com.tr/en/headline/217412--syrian-refugees-fleeing-Egypt Syrian refugees fleeing Egypt Syrian refugees whose living standards have further deteriorated after the military coup in Egypt are beginning to return to Syria There has been an 80 percent increase in the number of passengers traveling from Cairo to Syria in recent days, according to a source at Cairo International Airport. Officials expressed that, while three flights per week were scheduled between Syria and Egypt, there had been a steep decline in the number of passengers in flights from Syria to Cairo in comparison to the earlier months of the year. A resident of the October 6 area, which has the densest Syrian refugee population in Egyptian capital Cairo, Luey as-Salih (30) told an AA correspondent that the living areas of Syrian refugees had been restricted following recent events in the country. Indicating that he plans to return to Syria next week, as-Salih said that many Syrians plan to leave Egypt despite the risk of "being the target of bombs" in Syria. http://brown-moses.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/a-chemical-weapon-specialists-thoughts.html A Chemical Weapon Specialist's Thoughts On The UN Visit To Syria With the arrival of a UN team in Syria searching for evidence of chemical weapon use in Syria I asked Dan Kaszeta, a chemical weapons specialist, some questions about the investigation. In general terms, what do you think the UN investigation will involve? I have no direct experience of UN investigations. Indeed, this sort of investigative expedition is a rare event with relatively few precedents What I can do, is speculate as to what I would do if I were in charge of the investigation. The UN is scheduled to visit Khan al-Assal, the scene of an alleged chemical weapon attack some months ago, with Russia claiming sarin was the agent used. What is the likelihood of the UN team being able to detect sarin at the scene of the attack? If sarin had been used at Khan al-Assal, the likelihood of sarin actually being found in some form some 5 months after the alleged event is extremely small. Sarin evaporates quickly. It is classified as a non-persistent agent for this reason. The vapour pressure of sarin is similar to water. It evaporates at about the same rate as water on a very dry day. Syria is a warm, dry climate. Even if Sarin had been used, which, based on various information I have seen is unlikely, it would be long gone. This is the scientific equivalent of pouring a bottle of vodka in your garden and going back over a month later trying to find the vodka still there. It isn't a rational expectation and it isn't supported by basic science. https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/lebanonnews/gulf-bloc-criticizes-hezbollah-chiefs-syria-threat Gulf bloc criticizes Hezbollah chief's Syria threat The Gulf Cooperation Council has criticized Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah for threatening to send more fighters to neighboring Syria after a car bomb hit his Shiite party's stronghold. "At the same time that he calls for self-restraint, he threatens the Syrians that his party will be more involved in fighting them," GCC secretary general Abdullatif al-Zayani said in a statement released late Monday. "This is a flagrant meddling in their [syrians'] internal affairs and an obvious violation of the Syrian sovereignty," he said, describing Nasrallah's speech of being "irresponsible". "Nasrallah continues to boast about the participation of his militia in slaughtering children, women and innocent Syrians, and destroying their towns and property," Zayani said. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/08/19/199720/presence-of-al-qaida-linked-groups.html?storylink=addthis#.UhMq0GzD9lB Presence of al Qaida-linked groups in northern Syria complicates rebellion The presence of al Qaida-linked groups fighting alongside rebels in Syria continues to grow – and reshape the conflict. With that expanding role comes mounting unease among some – including much of the mainstream of the Syrian rebellion against President Bashar Assad – about manning the same side of the ramparts as forces known primarily for terrorism. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, as the local al Qaida affiliate is known, has fast been expanding its influence across virtually all rebel-held areas in northern Syria. It’s fighting alongside its ideological ally, the Nusra Front. And it’s brought to the fight brutal tactics that marked the insurgency against U.S.-led forces in Iraq. That’s left aid workers, Western patrons of the revolution and others jumpy about such an alliance. The jihadists’ role has at times also pitted rebel against rebel in the already chaotic and shifting battlefield in the Syrian civil war. https://twitter.com/markito0171 "Islamic State in Iraq & Levant" took control village of al-Dwairat near Jarablus in rural Aleppo after fight with kurdish YPG.8:26 AM Aug 17 Quneitra Rebels liberated Brega village in Golan area- seized many weapons11:02 AM Aug 17 Deir Ezzor Rebels took control of Euphrates isle- only last strongholdbefore Jura bridge http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=35.347966&lon=40.133947&z=17&m=b6:11 AM Golan Rebels captured village Ruwayhinah near Qunaytirah http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=33.084350&lon=35.871177&z=15&m=b2:23 PM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=721054947921644&l=6eb038bfad Local Coordination Committees in Syria By the end of Monday, the coordination committees were able to document 70 martyrs, among them 9 women, 6 children, and 3 martyrs under torture: 19 martyrs were reported in Aleppo; 16 in Damascus and its suburbs; 11 in Idlib; 11 in Daraa; 4 in Hama; 4 in Hasakeh; 3 in Homs; and 1 in each of Der Ezzor and Quneitra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 Lots of reports and videos out of an alleged regime chemical attack in the suburbs of Damascus, with 100+ possibly dead. http://shabab.ayyam.org/en/story/breaking-alleged-chemical-attack-targets-zamalka-3rd-time BREAKING: Alleged Chemical Attack Targets Zamalka for 3rd Time Calls of Distress Emerge From Eastern Ghouta Activist Razan Zaitouna and The Violation Documentation Center in Syria along with other opposition organizations are sending distress calls reaching out to people who have access to Damascus eastern countryside to head towards hospitals and donate blood and medical supplies as the aftermath of the chemical gas attack is apparently devastating and the death toll is rumored to have to risen to more than 20 civilians. https://twitter.com/LeShaque Breaking: Reports from multiple reliable sources allege regime chemical attacks on several towns in Damascus' Ghouta (East)9:14 PM Regime's continued use of chemical weapons despite arrival of inspection team is evidence of the impotence of said team.9:16 PM I'm usually careful to use qualifiers when reporting chemical attacks but the Ghouta attacks have been reported by many reliable contacts.9:29 PM The opposition should put out statement demanding UN team heads immediately to Damascus' East Ghouta to investigate the new attack.9:58 PM Activists are reporting the death toll from the East Ghouta CW attack is more than 50, including a dozen children.11:01 PM https://twitter.com/MillerMENA holy crap. Just got back to my computer, but these images from Damascus are horrifying... http://bit.ly/16JoUJC10:57 PM Chemical weapon attack reported in Ein Tarma, Damascus, Syria. Dozens may be dead. opennewsroom coverage here: http://bit.ly/16JoUJC10:57 PM it doesn't make sense, but babies don't act. There may be dozens of dead civilians in Damascus, lots of kids. @perthtones @JShahryar11:06 PM This is the most horrible event I recall seeing so far in the Syria crisis. The UN needs to get to Ein Tarma NOW http://bit.ly/16JoUJC11:08 PM https://twitter.com/Ugariti_Homsi Live streaming from a field hospital in damascus suburbs treating the victims of the recent chemical attack. syria http://bambuser.com/v/383257911:05 PM Some of the victims of the chemical attack by Assad's army targeting Damascus suburbs a while ago. pic.twitter.com/vkFV5w2aKW11:06 PM Sometimes all you got is tweeting like a ******* while your people die under chemical attacks11:09 PM https://twitter.com/SeekerSK I haven't tweeted in a while b/c noone gives a damn. We're crying out into some black hole, not to human beings with hearts11:23 PM 100+ dead from chemical weapons attack, young boy convulsing on floor of overcrowded field hospital and everyone just looks away11:23 PM so many women and children dead, lying on the ground, having choked on poisonous gases, this is a product of intl apathy11:24 PM doctors in field hospitals run out of supplies to treat victims of chemical weapons attack11:26 PM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=721882464505559&l=96d2bca481 Damascus Suburbs: Eastern Ghouta: Sources by the coordinations and media offices in Eastern Ghouta cities have reported more than 100 martyrs, among them women and children, fallen due to targeting Zamalka and Ain Tarma cities with toxic gases, and 40 martyrs were documented transferred to Hamourieh Medical Center thus far, 20 martyrs to Douma Medical Point, and 42 martyrs to Erbeen Medical Point, among them 22 children and 11 women, in addition to hundreds of casualties most of whom are in critical situations, amid emergency calls were sent from all of the towns of Eastern Ghouta requesting staff experienced with urgent treatment to head to the medial points due to the large numbers of casualties and lack of qualified staff Other Syria News: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/20/asma-al-assad-jawbone_n_3781631.html Asma Al-Assad, Wife Of Syrian Dictator, Sports A Jawbone UP As Syria descends further into civil war, the country's first lady will be keeping track of how many steps she takes, calories she burns, hours she sleeps and what food she eats. Asma al-Assad, the wife of embattled president Bashar Assad, appears in several recent photos on the presidency's official Instagram account that show her wearing a blue Jawbone UP on her right wrist. The Jawbone UP is a $129 activity tracker that goes with an app and measures movement, sleep and meals. It's part of growing category of wearable devices that aim to help people change their habits and improve their lives based on keeping track of data. http://news.yahoo.com/wise-israelis-prolonged-civil-war-syria-bad-news-142905829.html Wise up, Israelis. Prolonged civil war in Syria is bad news for you. Some Israelis have suggested that continuing conflict in Syria is good for Israel, as its enemies are occupied fighting each other. This view is morally reprehensible, but also shortsighted. Ending the bloodshed in Syria is in the best interests of all, including Israel. Could Syria’s civil war could be good for Israel – and America? That’s the view some Israeli commentators have suggested lately. For them, the thinking goes like this: As long as Israel’s neighbors and enemies are occupied fighting each other, their attention will be diverted from Israel. But finding merit for Israel in the continuation of Syria’s civil war is not just morally reprehensible; it also reveals a level of shortsightedness and misunderstanding of the new regional dynamics. Stopping the bloodshed and allowing the Syrian people to restore peace and stability in their country should be seen as a key interest of all regional actors, including Israel. https://twitter.com/markito0171 Rebels liberated poultry farm in southern Aleppo-killed 15 members of shiite al-Abbas brigade & seized camera of embedded journalist8:01 AM Hama Rebels took now control of 30 villages in eastern countryside of Hama8:13 AM Damascus Assad-forces failed to storm DeirSalman & lost 2 MB-Tanks +2 shilka +2 BMP & ~30 fighter killed http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=33.478776&lon=36.503620&z=14&m=b9:35 AM Rebels destroyed main barrier on Hama -> Raqqa highway- killed 15+ Assad-forces3:18 PM Raqqa Rebels killed dozens of #Assad-forces at 93 Brigade-base in Ayn Isahttp://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=36.382043&lon=38.859758&z=14&m=b4:54 PM https://twitter.com/zaidbenjamin BREAKING: ISIS in a directive; all international agencies supporting the displaced Syrians need to leave north of Syria immediately3:31 PM BREAKING: ISIS decision came in light of fears that those agencies are used for spying3:32 PM Breaking: ISIS's decision to evacuate humanitarian agencies is confined to the city of Jarabulus for now - ISIS source4:19 PM Breaking: George Sabra is reelected as the head of the Syrian National Council. Next elections after 6 months6:05 PM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=721732081187264&l=768702497a Local Coordination Committees in Syria By the end of Tuesday, the coordination committees were able to document 83 martyrs, among them 4 women, 8 children, and 7 martyrs under torture: 26 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its suburbs; 17 in Aleppo; 17 in Daraa; 10 in Idlib; 4 in Hama; 4 in Deir Ezzor; 3 in Homs; and 2 in Quneitra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=721976724496133&l=fcc72653cb Damascus Suburbs: Eastern Ghouta: The number of martyrs rises to more than 280 along with hundreds of casualties due to shelling with poisonous gases in Zamalka and Ain Tarma, as Kafrbatna's field hospitals have received 140 martyrs, 51 martyrs to Erbeen medical point, among them 17 women and 23 children, and 50 martyrs to Douma medical point, as well as 40 martyrs to Hamourieh, in addition to the hundreds of casualties most of whom are in critical situation This is just from the chemical attacks in the Damascus suburbs. https://twitter.com/SeekerSK corpses also laid out side by side in rows there are no sheets so they're covered with carpets, the kind laying in your living room12:40 AM elderly man lost his mind, screaming and crying after seeing all the rows of dead children12:40 AM white sheets rolled out to cover row of children, other rows covered w/ blk sheets, some sheets too short so little feet stick out syria12:41 AM 1 man straightens their heads, face up, so families can identify them among so many children some in pajamas, look like they're still sleeping, others have no clothes on12:43 AM https://twitter.com/LeShaque Breaking: Regime jets just carried out several strikes on Moadamiyya and Jobar in Damascus' East Ghouta, site of today's CW attack.12:36 AM Regime jets have carried out at least two strikes against Moadamiayya and another in Jobar in the past 30 minutes.12:38 AM BREAKING: More regime air strikes in Damascus' East Ghouta!12:42 AM Assad has not had enough killing for one day and now his forces are showering Ghouta with missiles and artillery.12:44 AM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=559406164107163&l=6b33e1e564 Assad Regime Kills Hundreds In Chemical Weapons Attacks As UN Team Arrives-Shaam News Network (SNN) DAMASCUS-At around 3:30 a.m. Damascus time on Wednesday, August 21, 2013, Assad forces struck Jobar, Zamalka, 'Ain Tirma, and Hazzah in the Eastern Ghootah region with chemical weapons. At least 375 innocent men, women and children were killed in less than an hour. Those who tried to render aid to injured were largely unsuccessful given that the chemical weapon used caused debilitating symptoms, as well as the ferocity of continuing attacks with other types of weapons, including mortars, rockets and heavy artillery. Many medical staff members and volunteers were killed in the attacks. Furthermore, the regime's stifling siege on the area had already severely crippled medical services and the availability of any life-saving medication or treatment. Shortly after the first round of attacks on the aforementioned areas, regime forces began striking the city of Muaddamiyyat Ashaam located in the Damascus Rural province. Dozens more civilians were killed and hundreds of others injured in the second round of attacks. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=559407764107003&l=aa3c17b6a3 Breaking News Damascus Jobar August 21, 2013 Regime forces are attacking the district with unprecedented ferocity, using all types of weapons on residential areas. The entire district is covered in smoke and dust at the attacks continue. It is important to note that the district was hit by the regime earlier Wednesday in a chemical weapons attack by Assad forces I've seen other reports now that say as many as 500 are dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 No....damn it. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=722016467825492&l=199947ddf9 Damascus Suburbs: More than 635 martyrs have fallen due to shelling with poisonous gases in Ain Tarma and Zamalka in Eastern Ghouta and Mouadamieh in Western Ghouta, as 300 martyrs were documented in Hamourieh medical point, 78 martyrs in Erbeen medical point, 67 martyrs in Saqba medical point, 140 martyrs in Kafrbatna's field hospitals, and 50 martyrs in Mouadamieh, most of them women and children, in addition to hundreds of casualties, it is also worth mentioning that the death toll is in continued rise due to extreme shortage of medical staff and equipment to treat the victims https://twitter.com/Charles_Lister Ghouta is currently facing sustained air and artillery strikes, apparently focused on targets of alleged CW strike. Damascus2:00 AM https://twitter.com/MajdArar Latest accounts talk of coordinated rockets (w/ CW warheads) attack from Qasyoon mountain & 4th division barracks. Damascus1:55 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/syria/syrian-government-has-denied-using-poisonous-gas-calling-reports-completely-baseless The Syrian government has denied using poisonous gas, calling the reports "completely baseless". The Syrian government denied using poisonous gas, calling the reports "completely baseless," the state-run SANA news agency said. "The aim behind broadcasting such reports and news is to distract the UN chemical weapons investigation commission away from its mission" SANA quoted an official source. https://twitter.com/alexsandels Weapons inspector Åke Sellström on phone from Damascus quoted in Swedish media, says he´s only seen TV images of the attacks, from which nothing can be determined, says Sellström http://bit.ly/1aqvzKm Sellström 2 TT: "But high number of wounded & dead they´re speaking about sounds suspicious, it sounds like something one should take a look at"4:48 AM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=722120771148395&l=d42c93586c Local Coordination Committees in SyriaMore than 668 martyrs have fallen due to shelling with poisonous gases in Ain Tarma and Zamalka in Eastern Ghouta and Mouadamieh in Western Ghouta, as 300 martyrs were documented in Hamourieh medical point, 85 martyrs in Erbeen medical point, 67 martyrs in Saqba medical point, 140 martyrs in Kafrbatna's field hospitals, and 76 martyrs in Mouadamieh, most of them women and children, in addition to hundreds of casualties, it is also worth mentioning that the death toll is in continued rise due to extreme shortage of medical staff and equipment to treat the victims http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_289563/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=VfJnQqGt Dempsey: Syrian rebels wouldn't back US interests The Obama administration is opposed to even limited U.S. military intervention in Syria because it believes rebels fighting the Assad regime wouldn't support American interests if they were to seize power right now, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote to a congressman in a letter obtained by The Associated Press. Effectively ruling out U.S. cruise missile attacks and other options that wouldn't require U.S. troops on the ground, Dempsey said the military is clearly capable of taking out Syrian President Bashar Assad's air force and shifting the balance of the Arab country's 2½-year war back toward the armed opposition. But he said such an approach would plunge the United States deep into another war in the Arab world and offer no strategy for peace in a nation plagued by ethnic rivalries. "Syria today is not about choosing between two sides but rather about choosing one among many sides," Dempsey said in the letter Aug. 19 to Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y. "It is my belief that the side we choose must be ready to promote their interests and ours when the balance shifts in their favor. Today, they are not." Dempsey's pessimistic assessment will hardly please members of the fractured Syrian opposition leadership and some members of the administration who have championed greater support to help the rebellion end Assad's four-decade family dynasty. Despite almost incessant bickering and internal disputes, some opposition groups have worked with the United States and other European and Arab supporters to try to form a cohesive, inclusive movement dedicated to a democratic and multiethnic state. But those fighting the Assad government range wildly in political and ethnic beliefs and not all are interested in Western support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGoodBits Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 Man... That's tough to read. Probably why you don't see much news coverage on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=722205557806583&l=816b414100 Local Coordination Committees in Syria The number of martyrs due Chemicals shelling has risen to 1270 thus far, and includes dozens children and women. 400 martyrs in Zamalka, 300 in Hmourih, 60 in Douma,150 in Kafr Batna, 75 in Ain Trma, 105 in Mouadamiyeh and Daraa, 69 in Saqba, 63 in Erbeen, 16 in Jsreen, 5 in Harasta In addition to hundreds of injuries and it should be noted that the number of martyrs is increasing due to the acute shortage of medical staff and medicines http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/21/us-syria-crisis-sabra-idUSBRE97K0KW20130821?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews Syria opposition says 1,300 killed in Damascus attack, chemicals used A leading Syrian opposition figure said on Wednesday 1,300 people had been killed in attacks by President Bashar al-Assad's forces around Damascus in which he said chemical weapons had been used. "Today's crimes are...not the first time the regime has used chemical weapons," George Sabra told a news conference in Istanbul. "But they constitute a significant turning point in the regime's operations...This time it was for annihilation rather than terror." https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/nowsyrialatestnews/saudi-urges-un-eu-to-immediately-address-syria-massacre Saudi urges UN, EU to immediately address Syria "massacre" Saudi Arabia urged the UN Security Council and EU ministers Wednesday to immediately address Syria's "massacre," following claims the army killed more than 650 people in a chemical attack. "It is time for the UN Security Council to assume responsibility... by convening immediately to reach a clear deterrent decision that ends the humanitarian tragedy," said Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal. "We ask EU foreign ministers meeting today in Brussels [to discuss the Egyptian crisis] to have this humanitarian catastrophe as the main topic of their talks," he told AFP. http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/syria/arab-israeli-charged-trying-join-rebels Arab Israeli charged for trying to join rebels An Arab Israeli student has been indicted for contact with an enemy agent after he went to Syria to join rebels there, the Shin Bet domestic security agency has said. Abdel Qader Altallah, a pharmacy student from Taibe village in Galilee who studies in Jordan, was arrested in a joint Shin Bet-police operation on July 14. The 26-year-old was also charged at Lod District Court, in an indictment earlier this month, with travelling overseas illegally and infiltration. "Over the course of his studies, Altallah met Iraqi and Palestinian students who support the Salafist-Jihadist stream, which is the ideological platform for Al-Qaeda, and under their influence took up the Salafist ideology and became more religiously observant," Shin Bet said. "Altallah admitted he went to Syria to join the Jihad against the Syrian army and he contacted a representative of (Al-Qaeda affiliate) Jabhat Al-Nusrah and was recruited to its ranks," the statement read. https://twitter.com/AP BREAKING: France will ask United Nations experts to visit site of alleged chemical attack in Syria. -MM7:26 AM https://twitter.com/THE_47th Assad regime loves subtle msgs...2day's attacks come EXACTLY on the one yr aftr "red line" warning on Aug 21, 2012 http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/20/world/meast/syria-unrest9:25 AM The LCC has now updated the death toll to 1,360. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=722250221135450&l=b0ae0f9ecf https://twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak The European Union has called for an immediate investigation into alleged Syria chemical attack9:38 AM https://twitter.com/Storyful See photo: / @UN Photo: @TheDailyshow's Jon Stewart visited Zaatari camp to meet with Syrian refugees pic.twitter.com/UPhXeYHSWp4:41 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/21/us-syria-crisis-paris-idUSBRE97K13I20130821?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews France, Britain say U.N. must access alleged Syria attack site France and Britain said on Wednesday that United Nations inspectors currently in Syria should be allowed immediate access to the site of an alleged deadly chemical weapons attack. Syria's opposition accused government forces of gassing many hundreds of people - by one report as many as 1,300 - in a pre-dawn attack on Wednesday. The government of President Bashar al-Assad denied using chemical weapons. "I hope this will wake up some who have supported the Assad regime to realize its murderous and barbaric nature," British Foreign Secretary William Hague told reporters in Paris. "We hope the U.N. team in Damascus will be given immediate and unrestricted access to this area to try and establish the truth. There is no reason not to be given access when (the site) is not so many miles from where they are doing their work now," he added, heading into a working dinner with his French counterpart Laurent Fabius. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/08/21/the-one-video-from-syrias-alleged-chemical-weapons-attack-that-everyone-should-watch/ The one video from Syria’s alleged chemical weapons attack that everyone should watch The alleged Syrian chemical weapons attack on a Damascus suburb, where opposition activists say that more than 1,000 civilians have died from exposure to an unknown toxic gas, would be the deadliest but far from the first such incident in the country’s civil war. Still, there’s something different about this one. The many, many photos and videos showing the attack’s apparent toll, including rooms full of dead children, can be overwhelming, of a scale and horror difficult to fully comprehend. You may have watched, or tried to watch, the video of a health worker helplessly applying a respirator to a child’s gasping mouth, or of young men sprawled across the floor of a makeshift hospital. But if you can bring yourself to see only one such video, you may wish to make it this footage, posted by Syrian activists late Tuesday: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/08/21/five-reasons-the-u-s-doesnt-act-on-syria-chemical-weapons-reports/ Five reasons the U.S. doesn’t act on Syria chemical weapons reports With the exception of the Obama administration’s official acknowledgment in June that Syria had almost certainly used chemical weapons against civilians, a moment it used to announce the shipment of some small arms to rebels, the United States has not shown much of a response to Syrian chemical weapons. It later turned out that even the U.S. weapons shipment announced in June had actually been decided weeks earlier. That trend appears to be continuing today, with horrifying if unconfirmed reports of a mass chemical weapon attack in Damascus, which has so far not prompted much more than a statement of concern from the White House and a request for a U.N. Security Council meeting, both largely symbolic responses. http://www.todayszaman.com/news-324188-turkish-fm-says-clear-that-chemical-weapons-used-in-syria.html Turkish FM says clear that chemical weapons used in Syria Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said on Wednesday it was clear from television images coming from Syria that chemical weapons had been used in attack near Damascus and called for an immediate UN investigation. "Use of chemical weapons in Syria is evident from the footage coming from there," Davutoğlu said in an interview broadcast on Turkey's Kanal 24 television. "We have called for an immediate investigation by the UN teams." http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/21/syria-chemicals-weapons-experts-lethal-toxin?CMP=twt_fd Chemical weapons experts say strike near Damascus fits with lethal toxin use Experts who have examined the first video footage of the immediate aftermath of the attack on people on the outskirts of Damascus Wednesday morning believe it shows the most compelling evidence yet consistent with the use of a lethal toxic agent. Among those interviewed by the Guardian were analysts who had previously raised questions over the authenticity of previous claims, or who had highlighted contradictions. https://twitter.com/markito0171 Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons in Damascus today3:15 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2013/08/21/expert-says-alleged-syria-chemical-attack-has-to-have-been-a-military/ Expert: alleged Syria chem. attack ‘has to have been a military’ It is “more and more likely” that chemical weapons were used in an attack outside Damascus, a Chemical, biological, and nuclear threat analyst told CNN’s Hala Gorani on Wednesday. “Initially what I thought is that it could well be a concentrated riot control agent,” Gwyn Winfield said. But “as the footage has sort of gone on, it looks more and more likely that some kind of organophosphate – so that is some kind of nerve agent – has been used.” Survivors, portrayed in videos posted online, are “showing more sort of typical chemical warfare agent signs and symptoms.” Winfield was not able to identify what type of agent may have been used, but said that it did not appear to be a “pure weapons-grade” attack. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.542849#Scene_1 Defense Minister: Assad used chemical weapons multiple times in Syria But Western experts are skeptical that nerve gas was used Wednesday, and describe other viable scenarios. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/syrian-attack-should-prompt-us-investigation-into-chemical-weapons/2013/08/21/92d263f4-0a7b-11e3-8974-f97ab3b3c677_story.html?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost The Post’s View The U.S. should examine allegations of chemical attack in Syria HORRIFIC PHOTOS and videos from Syria on Wednesday showed scores of bodies, including many children, lined up in field hospitals and morgues in the eastern suburbs of Damascus. Opposition spokesmen said they were evidence of a massive chemical weapons attack by the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Hundreds were reported killed, and medical personnel at the scene described symptoms consistent with the use of deadly nerve agents: constricted pupils, foam around the mouth and breathing difficulties. The United States rightly joined with other nations in demanding a United Nations investigation. But the Obama administration must reconsider its response to violations of what it has repeatedly defined as a “red line.” If the allegations of a massive new attack are confirmed, the weak measure adopted by President Obama in June — supplying small weapons to rebel forces — will have proved utterly inadequate. Two months later, even the small supplies of weapons promised by the president have yet to be delivered. http://nationalinterest.org/print/commentary/plan-syria-8924 A Plan for Syria In recent years Pentagon contingency planners have imported, from social science, the concept of the “wicked” problem—that theoretical future security crisis that defies solution. Today that future security crisis is here, and its name is Syria. How important is the eventual denouement of this catastrophic civil war? Apparently, important enough to draw major security responses from Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Qatar, Shiite Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon and Sunni militant Islamists from across the Arab world. (plus hundreds of Jihadis from Australia, all across Europe (including a German rap artist), and recent converts from the US) http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2013/0820/With-aid-groups-stretched-thin-Syrian-refugees-provide-their-own-relief?cmpid=addthis_twitter#.UhUdFX4Weng.twitter With aid groups stretched thin, Syrian refugees provide their own relief As the Syrian exodus continues at a stunning rate, most starkly evident in this weekend's footage of thousands rushing into Iraqi Kurdistan, host countries are overwhelmed. In Jordan, local and international NGOs were caught off guard by the scale of the influx and lack the resources to absorb their numbers. The funding gap is increasingly being filled by independent, ad-hoc aid networks of Syrians living in the Kingdom. Roughly 515,000 Syrians have been registered or are awaiting registration by the UN humanitarian agency in Jordan – almost 10 percent of Jordan’s population. While the Zaatari refugee camp near the Syrian border has become the human face of the refugee crisis, three quarters of refugees are dispersed throughout urban areas. About 10 Syrian groups are helping refugee communities in Jordan's major towns and cities, where NGOs face the challenge of a dispersed population. "In the camps, people are all in one place and it's easier to manage. A lot of funding has gone to the camp so far, but people are scattered across the country – our main objective now is to mobilize our local partners in host communities," says Michele Servadei, deputy http://ilhantanir.blogspot.com/?spref=tw My Qs and As w/State dept spox Psaki on US CW Redline, Dempsey remarks August 21, 2013 https://twitter.com/columlynch US draft statement on Syria CW; 1. SC member express "grave concern at reports of use of CW in Syria, in particular today's alleged use.."5:03 PM US draft on Syria CW; SC members 'welcome fact" the UN CW inspection team currently working in Syria5:04 PM US draft Syria CW: SC underscores importance of "a fully independent and impartial investigation into ALL allegations of us of CW in Syria"5:05 PM US draft on Syria CW; UNSC request UNSG "urgently take the steps necessary for today's attack to be investigated by the UN mission..."5:07 PM US draft on Syria CW: UNSC calls on "all parties to allow safe, full and unfettered access to the UN mission..."5:08 PM https://twitter.com/AmbassadorPower Reports devastating: 100s dead in streets, including kids killed by chem weapons. UN must get there fast & if true, perps must face justice.5:09 PM https://twitter.com/AmbassadorRice The Syrian government must allow the UN access to the attack site to investigate. Those responsible will be held accountable.5:12 PM https://twitter.com/DavidKenner Oh Russia RT @BreakingNews: UN Security Council agrees on need for 'clarity' with alleged Syria gas attack; no explicit call for UN probe5:58 PM Not that an investigation, especially one dependent on the regime's assistance would lead to anything very helpful. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=722628004431005&l=335daf14c9 Local Cordination Committees in Syria According to the medical points and field hospitals in Eastern and Western Damascus' Ghouta, the numbers of martyrs due to the chemical attack by regime forces with internationally prohibited chemical weapons in all of Zamalka and Ain Tarma in Eastern Ghouta and Mouadamieh Al Sham in Western Ghouta has risen to 1338 including hundreds of women and children, distributed in the following medical points: 400 Martyrs in Zamalka medical point , 300 martyrs in Hamoria medical point,150 martyrs in Douma medical point,150 martyrs in Kafr Batna medical point, 75 martyrs in Ain Tarma medical point, 69 martyrs in Saqba medical point, 63 martyrs Irbin medical points,16 martyrs in Jisreen medical points, 5 martyrs in Harasta medical point, In Eastern ghouta also recorded 103 martyrs in Mouadamieh Al Sham, 7 martyrs in Daraya, it is worth refering that more than 1000 martyrs were reported in Zamalka only but 600 martyrs were transferd to medical points in nearby cities, in addition to more than 3000 wounded many of them in critical condition due to lack of medical staff and supplies The committees have also documented 89 martyrs due to shelling with conventional weapons, includes 13 women,12 children, 3 under torture: 35 in Damascus and its suburbs; 19 in Idlib; 13 in Hama; 11 in Aleppo, 16 in Deir Ezzor, 4 in Homs; 1 in Daraa To become 1427 martyrs in Syria includes 1338 were matyred in Damascus Ghouta due to shelling with chemical weapons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 https://twitter.com/erinmcunningham Senior admin official on Syria: "strong indications there was a chemical weapons attack—clearly by the government." http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324165204579026123332790830.html?mod=wsj_share_tweet 8:56 PM http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.542873 By implicating Assad on chemical weapons, Israel hopes to prod Obama to act The White House seized on the presence of the UN inspectors in Syria in order to gain time, as it pondered the U.S. reaction to the horrid depictions of the chemical weapon attack outside Damascus on Wednesday. The demand to allow the UN delegation to inspect the scene of the crime provided Washington with a rare opportunity to be unequivocal on an issue on which it is basically ambivalent. http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/08/21/how_russia_neutered_obamas_chemical_weapons_response How Russia Neutered Obama's Chemical Weapons Response An effort by the Obama administration to reinforce the powers of U.N. chemical weapons inspectors in Syria Wednesday evening foundered in the face of Russian and Chinese opposition in the U.N. Security Council, according to council diplomats. Seizing on rebel claims that Syrian authorities massacred hundreds of civilians by firing chemically-laced rockets onto a Damascus suburb, the United States joined Britain and France in calling for an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council to rally international support for an investigation into the incident. The three western powers also wrote a letter to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki moon, signed by 32 other governments, calling for an urgent investigation. But the efforts failed to result in anything other than a tepid statement from the Security Council thanks to some final edits by the Russians and Chinese. The Obama administration's goal was to have a U.N. chemical weapons team, which was already in Syria to investigate other chemical weapons allegations, launch a probe into the new allegations. That team, headed by Swedish scientist Ake Sellstrom, arrived in Damascus on Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/nowsyrialatestnews/merkel-syria-attack-would-be-a-frightful-crime Merkel: Syria attack would be a 'frightful crime' German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday that if accusations of the use of chemical weapons in Syria were true it would be a "frightful crime". Syria's main opposition group accused the government of "massacring" more than 1,300 people in chemical weapons attacks near Damascus on Wednesday, prompting demands for an immediate UN inquiry. German regional daily Stuttgarter Zeitung quoted Merkel, on a campaign swing, as saying: "If these data are verified, it is a frightful crime." During a public debate she also called for the United Nations' mandate to be broadened and for cooperation by the Syrian regime, the daily said. However, she once again ruled out sending arms to the opposition. http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/syria/australia-condemned-possible-use-chemical-weapons-president-bashar-al-assads-forces Australia condemned the possible use of chemical weapons by President Bashar al-Assad's forces in Syria. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd condemned the possible use of chemical weapons by President Bashar al-Assad's forces in Syria. He described it as a new level of barbarism on Thursday, and said civilised countries would have a responsibility to act if chemical weapons had been used. Rudd said Australia wanted UN inspectors to work out how many people were killed and if chemical weapons were used. "No civilised country can stand idly by while there is a threat or even the actuality in this case as it might prove to be of chemical weapons being used in modern warfare, let alone against civilians," he said. "When weapons of mass destruction including chemical weapons are used against civilian targets it is repugnant beyond description," Rudd added. http://lightbox.time.com/2013/08/21/desert-surreality-plight-of-syrian-refugees-magnified-outside-zaatari/#1 Desert Surreality: Plight of Syrian Refugees Magnified Outside Zaatari https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/lebanonnews/protest-in-beirut-condemns-syrias-chemical-weapons-massacre Protest in Beirut condemns Syria’s chemical weapons “massacre” A number of civil society activists held on Wednesday evening a protest in Beirut’s Martyrs Square to condemn the reported chemical weapons attack that took place in Syria’s Damascus suburbs. The demonstration, which was entitled “Help Now,” was held under strict security measures near the ESCWA building and Martyr’s Square. Among the participants in the demonstartion were Progressive Socialist Party MP Akram Chehayeb, Walid Jumblatt's wife Noura, and Future bloc MP Ahmad Fatfat. The demonstration was organized through the use of social media. https://twitter.com/AJELive Iran's foreign minister says Syrian government could not have been behind alleged chemical weapon attack, according to Iran's Press TV.1:27 AM https://twitter.com/BreakingNews If Syrian chemical attack is confirmed, force would be needed in response, French foreign minister says - @Reuters3:15 AM http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/22/us-syria-crisis-france-idUSBRE97L08W20130822?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews France says force needed if Syrian chemical attack proved true France said on Thursday that the international community would need to respond with force if allegations that Syrian government forces had carried out a mass chemical attack on civilians proved to be true. "There would have to be reaction with force in Syria from the international community, but there is no question of sending troops on the ground," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on French television network BFM. He added that if the U.N. Security Council could not make a decision, one would have to be taken "in other ways." He did not elaborate. Hmmm. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=559806034067176&l=31460bbbd6 August 22, 2013 The Free Syrian Army has gained control on Tumaa regime checkpoint between Alqaboon district and Zamalka city after fierce clashes with Assad forces. The clashes ended with a martyrdom operation demolishing the checkpoint. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=722867727740366&l=59b10086a9 Damascus Suburbs: Khan Sheikh: FSA took control of 93 brigade checkpoint near Khan Sheikh https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=722864474407358&l=28131121ea Damascus Suburbs: Mouadamieh: Air strikes launched by warplanes in the city's neighborhoods https://twitter.com/markito0171 Damascus Rebels destroyed 2 T-72 tanks, a ZSU-23-4 tank, a BMP at 168 brigade base in Khan ash-Shihhttp://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=33.368384&lon=36.109314&z=13&m=b3:05 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/22/us-syria-crisis-chemical-analysis-idUSBRE97L10020130822 Analysis: Clock ticks while experts kept away from Syria gassing site The longer chemical weapons inspectors wait in a Damascus luxury hotel for permission to drive up the road to the site of what appears to be the worst poison gas attack in a quarter century, the less likely they will be able to get to the bottom of it. The poisoning deaths of many hundreds of people took place only three days after a team of U.N. chemical weapons experts arrived in Syria. But their limited mandate means the inspectors have so far been powerless to go to the scene, a short drive from where they are staying. "We're being exterminated with poison gas while they drink their coffee and sit inside their hotels," said Bara Abdelrahman, an activist in one of the Damascus suburbs where rebels say government rockets brought the poison gas that killed hundreds of people before dawn on Wednesday. "The longer it takes, the easier it is for anybody who has used it to try to cover up," said Demetrius Perricos, who headed the U.N.'s team of weapons inspectors in Iraq in the 2000s. "The more you cover up, the more time it takes afterwards to uncover it. So time is definitely not something that you want to take, you don't want to do it slowly," Perricos told Reuters. http://turtlebay.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/08/22/un_pressures_syria_to_let_in_chemical_inspectors U.N. Pressures Syria to Open Up 'Chemical' Battlefields U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki moon on Thursday dispatched his top disarmament official to Syria to try to persuade the Assad government to grant weapons inspectors access to the site of what's alleged to be the worst chemical attack in decades. It's all part of an effort by the U.N. and the broader international community to force Syria into opening up its supposedly-chemical battlefields to the world. So far, Damascus has been immune to the pressure. "The secretary general believes that the incidents reported yesterday need to be investigated without delay," according to a statement from Ban's office. "The Secretary-General now calls for the Mission, presently in Damascus, to be granted permission and access to swiftly investigate the incident which occurred on the morning of 21 August 2013," the statement added. "A formal request is being sent by the United Nations to the Government of Syria in this regard. He expects to receive a positive response without delay." http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/22/syria-deaths-strike-sarin-alleged-chemical?CMP=twt_gu Syria deaths: powerful asphyxiant in strike was probably sarin, say experts Expert opinion is hardening behind attributing the deaths on Wednesday of hundreds of people in Damascus to a nerve agent such as sarin, with regional and western governments expecting to receive smuggled biological samples from the site in the coming days. Chemical weapons specialists, who have studied footage showing the dead and dying victims of the attack, said several symptoms offered strong evidence that a nerve agent was used; it would be the worst such attack anywhere in the world in the past 25 years. Stefan Mogl, a Swiss chemical weapons expert and former arms inspector, said: "There's a significant number of videos of children's faces and of adults who seem to have been exposed, that show typical symptoms of acetylcholinesterase inhibition poisoning, which coincides with a nerve agent." http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/08/22/214493192/after-syrian-killings-how-will-u-s-and-its-allies-respond?sc=tw&cc=share In Familiar Refrain, Syria Faces Criticism, Not Intervention The international community once again rose in near unanimity to condemn a mass killing of civilians in Syria. But, as with so many previous episodes, no one proposed concrete action intended to prevent such bloodshed in the future. The White House on Thursday expressed "deep concern" and urged a U.N. investigation into what the Syrian opposition says was a chemical weapons attack near Damascus on Wednesday that left hundreds dead. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said "at this time we are unable to conclusively determine [chemical weapons] use. We are focused on doing everything possible within our power to nail down the facts." The BBC noted that the U.N. Security Council could only agree on a relatiavely mild statement because of opposition from Russia and China, allies of the Syrian government. http://www.todayszaman.com/news-324286-turkish-fm-syrian-regime-aimed-to-crush-opposition-in-damascus-after-homs.html Turkish FM: Syrian regime aimed to crush opposition in Damascus after Homs Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said the Syrian regime aimed to crush the opposition forces in Damascus after Homs where it had inflicted a fatal blow to the fractured opposition fighters last month, as the Syrian government faces charges of use of chemical weapons in the suburbs of its capital. Speaking to a group of Turkish reporters during his official visit to Berlin and London, Davutoğlu said all red lines regarding the Syrian crisis have been crossed on numerous occasions. He suggested that the embattled Syrian regime would have aimed two things by resorting to use of chemical weapons two days ago, killing nearly 1,000 civilians as well as some opposition fighters in Damascus. "After dealing a serious blow to the opposition fighters in Homs, the regime would have opted to use chemical weapons to clear restive neighborhoods of opposition forces in the suburbs of Damascus," the Turkish foreign minister said. "The second possibility that the regime could have used chemical weapons to terrorise the opposition forces. But it failed to predict such strong international reaction following the attack," Davutoğlu said, underlining the miscalculation of the regime. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/08/21/america_limited?page=0,0 America, Limited How the U.S. went from the world's CEO to just another shareholder. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/08/22/syria-chemical-attack-responders-die/2686971/ Rebels: Syrian medics die after treating attack victims Some first responders to a reported chemical attack in Syria have died after treating victims, providing more evidence that a weapon of mass destruction was indeed used, opposition forces said Thursday. "Some of them came down with similar symptoms and passed away," said Khaled Saleh, a spokesman for the Supreme Military Council of the Free Syrian Army, which the United States has provided with non-lethal aid. Saleh said at least six doctors had died after treating victims. "We don't have the (total) number of dead first responders yet," he said. Despite seemingly overwhelming evidence, the Syrian government continues to deny that it used chemical weapons. Three dozen countries, including the U.S., have now called for a United Nations investigation. http://bigstory.ap.org/article/syrian-forces-bomb-area-alleged-chemical-attack Syrian official blames rebels for deadly attack Syria's deputy prime minister told The Associated Press that foreign fighters and their international backers are to blame for a purported chemical weapons attack near Damascus that the opposition says killed at least 100 people, the deadliest such attack in Syria's civil war. Government forces, meanwhile, pummeled the targeted rebel strongholds where the alleged attack occurred with airstrikes and artillery for a second day, violence that was likely to complicate any swift investigation into the mysterious circumstances surrounding the deaths. Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil's comments were part of a government campaign to use the horror over the deaths to boost its narrative about the conflict — that Syria is under assault by foreign Islamic radicals. It is an argument that has powerful resonance with the Syrian public as the presence of militants fighting alongside Syria's rebels increases. Jamil said foreign militants carried out the attack with the backing of Israel and supporters in the West in a bid to thwart efforts to hold an international peace conference to end the Syrian bloodshed. "We can only say that extremist forces carried it out, linked to foreign forces, since no Syrian can do this against another Syrian," he said. "At the head of these forces are those who have promoted vengeance and hatred and spoke of ousting the regime by force over the past two years." The main state television news channel aired a documentary-style segment showing the pictures of the children's bodies lined up in their shrouds. "This is the brutality of the terrorists and those who have destructive plans for Syria," a voiceover intoned. "They trade in the lives of children, they use chemical weapons." The segment included an explanation of sarin gas, with diagrams of its effects on the body, though it didn't directly claim that sarin was used in Wednesday's attack. https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/lebanonnews/us-hits-4-hezbollah-leaders-with-sanctions US hits 4 Hezbollah leaders with sanctions The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on four leaders of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah for alleged operations in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East. The US Treasury Department said the sanctions target senior members of Hezbollah responsible for activities including assisting fighters from Iraq to support the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, where civil war has raged for more than two years. The designated Hezbollah leaders also made payments to certain factions within Yemen and to military leaders responsible for "terrorist operations" in Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and Iraq, the Treasury said in a statement. The sanctions were set against Khalil Harb, Mohammed Kawtharani, Mohammed Mansur and Mohammed Qabalan. https://twitter.com/Charles_Lister Ahrar al-Sham have issued a detailed update on their offensive on Al-Safira today. Aleppo9:16 AM (1) Cut off main road between Al-Safira & Khanasser. (2) Seized several checkpts at Al-Raisia. (3) Seized several villages, inc Umm Aamoud.9:16 AM (4) Allegedly killed 40 “shabiha” and soldiers. (5) Clashes ongoing at Al-Buz checkpt, allegedly manned by “Iranian militias”.9:16 AM 8 grps involved, including Ahrar al-Sham, Harakat Fajr al-Sham al-Islamiya, Liwa Ansar al-Khilafa, Katibat Ansar al-Mahdi, Katibat al-Hamza9:17 AM LCC reporting offensive around Khanasser & Al-Safira (led by Ahrar al-Sham) has seized 6 villages & killed 200 security personnel.10:31 AM https://twitter.com/BSyria Pure terrorism "@edwardedark: a suicide bomber blew himself up in an upscale Aleppo rstrnt as students were celebrating their h schl grad"5:56 PM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=723285864365219&l=c3f727f0a8 Local Coordination Committees in Syria By the end of Thursday, the coordination committees were able to document 115 martyrs, among them 7 women, 9 children, and 5 martyrs under torture: 44 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its suburbs; 32 in Aleppo; 12 in Idlib; 8 in Hama; 7 in Daraa; 6 in Homs; 4 in Deir Ezzor; 1 in Lattakia; and 1 in Hasakeh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/23/us-syria-crisis-children-idUSBRE97M03V20130823?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews Number of children who have fled Syria reaches a million, says U.N. The number of Syrian children forced to flee their devastated homeland will on Friday reach a million, half of all the refugees driven abroad by the conflict, the United Nations said. Another two million Syrian minors are uprooted within their country and are often attacked or recruited as fighters in violation of humanitarian law, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR and U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) said. "The youth of Syria are losing their homes, their family members and their futures. Even after they have crossed a border to safety, they are traumatized, depressed and in need of a reason for hope," Antonio Guterres, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said in a statement. Nearly two million Syrians have fled to Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and North Africa, the UNHCR says. They include 40,000 Syrian Kurds who flooded into Iraqi Kurdistan in the past week. http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-syria-20130823,0,7885049.story Enforcing a 'red line' in Syria If new reports of a government chemical weapons attack are confirmed, the U.S. must act. By The Times editorial boardAugust 23, 2013 Last August, even as he resisted the notion of U.S. military intervention in Syria, President Obama said that "a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. That would change my calculus." If new reports of the use of nerve gas to massacre hundreds of Syrian civilians are confirmed, Obama must make good on that warning to punish the government and protect its population. People around the world have been horrified by online images of bodies shrouded in white sheets — victims, Syrian opposition groups claim, of an attack Wednesday by the government of President Bashar Assad in a suburb of Damascus. The government denies using chemical weapons, and Russia, Assad's enabler on the U.N. Security Council, predictably dismissed the claims of a nerve-agent attack as a "premeditated provocation." http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/23/politics/obama-cnn-new-day-interview/index.html?sr=sharebar_twitter Obama tells CNN key decisions nearing on Syria, Egypt The time is nearing for a potentially definitive U.S. response to alleged Syrian government atrocities and an increasingly violent military crackdown in Egypt, President Barack Obama said in an exclusive interview broadcast Friday on CNN's "New Day." The U.S. remains "one indispensable nation" in the volatile Middle East and elsewhere, Obama told "New Day" anchor Chris Cuomo. "We have to think through strategically what's going to be in our long term national interests." Asked by Cuomo whether the U.S. government is now facing a "more abbreviated time frame" on key decisions in Egypt and Syria, Obama repeatedly gave a one-word response: yes. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/23/world/middleeast/american-tells-of-odyssey-as-prisoner-of-syrian-rebels.html?smid=tw-share&_r=1& American Tells of Odyssey as Prisoner of Syrian Rebels Matthew Schrier was helpless. An American photographer held in a rebel-controlled prison in the Syrian city of Aleppo, he and a fellow prisoner had been caught trying to gouge a hole in their cell’s wooden door. The captors took his cellmate, he said, beat him, and brought him back with blood-streaked ankles and feet. Now was Mr. Schrier’s turn. Wearing masks, his jailers led him out, sat him down and forced a car tire over his knees. They slid a wooden rod behind his legs, locking the tire in place. Then they rolled him over. Mr. Schrier was face down on a basement floor, he said, legs immobilized, bare feet facing up. “Give him 115,” one of his captors said in English, as they began whipping his feet with a metal cable. For seven months, Mr. Schrier, 35, was a prisoner in Syria of jihadi fighters opposed to President Bashar al-Assad. Held in bases and prisons run by two Islamist rebel groups, he said, he was robbed, beaten and accused of being an American spy by men who then assumed his identity online. His captors drained one of his bank accounts. They shopped in his name on eBay. They sent messages from his e-mail account to his mother and his best friend assuring them he was fine, but had extended his trip to do more work. Mr. Schrier escaped on July 29, he said, by squeezing out of a basement window and wandering, in shoes too small and with the long beard he had grown in captivity, through Aleppo until he found other rebels. These men protected him and drove him the next day to Turkish authorities at the border. American diplomats soon whisked Mr. Schrier away. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323665504579029122081493110?mg=reno64-wsj.html?dsk=y U.S. Weighs Plans to Punish Assad Possible Military Responses Are Refined After Poison Gas Claims https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/nowsyrialatestnews/russia-slams-calls-to-use-force-in-Syria Russia slams calls to use force in Syria Russia hit out Friday at calls for force to be used after Syria's opposition and European states accused the war-torn country's regime of killing hundreds in chemical weapons attacks. As the regime's international allies and foes traded barbs over the reported atrocity, US President Barack Obama said the alleged use of chemical weapons was "clearly a big event of grave concern". We do believe this is a chemical attack by the Assad regime on a large scale, but we would like the United Nations to be able to assess that," said Britain's William Hague. His televised statement came after Russia's foreign ministry branded as "unacceptable" calls for use of force against the Damascus regime. "Against the background of another anti-Syrian wave of propaganda, we believe calls from some European countries to apply pressure on the UN Security Council and already now take a decision on the use of force are unacceptable," the ministry said. https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/lebanonnews/hariri-condemns-twin-tripoli-blasts Hariri condemns twin Tripoli blasts Future Movement leader MP Saad Hariri condemned on Friday the explosions that targeted earlier in the day the northern city of Tripoli. In a statement issued by his press office, Hariri said that “the hand of strife does not want the Lebanese to live in even one moment of stability.” He also said that the explosions aimed at causing strife among the Lebanese, and keeping Tripoli “in the eye of the storm.” “The enemies of Lebanon want to keep strife and destruction a main subject in the daily lives of the Lebanese people,” Hariri said. “For years, there has been someone working on keeping Tripoli in the eye of the storm by targeting [it] with consecutive waves of chaos and armed conflicts,” he added. https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/lebanonnews/jumblatt-israel-primary-beneficiary-of-tripoli-dahiyeh-explosions Jumblatt: Israel ‘primary beneficiary’ of Tripoli, Dahiyeh explosions Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt said on Friday that Israel was the primary beneficiary of the explosions that targeted the city of Tripoli, as well as those that targeted the Beirut area of Dahiyeh. “The primary beneficiary of the explosions in Al-Roueiss and Tripoli is Israel, and I do not want to resort to theories and analyses,” Jumblatt told Al-Jadeed TV. Except the Dahiyeh bombings were clearly done by anti-Assad/Hezbollah extremists. And the mosque bombings today were done by someone likely pro-Assad. (since they were aimed at an anti-Assad figure and the mosque he preached at) https://twitter.com/emile_hokayem 1. Plausible scenario for today's Tripoli bombing: not Hezbollah but some small pro-Assad outfit doing this at behest of Assad intel9:56 AM 2. Remember last year's Samaha plot? Sign Syria and Hezbollah can operationally differ in Lebanon. Samaha doing what Hezb didnt want to do9:57 AM https://twitter.com/Naharnet Breaking Al-Jadeed: According to a preliminary toll, more than 65 people were killed in the Tripoli bombings. http://www.naharnet.com/10:30 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/nowsyrialatestnews/obama-warns-of-cost-of-us-action-in-Syria Obama warns of cost of US action in Syria President Barack Obama warned that the United States should avoid getting mired in costly and difficult foreign inventions as calls mounted Friday for military action against Syria over alleged chemical warfare. In an interview broadcast Friday, Obama said allegations of a new chemical weapons attack by government forces on Syrian civilians were of "grave concern" But he also pointed out obstacles to US military action, a year after warning that the use of chemical arms in the vicious Syrian conflict would cross a US "red line." http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/08/23/un_blocking_its_own_chemical_weapons_investigation_into_syria#.UheiyXE_hNR.twitter U.N. Blocking Its Own Chemical Weapons Investigation In Syria The world's governments are demanding that Syria immediately let United Nations inspectors onto the scene of alleged chemical attacks that killed as many as 1,800. But even if Bashar al-Assad's regime gave the inspectors permission to visit the disputed battlefields right now, they still couldn't leave. The U.N. is blocking its own inspectors, at least for the moment. Kevin Kennedy, a retired U.S. Marine colonel who heads the U.N. Department of Safety and Security, told a small group of reporters at U.N. headquarters on Friday that he hasn't given the inspection team a green light to visit the site of the supposed attacks. His office is still carrying out a security assessment to see if it is safe enough to go. "It's an active war zone in Damascus," said Kennedy, who has gained extensive experience managing U.N. humanitarian operations in the world's deadliest trouble spots over the past 20 years. "I was there a few months ago: you hear every day impacts, shells, there might be 10 in a day, you might hear 80 in a day. You can see airstrikes, you can see artillery. You get shot at, I was only there for 3 and ½ days as a visitor and my car was shot, we were shot at twice," including once by an unidentified sniper. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57599888/u.s-detected-activity-at-syria-chemical-weapons-sites-before-attack/?tag=socsh U.S. detected activity at Syria chemical weapons sites before attack Administration officials said Friday that U.S. intelligence detected activity at known Syrian chemical weapons sites before Wednesday's possible chemical weapons attack that killed at least 1,000 people, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports. Similar activity has been detected before, and the assumption then was that the Syrians were moving things around for security reasons. Now, according to the officials, the most recent activity, which was detected last week, is seen as possible preparation for Wednesday's attack. The officials also said U.S. intelligence agencies are now leaning to the conclusion that Syria did use chemical weapons. http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21584029-if-bashar-assad-really-has-used-chemical-weapons-his-own-people-big-way-america-must?fsrc=scn/tw_ec/a_step_too_far A step too far If Bashar Assad really has used chemical weapons on his own people in a big way, America must intervene “WE HAVE been very clear to the Assad regime…that a red line for us is [if] we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilised,” said Barack Obama a year ago this week. “That would change my calculus.” If reports from the Syrian opposition that hundreds of people have been killed by rocket-launched chemical weapons (see article) turn out to be true, then Mr Obama should keep his promise. In recent months, those who previously argued for intervention in Syria have gone quiet. That’s not because the Syrian people are suffering any less—far from it. The death toll is now reckoned to be more than 100,000, 2m people have fled the country and a quarter of the population of 23m is reckoned to be displaced within it. But failure to intervene early has had consequences which strengthen the arguments against intervention. Sectarian chaos in the country has grown, undermining hopes that toppling Mr Assad would bring peace. The more fighting there is between rebel groups, the more damage giving them weapons would do. And al-Qaeda-linked rebel groups have gained strength at the expense of the more moderate ones the West would be happy to see take power. The stronger the radicals become, the weaker the case for arming the rebels. But the use of chemical weapons would tip the argument back in favour of intervention, for three reasons. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/23/obama-cautious-syria-response?CMP=twt_gu President Obama fails to lead on Syria President Obama just doesn't get it. When asked about Syria, Obama said today: This is something that is going to require America's attention and hopefully the entire international community's attention. To have meaning, to influence others, power requires more than words. When the world's only superpower says something, it has to mean it. Tyrants pay little heed to eloquent oratory, but they take notice in the face of resolve. Yet, in Syria, in "red lines" that have almost certainly been breached without answer, America's word has fallen into a moral and strategic abyss. America's friends are fearful, America's enemies are emboldened and the Middle East stands on the edge of a political disaster. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Aug-23/228451-iran-documentary-maker-killed-in-syria-agency.ashx#axzz2cncCQ6Jv Iran documentary maker killed in Syria: agency Esmail Heydari, an Iranian documentary maker, has been killed in Syria in an ambush by the jihadist Al-Nusra Front, Iranian news agency ISNA said Friday, without giving further details. On Wednesday, the Fars news agency said another Iranian film maker, Hadi Baghbani, was killed as he accompanied Syrian troops on an operation against rebels. It was not known for what media the two men worked. http://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/en/reports//chemicaldamascussuburbs Special Report on Use of Chemical Weapons in Damascus Suburbs During the first hours of Wednesday 21st August 2013, the regime committed another horrific crime against civilians leaving hundreds death and casualties in an area that had been already bombarded by the regime forces on daily basis, and that had been besieged for long months, which made it impossible to provide the simplest needs of life for hundreds of thousands of the residents. The regime's army bombed several villages and towns in Damascus Eastern and Western Gotas with dozens of rockets loaded with chemicals. This attack has been the severest since the regime began using chemical weapons against rebellious regions. The irony is that this attack, the severest of its kind, happened concurrently with the presence of the experts committee assigned to disclose the use of chemicals in Damascus, following their arrival to Syria on 8/18/2013, taking into consideration that the authorization granted for the Commission is confined to areas agreed upon with the same regime that is carrying on attacks with chemical weapons. Thus, this committee does not live up to the task of proving the use of chemical weapons, but only to that of whether that weapon has been used or not. In details: each of Zamalka and Ein Tarma in Eastern Gota and Mou'adamieh in Western Gota were bombed with dozens of rockets loaded with toxic agents, which claimed the lives of hundreds, mostly women and children. Moreover, hundreds sustained injury. those areas woke up to an indescribable humanitarian disaster concerning, especially, the huge number of cases that sought the medical points that have been under siege, suffering the lack of both the medical staffs and the most basic equipment needed to face similar situations. Immediately, the field team of VDC in Syria that exists in the East Gota, visited- directly after the attacks- more than 80% of the Medical points that received the injured and the victims in East Gota to get testimonies of patients and paramedics, as well as some of the sites that had been bombed with chemicals, to find out the truth of what happened and to provide clear and precise information about the attack and its victims. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/23/us-syria-chemicals-idUSBRE97M0U820130823?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews Nerve agent rockets seen behind Syria strike: experts While much remains sketchy about the apparent gassing of Syrians on the outskirts of Damascus, Western experts believe rockets or missiles were used to disperse a nerve agent in the worst chemical attack in a quarter of a century. They suspect an organophosphate agent, most likely sarin gas, was involved in Wednesday's attack. However, the basic chemical agent may have been mixed with other substances acting as preservatives and perhaps also to alter or add to the effects of the gas. "Because they are non persistent agents, they dissipate very quickly," said Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former head of Britain's military counter-nuclear, biological and chemical warfare force and now a private contractor. "In pure military terms, the idea is to drop these things on a population, kill lots of people very quickly, and then your own forces can go in without suffering consequences." http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/23/us-syria-crisis-un-idUSBRE97M0SL20130823 Assad opponents braved the front lines around Damascus on Friday to smuggle tissue samples to U.N. inspectors from victims of Wednesday's reported mass poisoning, which if confirmed would be the world's deadliest chemical attack in decades. http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-syria-obama-20130823,0,6346740.story As Obama expresses caution, aides consider air strikes in Syria As President Obama defended his cautious approach in Syria in a televised interview that aired Friday, his national security advisors were talking more specifically about potential U.S. action in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack. With pressure mounting on the White House to do something to end the violence in Syria, some of the president’s advisors are pushing for more aggressive action including possible air strikes, according to one senior administration official. The official said all options are on the table except two: sending in U.S. troops and enforcing a no-fly zone. “Those are not being discussed at this time,” the official said, requesting anonymity to talk about internal White House deliberations. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/23/us-syria-crisis-intelligence-idUSBRE97M0UY20130823 Initial U.S., allied intelligence assessment: Syrian forces used chemical weapons U.S. and allied intelligence agencies have made a preliminary assessment that Syrian government forces used chemical weapons to attack an area near Damascus this week and that the act likely had high-level approval from President Bashar al-Assad's government, according to U.S. and European security sources. The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, cautioned that the assessment is preliminary and, at this stage, they are still seeking conclusive proof, which could take days, weeks or longer to gather. https://twitter.com/ReutersWorld Syrian opposition says it will ensure safety of UN inspectors, critical they reach alleged attack site within 48 hours11:45 AM https://twitter.com/Charles_Lister Big news: Harakat Ahrar al-Sham have seized an air defence base in Rif Aleppo 12:31 PM Having seized an air defence base in Aleppo, Ahrar al-Sham have seized several crates of weapons (12:33 PM PT - the seizure, part of offensive between Khanasser & Al-Safira (site of CW facility) is a joint op with 6 groups, inc Jabhat al-Nusra.1:01 PM It's about 6km NE of the 2 seized villages and within Rif Al-Safira.2:30 PM https://twitter.com/markito0171 Damascus suburbs: Zamanieh: FSA takes control over military points for regime forces in town and kills a number of members12:08 PM Damascus Zamalka: Rebels kills a large number of Assad-forces & destroyed 3 tanks near Adnan mosque1:51 PM Damascus Jobar Rebels kills many Assad-forces & destroyed tank which tried to break into the neighborhood1:52 PM Damascus Muadameih: Fierce clashes between Rebels & #Assad-forces at all frontlines1:54 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57599944/u.s-preps-for-possible-cruise-missile-attack-on-syrian-govt-forces/ U.S. preps for possible cruise missile attack on Syrian gov't forces CBS News has learned that the Pentagon is making the initial preparations for a cruise missile attack on Syrian government forces. We say "initial preparations" because such an attack won't happen until the president gives the green light. And it was clear during an interview on CNN Friday that he is not there yet. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey is expected to present options for a strike at a White House meeting on Saturday. Potential targets include command bunkers and launchers used to fire chemical weapons. However, officials stress President Obama, who until now has steadfastly resisted calls for military intervention, has not made a decision. U.S. intelligence detected activity at known Syrian chemical weapons sites in the days before the attack. At the time that did not appear out of the ordinary. But now it is part of the circumstantial evidence pointing toward an attack. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/24/us-usa-syria-destroyer-idUSBRE97N00420130824 U.S. Navy expanding presence in Mediterranean due to Syria: official The U.S. Navy will expand its presence in the Mediterranean with a fourth cruise-missile armed warship because of the escalating civil war in Syria, a defense official said on Friday. The USS Mahan had finished its deployment and was due to head back to its home base in Norfolk, Virginia, but the commander of the U.S. Sixth Fleet has decided to keep the ship in the region, the defense official said. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, stressed that the Navy had received no orders to prepare for any military operations regarding Syria. http://thelead.blogs.cnn.com/2013/08/23/former-nsc-senior-staffer-u-s-credibility-on-the-line-with-Syria/ Former NSC senior staffer: U.S. 'credibility on the line' with Syria A year ago this week, President Barack Obama laid out his measurement for greater involvement in Syria during a White House press conference, saying that "a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized." Earlier this summer, the Obama administration announced it would provide military support to rebel fighters because al-Assad's forces had used chemical weapons but there continue to be calls for greater U.S. involvement. “I’m disappointed that we make a statement even if it wasn’t sort of staffed and fully planned and then we don’t back it up with something serious because I do think that damages our interests,” Barry Pavel, senior director for defense policy and strategy on the U.S. National Security Council staff from 2008 to 2010, told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “This is the president of the United States making an official statement that is watched not just by those parties related to the Syrian conflict but it’s watched by our allies all over the world,” he said. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/23/syria-gas-attack-blood-tests Syrian victims of alleged gas attack smuggled to Jordan for blood tests At least three victims of the alleged chemical weapons attack in east Damascus on Thursday have been smuggled to Jordan where samples of their blood and urine will help determine which agent was used to gas hundreds of people. The samples could help inform an international response to the attack, which has sharply upped the stakes in Syria's civil war, drawing demands for recrimination and edging a much-feared regional spillover closer to reality. Two mosques in Lebanon's second city, whose sheikhs have been persistently critical of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's regime, were severely damaged by car bombs on Friday . At least 42 worshippers were killed and up to 500 were wounded in the deadliest act of terror to hit the volatile country since the war started across its border two and a half years ago. https://twitter.com/GinnySacksMole The K.Rudd is getting a security briefing (from the yanks I guess) later today...big news coming!! 8:38 PM The news coming about Syria must be big, Rudd is halting his election campaign for a briefing on it later today auspol8:55 PM https://twitter.com/RichardEngel defense official says U.S. Navy Fleet Commander ordered 2 U.S. Navy destroyers to stay in the Eastern med for a few days in case needed.9:03 PM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=724039514289854&l=d08bcc901e Local Cordination Committees in Syria By the end of Friday the Cordination Committees were able to document 86 martyrs including 15 women,13 children and 1 under torture 22 Martyrs were reported in Damascus and its suburbs; 21 in idlib; 15 in Daraa; 13 in Aleppo; 6 in Homs; 4 in Deir Ezzor; 3 in Lattakia; 1 in Hama; 1 in Quneitra In Aleppo, the FSA was able to liberate 13 villages: Qubtin, Haqle, Om Amoud Sughra, Junaid, Bouz, Rasm Naql Hejar Sughra, Hejarat Kubra, Rashadieh, Qerbatieh, and Obaida, it has also killed more than 200 members of regime forces and Hezbullah militias, among them an officer, nearby the Air Force Factories, as well as retook control over the Air Force Battalion in Hujeira, and targeted Hanano Barrack with more than 20 mortar shells and scored direct assaults, in Sfaira the FSA has killed many of regime forces at the checkpoint of Haqle village's plain, and targeted regime forces in Nobl and Zahraa towns with several shells, and shelled Kweres Military Airport with several locally-made missiles, as well as liberated Samad junction's checkpoint at the entrance of Om Amoud village, the FSA has also taken full control over 8 checkpoints at the regime's supplying road from Khanaser to the Defense Factories, it has forced regime's forces to withdraw from Khanaser town after fierce clashes. 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Koala Posted August 25, 2013 Share Posted August 25, 2013 I dont understand the media here anymore. THis chemical weapons attack is barely receiving a mention on the evening news. Its already off the front page of major newspapers. YO! WAKE UP! Do people not understand the gravity of this situation???? Granted, we are not sure who used the weapons, but iti is all but certain that 1000+ people were killed in a WMD attack. Thats ****ing huge news. The fact we are not sure who is responsbile should make this an even bigger concern. If Assad is responsible, we HAVE to respond, our US credibility is gone for a long time. But limited or not, strikes against a Russian-backed regime could easily get way out of control. A desperate Assad, realizing he is about to die from US strikes, could easily say **** it and start gassing everybody, Or he could give his chemical weapons to Hezbollah which would cause Israel to seriously consider going nuclear. I dunno, seems like a situaiton that deserves more mention than what that idiot Kanye and his slut girlfriend decided to name their poor child. If Assad is not responsible, and somebody in his regime went rogue, then the Syrian state has lost control of its WMD. Thats a situation that should scare the **** out of everybody. We would probaly have to go in there and secure those weapons ourselves. Thats gonna take more than a couple cruise missiles, thats gonna take a trillion-dollar war. SOmething that, I dunnoo, deserves some mention on the evening news, dont you think?? If the rebels are responsible, then we have terrorists in the middle-east running around with WMD and effective delivery systems. Holy. ****. Thats beyond scary. Thats front page news from now until the last drop sarin is recovered and accounted for. WAKE UP AMERICA!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 25, 2013 Share Posted August 25, 2013 My personal theory is that it's not Sarin, but something new the regime has been messing around with and decided to use to help them soften the resistance in the area before the major assault they launched against the area afterwards. (which seems to have backfired, since they've lost some ground there now and the rebels sent reinforcements after the attacks) I don't see how the rebels could have hit multiple villages like that, and it wouldn't make sense for them to gas themselves, friends, family, or supporters. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/24/world/air-war-in-kosovo-seen-as-precedent-in-possible-response-to-syria-chemical-attack.html?smid=tw-share&_r=1& Air War in Kosovo Seen as Precedent in Possible Response to Syria Chemical Attack As President Obama weighs options for responding to a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria, his national security aides are studying the NATO air war in Kosovo as a possible blueprint for acting without a mandate from the United Nations. With Russia still likely to veto any military action in the Security Council, the president appears to be wrestling with whether to bypass the United Nations, although he warned that doing so would require a robust international coalition and legal justification. “If the U.S. goes in and attacks another country without a U.N. mandate and without clear evidence that can be presented, then there are questions in terms of whether international law supports it, do we have the coalition to make it work?” Mr. Obama said on Friday to CNN, in his first public comments after the deadly attack on Wednesday. In the case of Syria, Mr. Daalder said, the administration could argue that the use of chemical weapons had created a grave humanitarian emergency and that without a forceful response there would be a danger that the Assad government might use it on a large scale once again. Another basis for intervening in Syria, Mr. Daalder said, might be violation of the 1925 Geneva Protocol, which outlaws the use in war of poison gas. Dennis B. Ross, a former adviser to Mr. Obama on the Middle East, said that if the president wanted to develop a legal justification for acting, “there are lots of ways to do it outside the U.N. context.” http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/25/us-syria-crisis-usa-poll-idUSBRE97O00E20130825?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&dlvrit=992637 As Syria war escalates, Americans cool to U.S. intervention: Reuters/Ipsos poll About 60 percent of Americans surveyed said the United States should not intervene in Syria's civil war, while just 9 percent thought President Barack Obama should act. More Americans would back intervention if it is established that chemical weapons have been used, but even that support has dipped in recent days - just as Syria's civil war has escalated and the images of hundreds of civilians allegedly killed by chemicals appeared on television screens and the Internet. The Reuters/Ipsos poll, taken August 19-23, found that 25 percent of Americans would support U.S. intervention if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces used chemicals to attack civilians, while 46 percent would oppose it. That represented a decline in backing for U.S. action since August 13, when Reuters/Ipsos tracking polls found that 30.2 percent of Americans supported intervention in Syria if chemicals had been used, while 41.6 percent did not. I think people don't really pay all that much attention to these kinds of polls when asked, or it could be that the results aren't quite what they're presented as, since every time I see these things broken down into different sorts of interventions people have widely varying responses. (sometimes in odd ways) I also don't think most people in the US (and other places too probably) think too much about the worldwide consequences of what is going on right now in Syria. I also think people tend focus too much on the US and what we might do and not enough on our allies and what they're saying and what they might do. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10264658/David-Cameron-to-give-Syria-ultimatum.html David Cameron to give Syria ultimatum The Prime Minister spoke with President Barack Obama by telephone to ask for help with convening an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council. He wants to put forward a “game-changing” resolution that would give the Syrian government, led by Bashar al-Assad, “one last chance” to disarm. Mr Cameron is said to have been left sickened by images of children killed by the chemical weapons. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/24/syria-cameron-obama-intervention?CMP=twt_gu Syria: Cameron and Obama move west closer to intervention David Cameron and Barack Obama moved the west closer to military intervention in Syria on Saturday as they agreed that last week's alleged chemical weapon attacks by the Assad regime had taken the crisis into a new phase that merited a "serious response". In a phone call that lasted 40 minutes, the two leaders are understood to have concluded that the regime of Bashar al-Assad was almost certainly responsible for the assault that is believed to have killed as many as 1,400 people in Damascus in the middle of last week. Cameron was speaking from his holiday in Cornwall. The prime minister and US president said time was running out for Assad to allow UN weapons inspectors into the areas where the attack took place. Government sources said the two leaders agreed that all options should be kept open, both to end the suffering of the Syrian people and to make clear that the west could not stand by as chemical weapons were used on innocent civilians. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/24/assad-brother-syria?CMP=twt_gu Did Assad's ruthless brother mastermind alleged Syria gas attack? He hasn't been seen for over a year, remaining in the shadows while Bashar al-Assad has been the public face of Syria. But Maher al-Assad has in many ways played a more decisive role in the country's civil war than his elder brother, commanding its most formidable military division as it claws back losses and leading the defence of Damascus against an opposition that remains entrenched on the capital's outskirts. The question many Syrians are asking, after last week's revelations of an apparent chemical attack on civilians in rebel-held areas, is what role the president's brother may have played in the atrocity. Maher has remained a senior member of the Ba'ath party's central committee and a central pillar of a police state that, despite the ravages of war and insurrection, remains one of the most effective in the world. https://twitter.com/markito0171 Idlib Rebels captured 2 checkpoints at southern & western entrances of Ariha -captured many weapons http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=35.813672&lon=36.608677&z=15&m=b4:49 AM Idlib 7 Airstrikes hit Ariha4:50 AM Damascus Rebels stormed HQ of Assad-forces in Palestine Streethttp://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=33.480261&lon=36.301880&z=18&m=b&search=%D9%81%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B7%D9%8A%D9%865:05 AM Aleppo Rebels liberated village of Zorba at highway to southhttp://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=36.070331&lon=36.971312&z=14&m=b1:33 PM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0lVqAaMlAM https://twitter.com/WilliamJHague Syria talks with morning this President al-Jarba of the National Coalition, FM of Jordan @NasserJudeh and @bobjcarr FM of Australia6:38 AM President al-Jarba assured me Syrian opposition will cooperate fully with UN investigation into chemical weapons use in Syria6:40 AM https://twitter.com/stevebruskCNN WH says at Syria meeting today, Pres.Obama "received a detailed review of a range of potential options he had requested be prepared" WH says he asked the options be prepared "for the United States and international community to respond to the use of chemical weapons"5:12 PM WH says "mindful" of the witnesses and symptoms of those killed, intel community "continues to gather facts to ascertain what occurred"5:14 PM Among those in meeting with the Pres: VP Biden, Secs. Kerry and Hagel, Amb. Power, Nat Sec. Adviser Rice, WH Counsel Ruemmler, DNI Clapper, CIA Dir. Brennan, Joint Chiefs Chair Dempsey, Deputy AG Cole, CoS McDonough, other nat security advisers.5:18 PM WH says Pres. Obama spoke with Prime Minister Cameron today on Syria, "will continue to consult closely regarding this incident"5:25 PM WH says Obama, Cameron will also closely consult on "possible responses by the international community to the use of chemical weapons."5:27 PM https://twitter.com/WilliamsJon SecKerry spoken to Saudi, Jordan & Turkish FMs & Arab League SG: "underscored seriousness & gravity of chemical weapons use"9:20 PM @StateDept says SecKerry called Syria's FM Muallim. Said if nothing to hide, should have allowed immediate & unimpeded access to CW site9:46 PM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=724746304219175&l=56cd81c67e Local Cordination Comittees in Syria By the end of Saturday the committees were able to document 114 martyrs including 14 women, 10 children and 1 under torture: 33 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its suburbs; 29 in Idlib; 26 in Aleppo; 8 in Deir Ezzor; 7 in Daraa; 7 in Hama; 3 in Homs; 1 in Banias Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted August 25, 2013 Share Posted August 25, 2013 http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/25/us-syria-crisis-general-idUSBRE97O03V20130825?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews Iran warns against U.S. crossing Syria 'red line' Iran on Sunday warned the United States against crossing the "red line" on Syria, saying it would have "severe consequences", according to the Fars news agency. "America knows the limitation of the red line of the Syrian front and any crossing of Syria's red line will have severe consequences for the White House," said Massoud Jazayeri, deputy chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, reacting to statements by Western officials regarding the possibility of military intervention in Syria, according to Fars. https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/nownews/more-than-10000-hezbollah-members-fighting-in-syria-source-says More than 10,000 Hezbollah members fighting in Syria, source says More than 10,000 Hezbollah members are fighting alongside the Syrian regime, and have helped it reclaim areas of Latakia as well as the Homs neighborhood of Khaldiyeh. A well-informed source close to the Shiite party also told NOW that Hezbollah has “lost hundreds of martyrs” in the fighting in Syria. It also revealed that Hezbollah and the Syrian regime “are currently working on reclaiming most of the neighborhoods in Damascus and Homs.” Regarding the city of Aleppo, the source said that the rebels control more than 60 percent of it. “The Syrian regime adjourned the battle to reclaim Aleppo after the city was destroyed. The final result of this battle will be defined in the coming period,” the source said. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/25/world/middleeast/accounts-of-syrian-prisons-describe-a-volatile-mix-of-chaos-and-control.html Accounts of Syrian Prisons Describe a Volatile Mix of Chaos and Control Ahmed Hamadeh had spent a year in a jail in a Damascus suburb when guards chained him to fellow inmates, marched them to an outlying military checkpoint, and ordered them to dig trenches for the soldiers. He concluded that the government had “lost its mind,” he recalled later, not only because the move risked a jailbreak, but also because of the arbitrary violence that followed. Groups of five prisoners remained chained together, he said, even when they slept and relieved themselves. Those who grew exhausted were shot; Mr. Hamadeh, who had been picked up at a checkpoint for leading antigovernment protests, said he was forced to help carry away two bodies. Weakened by a diet of eggshells, watermelon rinds and two daily pieces of bread, he held out for 12 days until a guard warned that he would be next, he said. The next day — on the Night of Power during the holy month of Ramadan, when prayers are believed to gain special force — Mr. Hamadeh and his four workmates used shovels and rocks to break their shackles and ran. Within days he was leading protests again. He called his escape “a miracle.” In the restive city of Homs, a kind of easing of tensions has held for months in the central prison, said a former inmate, Mohammed, after a revolt last year by prisoners packed shoulder to shoulder with inch-deep urine sloshing at their feet. The guards lacked the staffing — and perhaps the stomach — to restore control by force, and the prisoners could not escape because the building is surrounded by government sniper nests, Mohammed said. “We told them, if you try to come in, you will kill some of us, and then we will get your guns and kill you,” he said recently in Beirut, asking that only his first name be published for his safety. So, he said, they struck a truce under which the prisoners would not try to break out of the prison and the guards would grant them more space, autonomy and food. The prisoners use cellphones, enhancing the signal with antennas built from soda cans and pot lids using instructions found on YouTube. Some have made their own swords, using ceiling fans coated with sandpaper as whetstones to sharpen steel from bed frames, according to Mohammed, who said he was jailed for providing food to families in Homs and freed in June in a prisoner exchange. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/08/15/you-ve-forgotten-about-syria-again-haven-t-you.html You’ve Forgotten About Syria Again, Haven’t You? Then there is a slow dying down. Then resounding silence. Guilt lasts for a few moments, then it is forgotten, and news moves on. Plus jamais (“never again”), the battle call following the Holocaust, no longer has any resonance. Because it did happen again. After World War II, there was genocide in Bosnia. After Bosnia, there was Rwanda. After Rwanda, Somalia. Darfur. Congo. Sierra Leone. And more. For these reasons, the war in Syria is one that must be covered. There are 1.4 million refugees and 100,000 people dead in a conflict that is limping into its third year. The U.N. just released a paper on child soldiers and mafia-like rings within refugee camps. Inside the country, there is abuse from both sides, government and rebels: war crimes, civilian slaying, children dying, lives destroyed. https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/mena/jordan-votes-amid-resentment-over-syria-refugee-burden Jordan votes amid resentment over Syria refugee burden Jordan goes to the polls for municipal elections on Tuesday with the strain of a massive Syrian refugee influx on an already struggling economy stoking voter apathy and resentment. The main opposition Muslim Brotherhood is boycotting the polls, charging that, despite repeated promises since the Arab Spring of 2011, there is no real readiness for change. With few candidates of the leftist or nationalist opposition standing, tribal figures, who are the traditional bedrock of the monarchy, are set to sweep the elections. But even loyalist candidates have expressed growing anger during the campaign at the failure of the central government to do more to help the towns that have borne the biggest burden from the influx of more than 500,000 Syrian refugees. http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/95465 Israel's Peres Urges World to 'Take out' Syria Chemicals Israeli President Shimon Peres called Sunday for an international effort to "take out" chemical weapons in Syria after claims the Damascus regime used them in a deadly attack this week. "The time has come to make an international attempt to take out all the chemical weapons in Syria," Peres said, without elaborating if he envisioned this being achieved through military strikes or otherwise. "It's very complicated, very expensive, but it will be more expensive and more dangerous to keep" the situation as it is, Peres added. Doctors Without Borders said that 355 people of the thousands treated at three hospitals died with "neurotoxic" symptoms stemming from attacks on Wednesday near Damascus. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=560997137281399&l=7560d6a2bb Breaking News | Damascus Rural | Douma | August 25, 2013 Four surface-to-surface missiles have fallen on the city by Assad forces. 4 hours ago https://twitter.com/javierespinosa2 Yesterday rebels took control of Ariha city in Idlib province, north Syria, reports SOHR3:12 AM https://twitter.com/UticensisRisk Jordanian press today is dominated by headlines of this military staff meeting - including US Gen Martin Dempsey - here in Jordan, re Syria5:22 AM Attending Syria mil meeting incl. UK, KSA, Qatar, Turkey, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, plus of course Jordan and the US5:24 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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