The Middle East Crisis

[saeedhk]

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices...ns-the-rebels-who-killed-his-son-8835441.html

What a sad read.
These Saudis and their friends are responsible for many massacres in Syria.They want peace in their countries but promote terrorism in other countries.

 

[chacha kashmiri]

What a sad read.
These Saudis and their friends are responsible for many massacres in Syria.They want peace in their countries but promote terrorism in other countries.

''Qassem Suleimani — who is this extraordinarily powerful man behind the mask, very mysterious guy, very powerful guy — he was instrumental in 2010 in making sure that the Americans left no troops behind in Iraq. During the Iraq War, he supervised and directed militias which were responsible for hundreds of American deaths.

It appears, by the evidence, that the Iranians, and the Quds Force in particular, were behind the assassination of Rafik Hariri, the president of Lebanon, in 2005. Qassem Suleimani appears to be running or directing or at least playing a very large part in the war in Syria on behalf of the Assad government. So he's everywhere, and, again, the Iranians have been extraordinarily aggressive over the past 15 years in asserting themselves in the Middle East, often at American expense.''

http://www.npr.org/2013/09/25/226104144/meet-the-iranian-commander-pulling-strings-in-syrias-war

 

[Markhor]

Syrian rebels have reported to have kidnapped 6 Red Cross workers, and have released 3 of them earlier this week. Let's arm them more !

 

[Markhor]

Syria Rebels Parade Child Hostages On YouTube

http://news.sky.com/story/1153141/syria-rebels-parade-child-hostages-on-youtube

Utterly repulsive.

Rebel forces in Syria have killed at least 190 civilians and seized dozens of child hostages, who they have paraded in a video posted on YouTube, Human Rights Watch says.

Fighters burned villages, threw bodies in mass graves and kidnapped women and children in acts described as likely "crimes against humanity" by HRW.

Witnesses gave harrowing accounts of family members being executed in their beds during an attack on August 4.

One man said he was forced to flee, leaving his paralysed son and wife to die at the hands of armed rebels.

A 105-page report by the New York based human rights group said the findings "strongly suggest" crimes against humanity were committed in the rural Latakia area.

HRW said it conducted an on-scene investigation and interviewed more than 35 people, including survivors and fighters from both sides.

One child said: "My mum was here in the house with me. She came out of the house first, and I was behind her.

"We saw the three fighters just in front of us, and then we fled on foot down behind the house and into the valley.

"The three fighters that I saw were all dressed in black. They were shooting at us from two different directions. They had machine guns and were using snipers.

"My older brother came down and hid with us as well. We hid, but my dad stayed in the house. He was killed in his bed.

"My aunt, she is an 80-year-old blind woman, was also killed in her room. Her name is Nassiba."

HRW said two opposition groups - the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham and Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar - were holding around 200 hostages from Alawite villages, where most inhabitants were considered loyal to Syria's leader Bashar al Assad.

"The evidence strongly suggests that the killings, hostage-taking, and other abuses committed by opposition forces on and after August 4 rise to the level of crimes against humanity," Human Rights Watch said.

The report came the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) continued its mission to deal with Syria's chemical weapons stockpile.

International inspectors have so far visited three sites linked to Syria's chemical weapons programme, OPCW spokesman Michael Luhan said.

In another development OPCW - based in The Hague - was awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

 

[saeedhk]

I do not see any difference between the rebels or the TTP.Both are animals of the worst kind.

 

[DoosraTeesra]

terrorists destroying statue of virgin mary in Syria. I don't understand why in some videos, i have seen terrorists wearing shalwar kamiz?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLZFhNcHFAo

 

[OZGOD]

Picture tells a thousand words. Refugees at the al-Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus.

Beirut: One glimpse of their faces tells the story of the year that they have suffered. Gaunt, exhausted, their strength of will almost spent, they stand amid the devastated buildings of Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus.

This tide of thousands of people, including the frail and the young, stretching back as far as the eye can see, was the queue for food parcels at a distribution point run by UNRWA, the United Nations relief agency for Palestinian refugees.

A photograph, taken on January 31 but released only yesterday by the UN, captures the desperation of the remaining population of Yarmouk, a predominantly Palestinian neighbourhood in the Syrian capital that has been besieged by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Prior to the conflict in Syria, Yarmouk was home to some 160,000 to 180,000 Palestinian refugees. However some researchers say the number of Palestinians in the camp has dwindled to 20,000, with the majority of the camp's inhabitants seeking asylum in European and Middle Eastern countries or joining the millions of Syrians displaced within Syria itself.

UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness called on all parties in the conflict to allow "safe and unhindered humanitarian access" to Yarmouk.

For almost a year, Yarmouk has been a battleground. Under almost constant bombardment, civilians hid in the rubble, surviving on whatever scraps of food and clean water they could bribe or beg from regime troops or other fighting groups. Some 7000 food parcels, a fraction of the number needed, was allowed into the area in January.

The armed opposition to the Syrian government suffered a significant setback yesterday when government troops killed 175 rebels in a dawn ambush south of Damascus, according to Syrian state television.

Telegraph, London


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/portrai...uk-damascus-20140227-hve0b.html#ixzz2uUQHrWa1

We all last posted on this thread in October 2013 but the war still goes on.

 

[Bashira_taeli]

Syrian Civil War

terrorists destroying statue of virgin mary in Syria. I don't understand why in some videos, i have seen terrorists wearing shalwar kamiz?

Fighters have poured in from Pakistan and Afghanistan. This morning I read that Syrian Army killed 175 rebels in ambush, many of them were non Syrians.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[saeedhk]

^Most of the killed were from Qatar and Saudi Arabia according to reports.

 

[Gabbar Singh]

As this war enters it's 4th year there is no sign of a resolution - 100,000 dead and rising.

Ironically, I think it would have been better had one side completely obliterated the other militarily at the beginning of it - at least then there would not have been a long, drawn out conflict which neither side has been able to win.

Syria: fears of a lost generation as UN and World Vision highlight cost of war
Unicef warns that lack of basic services combined with mental distress and poverty could lead to irrevocable loss of potential



The future of 5.5 million children living in Syria and neighbouring countries hangs in the balance as violence, collapsing health and education services, severe psychological distress and impoverishment combine to scar a generation, a UN report has warned.

As the Syrian conflict enters its fourth year, Unicef, the UN agency for children, says the number of children affected has more than doubled, from 2.3 million a year ago. The number of children displaced inside Syria has increased from 920,000 to almost 3 million, while the number of child refugees has risen from 260,000 to more than 1.2 million amid the world's largest humanitarian disaster.

The Unicef report, Under Siege, estimates that 10,000 children have been killed, with up to another million trapped in areas of Syria that are hard to reach with humanitarian assistance due to continued violence.

"For Syria's children, the past three years have been the longest of their lives. Must they endure another year of suffering?" asked Anthony Lake, Unicef executive director.

Another year of conflict could cost far more than lives, warns the report.

"It will mean the irrevocable loss of the skills and understanding they will needs as adults, to play their part in the reshaping of their nation and the restoration of stability to the region. Millions of young people risk becoming, in effect, a lost generation," says Unicef.

Children have increasingly been caught up in the war. Boys as young as 12 have been recruited to support the fighting, some in actual combat while others work as informers, guards or arms smugglers. Families have also described how children are seized by forces from homes, schools, hospitals and checkpoints.

Some children have been subjected to torture and sexual abuse to humiliate them, force confessions, or pressure relatives to surrender. Unicef says there have also been reports of child rapes, including gang rape, and of children used as human shields – forced to the frontlines to stand between tanks and fighters to dissuade enemies from attacking.

Those families that have managed to reach Jordan and Lebanon are under increasing strain, with children having to work to make ends meet. Unicef estimates that one in 10 refugee children is now working and one in every five Syrian girls in Jordan is forced into early marriage.

The report cites the case of Manal, 16, who was told by her father to leave school and marry an older man.

"I felt [my father] was no longer supporting me. I told him I must continue learning," she is quoted as saying. But her father believed a husband would keep Manal safe should anything happen to him.

As refugees flee to Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq, those countries are struggling to cope. Their health and education systems are buckling under the strain, as are other services, and tension between Syrians and local communities is increasing.

A World Vision report (pdf) that draws on input from 140 Syrian children in Lebanon and Jordan highlighted problems of bullying and discrimination.

"One of my friends received an intense beating from the principal when he accused my friend of something he had not done," said Mohamed, 14 who attends a school in Lebanon. "When my friend tried to defend himself, the principal did not believe him and hit him on his head until he bled."

Children tell of overworked parents and the effect on family life.

"My friend's father comes home exhausted," said one interviewee. "If my friend tried to talk to him, his father would hit and abuse him."

The children say they cannot talk to their parents because they "are suffering like us and more. At the end, we find ourselves listening to them, instead of them listening to us."

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/mar/11/syria-conflict-lost-generation-unicef

 

[Gabbar Singh]

British men committing war crimes and then posting about it on instagram. The man in question has also posted on the net berating british muslims for spending their money on nandos and play stations instead of 'helping' those in Syria. Utterly surreal.

Footage uncovered by researchers at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) shows jihadist rebels*killing a prisoner, said to be a loyalist of President Bashar*al*Assad.

The incident is thought to have happened in the last two weeks near Raqqa in northern Syria.

The footage was posted on the Instagram account of a man believed to be from London.

The caption accompanying the video describes the prisoner as one of "Bashar [al*Assad's] dogs" and says the killing was retribution for the deaths of four fellow rebels and the rape of a woman.

The ICSR monitors the social media accounts of hundreds of foreign fighters inside Syria.

They believe the man that posted the video is part of a group of British fighters, known as Rayat*al Tawheed, an affiliate of the Sunni jihadi movement ISIS, which controls large swathes of northern Syria.

Shiraz Maher, a senior ICSR researcher based at King's College London, said the killing of prisoners is a war crime in international law.

"It's incredibly serious," he said.

"We believe the main characters involved with Rayat*al Tawheed come from London.

"We have deduced this based on our discussions with foreign fighters, our extensive record-keeping of foreign fighter activity in Syria, and our maintenance of social network maps which allows us to plot activity and associations in a visual form."

Although no audible English is spoken in the video itself, analysts from the ICSR believe they have identified one of the gunmen as being a British citizen.

A man is seen in the video firing shots into the body of the prisoner in the seconds after the initial bullet was fired by the main shooter.

Analysis of the gunman's physical build, wristwatch and balaclava led the ICSR to conclude he is the same man seen speaking English with a London accent in other videos posted by the group.

"We don't know if the prisoner was alive or dead when he fired, but he did partake in the execution, he did fire shots at the individual from his weapon, and we believe he is a British citizen," said ICSR researcher Joseph Carter.

On two separate videos posted on YouTube, the man identified as the gunman by the ICSR is heard berating the British Muslim community for failing to provide sufficient financial support for the jihad or the families the fighters have left behind.

The group lobbies for donations to buy more weapons and ammunition

"You know who you are, from the capital, the Midlands, up north, wherever you may be… it's a disgrace, that brothers know where these wives are, where these families are, and yet you are buying your nephew or your child a PlayStation 4 or taking them out to Nando's," he said.

The Government's counter-terrorism programme last week launched a campaign urging the families of young men planning to travel to Syria to intervene.

It is estimated that up to 400 Britons have travelled to fight or train in Syria in the last two years.*

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "This demonstrates why we have consistently called for the situation in Syria to be referred to the International Criminal Court.

"Horrific atrocities have been committed by both the Assad regime and by extremists. The international community must ensure that all those responsible are held to account.

"Our priority is to dissuade people from travelling, but any extremists should know we are prepared to take action to protect national security, and intelligence agencies and police are working to identify potential threats."

Amnesty International UK Syria campaign manager Kristyan Benedict said: “This alleged British member of the extremist group ISIS says it’s ‘a disgrace’ other British Muslims will not join him in Syria.

“The real disgrace is people like him and other extremists brazenly committing war crimes and holding Syrians back from realising their aspirations for a Syria free from violent authoritarianism.

“The scale of unlawful killing, torture and arbitrary detention from the Syrian government side still dwarfs abuses carried out by numerous armed groups, but the Assad government certainly doesn't have a monopoly on atrocities.

“All these crimes will need to be properly investigated and the perpetrators held to account.”

http://news.sky.com/story/1253567/british-fighters-filmed-in-syria-war-crime

 

[Bashira_taeli]

Assad's forces take Homs, 'capital of Syrian revolt

(Reuters) - Syrian forces took full control on Thursday over Homs, a city once associated with scenes of joyous pro-democracy crowds but now famed for images of ruin that epitomize the brutality of Syria's civil war.

After holding the Old City of Homs for nearly two years, around 1,200 rebel fighters and trapped civilians boarded buses which took them out of the "capital of the revolution" in convoys on Wednesday and Thursday, activists said.

They were driven to rebel-held territory outside the city under a deal agreed between the insurgents and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

"Old Homs has been completely cleansed of armed terrorist groups," state television said.

Homs provincial governor Talal Barazi told Reuters earlier on Thursday that Homs would be "declared a secure city" and reconstruction would commence after the evacuation.

Although the area had been cleared of insurgents, the army is not expected to move into the Old City until Friday when it will be checked for explosives.

Rebels smiled to cameras as they left, but the fall of Syria's third largest city to government forces is a major blow to the opposition and a boost for Assad weeks before his likely re-election.

When thousands of Syrians took to the streets of Homs in 2011, it electrified the nation and anti-Assad demonstrations erupted in every major city. Government forces cracked down on the religiously mixed city with batons and live ammunition.

Mortar bombs were fired on protests in Homs and the revolution became armed. Rebel groups spread through the city as civilians fled or cowered in the basements of battered buildings. A year ago, government forces laid siege to the Old City and residents said they starved.

On Thursday, the city was close to silent with no sound of gunfire or explosions. Many buildings at the entrance to the Old City district lay in ruins, destroyed by three years of fighting.

Lebanon's al-Manar television aired footage from Homs of a line of rebel fighters, some carrying guns and wearing scarves around their faces, walking to green buses, passing government troops.

ASSAD GAINS

At the same time as rebels were evacuated from Homs, dozens of captives held by rebels in the northern provinces of Aleppo and Latakia were freed as part of the same deal.

Governor Barazi told state media that 70 people abducted by rebels were released, including five children and 17 women, and state television said more people were later released from Latakia on Thursday.

The Homs evacuation comes after months of gains by the army, backed by its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, along a strategic corridor of territory linking the capital Damascus with Homs and on to Assad's Alawite heartland on the Mediterranean.

Assad's forces now control most of the capital, along with the main highway from Damascus to the coast, while rebels control much of the desert in the north and east. Syria's second city, Aleppo in the northwest, is contested.

Many areas in Homs province remain in rebel hands, including the stronghold town of Rastan, and Assad will also need to secure rural areas around the capital to take full control of areas the Syrian army has been battling for. Government forces have also lost ground in the south to Islamist brigades.

Assad is widely expected to be the runaway victor in the June 3 presidential vote, which his opponents at home and abroad have dismissed as a charade.

They say no credible election can be held in a country fractured by civil war, with swathes of territory outside government control, 6 million people displaced and another 2.5 million refugees abroad.

More than 150,000 people have died in the conflict. Millions more have fled their homes and fighting regularly kills more than 200 people a day.

(Writing by Oliver Holmes; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/08/us-syria-crisis-homs-idUSBREA470LX20140508

What next for the "Syrian" rebels now?

 

[akheR]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/08/us-syria-crisis-homs-idUSBREA470LX20140508

What next for the "Syrian" rebels now?

Millions of refugees and few 100 000s of "collateral damages", children who lost their future (when not parents and siblings), historical monuments of Islam eroded if not annihilated by those who will never ever contribute to Islamic (or human) civilization at all, etc, etc so I think the "Syrian" rebels had enough fun, for their next holidays (because that's what it is, to have free AK47s and decapitate ethnic Syrians then parade with the severed heads) they can make a "jihad" in Israel or Burma, but it will only depend if daddy Amreeka sees some geopolitical interests there I think.

 

[Hasan]

The Saudi Bandar (a very appropriate name) has failed completely in Syria and therefore moved on. Saudi Bandar has set the region on fire by playing the sectarian card and playing with fire in region sitting on massive oil reserves is a very dangerous policy, especially as the Shias are dominant in those parts where oil is found (this includes Saudi Arabia).

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/16/prince-bandar-saudi-intelligence-syria

 

[akheR]

Hundreds return home to Syria's Homs

Hundreds of people have returned to Homs as the Syrian army regained control of the city, according to a correspondent with the AFP news agency.

The residents, displaced by three years of war, climbed over debris and inspected the ruins of their battered neighbourhoods on Friday.

"I had seen on Facebook that my home had been destroyed, but I couldn't believe it," Jaqueline Fawwas, a 30-year-old woman, told AFP. "I wanted to see it with my own eyes."

Another woman, who did not identify herself, said, "I came to check on my house, but I couldn't find it. I didn't find a roof, I didn't find walls. I only found this coffee cup, which I will take with me as a souvenir."

Residents were allowed to return to Homs due to an agreement between the government and opposition fighters that also granted fighters safe exit from the city.

More than 1,700 opposition fighters have left Homs since Wednesday, under the deal.

Bulldozers also cleared rubble from the streets of battle-scarred districts in the central Syrian city on Friday.

Talal al-Barazi, the governor of Homs, said engineering units were combing the old neighbourhoods, including the former opposition stronghold of Hamidiyeh, in search of mines and other explosives.

Syrian state TV reported that two soldiers were killed while dismantling a bomb.

An AP reporter in Homs, on a military-led tour, said soldiers and pro-government militiamen fanned out across the city's districts to provide security.

The opposition withdrawal, which ended a fierce, two-year battle for the country's third largest city, marked a major victory for President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war.

For Syria's opposition, it was a devastating blow.

Fighters are now confined to a single district on the outskirts of Homs, which was once considered "the capital of the revolution" against Assad.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middl...eturn-home-syria-homs-201459133953484884.html

So basically that's it : millions of refugees, 100 000s of deaths (and their relatives who will never have a normal life again), houses and monuments destroyed, ... for what ? Basically, nothing.
At least I hope the last "mudjahideen" of Homs will fight till death and not cowardly surrender, they made their trip from Chechnya or Afghanistan to Syria in order to enjoy houris in the next life, quite an anti-climax if they abandon fighting the armies of the Great Shaytan (not Israel, surely not daddy Amreeka, but Bashar al Assad, who's family is reigning few decades before USA's geopolitical interest in the Mediterranean sea became obvious... quite a slap for the Amreekans by the way, losing Ukraine and on the verge of losing Syria, will need more fast-food fatwas from Saudi Barbaria for the latter).

 

[Nostalgic]

Syrian Civil War

I guess now they get to spread Wahhabism and polio somewhere else.

 

[akheR]

Faces of 7 ISIS members ("rebels") executed by Jabhat al-Nusra operatives (..."rebels") today

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/sEH532x2QjE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The sixth one (0:12) looks particularly Arab... why can't they all go to one place, with their families (it's always easier to fight in a country where you don't have loved ones who might be victims of you AK47s games) and pull the trigger against each other, as much as they want ? That place could be Saudi Arabia considering its charity in spending money on them... what do those who favour a civil war (because that's what it is) in Syria seriously want from such men, who have no education and no ethics... to (re)build a country ? If Bashar al Assad goes (and the criminal dictator ideally has to go, but not that way), these peoples will only bring misery... they're simply unable to do anything relatively productive, and Syria, which has so much human capital-potential (like all Arab countries, to be honest), will turn into Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, ... (and God knows what next).

RIP though, sad to know they're about to depart in atrocious conditions, may God forgive them for spreading fitna in the blessed Bilad al Sham, I just hope they don't see the souls of the Syrian children they've indirectly killed (like all who supported the civil war, even virtually, the easiest and obviously most widespread way) eye to eye, that'll be more tragic than a single bullet.

 

[Saeed]

Hope its over soon for rebels, can't wait to see their end in syria.

 

[akheR]

Isn't that chap Basheer Hussain Najafi, the famous Ayatollah in Iraq (some say he's #2 in terms of clerical hierarchy, after Ali al Sistani) originally from Pakistan ?

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/BR4gzaVa_kA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Also, I know that TTP uses (and used) teenagers to behead Pakistan Army soldiers (God will probably not ask you how many poors you've helped or anything superficial like that, but obviously to show Him you're personal account of severed heads or mosques/markets/... bombed), but that's going a bit too far

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/svtvVgJLbeY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[akheR]

Is that Islam ? Damn imagine the people surrounding the explosion...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/W3h7LZ5pxGc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Syrians are currently going through hell. ISIS now control more Syrian territory than ever. On the other hand, Assad and his regime continue with their slaughter.

Syrian government forces killing hundreds of civilians in air strikes as world watches Isis

As the eyes of the world remain fixed on Isis, Bashar al-Assad’s forces have killed an estimated 330 civilians in Syria since the start of this year alone, observers claim.

Bombings and chemical attacks like the ones that almost led Britain to war in 2013 have been carried out largely unnoticed as the so-called Islamic State continues its bloody campaign.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...r-strikes-as-world-watches-isis-10023425.html

 

[Robert]

I really surprised at how little territory Assad has left.

 

[JoniInsafian]

 

[Gabbar Singh]

I really surprised at how little territory Assad has left.

I can't believe he's still in power given the number of groups he's up against.

This was him on the bbc earlier today.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yiC4w7Erz8I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[shaykh]

I can't believe he's still in power given the number of groups he's up against.

This was him on the bbc earlier today.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yiC4w7Erz8I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Not too hard to believe...

Western propaganda is gradually stopping all its 'the whole nations vs assad' rhetoric and is now focusing on 'insurgents' against the Syrian 'state'...not 'rebels' against the 'regime'...Assad can thank IS for that...

All these groups are also fighting each other...

Its apparently Assad who buys oil from IS on the previso that IS don't expand into certain areas...and now Assad isnt public enemy no1 with the West...

Hes in an unusual position where IS going turns the focus back on him...

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Quite astonishing how countries like Syria, Iraq and Libya have gone from being modern and relatively affluent countries to 3rd world disaster zones in one generation.

 

[chacha kashmiri]

Quite astonishing how countries like Syria, Iraq and Libya have gone from being modern and relatively affluent countries to 3rd world disaster zones in one generation.

They were more stable as mandates tbf

Democracy is not for everybody

 

[Gabbar Singh]

So Russian fighter jets and combat helicopters join Russian troops in Syria. It looks like Assad isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Russia 'Sends Jets To Syria' As Talks Held

The jets are deployed as American and Russian defence chiefs discuss Moscow's growing military presence in Syria.

US officials claim Russia has sent at least four fighter jets to Syria as it continues to bolster the embattled forces of Bashar al Assad.

Moscow had already sent troops and military hardware, including helicopter gunships, tanks and as many 500 Russian marines, to an airfield near the Syrian port city of Latakia, the US claims.

One US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that four tactical Russian fighter jets have now been sent to Syria.

Another US official confirmed the presence of multiple jets, but declined to put a number on it.

http://news.sky.com/story/1555302/russia-sends-jets-to-syria-as-talks-held

 

[Markhor]

Even the Russians have said they're not interested in Assad staying long-term, they just don't want to see a Libya type power vacuum and want him to stay for a transitional period which to me sounds a lot better than the Western insistence that Assad has to go from Day One which has been their policy up until now apparently.

 

[Saeed]

Seems like Putin didn't learn anything from Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

 

[Gabbar Singh]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sat images - <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Russia?src=hash">#Russia</a> has 4 Su-27 jets, 2 Mi-24 & 2 Mi-17 choppers, 6 T-90 tanks & 25+ BTR APCs in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Latakia?src=hash">#Latakia</a> airbase: <a href="http://t.co/sPOdgi1Ms8">pic.twitter.com/sPOdgi1Ms8</a></p>— Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) <a href="https://twitter.com/Charles_Lister/status/645201342651305984">September 19, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Putin comes to the rescue of Bashar al-Assad as Russian air strikes commence.

Russia has begun carrying out air strikes in Syria against opponents of President Bashar al-Assad.
The strikes reportedly hit rebel-controlled areas of Homs and Hama provinces, causing casualties.
The US says it was informed an hour before they took place.
Russian defence officials say aircraft targeted the Islamic State group, but an unnamed US official told Reuters that so far they did not appear to be targeting IS-held territory.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-34399164

 

[Cracket]

Some reports coming out Russia just carried out strikes where no ISIS was hiding, probably killed some innocents.

 

[Cracket]

Even the Russians have said they're not interested in Assad staying long-term, they just don't want to see a Libya type power vacuum and want him to stay for a transitional period which to me sounds a lot better than the Western insistence that Assad has to go from Day One which has been their policy up until now apparently.

The conspiracy nut in me says its just Israel pulling America's strings who want Assad toppled, whatever the cost. There's no other way to explain this irrational support for anti-Assad policy.

 

[Strike Rate]

The conspiracy nut in me says its just Israel pulling America's strings who want Assad toppled, whatever the cost. There's no other way to explain this irrational support for anti-Assad policy.

Agree in past we can say USA was doing it because of Iran support for Assad and house of Saud hate for him but now even Iran and USA are sitting on same table while Saudis also are getting threatened by ISIS so this argument looks pretty weak now.

To me it looks like a lot is going behind the scene and Israel is more involved in all this mess by sitting on back seat without appearing on screen.

 

[TOP SPINNER_01]

Agree in past we can say USA was doing it because of Iran support for Assad and house of Saud hate for him but now even Iran and USA are sitting on same table while Saudis also are getting threatened by ISIS so this argument looks pretty weak now.

To me it looks like a lot is going behind the scene and Israel is more involved in all this mess by sitting on back seat without appearing on screen.

Not on all issues particularly this one. Iran+Russia vs US-Saudi to be precise.

 

[Strike Rate]

Not on all issues particularly this one. Iran+Russia vs US-Saudi to be precise.

Yes but what i mean is USA is finally is in the mood to give Iran something and create a better relation while on the other hand Saudis are also more threatened by ISIS more than Assad so this surprise me why America is still not changing the stance.

 

[TOP SPINNER_01]

It was a civil war turned into a regional conflict between Saudi-Iran.Now it is going to be battlefield for International players (US-Russia) and it has just started now.

 

[TOP SPINNER_01]

Yes but what i mean is USA is finally is in the mood to give Iran something and create a better relation while on the other hand Saudis are also more threatened by ISIS more than Assad so this surprise me why America is still not changing the stance.

US is still supporting ISIS according to latest reports it means they are still not threatened and think of it as manageable threat.

 

[Markhor]

The conspiracy nut in me says its just Israel pulling America's strings who want Assad toppled, whatever the cost. There's no other way to explain this irrational support for anti-Assad policy.

Assad is a big part of the problem - 95% of the civilian deaths have been caused by his regime since 2011.

However, whether we like it or not Assad's forces are the only effective military force in Syria that can fight ISIS and a rerun of the post-Gaddafi chaos in Libya would be catastrophic - as Syria is far more geo-strategically important than Libya with its proximity to Iran and Iraq.

As for Israel - there are people who say they'd rather see Assad stay in power as he's the devil they know. If an anti-Israel Islamist leader emerges that'd be a disaster for them. Assad is a tyrant, but he's a secular tyrant plus his regime has not lifted a finger against Israel - so I think theories of Israeli influence are overstated.

I don't even know what the US want anymore. Their Pentagon-trained rebels turned out to be a joke, with the handful of fighters they sent in got slaughtered by Al Qaeda. These air strikes against ISIS have been an utter failure too, killing many civilians. Plus the Saudis are fed up of the US not going in hard after Assad, so they're funding their own groups in Syria whether Washington approves them or not.

Russia have now started air strikes, but reports say its not anti-ISIS missions like they're claiming, but strikes against the anti-Assad rebels like the FSA. This is a very complex situation with all sorts of power plays and proxy wars being played.

 

[Strike Rate]

US is still supporting ISIS according to latest reports it means they are still not threatened and think of it as manageable threat.

That's the problem with them they create a monster feed it and realize it only after it's too late. Not the first time and not the last time they are doing this.

 

[TOP SPINNER_01]

US easily achieved their regime change goal in Libya by exploiting some UN articles.Now they are facing Russia in Syria.So regime change is not that easy.Russia interests are Assad bound of sort which is quite interesting.I think Russia had announced some military compounds in Syria at the start of this century.So this was bound to happen.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

Assad is a big part of the problem - 95% of the civilian deaths have been caused by his regime since 2011.

However, whether we like it or not Assad's forces are the only effective military force in Syria that can fight ISIS and a rerun of the post-Gaddafi chaos in Libya would be catastrophic - as Syria is far more geo-strategically important than Libya with its proximity to Iran and Iraq.

As for Israel - there are people who say they'd rather see Assad stay in power as he's the devil they know. If an anti-Israel Islamist leader emerges that'd be a disaster for them. Assad is a tyrant, but he's a secular tyrant plus his regime has not lifted a finger against Israel - so I think theories of Israeli influence are overstated.

I don't even know what the US want anymore. Their Pentagon-trained rebels turned out to be a joke, with the handful of fighters they sent in got slaughtered by Al Qaeda. These air strikes against ISIS have been an utter failure too, killing many civilians. Plus the Saudis are fed up of the US not going in hard after Assad, so they're funding their own groups in Syria whether Washington approves them or not.

Russia have now started air strikes, but reports say its not anti-ISIS missions like they're claiming, but strikes against the anti-Assad rebels like the FSA. This is a very complex situation with all sorts of power plays and proxy wars being played.

Why don't you open a new thread and discuss the latest stuff about US plans and its results (intended, unintended)....Syrian plans.....ISIS plans...

Where the world is heading.

It would be awesome if you have the time.

And ask the mods to not merge it.

 

[Strike Rate]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Russian defense ministry posts footage of its airstrikes in Syria. <a href="https://t.co/GNMaOPTj4j">https://t.co/GNMaOPTj4j</a> <a href="http://t.co/yPH3Qu3I66">pic.twitter.com/yPH3Qu3I66</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/RT_com">@RT_com</a></p>— DavidKenner (@DavidKenner) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidKenner/status/649278961084690432">September 30, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Gabbar Singh]

US is still supporting ISIS according to latest reports it means they are still not threatened and think of it as manageable threat.

The US are supporting ISIS? What reports are you referring to?

 

[Strike Rate]

Pentagon and CIA are the most dumb people on earth if they stil think they can ISIS is manageable and Assad is a bigger threat.

 

[endymion248]

Pentagon and CIA are the most dumb people on earth if they stil think they can ISIS is manageable and Assad is a bigger threat.

Are they? In the last year, both ISIS and Assad have suffered massive blows all the while US allies Iraq government and YPG have been steadily gaining ground. The US mistake at the start of this war was trusting radical elements in the FSA but the war was pretty much going to plan since end 2014 until Turkey and Russia got involved. Still, US would feel optimist that Assad can be kicked out of north western Syria so, even if they want to negotiate with him, they will wait for him to be weakened after being restrained to the Libyan border and Damascus. The extremist factions in Syria are themselves at odds so US wouldn't feel too bad about groups like JaN gaining grounds if it's from the hands of Assad.

 

[Yatoo]

According to Syrian Network for Human Rights, the number of civilians killed by
A) Regime Forces of Bashar Al Asad = 1,79,291
B) ISIS = 1543
C) Al Nusra = 342
D) US led coalition = 243

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Now Hezbollah are about to get involved too.

Russia launches more Syria strikes as 'Iran and Hizbollah prepare ground operation' - live updates

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...n-Syria-on-Isil-to-US-anger-live-updates.html

 

[Yatoo]

Now Hezbollah are about to get involved too.




http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...n-Syria-on-Isil-to-US-anger-live-updates.html

Hezboshaitan was already in it. Right when Qusaiyr was attached couple of years ago.

 

[CricketCartoons]

I don't know who is on the right side in this battle, but seeing what has happened to Libya, Iraq and Egypt, I hope Assad stays in power.

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Putin's move had really stumped everyone. The Americans, Brits etc have no clue what to do next. Those who oppose the 'West' at any opportunity aren't sure what to do either - do they support this Russian move and by extension support a maniac like al-Assad?

 

[90MPH]

Putin wants to protect Russian assets and interests, They have invested billions in Syria over the years, and just like they had invested billions in Iraq before the 2003 war he doesn't want anyone other than Assad and his cronies to stay in power as they will protect his Russian interests.

So there is no doubt whatsoever Russia will target Assads enemies, not so much ISIS who have their own agenda of having a caliphate but no doubt they would take advantage if the Assad regime had collapsed, but thats looks highly unlikely now - at least in the short to medium term.

All this mess could have been avoided by Assad - I have read somewhere he was ready for dialogue and reform back in 2011 but his other cronies in the government were against it as they didn't want to give any power to the Sunnis.

All in all a massive mess that will probably take at least half a decade to sort out, if not much more time.

 

[Markhor]

Putin wants to protect Russian assets and interests, They have invested billions in Syria over the years, and just like they had invested billions in Iraq before the 2003 war he doesn't want anyone other than Assad and his cronies to stay in power as they will protect his Russian interests.

So there is no doubt whatsoever Russia will target Assads enemies, not so much ISIS who have their own agenda of having a caliphate but no doubt they would take advantage if the Assad regime had collapsed, but thats looks highly unlikely now - at least in the short to medium term.

All this mess could have been avoided by Assad - I have read somewhere he was ready for dialogue and reform back in 2011 but his other cronies in the government were against it as they didn't want to give any power to the Sunnis.

All in all a massive mess that will probably take at least half a decade to sort out, if not much more time.

I'm curious to know how much influence Bashar al-Assad actually has or whether he's having his strings pulled by Syria's military establishment and the Baathist elites. This is a complex regime and they won't relinquish their grip on power easily even if Assad goes.

 

[Gabbar Singh]

If the Saudis are whining then the Russians must be doing something right. And the Saudis have the gall to lecture others about 'civilian casualties'.

Saudi Arabia demands Russia end Syria raids, criticises Iran

DUBAI Saudi Arabia, a leading foe of President Bashar al-Assad, demanded his ally Russia end its raids on Syria, saying the strikes had caused civilian casualties while failing to target the hardline Islamic State militants Moscow says it opposes.

In remarks at the United Nations in New York, a senior Saudi diplomat suggested both Russia and Assad's other main ally Iran could not claim to fight Islamic State "terrorism" at the same time as supporting the "terrorism" of the Syrian authorities.

Saudi ambassador Abdallah Al-Mouallimi expressed "profound concern regarding the military operations which Russian forces have carried out in Homs and Hama today, places where ISIS forces are not present. These attacks led to a number of innocent victims. We demand it stop immediately and not recur."

"As for those countries that have claimed recently to join in the fight against ISIS terrorism, they can’t do that at the same time as they support the terrorism of the Syrian regime and its terrorist foreign allies like Hezbollah and the Quds Force and other terrorist sectarian groups," he added in comments broadcast by Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television.

ISIS is a common acronym for Islamic State, also known as ISIL. Lebanon's Hezbollah Shi'ite militia openly fights on behalf of Assad's government, and the Quds Force, part of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, is also widely believed to be aiding Damascus.

Russia on Wednesday launched its first air strikes in Syria since the country's civil war began in 2011, giving an hour's notice to the United States, which has led a coalition of Western allies and regional states flying missions for a year.

Russia's move looks likely to chill a tentative detente begun this year between Russia and Saudi Arabia despite their backing for opposing sides in Syria's conflict and their differences over the issue of Iran's nuclear programme.

In June, the atmosphere appeared to improve when Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman led a delegation of Saudi officials to Moscow and signed military and energy agreements.

The trip raised speculation about closer ties between the two countries. But that prospect now appears in question.

In an interview with al-Hayat newspaper published on Thursday, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said the two countries had many common interests on which to develop ties, but he noted continuing "lack of agreement" on Syria.

"I visited Russia, as did other Gulf officials. You know of the (positive) atmosphere that prevailed two months ago," Jubeir was quoted as saying. "But all of a sudden Russia stepped up its military role in Syria and announced its political position backing Assad."

Riyadh is still smarting over a Russian-Chinese veto in February 2012 of a U.N. Security Resolution drafted by the Saudis and backed by the West that Assad should step down.

It remains unclear whether Gulf Arab states would want the Syrian rebels they fund to engage Russian forces in battle - a prospect that would further upset the regional balance of power.

"The solution (in Syria) does not depend on Russia,” Jubeir told al-Hayat. “The principle is, firstly, that there is no role for Bashar al-Assad in Syria's future. The second principle is to maintain the civil and military institutions in Syria in order to avoid chaos."

A third point was to form a transitional council of all Syrians to help Syria move to a new stage, he said.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/10/01/uk-mideast-crisis-syria-saudi-idUKKCN0RV3QN20151001

 

[Gabbar Singh]

The Russians are now launching cruise missiles from warships in the Caspian sea whilst Assad's forces are taking advantage of this and have launched a new ground offensive.

Russia says it has launched rocket strikes on Islamic State group targets in Syria from warships in the Caspian Sea - about 1,500km (930 miles) away.

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said four warships fired 26 sea-based cruise missiles at 11 targets, destroying them and causing no civilian casualties.

Meanwhile, Syrian ground troops have launched an offensive under Russian air cover, Syrian officials say.

Russia denies claims that its week of strikes have mainly hit non-IS targets.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported "the most intense fighting in months" in Hama and Idlib provinces. The clashes followed a wave of Russian air strikes in the same areas, it said.

It appears to be the first co-ordinated offensive since the air campaign by Russia - a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - began on 30 September.

Russia says it is targeting "all terrorists", but at least some of its air strikes have reportedly hit civilians and Western-backed rebels.

In a separate development, Russia's foreign ministry has said Moscow is willing to establish contact with a Western-backed rebel group, the Free Syrian Army, to discuss fighting IS "and other terrorist groups", and "preparing the ground for a political settlement in Syria".

US Defence Secretary Ash Carter said that coalition forces fighting IS in Syria would not co-operate with Russia.

"We believe Russia has the wrong strategy," he said. "They continue to hit targets that are not IS. We believe this is a fundamental mistake."

Pentagon officials later revealed they had had to carry out at least one "safe separation" manoeuvre to avoid a US jet coming too close to a Russian aircraft over Syria. They said this happened after 1 October, without giving a specific date.
New twist: By BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Marcus

Russia's decision to attack what it claims to be IS targets in Syria with cruise missiles fired from warships in the Caspian Sea represents a new twist to Moscow's growing involvement in the crisis.

It is not clear yet why these particular weapons were chosen in preference to air strikes - but the missiles would have had to fly a considerable distance over Iran and then Iraq to reach Syria.

Sea-launched cruise missiles have long been a weapon of choice in US interventions overseas, so there may be an element of Russia demonstrating that it has the full military panoply of any other "superpower".

But it adds yet a further complication to the air campaign in the skies over Syria. Of more significance may be early signs of Syrian government counter-offensives - aided by their allies - which could be linked to the Russian air campaign.

More from Jonathan Marcus:

High-stakes gamble - Russia's two Turkish incursions highlight the risk of a potential clash

What can Russia's military achieve? Why should Russia do any better than the US-led coalition?
Turkish warning

During a televised meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr Shoigu said the cruise missiles had destroyed all targets - including command-and-control centres and ammunition depots - and that there had been no damage to civilian installations.

The Kalibr-Nk terrain-following missiles were fired overnight from the south-western Caspian, and approached their targets at the altitude of up to 50m (160ft) over an "uninhabited area", the defence ministry said.

The Russian defence ministry's Twitter feed showed footage of cruise missiles being launched, saying they "successfully hit all assigned #ISIS [IS] targets with high accuracy".

A media outlet linked to IS published images of what it said were the remains of a Scud missile bearing Russian writing that hit the outskirts of the city of Tabqa - about 55km west of the IS-held northern city of Raqqa on Wednesday morning.

During the meeting with President Putin, Mr Shoigu said 112 targets had been hit since the Russian bombing began.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-34465425

 

[KingKhanWC]

Putin in a week has destroyed years of hard work by the CIA creating terrorists. Free Syrian Army, Moderate Rebels, Al-Qaeda and ISIS are finally getting a fight, not getting covert support.

Happy Birthday Mr Putin.

 

[Cracket]

Russia sure is making short work out of this. Well they have intelligence coming all over from Iran, Iraq, Assad.

Good stuff. Hired Saudi/CIA mercs, or ISIS - the sooner Russia puts an end to the struggle the better for Syrian people.

 

[Gabbar Singh]

So the Saudis are now threatening to give surface-to-air missiles to Jihadi groups in Syria.

The Saudi official did not rule out supplying surface-to-air missiles to the rebels, a move resisted by many in the West for fear that they would fall into the hands of IS and end up being used to shoot down warplanes of the US-led Coalition or even civilian airliners.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-34479929

 

[Markhor]

https://youtu.be/2g0QDgLIG0Y

Mehdi Hasan TEARS into the Qatari Foreign Minister...on Qatari owned Al Jazeera ! This is brilliant questioning, especially on why Qatar have supported militant groups in Syria like Ahrar al-Sham who've openly pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda and claim they share the same goals as ISIL.

 

[Robert]

Putin's move had really stumped everyone. The Americans, Brits etc have no clue what to do next. Those who oppose the 'West' at any opportunity aren't sure what to do either - do they support this Russian move and by extension support a maniac like al-Assad?

Well... do we support Satan, or support Lucifer?

 

[endymion248]

BTW, which Jazeera does Al Jazeera refer to? Iraq/Alger/...?

 

[Yatoo]

BTW, which Jazeera does Al Jazeera refer to? Iraq/Alger/...?

Algeria

I guess it's Qatar based

 

[endymion248]

Algeria

I guess it's Qatar based

Why would they name themselves after algeria?

 

[Yatoo]

Why would they name themselves after algeria?

It sounds nice

 

[Saeed]

Obama orders US special forces to 'assist' fight against Isis in Syria

Barack Obama has ordered up to 50 special operations troops to Syria, US officials announced on Friday, in an apparent breach of a promise not to put US “boots on the ground”, to fight Islamic State militants in the country.
The Pentagon has also been “consulting” with the Iraqi prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, to establish a special operations taskforce to fight Isis “leaders and networks” across the Syrian border in Iraq, a senior administration official told the Guardian on Friday.

But the White House insisted that its overall strategy to combat Isis remained the same and said the special forces troops would be helping coordinate local ground forces in the north of the country and other non-specified “coalition efforts” to counter Isis rather than engaging in major ground operations.

“The decision the president has made is to further intensify our support for our forces who have made progress against Isis,” the White House spokesman, Josh Earnest, said at a news conference.

The move came as diplomats worked in Vienna to restart talks on a political transition that would remove Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. At the discussions with leaders from Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran, the US secretary of state, John Kerry, framed the troop announcement as part of a shifting policy that included this major diplomatic push to initiate talks that would bring about a political transition in Syria.

“We are intensifying our counter-Daesh campaign and we are intensifying our diplomatic efforts to end the conflict,” Kerry said, using the Arabic acronym for Isis. “That is why President Obama made an announcement about stepping up the fight against Daesh.”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/30/syria-us-deployment-troops-obama-special-operations

Mother Russia will have to be a lot more careful now. U.S. special forces will most likely be in the Rebel areas and if they get targeted mother Russia will be in a lot of trouble. U.S. will have the direct sources in Syria and hopefully that will expose the lies spouted by Russian, Iranian and Syrian media.

 

[Black Zero]

Obama orders US special forces to 'assist' fight against Isis in Syria

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/30/syria-us-deployment-troops-obama-special-operations

Mother Russia will have to be a lot more careful now. U.S. special forces will most likely be in the Rebel areas and if they get targeted mother Russia will be in a lot of trouble. U.S. will have the direct sources in Syria and hopefully that will expose the lies spouted by Russian, Iranian and Syrian media.

you mean usa will impose more sanctions?

 

[endymion248]

you mean usa will impose more sanctions?

Please go away Malik, your performance plummets when you post here.

 

[Saeed]

you mean usa will impose more sanctions?

Sup bro. Where have you been?

 

[Nostalgic]

Nice avatar, [MENTION=42489]Black Zero[/MENTION].

Surkh Salaam!

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Bashar al-Assad's position is getting stronger as each day passes. The Russians are killing the so called 'moderate' opposition whilst the Americans, Brits and French are killing ISIS fighters - I bet he can't believe his luck. Meanwhile the Syria population are getting butchered from all sides.

In an interview published on Saturday, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said he no longer believes that Bashar al-Assad's departure is a necessary requirement before a political transition can get under way in Syria.

"A united Syria implies a political transition. That does not mean that Bashar al-Assad must leave even before the transition, but there must be assurances for the future,” Fabius told the French regional newspaper Le Progrès.

France’s top diplomat underscored that "the fight against Daesh is crucial, but it will only be totally effective if all the Syrian and regional forces are united", he said, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State (IS) group.

“How is this possible if Bashar al-Assad remains in his position – he who has committed so many atrocities against – and who has a large part of the population against him?”

The comments mark a change in France's position on the Syrian president, as it has previously demanded the removal of Assad, describing him as a "butcher" of his own people.

But there had been signs Paris might moderate its position as its priority shifted to tackling the IS group which carried out the Paris attacks last month.

France, like the United States and members of the international coalition waging an air campaign against the IS group in Syria and Iraq, is seeking political or military options involving all the local and regional parties to find a solution to the four-year-old war in Syria.

Fabius on Monday said that it was "obvious" Assad could not work alongside moderate rebels in Syria.

"If we achieve a political transition and it's no longer Bashar in charge of the Syrian army, there could be joint actions against terrorism. But under Bashar it's not possible," Fabius told France Inter radio on Monday, speaking at the UN climate conference just outside Paris.

"It is obvious that it's not under the leadership of Mr Assad that the army could be engaged alongside the moderate opposition," he added.

Fabius reiterated that France would not send in ground troops to battle IS group fighters.

“The experiences in the past few decades, whether in Iraq or Afghanistan, have shown us that Western troops are quickly perceived as occupying forces. [These] operations need to be carried out by local forces.”

http://www.france24.com/en/20151205...-transition-france-fabius-islamic-state-group

 

[finalfantasy7]

How many more will die:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSNOZpEwfJE

 

[Cracket]

Assad's interview with UK Sunday Times

http://sana.sy/en/?p=63558

Good read.

 

[chacha kashmiri]

Assad's interview with UK Sunday Times

http://sana.sy/en/?p=63558

Good read.

True
Nothing about Hama and how minority sects are controlling the majority of the country though
But I suppose the same could be said of bahrain

 

[Saeed]

Putin and Assad are great example of power hungry individuals. I hope Putin and Assad personally pay for what they did to Syria. They pretend to lead fight against terrorists but they are the terrorists.

 

[Markhor]

If we are to condemn civilian casualties inflicted by western forces, which there has been many, its important to show consistency and highlight Russia's airstrikes have killed 403 civilians, among them 97 children.

All this praise for how courageous Putin is for ordering bombing raids in Syria by the so-called anti-war left like George Galloway is so hypocritical. He's first to condemn western actions but yet turns a blind eye to Russian collateral damage and says nothing about 97 children being incinerated including a 5 year old girl. Putin's bombs aren't any better than western bombs - they're not hitting Daesh enough and are also causing civilian deaths.

When will people realise in global politics there are no good guys and bad guys. The west are certainly not the good guys and have caused so much of the instability in the Mid East since 2003 but that doesn't make Putin a hero by default. They've all got Syrian blood on their hands. It doesn't take courage to bomb people from the air with state of the art weapons.

As far as that Sunday Times interview goes, to be fair I thought Assad argued his case well. He's certainly not a buffoon like Gaddafi and most fascinating was that he didn't rule out Coalition forces coordinating with the Syrian Army against Daesh.

 

[Robert]

Bashar al-Assad's position is getting stronger as each day passes. The Russians are killing the so called 'moderate' opposition whilst the Americans, Brits and French are killing ISIS fighters - I bet he can't believe his luck. Meanwhile the Syria population are getting butchered from all sides.

We (UK) should have kept out of it. The RAF is flying air support for the "moderate opposition" but the Russians are bombing them so they cannot advance. Gawd what a mess.

 

[Cracket]

Why is the UK so hellbent on fighting ISIS anyways? Do they just want to put their toys to use or continue the proxy efforts against Assad behind the covert of fighting ISIS?

 

[dayvancowboy]

If we are to condemn civilian casualties inflicted by western forces, which there has been many, its important to show consistency and highlight Russia's airstrikes have killed 403 civilians, among them 97 children.

All this praise for how courageous Putin is for ordering bombing raids in Syria by the so-called anti-war left like George Galloway is so hypocritical. He's first to condemn western actions but yet turns a blind eye to Russian collateral damage and says nothing about 97 children being incinerated including a 5 year old girl. Putin's bombs aren't any better than western bombs - they're not hitting Daesh enough and are also causing civilian deaths.

When will people realise in global politics there are no good guys and bad guys. The west are certainly not the good guys and have caused so much of the instability in the Mid East since 2003 but that doesn't make Putin a hero by default. They've all got Syrian blood on their hands. It doesn't take courage to bomb people from the air with state of the art weapons.

As far as that Sunday Times interview goes, to be fair I thought Assad argued his case well. He's certainly not a buffoon like Gaddafi and most fascinating was that he didn't rule out Coalition forces coordinating with the Syrian Army against Daesh.

Galloway is the same guy who supported Milosevic and refused to recognize Kosovo's independence. He's a toolbag.

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Assad/Russia/Iran continue their bloody push to take back territory from the rebels.

Assad's stranglehold tightens around Aleppo

President Assad's stranglehold around Aleppo has tightened considerably in the last few days.

Backed by the might of Russian jets, including its newest SU-34 fighter bombers, and Iranian Quds Forces, Syrian government forces have successfully taken the key villages of Zahraa and Nubbol north of Aleppo, cutting the rebels main route from Turkey into the besieged city.

Russia says it's hit 900 targets in just three days.

But a lightning storming of Aleppo is unlikely since street to street fighting would cost the already battered Syrian Arab Army thousands of troops.
The damaged streets of Aleppo pictured in September 2015 Credit: Reuters

Instead, it's more likely the government forces will tighten their siege, which combined with continuing, punishing, aerial bombardments by the Russians, will compound the misery of those civilians still trapped inside the city.

Rebel forces have been locked in an exhausting battle for years in Aleppo with the frontline barely moving.

I visited the city in January 2014 and remember surveying the devastated city from the roof of the governor's office, taking care to keep my head down for fear of rebel snipers.

Dan Rivers surveys Aleppo from the roof of the governor's office in this report from January 2014. Watch it in full here.

Now Assad's troops can attempt to consolidate recent gains with further strikes further north and south of these newly linked up positions around Zahraa.

The battles haven't come without costs. Iran has just confirmed the death of an IRGC Brigadier General, Mohsen Qajardyan.

Syria doesn't like to discuss Iranian support in its prosecution of the war, but its elite Quds Force is an important presence on numerous frontlines.

With their continued support, it raises the grim prospect of starving out the rebels who are now surrounded on three sides.

It's why Turkey's Prime Minister is warning of another wave of perhaps up to 300,000 refugees heading out of Aleppo towards the border, amid a growing realisation that despite stalled talks in Geneva, the momentum seems to be with Russia, Iran and President Assad.

It's why many are watching to see what Turkey will do next - Russia suspects Turkey may be preparing for a ground incursion into northern Syria, to halt Kurdish advances.

After almost five years, suddenly there seems to be a rapid change in the dynamics of Syria's proxy war. Watch this space...

http://www.itv.com/news/2016-02-04/assads-stranglehold-tightens-around-aleppo/