Syrian Revolution News & Discussions

[BLACKEAGLE]

Saudi FM: Assad has no place in Syria’s future

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir in Moscow. (Reuters)

By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News
Tuesday, 11 August 2015

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Tuesday Riyadh's position on the conflict in Syria has not changed and that there was no place for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the future of the country.

He was speaking after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, a long-standing ally of Assad in the conflict, amid a renewed diplomatic push to end the conflict in Syria because of gains on the ground by ISIS.

Al Jubeir reiterated that Assad "must go and Syrian army must be maintained and it must be used in the the war against ISIS after the departure of Assad." However, his Russian counterpart said that Coalition’s strikes on ISIS did not fulfill its targets and that "toppling Assad will pave the way to ISIS to seize the power and control the whole country.

Lavrov said that while Russia was still disagreeing with Saudi Arabia on Assad's future, but "there is no disagreement with Saudi over Geneva I."

He said "early details" of how to coordinate international efforts to fight ISIS have started to emerge, adding that Moscow and Riyadh agreed that international players should join ranks to counter the militants who control swathes of Syria and Iraq.

(With Reuters)

Last Update: Tuesday, 11 August 2015 KSA 14:22 - GMT 11:22
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/11/Saudi-FM-Assad-has-no-place-in-Syria-future.html

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

U.S.-led coalition hits rebel arms depot in Syria

"Jaish al-Sunna" belongs to the "Army of Conquest alliance" that has captured much of Idlib province from the Syrian government in recent months. (Reuters)

By AFP | Damascus
Wednesday, 12 August 2015

The U.S.-led coalition against ISIS hit a weapons depot belonging to a rebel group allied with Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate overnight in northwestern Syria, a monitor said Wednesday.

The strikes killed 10 members of the Jaish al-Sunna group, as well as a child, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The raid hit the Atmeh region of Idlib province, home to a large camp for displaced Syrians, but did not strike the camp itself, Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.

"The strikes hit the weapons depot, but there are civilians living nearby," he said.

"Jaish al-Sunna" belongs to the "Army of Conquest alliance" that has captured much of Idlib province from the Syrian government in recent months.

"The Army of Conquest alliance" includes "Al-Nusra Front", which is al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, as well as other Islamist rebel forces.

The U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS began strikes in Syria last September and has rarely expanded its targets beyond the jihadist group.

It has on occasion hit positions belonging to al-Nusra, though Washington has identified those strikes as hitting what it calls the Khorasan group, which is says is a cell of senior al-Qaeda leaders.

Early on in the air campaign, strikes also hit Ahrar al-Sham, another Islamist rebel group that is part of the Army of Conquest alliance.

Last Update: Wednesday, 12 August 2015 KSA 12:33 - GMT 09:33
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/12/Coalition-hits-rebel-arms-depot-in-Syria-.html

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

U.N. statement on Syria delayed over Venezuela objections

The draft council statement demands that all parties in Syria "work urgently" toward fully implementing the roadmap to peace. (Reuters)

By Edith M. Lederer | Associated Press
Thursday, 13 August 2015

U.N. Security Council approval of a draft statement strongly backing intensive preparatory talks on key issues to restore peace to conflict-torn Syria has been delayed because of objections from Venezuela.

Council diplomats had hoped to adopt the presidential statement on Wednesday afternoon. But Venezuela asked for changes to some language about a political transition and discussions were continuing, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because consultations have been private.

"Expect it to be adopted tomorrow," Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters as he left the council on Wednesday afternoon.

Churkin said last Friday there was "a high possibility" the deeply divided council would endorse U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura's recently announced plan aimed at setting the stage for new peace talks to end the Syrian war.

The draft council statement demands that all parties in Syria "work urgently" toward fully implementing the roadmap to peace adopted by key nations in Geneva in June 2012. It calls for the formation of a transitional government with full executive powers "on the basis of mutual consent" and ends with elections.

The roadmap would require Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose government is backed by Russia, to relinquish power. Assad, however, has shown no sign of stepping down and his government has called a transitional government unconstitutional while the opposition and Western powers insist his departure is essential.

The draft statement, obtained by The Associated Press, supports de Mistura's plans to hold simultaneous discussions among the Syrian parties on key aspects of the Geneva roadmap and urges all parties "to engage in good faith" with him.

Last Update: Thursday, 13 August 2015 KSA 12:02 - GMT 09:02
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/13/U-N-statement-on-Syria-delayed-over-Venezuela-objections.html

 

[Redheart]

Syrian official: We're ready for 'real' talks - CNN.com

The Syrian government is willing to negotiate a political solution with what it calls the "real opposition," a reference to non-armed groups, a senior government official told CNN in an exclusive interview Thursday.

"We want to end this conflict yesterday," Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said from his office in Damascus. "The Syrian government is ready to be a major party in negotiations that will lead to a settlement that will meet and satisfy the needs and the aspirations of the Syrian people."

Syria has been locked in a civil war since 2011. The regime of President Bashar al-Assad has lost territorial control to a number of groups, including ISIS, which has captured parts of Syria and Iraq for what it calls its Islamic caliphate.

War began with crackdown on Arab Spring protests

The war began as part of the so-called Arab Spring in which popular revolts against autocratic leaders sprouted in North Africa and the Middle East.

In March 2011, pro-democracy protests started in the southern Syrian city of Daraa. Security forces opened fire on the protesters, killing several people.

Pro-government protesters hold pictures of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his late father, Hafez al-Assad, during a rally in Damascus, Syria, on March 18, 2011. Bashar al-Assad has ruled Syria since 2000, when his father passed away following 30 years in charge. An anti-regime uprising that started in March 2011 has spiraled into civil war. The United Nations estimates more than 220,000 people have been killed.

That crackdown only added fuel to the fire. More demonstrators took to the streets, and the protests spread across the country, eventually turning into civil war as the government met protests with force and the opposition began to arm itself.

The death toll over four-plus years has been staggering. As of March, estimates stood at 220,000 deaths. Some Syrian cities lie in ruins.

And many thousands of refugees have fled the country. More than 1 million have poured into neighboring Turkey. Others have reached European shores or died trying.

But the problem has been a thorny one for the international community. In a conflict that has the brutal Syrian dictator al-Assad on one side and the terrorist group ISIS among those on the other, it is difficult to decide whom to help.

Mekdad: Al-Assad 'is the only guarantor of any victory'

In his interview with CNN, Mekdad said the government's offer to talk does not extend to its armed opponents in the civil war.

"We are ready to sit with all kinds of opposition," he said, "but not with terrorist groups, not with ISIS, not with Jabhat al Nusra."

Jabhat al Nusra, or al-Nusra Front, is an al Qaeda affiliate operating in Syria and Lebanon.

"President Assad is the only guarantor of any victory," he said. "If they continue with this policy, they are on the losing side. They are promoting terrorism, and they will allow terrorists to flourish in the entire region and beyond the region. This logic has failed ... and it will not achieve anything."

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

More Details Of Air-To-Air Missiles Used As Surface-To-Surface Missiles

Yesterday I wrote about K-13 series air-to-air missiles being used as surface-to-surface missiles, and today we now have a new video that provides more information about the way in which they are being used (thanks to Mads Dahl)

Unlike the previous video, this new video contains much clearer shots of the missiles, and how they are being used. One thing that stands out for me is the item at the bottom of this frame

In the previous video it was clear the seeker at the end of the missile had been removed, which led me to question how the missile was being detonated when it reached it's target. What I believe we have here is the answer to that question, a DIY impact fuze, which can be seen on the rocket just before the launch

It's still questionable how useful these rockets are, as they don't have a particularly large payload, and are almost certainly going to be inaccurate when used this way. However, I don't imagine they would be much less powerful or accurate than the DIY rockets the opposition are using (if not more), so they aren't exactly out of place in the opposition arsenal, and this is another example of them using what is at hand to fight the conflict, even if it requires a bit of modification.

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Croatian RAK-12 in Syria
March 30, 2013 by Chad in Artillery, Syria

Alerted quite in the same time by both friends Samer Kassis from Elite Group Lebanon and Nic R. Jenzen-Jones from The Rogue Adventurer, here are some video captures of Croatian built RAK-12 128mm MRL used by the Free Syrian Army katibas. The RAK-12 is originally a Croatian built variant of the M-63 Plamen 128mm MRL:


The RAK-12 128mm MRL in use with the Free Syrian Army Katibas, Deraa, March 28, 2013.


The RAK-12 128mm MRL in use with the Free Syrian Army Katibas, Deraa, March 28, 2013.


The RAK-12 128mm MRL in use with the Free Syrian Army Katibas, Deraa, March 28, 2013.


The RAK-12 128mm MRL in use with the Free Syrian Army Katibas, Deraa, March 28, 2013.


The RAK-12 128mm MRL in use with the Free Syrian Army Katibas, Deraa, March 28, 2013.


The RAK-12 128mm MRL in use with the Free Syrian Army Katibas, Deraa, March 28, 2013.


The RAK-12 128mm MRL in use with the Free Syrian Army Katibas, Deraa, March 28, 2013.


The RAK-12 128mm MRL in action, Rif Dimashk, March 28, 2013.


The RAK-12 128mm MRL in action, Rif Dimashk, March 28, 2013.

The RAK-12 128mm MRL in action, Rif Dimashk, March 28, 201

 

[Falcon29]

Russia delivers 6 Mig-31 fighter jets to Syrian Air Force.

........

@RevolutionSyria 2h2 hours ago

Assad regime & Hezbollah claim to be confronting U.S. plots in #Syria. Yet, their gangs are the only ones spared by U.S. & allies.

....
archicivilians ‏@archicivilians 3h3 hours ago

#Syria: Rebels launched offensives in Ghouta, Darayya, Fuah/Kafraya and Northern Homs as a response after #IRGC ended ceasefire in Zabadani.

........

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Shelling hits Syrian towns as ceasefire breaks down

Men transport a casualty after what activists said were airstrikes by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on a busy marketplace in the Douma neighborhood of Damascus, Syria August 12, 2015. (File photo: Reuters)

By AFP | Beirut
Saturday, 15 August 2015

Shelling resumed on Saturday in two government-held villages in northwest Syria and a rebel town near Damascus, state media and a monitor said, as a ceasefire for the areas collapsed.

The violence came despite talks about extending the truce that began on Wednesday morning and aimed at reaching a final deal to stop fighting in the three areas.

Syrian state television said a child and her father had been killed and 12 others wounded in "terrorist shelling" on the regime-held villages of Fuaa and Kafraya in Idlib province.

Infographic: Shelling hits Syrian towns as ceasefire breaks down



(Design by Farwa Rizwan/ Al Arabiya News)

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitor, said rebels had fired about 20 missiles at the two villages and also reported shelling on the rebel-held town of Zabadani.

In Fuaa, a resident who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed the bombardment.

"Today we've been hearing the sound of explosions since dawn," the resident said. "The truce failed and the attacks have resumed."

The truce agreement between rebel groups and pro-regime factions, including Lebanon's Shiite militia Hezbollah, came into effect in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Before its expiry on Saturday morning, intensive negotiations had been under way for an extension of the ceasefire and a full deal.

The talks centred on the withdrawal of rebels from Zabadani and the evacuation of civilians from Fuaa and Kefraya, which are the last two government-held villages in Idlib province.

But the negotiations reportedly stumbled over an opposition insistence that thousands of prisoners be released from government jails, according to Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman.

He said negotiations on the deal were continuing despite the ceasefire faltering.

"The talks are ongoing, but there are breaches in the ceasefire," he said, citing sources close to the talks.

"It's not clear if the breaches are attempts by the parties to improve the conditions of the deal or come from those who want to thwart the negotiations," he said.

Last Update: Sunday, 16 August 2015 KSA 06:50 - GMT 03:50
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/15/Shelling-hits-Syrian-towns-as-ceasefire-breaks-down-.html

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

 

[Redheart]

Syria conflict: UN 'horrified' by attacks on civilians - BBC News

The UN's humanitarian chief has said he is "horrified" by the attacks on civilians taking place in Syria.

Stephen O'Brien told reporters during a visit to Damascus that the targeting of non-combatants in the country's war was "unlawful, unacceptable and must stop".

He was "particularly appalled" by government air strikes on a rebel-held suburb of the capital on Sunday.

Activists said on Monday that the death toll from the attack on a market in Douma had risen to at least 96.

That would make it one of the bloodiest single incidents of the four-year-long conflict, which has so far left more than 250,000 people dead.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council has backed a new peace talks proposal from the organisation's Syria envoy, Staffan de Mistura, in a rare show of unity on a topic that has divided members.

Mr de Mistura's plan involves inviting the various Syrian parties to hold talks at working groups in September, as a step towards implementing the roadmap to peace adopted by world powers in 2012 that calls for the formation of a transitional government

A Syrian military source told the Reuters news agency that in its strikes on Sunday the air force had targeted the headquarters of the rebel group, Jaysh al-Islam (Army of Islam).

State television also reported that rebels had shelled a government-held district of the northern city of Aleppo on Monday, killing 10 people and wounding 17.

Mr O'Brien called on both sides to protect civilians and respect international humanitarian law at the end of a three-day visit to Syria, his first to the country since becoming the UN's under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs in May.

"I am absolutely horrified by the total disregard for civilian life by all parties in this conflict," he said. "Attacks on civilians are unlawful, unacceptable and must stop."

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based group that monitors the conflict, said that in Sunday's raid on Douma air force jets fired at least 10 rockets at the town's central market before attacking again after rescue workers arrived.

One video said to be of the aftermath showed a marketplace completely destroyed with surrounding buildings in ruins and vehicles on fire.

Turkey has said it plans to set up a "safe zone" for civilians across its border with Syria - policed by "moderate" Syrian forces - who would thwart attacks by the government or Islamic State militants.

But Mr O'Brien questioned the use of such buffer areas, saying any country which established them would have to "accept responsibility" for guaranteeing people's safety.

"Otherwise very vulnerable people could flock to such safe zones only to find that they've put themselves in more harm's way," he told the BBC.

A report by Amnesty International published last week accused the Syrian government of committing war crimes against the 163,000 people living under siege in Douma and other towns in the Eastern Ghouta agricultural belt around Damascus.

Between January and June 2015, government forces carried out at least 60 aerial attacks on the area, killing some 500 civilians, the report said.

Mr O'Brien also condemned rival armed groups for cutting off the water supply in Damascus and Aleppo in recent days, affecting at least seven million people.

"It is unacceptable for those engaged in conflict to use access to water and other services as a weapon of war," he said.

The British diplomat noted that the UN and its partners were providing assistance to millions of Syrians in need, but he added: "I remain extremely concerned for the welfare of the 4.6 million people stuck in hard-to-reach and besieged areas."

He also expressed concern at the lack of funding for the humanitarian operation in Syria and its neighbours, which is less than 30% funded.

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Syrian government recaptures villages on strategic plain

The Observatory estimates Assad controls a quarter of Syria, including cities where the bulk of the population live (Reuters)

Reuters, Beirut
Tuesday, 18 August 2015

Syrian government forces recaptured four northwestern villages Tuesday in a counter-attack on insurgents threatening strongholds of President Bashar al-Assad, an activist group said.

Government planes launched dozens of airstrikes overnight into the morning on parts of the Sahl al-Ghab plain seized by rebels in an advance this month, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Clashes between insurgents and state forces backed by allied militias raged Tuesday, the activist group and officials added.
"The army is advancing in the area," a Syrian military source told Reuters Tuesday.

READ U.N. Security Council backs new Syria peace plan

At least four people were killed in one village, said Abu al-Baraa al-Hamawi of the Ajnad al-Sham rebel group, using a nom de guerre as he spoke via an internet-based messaging service.

This month's insurgent advance into the plain had brought rebels including the Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front to the eastern edge of mountains that form the historical heartland of Assad's Alawite people.

Last week, a military source said the army had retreated to new defensive lines in the area. The Observatory estimates Assad controls a quarter of Syria, including cities where the bulk of the population live.

OPINION: For Syria, August is the cruelest month

Last Update: Tuesday, 18 August 2015 KSA 12:41 - GMT 09:41
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/18/Syrian-government-recaptures-villages-on-strategic-plain-activists.html

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Syria govt attack on Douma a war crime: U.N.

People attempt to identify bodies after what activists said were air strikes by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on a marketplace in the Douma neighborhood of Damascus, Syria August 16, 2015. (Reuters)

By AP | United Nations
Wednesday, 19 August 2015

The U.N. political chief is calling the Syrian government’s airstrikes on the Damascus suburb of Douma that killed some 100 people a war crime.

Jeffrey Feltman told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that Sunday’s attack “would be yet one more war crime for which those responsible must be held accountable.”

The Douma attack was one of the deadliest since Syria’s crisis began in March 2011.

The Security Council has not yet issued a statement on the attack but was expected to discuss it behind closed doors Wednesday.

Syria on Tuesday accused U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura of bias after he condemned the government air raids on Douma and called them “unacceptable under any circumstances.”

The attack hit the main market during rush hour, when hundreds were out shopping.


Last Update: Wednesday, 19 August 2015 KSA 20:31 - GMT 17:31
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/19/Syria-s-attack-on-Douma-a-war-crime-U-N-political-chief-says-.html

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

One killed after Israeli raids on Syria post

Israeli soldiers patrol next to a smoke from a fire caused by a rocket attack in northern Israel, near the Lebanese border (Reuters)

By Staff writer, Al Arabiya News
Thursday, 20 August 2015

Israeli air raids on a Syrian army position in the Golan Heights killed one person and wounded seven others, a Syrian military source said Friday.

“The enemy aircraft struck a military position in the area of Quneitra at 11:30 pm (2030 GMT Thursday), martyring one and wounding seven soldiers,” said the source, quoted by the official news agency SANA.

Earlier, the Israeli army has warned the government in war-wracked Syria it will “suffer the consequences” after four rockets crashed on Thursday into the north of the Jewish state and the occupied Golan.

Syria's state run news agency SANA, however, later said that an Israeli helicopter fired several missiles inside Syria, targeting the governorate building in Quneitra but that the strikes caused only material damage.

“This was the work of Islamic Jihad, an organization financed and working for Iran, and we consider the Syrian government responsible for the firing and it will suffer the consequences,” the Israeli army said in a statement.

It was referring to a Palestinian militant group which is based in the Gaza Strip. Islamic Jihad on their part have denied the Israeli allegation, according to Reuters news agency. They previously threatened reprisals should one of its activists in Israeli detention, Mohammed Allan, die of a hunger strike.

Allan ended the fast on Wednesday after an Israeli court intervened.

The Israeli military and security sources said the four rockets caused fires but no casualties.

Israel seized 1,200 square km of the Golan from neighboring Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it 14 years later, in a move never recognized by the international community.

Since the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011, the Golan has been tense, with a growing number of rockets and mortar rounds hitting the Israeli side, mostly stray, prompting occasional armed responses.

(With Reuters and AFP)

Last Update: Friday, 21 August 2015 KSA 11:26 - GMT 08:26
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/20/Missiles-hit-Israeli-village-near-Lebanon-border.html

 

[Redheart]

Palmyra's Baalshamin temple 'blown up by IS' - BBC News

Islamic State militants have destroyed Palmyra's ancient temple of Baalshamin, Syrian officials and activists say.

Syria's head of antiquities was quoted as saying the temple was blown up on Sunday. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that it happened a month ago.

IS took control of Palmyra in May, sparking fears the group might demolish the Unesco World Heritage site.

The group has destroyed several ancient sites in Iraq.

IS "placed a large quantity of explosives in the temple of Baalshamin today [Sunday] and then blew it up causing much damage to the temple," Syrian antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim told AFP news agency.

"The cella (inner area of the temple) was destroyed and the columns around collapsed," he said.

Residents who had fled from Palmyra also said IS had planted explosives at the temple, although they had done it about one month ago, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Palmyra is famed for its well-preserved Greco-Roman ruins.

The BBC World Service arts correspondent Vincent Dowd says the temple built nearly 2,000 years ago was primarily a Roman era artefact. It was dedicated to the Phoenician god of storms and fertilising rains.

He said it was "extremely important" and had been "almost totally intact".

Last month, IS published photos of militants destroying what it said were artefacts looted at Palmyra.

A week ago, it emerged that the archaeologist who had looked after Palmyra's ruins for four decades had been beheaded by the militant group.

Mr Abdulkarim said the 81-year-old had refused to tell IS where some treasures had been hidden to try and save them.

The group has also published photos of what they said was the destruction of two Islamic shrines near Palmyra, which they described as "manifestations of polytheism".

The modern city of Palmyra - known locally as Tadmur - is situated in a strategically important area on the road between the Syrian capital, Damascus, and the eastern city of Deir al-Zour.

Nearby, the monumental ruins of the ancient city rise out of the desert. Unesco and others consider the site one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world.