visionary Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/10/2012107103144755307.html Rebels 'cement gains' in northern SyriaSyrian rebels have cemented their control of the country’s northern frontier with Turkey, as their bastions in other parts of the country came under heavy shelling. Activists on Sunday said that opposition fighters seized the town of Khirbat al-Joz in the northwest province of Idlib after fierce clashes with regime forces. "The fighting [a day earlier] lasted more than 12 hours and resulted in at least 40 dead among the regular forces, including five officers, and nine [rebel] fighters," the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Meanwhile, in the province of Damascus, Syrian state television said that government forces had pushed rebels out of two of their strongholds in Damascus province, Qudsaya and Hameh, where activists said that the bodies of 20 men were found. Also on Sunday, Syrian troops pressed their offensive to retake rebel-held areas in Homs and southern villages on the border with Jordan. In Aleppo, where fighting has raged since mid-July, the bombardment targeted the embattled district of Sakhur in the east and Kalasseh in the southwest. The regime seems to be constantly pushing the rebels out of Damascus and Damascus Suburbs areas...but often they come right back or go into hiding for a few weeks and then come back. Davutoglu, on the public television channel TRT, said: "Faruq al-Sharaa is a man of reason and conscience and he has not taken part in the massacres in Syria. Nobody knows the (Syrian) system better than he."He stressed that the Syrian opposition "is inclined to accept Sharaa" as the future leader of the Syrian administration. Sharaa, the most visible Sunni Muslim figure in the minority Alawite-led government, is trusted by the regime and was foreign minister for 15 years before becoming vice president in 2006. Reports that he had defected in August were denied by Damascus, but some opposition leaders say he is apparently under house arrest. That sounds like pretty much just the Yemen plan that gets mentioned every so often but goes nowhere. https://twitter.com/javierespinosa2 Very quiet right now in guvecci, just few shots in the Syrian side, battle seems to be over, locals say FSA captured the area2:58 AM I expect more incidents in the border 1 FSA member just told me the they will try to capture other positions in the area 3:13 AM Syrian border in front of guvecci very important for FSA logistics, 1 told me "dozens died here trying to cross the border" 3:25 AM https://twitter.com/OnlySyrian Today in Hanano military base in Aleppo : FSA has destroyed 2 tanks & killed +250 of Assad's soldiers.11:05 AM Assad's army has withdrawn today to Sulaiman al-Halabi neigborhood in Aleppo due to FSA attacks. 11:09 AM I filmed today in Aleppo : Smoke flying out of Hanano Military base due to the attacks of FSA 11:30 AM The Protestors in Ashrafyia in #Aleppo now : Azadi Azadi - watch it live on : http://bambuser.com/v/3043631 11:38 AM https://twitter.com/bramvermeul Breaking: Turkis tv reports Syrian mortars again falling on Turkish side of border at Akcakale8:59 AM Heavy fighting on Syrian side resulted in 3 bombs falling on Turkish side. Nobody died. Turkish reaction expected Akcakale 9:04 AM One bomb fell in the same street where 5 Turkish civilians were killed on wednesday. Two bombs fell in nomansland on border with Syria-NTV 9:25 AM Opposition fighters tell us 3 fighters injured after Syrian army shells Tel Abyat, close to Turkish border. ,,We are preparing for battle." 10:50 AM Turkish artillerie shoots back after new Syrian shelling in Akcakale. Turkish artillerie hits Syrian army depot in Rasm el gazel, close to border. Fire still raging- CNN Turk 10:58 AM https://twitter.com/RawyaRageh ArabLeague says Syria envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to set up office at AL hq in Cairo Egypt10:24 AM UNHCR says more than 40,000 Syrian refugees in Egypt, the bulk of them not registered w the UN 11:16 AM UNHCR - majority of Syrian refugees in Egypt are from Homs, Aleppo, Tartous, numbers from Damascus increasing 11:20 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/10/2012107134952895805.html?utm_content=automate&utm_campaign=Trial6&utm_source=NewSocialFlow&utm_term=plustweets&utm_medium=MasterAccount Syria's Assad 'plans to escape to Russia'Abdullah al-Omar says he was one of the staff members in the Media Office of Bashar al-Assad, Syria's president. He was privy to many of the secrets of the adminstration until his defection last September. In an interview with Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught in Antakya, southern Turkey, Omar claimed the Assad regime knows it cannot hold onto power and has already made plans to escape to Russia http://bigstory.ap.org/article/syria-clashes-armed-infiltrators-lebanon#overlay-context=article/israeli-jets-stage-mock-raids-over-south-lebanon Turkey exchanges artillery fire with SyriaTurkey's military on Sunday fired artillery on targets inside Syria for a fifth consecutive day, immediately responding to a Syrian shell that landed on Turkish soil. The exchange kept tensions along the volatile border running high and stoked fears of a regional conflagration. An Associated Press journalist witnessed the shell landing some 200 meters (yards) inside Turkey, near the border town of Akcakale. A short time later, eight artillery shells could be heard fired from Turkey. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Saturday warned that Ankara would respond forcefully to each errant Syrian shell that lands on Turkish soil. The latest Syria-Turkey crisis erupted earlier this week, after a Syrian shell killed five civilians in a Turkish border town. Inside Syria on Sunday, forces loyal to President Bashar Assad clashed with rebels across the country, from the northern city of Aleppo to the southern border with Jordan. Activists said opposition fighters were strengthening their hold over the village off Khirbet al-Jouz, in the northern province of Idlib, which borders Turkey and where violent clashes broke out a day earlier. The Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency said Sunday that the rebels had regained full control of Khirbet al-Jouz. It said the Syrian army was forced to "pull back" following an "offensive" by some 700 rebels. It also reported that Assad's troops were forced to retreat some 20 kilometers (12 miles) toward the town of Jisr al-Shughour. It said rebels in Khirbet al-Jouz celebrated their victory by firing their weapons into the air. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said regime forces pulled out of two villages in the Idlib countryside near Turkey. In Khirbet al-Jouz, wounded Syrian soldiers were left to fend for themselves after government troops were forced to retreat from the area, the Observatory said. http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/in-syrias-east-the-revolutions-strengths-are-largely-ignored In Syria's east, the revolution's strengths are largely ignoredHaidar Ali Al Fandi, a doctor I knew during my university studies in Damascus, was killed in the provincial capital of Deir Ezzor two weeks ago. According to activists, security forces raided his home and shot him because he had turned the house into a field hospital. Dr Haidar was one of very few medical practitioners who had remained in the city after a major military assault started in June. The city has since been sealed off, with scores of people killed on a daily basis. The medical and humanitarian situation is truly alarming. At the weekend, residents issued an urgent appeal to the outside world for help. Many medics had already left after closing their pharmacies and clinics. About half a million residents have been displaced from Deir Ezzor province, mainly to the neighbouring Hasaka and Raqqa provinces - where, residents say, rents have skyrocketed and many people have been forced to return home for financial reasons. Medical supplies and food are running out. https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky resistance fighters destroyed a military tank & killed +10 assad troops in al-qadam neighborhood in damascus city9:44 AM resistance fighters confirm they shot down a military copter in homs http://youtu.be/zsEe_RdQhRY 9:47 AM resistance fighters control an important area around al-kabir river (south of amiriyah) near the lebanese border. more details later 11:07 AM i can confirm now that assad's thugs have executed & imprisoned military officers from the clan of othman (they are from qardaha) 11:10 AM https://twitter.com/Al_Sununu After the Republican Guard burned Qudsia (Damas suburb) they went back 2 their complex (Masaken),fired fireworks & danced dabka thru z night12:50 PM https://twitter.com/BreakingNews Syrian official says car bomb blows up near police headquarters in central Damascus - @AP12:59 PM https://twitter.com/Turk4Syria 412 Syrians entered Turkey via Reyhanli in Hatay today, 2 of them officers with rank higher than colonel, but not precisely given in report.1:02 PM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2136345&l=e655d593f5&id=217848338242310 Local Coordination Committees in Syria The number of martyrs in Syria has risen to 91 martyrs, including 5 children and 3 women; 53 martyrs in Damascus and its Suburbs, 30 of whom were found field-executed in Hameh; 12 in Aleppo; 11 in Homs; 7 in Hama; 4 in Idlib; 3 in Daraa and 1 in Deir Ezzor 12:57 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/saudis-line-up-against-syrias-assad/2012/10/07/7b06de8e-0e51-11e2-bd1a-b868e65d57eb_story.html Saudis line up against Syria’s AssadWhen King Abdullah announced a national fundraising drive to aid Syrian refugees in late July, Saudis quickly donated nearly $150 million. Saudi national television hosted a telethon, with banks of men in traditional robes manning phone lines and computers. Donations came by text, by direct deposit into special bank accounts, or from families stuffing crumpled Riyal notes into collection boxes or donating their cars and even their watches. Abdullah, normally a discreet behind-the-scenes conciliator, has denounced the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with rare royal rage, and his people have joined in with gusto. Beyond humanitarian concerns, Abdullah sees an opportunity to strike a key strategic blow against Iran, Syria’s key ally and Saudi Arabia’s main rival for power in the Middle East, analysts and government officials said in interviews across this oil-rich kingdom. Saudi officials have been circumspect about their direct support to Syrian rebels, although government officials privately said Riyadh is buying arms and ammunition, as well as paying salaries for soldiers who defected from the Syrian military to join the rebels. Abdul Rahman al-Rashed, general manager of Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television and an influential political analyst, said Saudi officials have paid for Kalashnikov rifles and other Russian-made weapons for defected Syrian soldiers who have been trained on Russian arms. Saudi officials have also financed shipments of millions of rounds of ammunition for the rebels, he said, echoing a common assessment among Saudi analysts. Some analysts here said Abdullah wants to do more for the Syrian opposition, but he is being restrained by Washington. They said U.S. officials have discouraged Riyadh from sending heavier weapons, particularly shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles, known as MANPADS, to combat Syrian government air attacks. They said U.S. officials are worried about such weapons ending up in the hands of extremist elements among the opposition forces, a concern reported over the weekend in the New York Times. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-egypt-set-to-hold-navy-drills-in-eastern-med.aspx?pageID=238&nid=31878&NewsCatID=359#.UHH3pf-aMTA.twitter Turkey, Egypt set to hold navy drills in eastern MedThe navies of Turkey and Egypt will conduct a joint exercise between Oct. 7 and 14 in the eastern Mediterranean, the Turkish navy announced as President Mohamed Morsi addressed a large crowd to highlight his achievements in his first 100 days in office. The exercise, called “Sea of Friendship” (Bahr al-Sadaka), will be hosted by Egypt. The Turkish Naval Forces will participate in the exercise with two frigates, two fast attack craft, one replenishment tanker, two landing ships, one marine infantry company, two helicopters and one special forces team. The navies of the two countries held the Sea of Friendship exercise last year, too https://twitter.com/RaphaelThelen Military is rounding up syria and egypt refugees in Beirut. I can see from my house how they are beating men lying on the floor. Lebanese military still beating syria refugees. One can hear the slaps for hundreds of meters. Crowd standing on the street watching. Some of the men beating syria refugees wear street/plain clothes. Refugees wait for their turn, hands behind their heads. Soldiers yell at people in surrounding buildings not to watch. Beirut Syrian refugees 3:39 PM The military operation on the Syria refugee house is still going on. Its in Geitawi, close to the Armenian Church/Beit Kataeb. I called police and informed military intelligence. They weren't interested. The Syrians are led one by one into a small room on the roof, have to kneel down, hands behind their heads. See the pic pic.twitter.com/Td5NTONd 4:26 PM Still a dozen or more soldiers and men in civilian clothes on the roof of the refugee building. Still beating people. Can't take more pictures, as the soldiers saw/heard my camera and told me to stop. Earlier tonight, a man passing with his car said this is happening all over Beirut since yesterday. Does anyone have more info? 4:42 PM 20-30 Syrians lined up on the roof now, arms tight behind their backs. Its a mix of soldiers in camouflage and men in civilian clothes. The people in the house are mostly Syrian. 5:06 PM Situation seems calm now. Can't see anymore military. No more beating. Yes. Things calmed down. People sitting on the roof. Can't make out details. Going down now. 5:20 PM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf Actually Farooq Brigade joined the Jabhat Tahreer Souriya unification with several other prominent brigades.2:39 AM The FSA in Qusair Homs has shot down a MiG 21 that was shelling the city. 5:10 AM Another village in Jisr Alshughoor has been liberated...the 4th is 2 days...this time its the village of Shindreesh. Idlib 6:24 AM 6 martyrs in MaaratAlNouman Idlib after very intense shelling on the city. 4:13 PM The FSA in JisrAlshughoor Idlib are working overtime and are determined to liberate the entire area! 4:58 PM https://twitter.com/MahirZeynalov Turkey bombed Assad forces outside Syria's Tel Abyad after a mortar bomb fell in Turkey today. Turkish For Min: necessary response given.4:49 PM Turkey struck Syria twice at night after two Syrian bombs hit Turkey's Akcakale and Altinozu districts. 6:40 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 http://www.acus.org/natosource/turkey-deploy-tanks-and-missile-defense-assets-border-clashes-syria-continue Turkey deploy tanks and missile defense assets to border as clashes with Syria continueTurkey deployed additional tanks and missile defense systems to the Syrian border following five days of artillery exchanges with President Bashar al-Assad’s armed forces. The Turkish army sent reinforcements to an area near the border town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province on Oct. 6, while a convoy of military vehicles towing howitzers headed toward the border town of Reyhanli in Hatay province today, the state-run Anatolia news agency said in two separate reports. http://www.todayszaman.com/news-294645-turkey-returns-fire-after-mortar-bomb-strike-from-syria.html Turkey returns fire after mortar bomb strike from SyriaThe Turkish military launched a retaliatory strike on Syria on Monday after a mortar bomb fired from Syrian soil landed in the countryside in Turkey's southern province of Hatay, a Turkish state official told Reuters. It was the sixth consecutive day of Turkish retaliation. The round from Syria landed 150-200 metres within Turkey's border in the district of Hacipasa at about 3:00 p.m. (12:00 GMT), the official said. http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/syria/activists-posted-videos-purport-show-qudsaya-damascus-province-after-regime-forces Activists posted videos that purport to show Qudsaya in Damascus province after regime forces stormed the town. Rebels there were pushed back yesterday following heavy clashes with government troops. This video purports to show the destruction at Qudsaya's square Activists say that government troops set fire to shops belonging to Qudsaya residents http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/syria/al-sakhour-neighbourhood-city-aleppo-witnesses-massive-destruction-clashes-continue Al Sakhour neighbourhood in the city of Aleppo witnesses massive destruction as clashes continueActivists posted the following videos from there: https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf Suqoor Alsham as they attack a checkpoint in MaaratAlNouman Idlib … 9:42 AM The FSA has just freed several prisoners from regime cells in MaaratAlNouman 10:04 AM https://twitter.com/NMSyria A man carrying grocery bags tries to dodge sniper fire as he runs through an alley in Aleppo. pic.twitter.com/IBZo4zoB 10:03 AM https://twitter.com/AlexCrawfordSky syria Rebels make big gains in north, reclaim Bdama and capture key army post at Khibet al-Joz. Assad men leave behind weapons + landmines 3:47 AM syrian Retreating Assad army in the north leaves behind landmines planted in residential areas. Rebels push on and build on momentum 10:00 AM https://twitter.com/mpoppel REU: TURKISH PRESIDENT GUL SAYS "WORST-CASE SCENARIOS" TAKING PLACE IN SYRIA, URGES INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO ACT 10:19 AM REU: TURKISH PRESIDENT SAYS GOVERNMENT IN CONSTANT CONTACT WITH MILITARY, WILL CONTINUE TO TAKE ALL NECESSARY ACTION ON SYRIA 10:22 AM https://twitter.com/MahirZeynalov Turkey says army hit Assad forces in Idlib after a mortar bomb fell in Turkey's Hacıpaşa district two hours ago.10:54 AM Turkey deploys large number of troops and armored vehicles to the Syria border after Erdogan said be ready for war. pic.twitter.com/JIMfmQ2X 11:03 AM Turkish FM Davutoglu earlier said Turkey fired into Syria and effectively deterred attacks on Akcakale. But Syria hit Akcakale yest again. 11:25 AM Turkey's retaliation against Syria is childish. Turkish warplanes must bomb Assad forces that are firing into Turkey. 11:24 AM YESTERDAY: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2136737&l=a1202740f7&id=217848338242310 Damascus Suburbs: Hameh: Regime forces commit a massacre against civilians, who try field-executed and then burned the bodies of some.Of them, Ahmed Zeitoun, Ibrahim Ahmed Zeitoun, Mohammed Ahmed Zeitoun, Eyad Sbenati, Mostafa Abdul Latif Zeitoun, Mahmoud Abdul Latif Zeitoun, Ahmed Abdul Latif Zeitoun, Mohammed Abdul Latif Zeitoun, Motasem Ramadan, Abdul Menem Rahim, Sleem Al-Baba, Adnan Al-Sadat, Abdulrahman Al-Baba, Mahmoud Al-Baba, Yehya Hassan Al-Baba (20), Motaz Al-Baba (39), Raed Tayseer Al-Baba, Noori Eddin Ali, Samer Ghara, Mohammed Jouma, Fakhr Eddin Al-Shebli, Adnan Al-Khawalda, Khaled Al-Hamwi, a martyr called Mohammed who was a porter in a building and Khaled Rahmoun were known 3:36 PM Oct 7 https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2136863&l=5f865abd9e&id=217848338242310 Aleppo: 20 soldiers were defected from 46 regiment along with heavy clashes between the defectors and the regime's soldiers5:13 PM Oct 7 https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2136712&l=fb1fb9c352&id=217848338242310 Local Coordination Committees in Syria The number of martyrs in Syria has risen to 121 martyrs, including 7 children and 3 women; 62 martyrs in Damascus and its Suburbs, 38 of whom were found field-executed in Hameh; 23 in Aleppo; 15 in Homs; 8 in Idlib; 7 in Hama; 3 in Daraa and 3 in Deir Ezzor Not sure if that's the final death toll from Sunday or not, it's the most recent numbers from yesterday that I can find. http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357480-Yahoo-Assad-predicts-disaster-if-West-meddles-in-Syria&p=9046975&viewfull=1#post9046975 32,871 people killed so far in Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=444358 Hezbollah buries fighter killed in “Syria border area”More than 2,000 Hezbollah supporters gathered in the Beqaa Valley of eastern Lebanon on Monday to bury one of their fighters who a security source said was killed in the border area with Syria. Hussein Abdel Ghani al-Nimr, 35, "died while he was performing his jihadist duty," said a Hezbollah spokesperson from the eastern city of Baalbek. A security source told AFP that the member of the Damascus-backed Shiite militant group was "killed in the Lebanon-Syria border region and his body was taken back on Sunday." http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-an-idea-of-the-type-of-weaponry-accumulating-on-the-turkey-syria-border-2012-10?utm_source=twbutton&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=defense These Are The Weapons That Could Set Off War Between Syria And TurkeyTurkey and Syria have now been exchanging mortar fire for six consecutive days as Syria's civil war spills over the 550-mile long border it shares with Turkey. A Turkish newspaper Milliyet speculated that Turkish F-16 warplanes may strike Syrian artillery batteries with if Syrian shells cause new casualties, according to Bloomberg. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19874256 'Saudi weapons' seen at Syria rebel baseThree crates from an arms manufacturer - addressed to Saudi Arabia - have been seen in a base being used by rebel fighters in the city of Aleppo. How the small crates reached Aleppo is unknown, and the BBC was not allowed to film their contents. The BBC is seeking a response from the Saudi authorities. Separately, Turkey is calling for "international action" on Syria. For a sixth day in a row, Turkey has returned fire across the border after a Syrian shell fell on its territory. Meanwhile, fighting has intensified around the central Syrian city of Homs. Syrian troops launched an assault on Homs, advancing into a rebel-held district after four days of bombardment. "The army is in the midst of trying to cleanse the last rebel districts of the city of Homs," a Syrian army commander told the Associated Press news agency http://www.todayszaman.com/news-294701-syrian-forces-advance-into-opposition-held-homs-district.html Syrian forces advance into opposition-held Homs districtSyrian forces advanced on Monday for the first time in months into the rebel-held Khalidiya district in the central city of Homs, rebels in the neighbourhood said. Government forces fighting rebels seeking to topple President Bashar al-Assad have been bombarding 12 districts in the besieged city for four days. "For the first time in months the Assad army has entered these areas in Khalidiya," a fighter told Reuters by Skype. "They have occupied buildings that we were stationed in and we had to evacuate." http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=444381 Lebanese Special Forces attack legal migrantsThe Lebanese army entered an apartment rented by mostly Syrian workers in the Beirut neighborhood of Jeitawi on Sunday night, beating them for hours. Four people had to be treated in hospitals, while seven Sudanese men who were in Lebanon illegally were detained. As NOW reporters looked on from an adjacent balcony, Lebanese army soldiers could be seen rounding up the Syrians and beating them with sticks and belts. At one point the Syrians were sent into the courtyard of the building. Afterward, they were forced to run up the staircase of the building one after the other. There, four men in civilian clothes waited for them, punching them in their faces and on their heads. Once they were taken to the roof of the building, the Syrians were forced to kneel down, hands behind their backs, before being beaten again. Others were kicked in the abdomen while lying on the floor. The sound of objects hitting bodies and subsequent screams and moans could be heard across the street. The operation lasted for about four hours. The soldiers, apparently belonging to the army’s Special Forces, yelled at people in surrounding buildings not to watch. When NOW approached the building this morning, two Syrians who were present last night agreed to speak to reporters at a nearby park. There, nervously glancing over their shoulders, they said that “There is still an intelligence officer in the building.” http://www.reuters.com/video/2012/10/08/new-anti-government-brigade-trains-in-sy?videoId=238249038&videoChannel=117760 New anti-government brigade trains in Syria (1:23)Oct. 8 - A new anti-government ''Jasmine Brigade'' trains fighters for a battle in Damascus, as amateur video purports to show heavy shelling and gun battles continuing across the Syrian city of Homs. Sarah Sheffer reports. http://www.cnbc.com/id/49330857 UNICEF says agrees with Syria to expand relief effortsZAATARI, Jordan (Reuters) - The United Nations Children's Fund has agreed with the Syrian government to expand humanitarian work across the country in a move that could save tens of thousands of lives, UNICEF chief Anthony Lake said on Monday. Activists say more than 30,000 people have been killed in the 18-month-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, but with 1 million people displaced the approaching winter poses as much of a threat as the relentless violence. Lake said the agency's agreement with Syria will allow it to go beyond its Damascus operations to reach Syrians in conflict areas. It aims to vaccinate within a couple of months 1 million vulnerable children against diseases such as measles, he added. "The Syrian government has agreed especially in recent weeks to allow us to work with a number of local groups that will allow us to address the needs of the people," he told Reuters at a refugee camp for 30,000 Syrians in northern Jordan. The deal will expand UNICEF's partnership with more than 40 Syrian civil groups and the Syrian Red Crescent, he said. https://twitter.com/LizSly The pace of Syrian shelling into Turkey has quickened since Turkey started firing back & the "deterrent" vote in parl't. More shells tdy. 12:01 PM Syria Info Minister Zobai advises the Turkish government to step down, accuses it of "political and diplomatic confusion and blundering" 9:41 AM The scale of the destruction in Syria is mindblowing. This is 1 street in Homs today. Many more like it. … 12:48 PM https://twitter.com/javierespinosa2 Local media said 2 shells fired from Syria fell in Lebanon,other towns being targeted by heavy gunfire, don't expect response from gov.12:48 PM HOMS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/10/2012108172428581955.html?utm_content=automate&utm_campaign=Trial6&utm_source=NewSocialFlow&utm_term=plustweets&utm_medium=MasterAccount Syrian forces step up attacks on rebel areasSyria's military has intensified its aerial and ground bombardment of rebel-held areas around the country, particularly in the provinces of Idlib and Homs, activists say. Government fighter jets bombed the town of Maarat al-Numan in Idlib on Monday, forcing many residents to flee their homes. Meanwhile in Homs, heavy clashes were reported between government forces and opposition fighters in Homs' al-Khalidiyeh neighbourhood, as videos posted online appeared to show barrels of TNT explosives being dropped on the besieged areas. http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/syria/activists-say-explosions-target-air-force-intelligence-building-damascus Activists say explosions target air force intelligence building in DamascusActivists in Syria have told Al Jazeera that two explosions have gone off in the capital Damascus on Monday night apparently targeting the headquarters of the air force intelligence in the Harasta neighbourhood. More details coming https://twitter.com/DSyrer Security forces in MaaretAlNouman, Idleb executed all their detainees before retreating from the town's jail12:21 PM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf 30 people were massacred in a regime holding area in MaaratAlNouman when the FSA entered it to free them.4:21 PM https://twitter.com/NMSyria Refugee shelter shelled in Maaret al-No'aman in Idlib. At least 19 killed. 3:03 PM The explosion in Qaboun was near the Electrical Administration building. Clashes between FSA and regime is still happening. Damascus 3:11 PM Video clearly showing the huge explosion in Harasta, Damascus … 3:19 PM By the way, the Air Force Intelligence building is home to many prisoners and captured protesters. Expect deaths among them too... 3:20 PM https://twitter.com/Nora0315 Our hero Abu Jaafar from Homs is badly injured :'((((. Here he sends out a message to all Arabs - . pic.twitter.com/4dTTY0Qx 2:36 PM he's basically pleading to all Arabs (Christians & Muslims) to save Syrians. he says Homs is close to being in regime... control again & if that were to happen, massacres will ensue & Homs will be destroyed. at the end, he says "ouch my arm my arm" 3:18 PM Assad thug captured by FSA. He had a cell phone with video footage of him & others gang raping a 14-yr-old girl. http://twitpic.com/b2ddyc 3:54 PM FSA converts a bottle of cologne into a homemade hand grenade to be used against Assad forces. - pic.twitter.com/azs5q0Wz 4:13 PM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2139150&l=ffc478d405&id=217848338242310 Local Coordination Committees in SyriaThe number of martyrs in Syria has risen to 165 thus far; 40 martyrs were reported in Aleppo; 35 in Idlib most of them were in Maret Noman; 34 martyrs were reported in Daraa; including 30 in Eastern Karak; 30 in Damascus and its Suburbs; 20 in Homs; 5 in Deir Ezzor; and 1 in Hama 3:08 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/09/world/middleeast/westerners-with-syrian-ties-trickle-in-to-help-rebels.html?smid=tw-nytimesglobal&seid=auto&_r=0 Westerners With Ties to Syria Trickle In to Help RebelsThe night before leaving his parents’ home in Wayne, Tex., to join the rebels trying to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Obaida Hitto left a bouquet of white roses for his mother, with a sterling silver locket and a note: “You’ve made me what I am. But now I need to go and do what I need to do.” Mr. Hitto, 25, a former high school football player, deferred his plans for law school to sneak into Syria to assist the rebels by making videos and spreading information on the Internet to help their cause. “I’m one of them,” Mr. Hitto said proudly during a recent telephone interview. Since the early days of the uprising, Syrian rebel forces have filled their ranks with army defectors and civilians. But as the war has dragged on, and the government has made it much harder for soldiers to defect, two other groups have contributed to the opposition. There has been a rise in the number of foreign fighters, many of them Islamist extremists. But there has also been a small, though noticeable, number of men like Mr. Hitto, of Syrian descent and with Western passports, who have made the journey to join the Free Syrian Army. Experts estimate they number roughly a hundred and come from the United States, Britain, France and Canada. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/david-ignatius-syrian-revolts-extremist-threat/2012/10/07/94f6095e-10aa-11e2-ba83-a7a396e6b2a7_story.html A revolt’s extremist threat In this confusing scene, you can see the essence of the problem facing the Aleppo Military Council and others around the country as they try to coordinate the Free Syrian Army’s insurgency against President Bashar al-Assad. The challenge of enforcing discipline at nearby Tariq al-Bab, the rebels’ forward headquarters in eastern Aleppo, is multiplied a hundred times around the country. The problem begins with the fact that this is an authentic, bottom-up revolution. It arose spontaneously in different parts of Syria, and every area has spun off its own battalions, many seeking funding from wealthy Arabs in the gulf. Unless these militia-like groups can be gathered around a single source for money and weapons, they’re unlikely to mount a unified resistance to Assad. Syrians tell me the power of these extremist groups is growing across the country. One example is a Salafist group in Idlib called Soukor al-Sham, headed by a man who calls himself Abu Issa. He is now working to form an alliance with a similar Salafist group known as Arrar al-Sham. To gather funds, Abu Issa was said to have visited the Turkish border city of Antakya last week to meet with Saudi businessmen who might contribute to his group. Another jihadist group bidding for power is known as the Majlis al-Shura, or Shura Council. Its former leader, Mohammed al-Absi, is said to have been killed recently after he raised the black flag of al-Qaeda at the Syrian border crossing at Bab al-Hawa. When supporters of the Free Syrian Army protested to Absi’s group about the banner, decorated with words from the Koran, the extremists answered, “What’s wrong with the name of God?” The black flag is now gone, but the confrontation between jihadists and moderates is just beginning. Finally there is Jabhat al-Nusra, which openly boasts of its links with al-Qaeda. Yakzan Shishakly says he tried to warn a U.S. official recently: “These people are among us. If you don’t help now, there will be more and more.” From what I could see inside the country, he’s right. The second article by Ignatius where he implies that enough isn't being done and that the current policy is not working. https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf Another checkpoint and village in JisrAlshughoor can be added to the list of liberated areas in the past 2 days there.4:06 AM Most of the suburbs of JisrAlshughoor has been liberated. The FSA is beginning its attack on the city itself. Idlib 4:43 AM The FSA in JisrAlshughoor has now completely liberated the village of Alza`eeniyeh. 5:39 AM 6 villages liberated in JisrAlshughoor in the past 3 days: Bdama, Hambushiya, Ubeen, Khirbet Aljoz, Bkasriya, and Alza`eeniya Idlib 5:44 AM https://twitter.com/FT Iraq sends crucial fuel oil to SyriaIraq is quietly shipping vital supplies of fuel oil to Syria in a deal that has triggered concern in Washington and exposes Damascus’s difficulties keeping its economy afloat in the face of a growing... http://on.ft.com/R7ZpZZ 4:48 PM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf There were 90 people held in a regime holding area in MaaratAlNouman...21 were freed by the FSA...70 were found massacred inside.4:24 PM Reports that the FSA has shot down a helicopter in MaaratAlNouman Idlib. 4:27 PM Several tanks inside Wadi Aldayf have been destroyed as the FSA shells them with mortars. MaaratAlNouman Idlib. 4:28 PM Almarkaz Althaqafi checkpoint in MaaratAlNouman destroyed and burned by Suqoor Alsham … 5:06 PM 2 entire families that are close friends with my family have been martyred in MaaratAlNouman. They were in a shelter in the city when the shelter was shelled. 5:33 PM https://twitter.com/DSyrer The Kurdish Saladin Battalion officially joins the Tawhid Brigade (Main FSA brigade in Aleppo)- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7d1O1Rwzlk6:28 PM There are also 2 Turkmen brigades from Jarablus in Tawhid. It's a true reflection of Aleppo's countryside. 6:41 PM https://twitter.com/KareemLailah Breaking: Huge explosion near to Jamarek square in the heart of Damascus now.6:11 PM Confirmed: None of the detainees was injured in the explosion that hit the air force intelligence branch in Damascus. 6:13 PM BREAKING: HUGE explosion in Kafarsoseh area now. Damascus 6:30 PM Heavy clashes in Midaan area in Damascus city center now. 6:31 PM Breaking: Clashes on Damascus-Daraa highway right now. 6:42 PM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2139524&l=05e2306a22&id=217848338242310 Local Coordination Committees in SyriaBy the end of Monday the LCC was able to documented 170 martyrs including 5 women and 7 children; 40 martyrs were reported in Aleppo; 37 in Idlib most of them were in Maret Noman; 35 martyrs were reported in Daraa; including 30 in Eastern Karak; 32 in Damascus and its Suburbs; 20 in Homs; 5 in Deir Ezzor; and 1 in Hama 6:38 PM http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357480-Yahoo-Assad-predicts-disaster-if-West-meddles-in-Syria&p=9046975&viewfull=1#post9046975 33,041 people killed so far in Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-19878278 BBC News reporting from Aleppo, on the "slow painful death of Syria" http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/10/2012109113457809700.html Turkey sends fighter jets to Syrian borderTurkey has confirmed it is deploying more fighter jets to an airbase close to the border with Syria, amid artillery exchanges along its tense southeastern border with Syria. The announcement came amid reports of fierce fighting in the northern Idlib province on Tuesday where Syrian rebels are trying to take control of a strategic town. "Assad ... is only able to stand up with crutches," Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, who was once a close ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, told a meeting of his ruling AK Party. "He will be finished when the crutches fall away." Erdogan, reacting to six consecutive days where shells fired from Syrian soil have landed on Turkish territory, has said Turkey will not shrink from war if forced to act. But Turkey has also made clear it would be reluctant to mount any major operation on Syrian soil, and then only with international support. At least 25 additional F-16 fighter jets were deployed at Turkey's Diyarbakir airbase late on Monday. Against this backdrop of escalating border tensions, Syrian rebels took control on Tuesday of Maarat al-Numan, a strategic town in Idlib on the highway linking Damascus with the country's second city, Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). "Regular forces pulled back from all of their checkpoints around Maarat al-Numan, except for one at the entrance of the town," the UK-based opposition network's Rami Abdel Rahman said. "This is a strategic location on the route from Damascus to Aleppo. All the regime reinforcements headed to Aleppo must pass through Maarat al-Numan." Opposition activists in Syria told Al Jazeera that rebel fighters had captured most of the army's checkpoints in the area, but that fighting was still under way for other government positions on Tuesday night. https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf FSA in MaaratAlNouman using a BMP against the regime forces. Idlib … 1:10 AM FSA in MaaratAlNouman has taken over the Sijin checkpoint and the Haloom checkpoint. Many Assad soldiers captured. 1:20 AM 10s of regime soldiers arrested by the FSA in MaaratAlNouman after they took control of the Alkhaymeh checkpoint. 1:40 AM Only 3 checkpoints remain in MaaratAlNouman. Alhamdiyeh, Almiqlaa, and Wadi Aldayf. 1:41 AM MiG23s and helicopters shelling MaaratAlNouman intensely. 2:00 AM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf All the checkpts inside the cjity of MaaratAlNouman have been destroyed. The FSA is now stomping on the checkpoints surrounding the city.7:06 AM There are several smaller checkpoints. But there are 2 large ones. Alhamdiyeh and Wadi Aldayf military base. 7:10 AM Inside the city itself there are no more checkpoints. The rest are on the outskirts of the city...not sure of how many though. 7:46 AM The FSA in MaaratAlNouman now focusing its offensive on Wadi Aldayf military base. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sr57jPCg07U 7:53 AM after these 2 [Maret Al Nouman and Jisr Al Shugour] only Khan Sheikhoon and Idlib city remain [in regime control] in the province. 9:31 AM https://twitter.com/dalalmawad NATO says it has all necessary plans in place to defend Turkey 5:58 AM Turkey sends additional fighters jets to its borders with Syria as Erdogan justifies retaliation to the Turkish opposition. 6:02 AM https://twitter.com/martinchulov Interesting; despite insisting intervention not an option, Nato says it has a plan ready for Syria in case Turkey needs help 6:27 AM https://twitter.com/pdanahar Syria 'doesn't look like Yemen anymore' so Yemen style solution to a transition no longer feasible says State Department spokeswoman1:33 PM https://twitter.com/liamstack Al-Manar TV [pro-Assad Lebanese tv] tries to shoot video at maspero, protesters shout "get out of here!" "Down down with Bashar el Assad, the dog!" egypt1:56 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/iran-aids-syria-in-tracking-opposition-via-electronic-surveillance-us-officials-say/2012/10/09/410a3cae-1224-11e2-a16b-2c110031514a_story.html Iran aids Syria in tracking opposition via electronic surveillance, U.S. officials sayIran is providing crucial equipment and technical help to Syria in its effort to track opposition forces through the Internet and other forms of electronic surveillance, according to U.S. officials. The aid is the latest example of how Iran is helping Syria in its battle against rebel forces threatening the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The technical assistance is coming mainly through Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, the officials said. Iran, which has long experience in tracking dissidents internally, has supplied surveillance and communications gear, as well as technical support in computer network surveillance, said one intelligence official. Like others interviewed, he spoke on condition of anonymity because of the topic’s sensitivity. Among the tactics in which Iran is advising the Syrians is how to gain access to Web forums and chat rooms, where they pose as opposition members to identify and track targets, the intelligence official said. Syrian agents are then dispatched to kill the rebels, the officials said. An array of sophisticated techniques used to entrap Syrian opposition activists has already been unearthed by tech privacy and security groups. Pro-government hackers have covertly installed spy ware on activists’ computers by sending them e-mail and Skype messages purporting to be from opposition sympathizers that include attachments containing surveillance tools, said Eva Galperin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an Internet privacy group based in San Francisco. https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf FSA begins liberating a checkpoint located between MaaratAlNouman and KhanSheikhoon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m3596TzdS4&feature=youtu.be …4:24 PM The only regime strongholds remaining near MaaratAlNouman are Wadi Aldayf and Hamdiyah checkpoint. [Wadi Aldaif military base] is slightly outside the city. It is being shelled at with mortars and tanks by the FSA as they surround it. 4:42 PM When the FSA entered the Sijin checkpoint in MaaratAlNouman they found 25 bodies executed by the regime. Thought to be defectors. 4:49 PM Now that there is no regime stronghold in MaaratAlNouman, they are shelling it with everything they have. 4:56 PM Formation of a new FSA battalion in Idlib city under the command of Suqoor Alsham. … 5:28 PM https://twitter.com/markito0171 The battle to break siege of Homs from direction northern Rastan & from southern Al Qusayr … 5:32 PM https://twitter.com/katebt3000 Our report from Assad heartland of Latakia - inc visit to the family mausoleum at Qardaha - coming up @BBCNewsnight pic.twitter.com/ugIP18Kd 5:35 PM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2141639&l=d8263b961f&id=217848338242310 Local Coordination Committees in Syria With the end of Tuesday the LCC managed to document 165 martyrs including 10 children and 8 women: 65 martyrs in Damascus and its suburbs, including 25 unidentified martyrs found between Daraya and Qadam and 10 martyrs slaughtered by knives in Deir Asafeer; 35 in Aleppo; 15 in Deir Ezzor; 15 in Idlib; 13 in Homs; 12 martyrs in Hama; 6 martyrs in Daraa; and 2 martyrs in Lattakia 5:02 PM Death toll jumped up to 183 and now 197 since then. (although going by the numbers, it seems to be actually 195) https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2141725&l=2b42c002c9&id=217848338242310 Local Coordination Committees in Syria With the end of Tuesday the LCC managed to document 197 martyrs including 10 children and 8 women: 65 martyrs in Damascus and its suburbs, including 25 unidentified martyrs found between Daraya and Qadam and 10 martyrs slaughtered by knives in Deir Asafeer; 53 in Aleppo; 29 in Idlib; 15 in Deir Ezzor; 13 in Homs; 12 martyrs in Hama; 6 martyrs in Daraa; and 2 martyrs in Lattakia 6:16 PM http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357480-Yahoo-Assad-predicts-disaster-if-West-meddles-in-Syria&p=9046975&viewfull=1#post9046975 33,236 people killed so far in Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/chavez-says-venezuela-will-keep-supporting-syrias-government/2012/10/09/88af6a94-124b-11e2-9a39-1f5a7f6fe945_story.html Newly re-elected Hugo Chavez says Venezuela will keep supporting Syria’s leader and governmentCARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Tuesday that he will keep supporting Syria’s leader and called for the U.S. to rethink its stance toward the war-shattered nation. Chavez likened the violence in Syria to the fighting in Libya that preceded last year’s ouster and killing of Moammar Gadhafi, who was also a Chavez ally. The Venezuelan leader said he thinks the conflict in Syria has been provoked by Syrian leader Bashar Assad’s enemies abroad to try to topple him. “The government of the United States is one of those most responsible for this disaster,” Chavez said at a news conference, calling for President Barack Obama to take a different tack. “I hope Mr. Obama, if he’s re-elected, thinks things over, reflects — and the European governments,” Chavez said. He criticized European governments for meeting with Syrian dissidents. Chavez has been a vocal defender of Assad, and Venezuelan officials have said the state oil company has sent three shipments of diesel fuel to aid Syria. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19882416 Viewpoint: Echoes of Spanish civil war in Syria http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/syrias-war-is-also-destroying-centuries-of-history/2012/10/09/da10d9ac-122a-11e2-be82-c3411b7680a9_story.html In Syria’s destruction, there is much to mourn Amid the terrible human suffering — many remaining residents have no running water or electricity, and they lack food amid the nightmare of guerrilla warfare — concern about the destruction of material property can appear gratuitous. But the ancient urban fabric of Aleppo is more than an exotic tourist destination. “The Aleppo souks . . . stand as testimony to Aleppo’s importance as a cultural crossroads since the second millennium B.C.,” says Irina Bokova, director general of UNESCO. She promised an investigation, though the conflict will make it hard to assess damage, much less protect what is left. “The situation is really catastrophic, as Aleppo is half destroyed,” Michel Amalqdissi, director of the Syrian government’s archaeology division, e-mailed me last week. Nor is destruction limited to this commercial hub. Five of Syria’s six most important ancient sites reportedly have been damaged, and massive looting of the country’s ancient heritage may be underway. Archaeologists fear that the losses could dwarf those that occurred in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion. Syria has arguably the richest and most diverse history of any nation on Earth. It is home to the ruin of what may be the world’s first city, a mound near the Iraqi border called Tell Brak, as well as the famous Roman-era desert city of Palmyra, the Crusader fortress Krak des Chevaliers and some of Islam’s greatest monuments. Thousands of smaller sites encompass more than 10,000 years of human history, from Neolithic villages to Hittite strongholds, Roman forts, early Christian monasteries and Umayyad palaces. Lacking protection, these sites are open to mass theft that will feed the West’s hungry antiquities market. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/10/world/middleeast/qaeda-linked-group-says-it-struck-compound-on-edge-of-damascus.html?_r=1& Qaeda-Linked Group Claims Responsibility for Syrian BlastsThe group, Al Nusra Front for the People of the Levant, posted a statement on the Internet with details of what it called a three-stage attack on a compound run by a branch of the air force intelligence service in Harasta, on the edge of Damascus. It released a video showing nighttime blasts that it said were set off by vehicles packed with explosives. The number of casualties from the attack was not known, and the Syrian state news media did not immediately report on it. On Oct. 3, the same group posted a statement on a Web site affiliated with Al Qaeda that claimed responsibility for explosions in the embattled northern city of Aleppo that killed dozens of people in areas held by the government, including an officers’ club. While most Syrian insurgents are members of the country’s Sunni majority, many of them defectors from the military, much of the Alawite minority, which Mr. Assad belongs to, remains intensely loyal to him. Nonetheless, recent signs of fracturing have surfaced in his Alawite base, including unconfirmed reports of deadly clashes last weekend in his ancestral home, Qardaha, a village in Latakia Province, which borders Turkey. In another possible signal of Alawite ambivalence about Mr. Assad’s political leadership, opposition figures in Syria and in neighboring Jordan said that as many as seven high-ranking Alawite military and intelligence officers had defected in recent days, with some saying they had entered Jordan. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/10/world/middleeast/us-military-sent-to-jordan-on-syria-crisis.html U.S. Military Is Sent to Jordan to Help With Crisis in SyriaThe United States military has secretly sent a task force of more than 150 planners and other specialists to Jordan to help the armed forces there handle a flood of Syrian refugees, prepare for the possibility that Syria will lose control of its chemical weapons and be positioned should the turmoil in Syria expand into a wider conflict. The task force, which has been led by a senior American officer, is based at a Jordanian military training center built into an old rock quarry north of Amman. It is now largely focused on helping Jordanians handle the estimated 180,000 Syrian refugees who have crossed the border and are severely straining the country’s resources. American officials familiar with the operation said the mission also includes drawing up plans to try to insulate Jordan, an important American ally in the region, from the upheaval in Syria and to avoid the kind of clashes now occurring along the border of Syria and Turkey. The officials said the idea of establishing a buffer zone between Syria and Jordan — which would be enforced by Jordanian forces on the Syrian side of the border and supported politically and perhaps logistically by the United States — had been discussed. But at this point the buffer is only a contingency. The Obama administration has declined to intervene in the Syrian conflict beyond providing communications equipment and other nonlethal assistance to the rebels opposing the government of President Bashar al-Assad. But the outpost near Amman could play a broader role should American policy change. It is less than 35 miles from the Syrian border and is the closest American military presence to the conflict. The American military is also sending medical kits to the border and has provided gravel to help keep down the dust at the Zaatari refugee camp, which the task force helped set up and is now home to 35,000 Syrians. It has also provided four large prefabricated buildings to be used at Zaatari as schools. One official estimated the cost so far at less than $1 million. http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/topic/syria-153 about 15 hours agoSyria has issued an international tender to purchase 100,000 tonnes of milling wheat, a commodity not subject to sanctions, as winter nears in the war torn country. The state-run General Establishment for Cereal Processing and Trade (Hoboob) said bidding deadline is October 17. - Reuters about 15 hours agoSyrian troops entered the rebel district of Khaldiyeh in the besieged central city of Homs on Tuesday, Syrian state television announced. "Our valiant armed forces have secured large parts of Khaldiyeh district and are now pursuing the remnants of the terrorists," the channel announced, using government terminology for the rebels. 13 minutes agoBritish police said on Wednesday that they had arrested two people at London's Heathrow Airport as part of an investigation into travel to Syria in support of alleged terrorist activity. Scotland Yard said in a statement released early Wednesday that counter-terrorism officers arrested a man and a woman, both 26, after they flew into the airport from Egypt late Tuesday. Police did not make clear whether the suspects were thought to be returning from or heading to Syria. The statement said that officers were searching two homes in east London as part of the investigation. The statement added that the pair were arrested on suspicion of the "commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism". The statement did not include the suspects' names, nationalities, or any other identifying information. [AP] I wonder what specifically they're suspected of doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57529486/turkey-vows-more-force-against-syrian-shelling/?tag=socsh Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported fighting between Syrian rebels and forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime around the Syrian town of Azmarin, in Idlib province, across from the Turkish border. It said Syrians were fleeing homes in the Azmarin region, some crossing into Turkey on rowing boats over the river Orontes, that runs along the border. Footage from Anadolu showed three young children scrambling down a river bank on the Syrian side before being taken across to Turkey on a makeshift raft strapped to an inner tube. The children said they were fleeing fighting in Azmarin. Private NTV television reported that explosions and automatic weapon fire could be heard in Turkey's Hatay province, coming from Azmarin. It said rebels were clashing with some 500 Syrian government soldiers, and that at least 100 rebels had been injured, some of whom had been brought to Turkey for treatment. Some 99,000 Syrians, mostly women and children, have sought refuge in Turkey since the start of the conflict. http://blogs.reuters.com/fullfocus/2012/10/10/a-river-out-of-syria/#a=1 A river out of SyriaScores of Syrian civilians, many of them women with screaming children, are crossing Orontes, a narrow river marking the border with Turkey, to flee the fighting in Azmarin and surrounding villages. Residents on the other side of the river, from the Turkish village of Hacipasa, help pull them across in small metal boats. Check out the photos, warning some are bloody. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/10/us-syria-crisis-assad-asma-idUSBRE8990U220121010 In shifting Syria conflict, Assad assumes command of forcesThe picture is deceptively normal. Posted on the Facebook page of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, it shows the first lady Asma, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, accompanying her daughter and three sons on their first day back at school. Two of the boys wear camouflage shorts with khaki t-shirts and caps, in keeping with the spirit of a ruler under siege. Yet when she dropped off Hafez, the eldest, named after his strongman grandfather, only one other child had arrived in class because of rebel attacks in Damascus that morning. More than 18 months into the battle for Syria, an estimated 30,000 people are dead and the country is disintegrating. The rebels are outgunned by the government but can still strike at will, and Assad has assumed personal command of his forces, still convinced he can prevail militarily. Recent visitors say the 47-year-old president has taken over day-to-day leadership. They speak of a self-confident, combative president convinced he will ultimately win the conflict through military means."He is no longer a president who depends on his team and directs through his aides. This is a fundamental change in Assad's thinking," said a pro-Syrian Lebanese politician with close ties to Assad. "Now he is involved in directing the battle." http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/topic/syria-153 about 5 hours agoTurkey's military will respond with greater force if shelling from Syria continues to hit its territory, its chief of staff said on Wednesday, as clashes between the Syrian army and rebels intensified along the border. Several mortar bombs landed outside the Syrian border town of Azmarin early on Wednesday and heavy machinegun fire could be heard from the Turkish side. Plumes of smoke rose into the sky and cries of "God is greatest" rang out between the bursts of gunfire, a Reuters witness said. Turkey's armed forces have bolstered their presence along the 900km border and have been responding in kind over the past week to gunfire and shelling coming across from northern Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad's forces have been battling rebels who control swathes of territory. "We responded but if it continues we will respond with greater force," state television TRT quoted Turkey's Chief of Staff, General Necdet Ozel, as saying. about 2 hours agoSyrian opposition fighters have said that they are creating a buffer zone on the Turkish border - a safe haven for the thousands of people trying to escape the bitter fighting in their country. Several rebel groups joined forces to drive government troops out of the area, but they are demanding that NATO intervenes to defend the buffer zone against airstrikes. Al Jazeera's Anita Mcnaught reports from the town of Bdama. about 2 hours agoSyrian opposition fighters have said that they are close to capturing a strategic city in Idlib province. The rebels say that they are also making another push for the country's biggest city, Aleppo. Al Jazeera's Hashem Ahelbarra has this exclusive report. https://twitter.com/javierespinosa2 SOHR: Damascus sends reinforcements to Maarat al-Numan, including helicopters, to try to recover the city that they lost yesterday2:57 AM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf Large convoy composed of 50 vehicles full of soldiers and 10 tanks and many BMPs and covered with air support headed twds MaaratAlNouman. The convoy headed towards MaaratAlNouman is passing through Khan Sheikhoon now...it should be arriving at the city soon.4:05 AM The FSA in KhanSheikhoon are attacking the convoy that is headed towards MaaratAlNouman 4:16 AM I LOVE how every FSA group in idlib is working together on this!!!!!!!! MaaratAlNouman KhanSheikhoon JabalAlzawiyah Kafranbil 4:17 AM The FSA in MaaratAlNouman began a huge attack against Wadi Aldayf military base and Alhamdiyeh checkpoint while under TNT barrel shelling. Intense clashes INSIDE both wadi aldayf and Alhamdiyeh checkpoints in MaaratAlNouman. The FSA now controls parts of both strongholds. 4:26 AM Missile lands on the Large Omawi Mosque in #MaaratAlNouman which is the 3rd oldest mosque in Syria. 4:27 AM https://twitter.com/Mou2amara UNREAL - Jet targets homes and drops barrels of TNT over Atarib Aleppo, huge plume of smoke and debris 10:39 AM https://twitter.com/DamascusTribune Residents in Daraya city in Damascus suburbs discovered today 17 body in an old well 10:52 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19896313 Latakia: Bashar al-Assad's political stronghold http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/10/arms-supplies-syrian-rebels-rivalries?CMP=twt_gu Arms supplies to Syrian rebels dry up amid rivalries and divisionsIn the battle for northern Syria the most important front is far from Aleppo. It is across the border in the southern Turkish town of Antakya. Here rebels, who now move around with increasing ease, are engaged in daily bids for patronage with those who keep the insurgency running. Over the past year, and especially since May, when weapons started to arrive, Bashar al-Assad's enemies have met their benefactors in Antakya's backstreets, coffee shops and hotel lobbies and made a case as to why they should receive help. The rivalries of Arab and Gulf politics, divisions between the west and Russia, fear of Syria's bloody crisis spreading beyond the country's borders to drag in Iran or Lebanon all make supplying arms to the rebels a sensitive and murky issue. Now, it seems, the supply is drying up. On Aleppo's frontlines, there is still no sign of the heavy weapons for which the rebels have pleaded. Ammunition is running low. "They are giving us enough to keep this fight going, but not enough to win it," complained Abu Furat, a commander. "I'm sure that's not going to change until after the American elections. I'm not sure everyone can survive until then." The US, always jittery about backing the uprising, is opposed to calls by Saudi Arabia and Qatar to supply rebel groups with equipment needed to combat aircraft and tanks – an issue raised by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Monday. Jordan and Turkey appear to share Washington's concerns. Confirmation on Wednesday that the US had sent a military mission to Jordan to help build a headquarters on the border with Syria and to improve Jordan's military capabilities underlines worries about possible spillover."It's about indirect intervention," said Mustafa Alani of the Saudi-financed Gulf Research Centre in Abu Dhabi. "The money is there, arms can be supplied. But the Jordanians and the Turks are hesitant. Turkey is allowing some weapons in but there are a lot of restrictions. People are waiting for a shift after the US election." Another growing problem is a lack of co-ordination between Qatar and the Saudis – the likely subject of Wednesday's talks in Doha between the Emir and the Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Bandar. King Abdullah is said to be growing impatient with the difficulties of the Syrian crisis. According to Syrian opposition activists, the Saudis now sponsor only rebel groups which are at odds with those backed by Qatar and Turkey, which are often linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. "The Qataris are much more proactive than the Saudis," said one well-placed Arab source. "The Saudis are not interested in democracy, they just want to be rid of Bashar. They would be happy with a Yemeni solution that gets rid of the president and leaves the regime intact." Intelligence chiefs from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and France reportedly met in Turkey in early September along with the CIA director general, David Petraeus. But they apparently failed to reach agreement on a co-ordinated strategy. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/wp/2012/10/10/mitt-romney-syria-involvement-doesnt-mean-bombs-troops/ Mitt Romney: Syria involvement doesn’t mean bombs, troops “My own view is in a place like Syria for instance we should, through our partners in the region, work to identify dissidents within Syria that are reasonable and responsible people, try and coalesce, them bring them together,” the GOP presidential candidate said in response to a question during a town hall meeting here with factory workers. “We should play an active role. That doesn’t mean sending in troops or dropping bombs,” he added. “But it does mean actively participating in a place like Syria to assure that Assad goes and that a reasonable and responsible government follows.” https://twitter.com/WashingtonPoint “@OguzArikboga: A Syrian passenger plane in Turkish airspace forced(escorted by F-16's) to land at Esenboğa, Ankara airport1:12 PM Acc the latest, the Syrian passenger plane that landed by F-16 forcefully was Damascus-Moscow flight: two messages w/a stone? 1:15 PM https://twitter.com/RedHack_EN Breaking- Turkish Civilian Aviation Authority has sent an urgent message to all national airline companies to leave Syrian air space 1:15 PM https://twitter.com/MahirZeynalov A civilian Damascus-bound Syrian plane from Moscow, suspected of carrying arms, was forces to land in Ankara by Turkish F-16 jets. 1:31 PM https://twitter.com/Reuters Turkey bans Turkish civilian planes from flying into Syrian airspace due to insecurity - State TV 2:02 PM https://twitter.com/RajaAlthaibani Lack of support/intervention may force desperate Syrians to turn to others 4 support ie extremist groups outside Syria. What r ur thoughts? 2:14 PM https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2143381&l=d29982e1f1&id=217848338242310 Local Coordination Committees in SyriaThe number of martyrs in Syria has risen to 164 so far, including women and children: 70 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs (including 20 who were found in Deir Asafeir, 17 who were found in Daraya farms, 7 who were field-executed in Jesrein, and three bodies found in Zamalka bridge), 25 in Idlib, 20 in Aleppo, 12 in Homs, 14 in Raqqa, 10 in Deir Ezzor, 7 in Daraa (including 4 who were found in Eastern Gharia, and 1 who was martyred in Damascus Suburbs), 5 in Hama, and 1 in Lattakia 1:53 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 TURKEY http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19905247 Syrian passenger plane forced to land in TurkeyThe plane, which was travelling from Moscow, was intercepted on intelligence that it was carrying "non-civilian cargo", Turkey's foreign minister said. He added that Turkey was determined to stop any transfer of weapons to the Syrian government through its airspace. Turkey has made clear its support for the rebels in Syria's civil conflict. The plane, which is reported to be carrying 35 passengers, was escorted by Turkish jets to the capital's Esenboga airport for security checks, Turkish news agencies reported. The passengers have been escorted off the aircraft while the cargo is searched. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told state-run television that Ankara had received information that the plane could be carrying "certain equipment in breach of civil aviation rules". Meanwhile, the Turkish authorities have declared Syrian airspace to be unsafe and are preventing Turkish aircraft from flying over the country, the foreign ministry said. https://twitter.com/WashingtonPoint Breaking: so far 10 radio/ walkie-talkie, communication tools found in the landed plane3:22 PM https://twitter.com/fatihartun Breaking News: Conversations tape record between Turkish air tower and Syrian civilian plane was relaesed. … 3:23 PM https://twitter.com/influxTR According to first reports; military communication devices found in Syrian plane force to land in Ankara. More to come soon3:29 PM https://twitter.com/MahirZeynalov Turkey seizes military communication equipments in Syria-bound civilian plane and sends the plane to Damascus with passengers.4:01 PM Turkish inspectors also found parts that could be used in missiles in the Syria-bound plane intercepted by Turkey. 4:02 PM https://twitter.com/KadirUstun 300 kg of military materials were seized, purchaser appears to be Syrian Defense Ministry via @nuhyilmaz 4:19 PM SYRIA https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf MaaratAlNouman is almost completely destroyed. 10s upon 10s of martyrs there and in KhanSheikhoon. 2:37 PM [aerial bombardment] Like never before. There are no regime elements on the inside now so its raining TNT barrels. And the FSA in Khan Sheikhoon attempted to stop a large convoy headed towards Almaara from Hama...At least 22 martyrs there from TNT shelling also. 2:41 PM it was attacked by khan sheikhoon fsa...hasn't reached MaaratAlNouman yet. They took down 2 other checkpts outside the city. 2:43 PM Kafranbil evening protest celebrating the liberation of MaaratAlNouman https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wiR3bIDLPE The Kafranbil posters about MaaratAlNouman and the battle to liberate it. http://fb.me/zZkFGetb Idlib 2:48 PM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf A large convoy headed from Hama to MaaratAlNouman composed of at least 50 vehicles filled with regime entities and tanks and BMPs and air support protecting the convoy. The convoy stopped before KhanSheikhoon and all the checkpoints there and the warplanes began shelling the city to strike fear in the people and prevent them from attacking the convoy. The FSA however still attacked it destroying many vehicles and killing many soldiers. The battle with the convoy is still ongoing. Also, 2 checkpoints were destroyed. One of them between KhanSheikhoon and MaaratAlNouman. The result of the shelling on KhanSheikhoon left at least 24 confirmed martyrs and 10s of injured. https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf Entire neighborhood in MaaratAlNouman is now flat on the ground. One shell left a 12 meter wide crater. 3:49 PM BREAKING The FSA now controls a large part of Wadi Aldayf. Many of the soldiers there escaped to the Alhamdiyeh checkpoint MaaratAlNouman 3:53 PM Watching your city being reduced to rubble is painful 4:04 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 https://twitter.com/Turk4Syria Turkish TV: boxes confiscated from Syrian planes say "Syrian Ministry of Defence" as recipient.6:13 PM https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky resistance fighters have destroyed a military checkpoint (al-sarmik) between ma`arrat al-nu`man & khan shaykhun4:22 PM resistance fighters attacked 3 buses carrying assad troops & thugs near al-mutahallaq al-janobi. +40 were killed & injured 4:43 PM resistance fighters seized tanks in al-za`ainiyah 4:58 PM resistance fighters say they seized many tanks & killed & arrested many assad troops in wadi al-dayf (ma`arrat al-nu`man). 5:56 PM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf FSA commander in MaaratAlNouman confirms the FSA has 40 tanks now and are using all 40 in the attack on Wadi Aldayf. 6:06 PM its not completely liberated...yet. regime elements still there. 6:34 PM MaaratAlNouman now being shelled all the way from Ariha since the checkpoints surrounding it are almost all gone. 6:32 PM Wadi Aldayf has been liberated! 100s of Assad soldiers killed and captured!!! 6:46 PM People in Kafranbil MaaratAlNouman Haish Kafroma all celebrating the liberation of Wadi Aldayf. 6:47 PM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf hamdiyeh is still standing for now...they'll move on to it now. JisrAlshughoor 's regime army left several checkpts and are all gathering and forming one large checkpoint to attack the FSA. 6:55 PM http://www.lccsyria.org/10327 Local Coordination Committees in SyriaThe LCC managed to documented 197 martyrs by the end of Wednesday including 10 children and 8 women, 77 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs (including 20 who were found in Deir Asafeir, 17 who were found in Daraya farms, 7 who were field-executed in Jesrein, and three bodies found in Zamalka bridge); 35 in Aleppo; 25 in Idlib; 15 in Homs; 14 in Raqqa; 13 in Daraa (including 4 who were found in Eastern Gharia); 10 in Deir Ezzor; 6 in Hama, and 1 in Lattakia (the numbers add up to 196 though, so that's what I'll mark it as for now) http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357480-Yahoo-Assad-predicts-disaster-if-West-meddles-in-Syria&p=9046975&viewfull=1#post9046975 33,432 people killed so far in Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 not a great fit,but illustrates the wilful blindness that enables regimes Inaugural Winners of the Walter Duranty Prize for Journalistic Mendacity: http://view.s4.exacttarget.com/?j=fe90157870620c7e75&m=fea015707067067c76&ls=fe1d1c7775660d7b7d1777&l=fefb1c70776002&s=fe2c15757163077c761374&jb=ffcf14&ju=fe51107573620d7a7111 First Place: Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Magazine, and Joan Juliet Buck, Author "For their stunning achievements in exemplifying the spirit of Walter Duranty, for their combined use of gumshoe reporting, headline packaging, impeccable timing and fearless dismissal of facts to produce Vogue's 2011 cover story, "Asma al-Assad: A Rose in the Desert." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 First Place: Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Magazine, and Joan Juliet Buck, Author"For their stunning achievements in exemplifying the spirit of Walter Duranty, for their combined use of gumshoe reporting, headline packaging, impeccable timing and fearless dismissal of facts to produce Vogue's 2011 cover story, "Asma al-Assad: A Rose in the Desert." They got a lot of heat over that. The lady who wrote it apologized for it a few times later on, lol. Yeah, there's always some people out there willing to say some nice stuff about these guys. Although to be fair, early on even most Syrians hoped the Assad's would see the need for reform. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/10/us-syria-crisis-battle-idUSBRE8991CN20121010 Rebels say halt Syrian army attempt to retake townRebels halted on Wednesday a Syrian army push to retake a strategic town on the main highway to Turkey, one day after it was captured by opposition fighters, activists said. At least 30 rebels and scores of government forces were killed in the fighting near Maarat al-Numaan, 350 km (220 miles) north of Damascus, they said. "The (Syrian army) column was composed of hundreds of tanks and vehicles. It was stopped at a heavy cost," Abu Musab Taha, a rebel commander in the area told Reuters. Turkish armed forces have bolstered their presence along the 900-km (560-mile) border and have been responding over the past week to gunfire and shelling coming across from northern Syria, where government forces have been battling rebels who control swathes of territory. Anas Othman, a resident of Maarat al-Numaan, said the town "is being destroyed" by air strikes and army artillery. Mohammad Kanaan, an opposition activist from the region, said that 100 fighters and civilians have been killed in Maarat al-Numaan over the last week. He said security forces had executed 50 army defectors there. Maarat al-Numaan, a Roman era city famous for a mosaics museum and the grave of Abu Ala al-Maari, an 11th century blind Arab poet, is 75 km south of Aleppo, Syria's business hub. http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/topic/syria-153 about 9 hours agoThe official line coming out of the Turkish foreign ministry does not confirm that they confiscated either weapons or communications devices from the passenger jet intercepted yesterday. Officials say they are still studying the items, describing them as "inconsistent material". about 8 hours agoAn unidentified "Russian arms export source" says there were no weapons or military equipment aboard the Syrian plane held in Turkey, according to Reuters - quoting the Moscow-based Interfax news agency. No doubt we'll be getting more reports on the plane's cargo over the course of the day - stay tuned... about 6 hours agoSyria has stopped buying electricity from Turkey, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz has revealed. Our correspondent adds that, while Turkey has been supplying electricity to some regions in Syria's north, Assad's administration has been frequently cutting power to rebellious areas. about 3 hours agoReuters is reporting that residents of Azmarin, a Turkish town on the border with Syria, are evacuating their homes amid a "military assault" by Syrian forces. More details to follow. https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky resistance fighters destroyed 3 military tanks in rankus (north of damascus) 3:58 AM resistance fighters have destroyed 2 military checkpoints near the town of haysh (idlib) 4:31 AM resistance fighters have destroyed 2 military tanks & killed assad troops in deirezzor 5:00 AM resistance fighters have destroyed a tank & killed assad troops near tal al-zarazir in aleppo city 5:40 AM https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky resistance fighters have liberated the airforce defense base in dayr ful (east of al-rastan, homs) & seized weapons7:57 AM resistance fighters destroyed a tank & a small truck & killed assad troops on al-ramousah motorway (aleppo) 9:09 AM resistance fighters have damaged 4 tanks & armored vehicles near al-amiriyah neighborhood in aleppo city 10:45 AM resistance fighters have destroyed a t72 tank near saraqib (idlib) 10:47 AM resistance fighters confirm they control all al-khalidiyah neighborhood in homs city. many assad troops were killed 10:54 AM https://twitter.com/WashingtonPoint Breaking: Turkish PM Erdogan re plane interception: says whatever the passengers needed in the plane, food, medicine etc they were offered11:20 AM Breaking: Turkish PM Erdogan re plane interception: unfortunately these kind of materials found, confiscated and being processed currently 11:21 AM Breaking: Turkish PM Erdogan re plane interception: imp point is, you can't never carry military materials w/civilian planes..this illegal 11:23 AM Turkish PM Erdogan:this plane unfortunately was carrying military equipments from Russian military manufacturer to Syrian defense ministry 11:24 AM https://twitter.com/BreakingNews Turkish prime minister says intercepted plane was carrying military gear, ammunition to Syria - @AP11:37 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky defection of major nizar jum`ah & other officers http://youtu.be/iZydQqq3zAs 12:03 PM resistance fighters killed assad troops & seized 2 military tanks near ain isa in al-raqqah 12:06 PM resistance fighters have destroyed a military checkpoint (zayzun) near jisr al-shughour. 4 troops have defected 12:12 PM defection of military officers & troops from regiment 46 (aleppo countryside) http://youtu.be/3PiBerV2-Sk 12:46 PM resistance fighters have re-liberated the town of darkush (idlib) 12:55 PM https://twitter.com/mpoppel REU: LARGE BOMB EXPLOSION HEARD NEAR ARMY AND SECURITY COMPOUNDS WEST OF UMMAYAD SQUARE IN CENTRAL DAMASCUS -ACTIVISTS1:59 PM https://twitter.com/THE_47th Syrian Media Center: Explosion rocks mid Damascus, near Omayyad Sq. Omayyad is by Army HQ & State TV.1:57 PM FYI: Here's a map of Omayyad Sq. (site of explosion just now). Big red circle is Army HQ, bombed 3 weeks ago. pic.twitter.com/TRl2U5QU 2:09 PM BREAKING: Explosion targeted Military Justice HQ in Jamareq Sq (our version of JAG in the US). It is in Jamareq Sq 500m away from Umayyad. 2:24 PM Assad Sec Forces are now sealing of midtown Damascus, all roads leading in & out of Umayyad & Jamarek Squares. The nerves of our capital. 2:26 PM BREAKING | FSA launches a simultaneous attack on State Security HQ in Aleppo. Source: LCC. 2:32 PM https://twitter.com/AcrossTheBay Nasrallah makes a clown of himself contorting to explain how Hezbollah fighters in Syria are Lebanese living in villages inside Syria and he simply cannot stop these Hezbollah members from fighting in their villages inside Syria if they so choose.2:10 PM https://twitter.com/THE_47th B.S: Scores killed in Qusair MT @DavidKenner: Nasrallah: Until now, our fighters hvnt fought in Syria. We dunno what'll happen in the future2:03 PM Just ask Homsies, specifically the people of Qusair: how many bodies of Hizbollah fighters have they sent back to Dahyi, Lebanon. 2:18 PM Unlike Israel, many of our defected officers were on great terms with Hizbollah leadership, knowing exactly how they operate & their ranks. 2:28 PM https://twitter.com/NMSyria BREAKING: The FSA is storming the Political Security Branch in Aleppo. 2:31 PM https://twitter.com/ZeinakhodrAljaz US : We strongly support Turkey decision to inspect Syria plane; we concerned by any effort to supply military equipment to Assad regime2:38 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 https://csis.org/publication/syria-us-power-projection-and-search-equalizer Syria, U.S. Power Projection, and the Search for an “Equalizer Very interesting article. Talks about positives/negatives of giving weapons to rebels and ways to lessen chances of possible negative consequences. https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf Intense battles ongoing on the highway between KhanSheikhoon and MaaratAlNouman as the convoy passes through and shells at everything.4:36 AM The FSA just took down the 3rd checkpt between KhanSheikhoon and MaaratAlNouman...Altanoor checkpt. 10s of Assad soldiers killed. 6:26 AM 90% of the residents of MaaratAlNouman have left the city due to the intensity of the shelling..Some of my relatives are refusing to leave. 9:49 AM FSA liberated the Sahyan checkpt in Sahyan, KhanSheikhoon. Later the convoy [that is/was] headed to MaaratAlNouman atckd and burned all the homes down [in Sahyan] 4:37 PM During the clashes at Wadi Aldayf, a regime helicopter kept hovering and the FSA fired at it..after a while it dropped barrels that did not explode. The FSA went to see them and discovered they were barrels of food being dropped for the soldiers stuck inside. Obviously, the FSA kept the food...lol https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky the armed resistance groups in the southern countryside of hama have joined ahfad al-rasul brigade. ahfad al-rasoul brigade has declared responsibility for the attack on the military judiciary building in damascus3:18 PM resistance fighters killed a major & arrested a sergeant near al-tabqa [in Raqqa province] airport 4:50 PM resistance fighters have besieged the artillery base in ain isa (al-raqqah) 4:51 PM resistance fighters confirm they killed brigadier general qaddour al-assad in damascus city. (he was killed by the last explosion) 4:57 PM resistance fighters have entered the airforce defense base near the town of naqqarin (east of aleppo). clashes continue 5:34 PM https://twitter.com/THE_47th The US Gov has no clue on who's who in Syria, not one bit. No idea.4:28 PM US thought it had "good Pal Intel", but Hamas won. Had some good Leb intel, but Hizbollah leads now.. Afghanistan…etc u know how it is 4:35 PM I have an 18 year old cousin in Mahatta, Homs who has a better grasp on how things work out in Syria than the the State Dept's Syria Desk. and this is why Fred Hoff resigned. (google Frederick Hoff). 4:36 PM But I have good news now: the U.S hs sent aftr a few gd Syrians who know how to fix our problems, finally..ppl they refused 2 meet earlier. 4:40 PM https://twitter.com/THE_47th Expect major blows to Assad Army next week.4:45 PM Western journalists: if you have been given a pass through the the Syrian Gov, please leave the country at once. 5:08 PM @stephenstarr no man.. Just a precautionary measure .. All I hear is that **** will be hitting the fan soon 5:17 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 yeah, sure looks like Turkey is going proactive, and Assad can't ignore it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/12/opinion/the-right-way-for-turkey-to-intervene-in-syria.html?_r=1& The Right Way for Turkey to Intervene in SyriaTURKEY was the first country to take direct military action against the government of Bashar al-Assad since Syria’s uprising began in the spring of 2011. And tensions are escalating further: earlier this week, the Turkish government sent 25 F-16 fighters to an air base near the border with Syria and on Wednesday it forced a Syrian passenger plane to land in the Turkish capital, Ankara, where suspected military aid shipments were taken off the plane. The cost of intervention in Syria may be high now, but the price will only increase for all nations if civilian massacres continue unabated. Currently, Syria looks eerily similar to Bosnia in the early 1990s. When the world did not act to end the slaughter of Muslims there, jihadists moved in to join the fight, and they sought to convince the otherwise staunchly secular-minded Bosnian Muslims that the world had abandoned them and that they were better off with jihadists. In Bosnia, the international community intervened before it was too late. If Syria radicalizes, becoming a jihadist safe haven, it could become a Sisyphean task to normalize it. Afghanistan is a case in point. https://twitter.com/WashingtonPoint Turkey digs trenches by Syrian border, moves 15 more F16 jets(total 55) near border+60 new tanks, totals 250 alongside http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/21678501.asp … 8:39 PM Biden: "it will be a regional war" -- it's already becoming Sir! 10:08 PM You know what: Biden would never win over Syria.. What his administration doing -- thanks to many genius advisers, is disaster 10:11 PM Biden: We are on the same page with allies on Syria: huh? you havent hear Turkey then 10:13 PM https://twitter.com/PJCrowley If the logic of R2P does not apply to Syria, then the administration should not have used it to justify intervention in Libya.10:11 PM Seems like there's been a bunch of former Obama and Clinton administration folks unhappy with our policy on Syria. Who can blame them? It's been a catastrophe so far. One good thing, we seem to be getting more involved and actually trying to understand the situation as it develops instead of trying to dictate how everything should be. We still seem to be pissing off our allies on the issue though and reports of us making them cut off what small supplies of weapons they have been giving are disturbing. The extremists have their own sources of weaponry and explosive materials, although we've isolated, abandoned, angered, and made the Syrian people desperate enough that bombings, resentment, and sectarianism seems to be growing by the day, not to mention the death toll. http://www.lccsyria.org/10331 Local Coordination Committees in SyriaThe LCC managed to document 210 martyrs with the end of Thursday including 10 children and 6 women; 47 martyrs were reported in Idlib; 44 in Damascus and its Suburbs (among them 3 field-executed in Tadamon); 37 in Deir Ezzor including 21 who were field-excuted; 24 in Daraa; 20 in Homs; 20 in Aleppo; 8 in Tartous; 7 in Hama; 2 in Raqqa; and 1 in Hasakah http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357480-Yahoo-Assad-predicts-disaster-if-West-meddles-in-Syria&p=9046975&viewfull=1#post9046975 33,642 people killed so far in Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 If the logic of R2P does not apply to Syria, then the administration should not have used it to justify intervention in Libya. 10:11 PM interesting contrast to my neo-con eyes,of course Syria does not have oil I admit to bias since I have advocated intervention there for nearly a decade.Syria has been a boil on the ass of the world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky resistance fighters confirm the complete liberation of the oil factory military checkpoint. they seized 2 trucks, 2 tanks & 3 bmps5:01 AM this confirms the total liberation of the oil factory military checkpoint (idlib) http://youtu.be/WXe2ifzLoHo 5:09 AM the liberation of an airforce defense base east of aleppo city http://youtu.be/nHk76BAL_J4 5:11 AM resistance fighters have destroyed a military compound in deirezzor 5:20 AM resistance fighters destroyed 2 tanks on aleppo - damascus motorway (hama) & killed assad troops 5:30 AM https://twitter.com/JoeWSJ BREAKING: Turkish TV rpts that Turkey scrambles fighter jets to Syria border after Syrian helicopters bomb Syrian border town of Azmarin. 7:29 AM Turkey should warn Syria that they will shoot down any aircraft that bombs near their border. And then do it. https://twitter.com/CFKlebergTT Norwegian national killed in Aleppo, Syria, while fighting with rebels against the regime, VG reports (Norw): http://www.vg.no/nyheter/utenriks/artikkel.php?artid=10062065 … 7:34 AM Turkey sends two fighter planes to Syria border after Syrian helicopter bombs Syrian border town Azmarin, Reuters reports. 7:36 AM (have to go now, more later in the afternoon when I get back.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/10/12/syria_will_rise_again Syria Will Rise AgainExactly five years after I was exiled from Syria, I was able to return to my homeland because of the Syrian revolution. I left Syria in September 2007 after being directly threatened by Syria's General Intelligence Administration (Idarat al-Mukhabarat al-Amma). The agency, which has branches in every Syrian province and is responsible for monitoring dissidents, tapping phone lines, and censoring media, objected to my involvement with the Damascus Declaration in 2005. The agency not only issued an arrest warrant for me, but banned my entire family from traveling outside Syria. The travel ban weighed most heavily on my sister and her five children. My sister's husband lives in Saudi Arabia, and due to the ban, her children have been unable to see their father for four years -- solely because their mother is related to a human rights activist and political opposition figure. This September, after five long years, I was finally able to return. I entered Syria safely from Turkey through the Bab al-Salama border crossing, which is controlled by the Free Syrian Army. As I crossed through the portal, I felt so many emotions. I wept tears of joy. I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that I was returning to my homeland after being forced to leave it and that I would be able to see my family and fellow citizens in a new, free Syria. When crossing into Syria from Turkey, I noticed that the ubiquitous pictures of Bashar al-Assad, the dictator whose family has held the destiny of Syria in its hands for 40 years, were missing. In the pictures' stead were walls covered with the words "Free Syria." But my thoughts were quickly overwhelmed with the knowledge of the shocking tragedy facing Syrians today: Millions are displaced, and hundreds of thousands have fled the country for fear of being killed by the Syrian regime's constant, indiscriminate shelling. Even then, many of those who have managed to flee Syria have not found safety. Thousands of the refugees live homeless on Turkish streets. Refugee camps on the Turkish border, already unbearably crowded with some 85,000 Syrians, have no more room for the thousands that continue to spill over the border. This is Free Syria -- a new country that has paid a great price for its liberty. At one point, I was asked by a shop owner, "Aren't you Radwan Ziadeh, the one from Washington, always on TV?" I answered yes, and he smiled. "Now I know that Syria is free. Exiled political opposition figures are able to return to Syria without restrictions or government permission!"This is what I said to him: "Now I know that Syria is free, because this is the first time I can speak to you without being worried about the consequences of what I say. Thank you for making it possible for me to return to my homeland Syria after being in exile for five years." I meant it. Returning to Syria gave me an opportunity to see a new Syria on the horizon -- a Free Syria proud of all its citizens, confident in its future, and baptized in blood. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19914444 Aleppo: Treating trauma on the frontlineAn artillery shell had just landed and the hospital entrance was a grotesque tableau of blood, bodies and tears. A small team of doctors set to work against a soundtrack of bombs and bullets. The hospital lies in one of the southern districts of Aleppo city close to one of the city's many front lines. The staff asked us not to identify its name or location in case government troops attack it. It is a well-placed fear - the building has already been hit 12 times. The doctors say it is seen as a "legitimate target" by the army because they treat rebel fighters as well as civilians. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/10/2012101214255877977.html?utm_content=automate&utm_campaign=Trial6&utm_source=NewSocialFlow&utm_term=plustweets&utm_medium=MasterAccount Syria rebels 'seize government air base'Syrian rebels have captured an air defence base east of Aleppo as government forces battled fighters on several fronts across the country, activists say. The air defence base seized by the rebels was located in al-Tana village by the Koris military airport on the road east from Aleppo to al-Raqqa, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/12/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE88J0X720121012 War intensifies across Syria, refugee crisis deepensRebels battled to hold onto Syria's main northeastern highway on Friday as government forces fought insurgents on several fronts across the country. The rebels captured an air defense base east of Syria's biggest city, Aleppo, and government forces unleashed air strikes and artillery bombardments on the western city of Homs, activists said. On the Turkish-Syrian border, Turkey scrambled two fighter jets after a Syrian military helicopter bombed the Syrian border town of Azmarin. The incident was the latest sign that tension between Ankara and Damascus is surging at a time when the 19-month-old conflict is deepening with no sign of a diplomatic breakthrough and growing concerns that it could spread across the Middle East. Assad's forces also intensified air strikes and artillery barrages against Homs on Friday, a day after they took heavy losses trying to overrun the rebel-held Khalidiya district, opposition activists said."There are 50 bodies of soldiers and shabbiha (militia) on the streets in Khalidiya and regime troops cannot retrieve them," said Ahmad Tarkawi, a local opposition leader. "The situation remains tough. The regime is now using a multiple rings tactic to surround Homs." https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky resistance fighters destroyed a military checkpoint near dummar bridge in damascus 5:35 AM resistance fighters destroyed a military checkpoint in the town of maseifreh (daraa) 5:43 AM resistance fighters destroyed a military checkpoint in the town of kharaba (daraa) 5:45 AM resistance fighters have destroyed the airforce defense base in ma`rabah (daraa) 7:15 AM resistance fighters have liberated the town of kafr hum 7:23 AM This would mean that all checkpoints around Maret Al-Nouman itself are gone. https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky resistance fighters have destroyed al-hamidiyah military checkpoint in ma`arrat al-nu`man countryside 8:50 AM resistance fighters killed assad troops & destroyed 4 tanks near the town of khan al-asal (aleppo western countryside) 11:13 AM resistance fighters have destroyed a military checkpoint (al-ghirbal) between ma`arrat al-nu`man & haysh 10:34 AM https://twitter.com/Reuters Russian foreign minister says "no weapons" were aboard Syrian plane grounded by Turkey on Wednesday11:13 AM Russian foreign minister says Syrian plane was carrying "legal" shipment of equipment for radar installation. 11:13 AM https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss "Legal" equipement for Syrian air defense radar. Shipped on commercial airliner. Russian FM doesn't even know when it sounds absurd.11:32 AM On my last flight from NYC to London, Virgin's cargo hold full of Trident missile targeting systems made in Texas. 11:34 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/syria/us-russia-policy-syria-morally-bankrupt US: Russia policy on Syria is 'morally bankrupt'The Obama administration is accusing Russia of pursuing a "morally bankrupt" policy in Syria, following the seizure by Turkey of Russian radar parts from a Syrian plane headed to Damascus. The State Department said on Friday that it had "grave concern" that Russia is continuing to supply the Syrian regime with "serious military equipment," particularly because it is a member of the UN Security Council with presumed responsibilities for maintaining global security. Russia says the parts are legal and denounced Turkey's interception of the plane. But State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the only reason the shipment was legal was because Russia, along with China, has repeatedly blocked UN sanctions against Syria. She said it was "legally correct but the policy is still morally bankrupt." https://twitter.com/OnlySyrian In Aleppo - When Assad's tank wants to pass thru street observed by FSA, it shells street building to use smoke & dust as a cover.1:22 PM Assad's militias use fire engines full of fuel & spray the buildings & markets then they burn it in Sabe'a Bahrat - Aleppo 1:38 PM Burning civilians buildings & markets z a method used by Assad's militias 2 cover movement f their forces in Sabe'a Bahrat- Aleppo 1:43 PM I filmed: today in Sabe'a Bahrat area - Aleppo clashes btw FSA & Assad's militias & got tank shell next to me. 1:49 PM https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky resistance fighters are attacking a military checkpoint in ma`arshourin (north east of ma`arrat al-nu`man)12:01 PM resistance fighters have liberated a military checkpoint between al-hamidiyah and wadi al-dayf http://youtu.be/pWex4i0o3ss 12:31 PM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf The checkpoint is actually in close proximity to Wadi Aldayf im not sure of the exact coordinates1:51 PM Intense shelling on Haish Idlib left 8 martyrs as of now and 20 injuries. Haish is located between MaaratAlNouman and KhanSheikhoon. 2:19 PM The FSA in MaaratAlNouman saves 15 newborns in the hospital after the regime shelled it early today. pic.twitter.com/XhxMObaK 2:25 PM Mosque in Maarshumareen, a suburb of MaaratAlNouman, completely destroyed by shelling. 2:26 PM https://twitter.com/hhassan140 Syria air defense a paper tiger http://goo.gl/PdSDM good piece on one of the lies of excuse-making western officials, by @michaeldweiss 3:04 PM https://twitter.com/DamascusTribune Breaking: A shell fired by Assad regime landed on Yarmouk camp of Palestineian refugees in Damascus; Many casualties were reported3:00 PM Breaking: Many ppl were martyred & wounded as a 6-floor-building collapsed in Yarmouk camp of Palestinian refugees in Damascus 3:07 PM https://twitter.com/jfoleyjourno Saudi blames US for not truly arming rebels, but the Sunni kingdom has most at stake Syria http://nyti.ms/Rm0Y3Q 3:13 PM https://twitter.com/Brown_Moses That's 7 new cluster bombs in Syria I've seen today, and I've not even started reviewing my Youtube channel collection yet.3:28 PM FIVE ****ing cluster bombs in one location, Deir Alassafeer, near Damascus. The start of a terrible legacy 3:29 PM Currently I've counted between 17-20 cluster bombs being dropped in the last four days, a significant escalation in the air war 3:40 PM https://twitter.com/NMSyria FSA has surrounded a security forces building in Midan, Aleppo and reports of many deaths from the regime forces.3:39 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-10-12/turkish-official-says-1-000-syrian-soldiers-have-deserted Turkey Moves Tanks to Hilltops Overlooking SyriaTurkey deployed tanks and missile defense systems on hilltops overlooking Syria today, the state- run Anatolia news agency said. The deployment in Mursitpinar, near the border town of Suruc, came hours after Turkey scrambled fighter jets after a Syrian helicopter came close to the border, according to a Turkish official who declined to be identified because the information is sensitive. Turkey has threatened to target Syrian military elements if they pose a security threat, following the downing of a Turkish military jet by Syria in June. Turkey’s ties with Syria, once an ally, dramatically deteriorated over Turkish backing for Syrian rebels fighting forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Turkey fired artillery in response to Syrian shelling that killed five people in the Turkish border town of Akcakale on Oct. 3. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which called the attack on Akcakale “a flagrant breach of international law,” praised Turkey’s restraint on Oct. 9 and assured the Turkish government of the alliance’s military support if it’s attacked. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu survived an opposition censure motion in parliament today for allegedly bringing Turkey to the brink of war with Syria. The ruling Justice and Development Party used its almost 60 percent majority in the 550-seat parliament to defeat the motion by the Republican People’s Party. http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/11/opinion/syria-turkey-conflict-seener/index.html As U.N. falters, Syria's conflict threatens regional stabilityIt would be a mistake to write off threats of war against Syria from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as mere bluster, assuming that Turkey will maintain the status quo in valuing its relationship with the United States on one hand, while resisting Iran's hegemonic ambitions on the other. The recent cross-border confrontation could ignite regional convulsions as Turkey is sucked into Syria, leading to belated actions on the part of the international community. The Assad regime knows its time is limited as the rate of military and intelligence officers defecting to Jordan and Turkey increases in momentum. Rebel attacks are inching closer to the heart of the Assad regime, such as the recent attack on the Syrian air force intelligence compound in the Damascus suburb of Harasta. This contributes to the regime's recklessness in firing upon Turkey with impunity. The longer the Syrian civil war continues, the greater the prospect of regional sectarian tensions emerging along Sunni-Shiite fault-lines. This could result in a Middle Eastern Cold War between regional powerhouses Saudi Arabia, with its mainly Sunni population, and the Shiite-dominated Iranians.Meanwhile, The Obama administration's apparent strategy of "leading from behind" is an excuse for its dithering over the Syrian humanitarian crisis. Similarly, the United Nations' inaction over the crisis results from a deadlock at the Security Council, with China and Russia opposed to any intervention -- implausibly advocating that the rebels conduct dialogue with a murderous regime. Yet with the UN's extensive history of paying lip service to upholding the values of human rights while ignoring genocide in Rwanda, Sudan, Balkans and Iraq, its dismissive manner towards the current massacres taking place on a daily basis in Syria should come as no surprise. There are estimates that up to 50,000 people have been killed, with up to two million people internally displaced since the conflict started. The U.N. claims that 300,000 Syrians have fled the country. The U.S., realistically the only nation with the necessary military and logistical capability, could easily have prevented the refugee crisis that has heightened the prospect of conflict with Turkey. Its wariness to arm rebels was to prevent blowback from the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood and other empowered Islamists in Syria. Yet the protracted conflict there has generated a kaleidoscopic civil-war and vacuum of governance across much of Syria that has attracted Islamists, and even revived al-Qaeda, enabling it to infiltrate the ranks of the opposition and gain support in the wake of its attacks on Syrian military and government installations. https://twitter.com/Turk4Syria 10 Assad forces fled to Turkey when cornered by the FSA. One was treated for injuries. They'll be sent back to safer Assad territory.4:09 PM I think it's the first time Assad soldiers don't desert or defect, but only enter Turkey to escape FSA & go back. 4:11 PM https://twitter.com/arwaCNN international community has failed 2 stop slaughter in syria but can at very least provide needed $$$ 2 try 2 ease trauma of war 4 refugees4:32 PM our piece on syria refugee children in lebanon, dire conditions & UNICEF lacking funding http://bit.ly/Qi435q 4:29 PM https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf 25 different areas in Idlib witnessed clashes between the FSA and the regime forces today.6:07 PM Nothing significant happened in Ariha today. Regime is still in control of the city. The checkpoints there shell JabalAlzawiyah. 6:43 PM i will start working on a map myself... 8:08 PM http://www.lccsyria.org/10335 The Local Coordination Committees in Syria:The LCC documented 113 martyrs today including 10 Free Syrian Army members, 6 children and 4 women. 40 martyrs were reported in Aleppo; 25 in Damascus and its suburbs, including 5 field-executed in Barzeh; 18 in Idlib; 13 in Daraa, mostly in Maarba; 7 in Hama; 5 in Homs; 4 in Deir Ezzor; and 1 in Lattakia http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357480-Yahoo-Assad-predicts-disaster-if-West-meddles-in-Syria&p=9046975&viewfull=1#post9046975 33,755 people killed so far in Syria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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