Syrian Revolution News & Discussions

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Ex-CIA chief Petraeus calls for more U.S. action in Syria

Retired U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus speaks during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill September 22, 2015 in Washington, DC. (AFP)

By AFP, Washington
Tuesday, 22 September 2015

Former CIA chief and retired general David Petraeus on Tuesday said America should take a more active role in the Syrian crisis, including implementing no-fly zones to prevent regime planes dropping barrel bombs.

Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Petraeus said the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) had made "inadequate" progress in Iraq and Syria and said the Syrian civil was a "geopolitical Chernobyl."

"The fallout from the meltdown of Syria threatens to be with us for decades," he said. "The longer it is permitted to continue, the more severe the damage will be."

Central to Petraeus's testimony on Syria was the dilemma Western politicians face with regard to President Bashar Al-Assad.

The United States does not want him in power in the long run, but neither does it want his ouster without knowing who or what would replace his regime.

"The problems in Syria cannot be quickly resolved. But there are actions the U.S. and only the U.S. can take that would make a difference. We could, for example, tell Assad that the use of barrel bombs must end. And that if they continue, we will stop the Syrian air force from flying. We have that capability," Petraeus said.

"This would not end the humanitarian crisis in Syria ... it would remove a particularly vicious weapon from Assad's arsenal."

He also said he would support the creation of secure enclaves in Syria to protect the battered civilian population.

Petraeus began his testimony with an emotional apology over his spectacular fall from grace, after he pleaded guilty this year to providing classified secrets to his mistress.

"Four years ago, I made a serious mistake, one that brought discredit on me and pain to those closest to me," he said.

"There's nothing I can do to undo what I did. I can only say, again, how sorry I am."

He was given two years' probation and a $100,000 fine.

Petraeus became a household name in the United States when he oversaw the troop "surge" in Iraq in 2007, and U.S. leaders credited him for salvaging the troubled war effort.

He resigned from the CIA in 2012.


Last Update: Tuesday, 22 September 2015 KSA 20:41 - GMT 17:41
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/09/22/Ex-CIA-chief-Petraeus-calls-for-more-U-S-action-in-Syria-.html

 

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U.S. military reports 75 U.S.-trained rebels return to Syria

Patrick Ryder said that about 100 Syrian recruits were completing their U.S.-led training programs and that most would soon be in Syria. (File photo: AP)

By The Associated Press, Beirut
Tuesday, 22 September 2015

About 70 U.S.-trained rebels have returned to Syria after receiving training in Turkey, crossing the border in gun-mounted four-wheel drives, the U.S. military's Central Command said Monday.

The development comes as U.S. administration has been struggling to defend its military strategy in Syria, directed against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria militant group with an air campaign and programs to train, assist and equip local forces. Last week, U.S. Central Command spokesman Air Force Col. Patrick Ryder said that about 100 Syrian recruits were completing their U.S.-led training programs and that most would soon be in Syria.

Central Command said in a news release that about 70 graduates of the Syria Train and Equip program had re-entered Syria with their weapons and equipment and were operating as New Syrian Forces alongside Syrian Kurds, Sunni Arab and other anti-ISIS forces.

The rebels' return was first reported by the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

In July, shortly after the first 54 U.S.-trained fighters arrived, Syria's affiliate of al-Qaida known as the Nusra Front, or Jabhat Al-Nusra, attacked them, killing several and taking others hostage while many fighters fled. Ryder said that those rebels largely disbanded - of the 54, one was killed; one is being held captive; nine are back in the fight; 11 are available but not in Syria; 14 returned to Syria but quit the U.S. program and 18 are unaccounted for.

The head of the Observatory, Rami Abdurrahman, said the men returned on Friday night. They had been scheduled to return earlier in the month and have been receiving training, by British, American and Turkish trainers, near the Turkish capital Ankara, he said. He said the men returned in 12 gun-mounted four wheel drives, crossing at the border near the Turkish town of Kalis. He said they also each had a bag with personal weapons and life vests.

The new U.S.-trainees are likely meant to intensify military pressure on Raqqa, the self-declared capital of the so-called caliphate of ISIS, which ISIS established across much of Syria and Iraq. The city is sometimes targeted by American-led coalition airstrikes, and occasionally also the Syrian government forces.

In addition to changing the role of the U.S.-trained rebels, the Pentagon would scale back their numbers from the original target of 5,400 per year to a much smaller total, perhaps 500, the U.S. officials have said.

The overhaul comes at a time when Russia, a strong backer of Syria's President Bashar Assad, has increased its military buildup in the country as the embattled leader faces setbacks on the battlefield at the hands of ISIS militants and other Islamic fighters. In its fifth year, the war has claimed a quarter of a million lives, left a million injured and half of the country's pre-war population on the move, displaced at home or refugees.

Meanwhile, violence in Syria's northern city of Aleppo claimed 27 lives on Monday.

A missile attack by government forces killed at least 18 people and wounded dozens in a rebel-held neighborhood of the city, the Observatory said, describing a surface-to-surface missile hit a market in Aleppo's Shaar neighborhood.

The Local Coordination Committees said the attack targeted a street with clothing stores. It said 20 died and more than 40 were wounded. It is not uncommon for activists to give different casualty figures in the immediate aftermaths of attacks.

The government later said a rebel shelling on the government-controlled al-Midan neighborhood killed 9 civilians, and wounded dozens.

Aleppo, once the commercial center of Syria, has been divided since 2012, with government forces controlling much of western Aleppo and rebel groups in control of the east.

Shelling and air raids on the city have left hundreds of people dead over the past weeks.

Also Monday, Syrian state news agency SANA and the Observatory said two car bombs went off in the northern Syrian town of Ras al-Ayn.

SANA said the two suicide bombings killed four people. The Observatory said the four killed included a member of the local Kurdish force.

Last Update: Tuesday, 22 September 2015 KSA 15:40 - GMT 12:40
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/09/22/U-S-military-reports-75-U-S-trained-rebels-return-to-Syria.html

 

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U.S. increases aid to Syrian refugees

A Syrian refugee boy cries while he and his family try to board a train at the station in Tovarnik, Croatia, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015. (AP)

By AFP, Washington
Tuesday, 22 September 2015

The United States will add another $419 million dollars to help civilians endangered by the fighting in Syria, officials said Monday, after criticism Washington is not doing enough to help refugees.

Washington has been by far the single biggest humanitarian donor to Syrians and the additional funds will bring the sum it has spent since the start of the conflict in early 2011 to $4.5 billion.

But, by its own standards, it has been slow to accept Syrian refugees for resettlement, with barely 1,800 having arrived in the past four years -- a tiny fraction of the millions who have fled their homes.

President Barack Obama has promised that 10,000 will be admitted over the next fiscal year, but the main U.S. priority is helping refugees in camps in the region while seeking a long-term settlement to the conflict.

“There are over four million Syrian refugees in the world today, the vast majority of whom receive support in the first country to which they flee,” the State Department said.

“It is our hope that by increasing humanitarian assistance and protection efforts in Syria and neighboring countries, Syrians will not be forced to seek assistance abroad at greater personal peril, and will also be able to return home more easily when the conflict ends.”

The extra funds will be shared between U.N. agencies, aid NGOs and regional governments and will be spent both inside Syria and in the camps in frontline countries.

The United States is leading a coalition of Western and Arab allies to carry out air strikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria jihadist group in eastern Syria and northern Iraq.

But its parallel efforts to isolate Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad’s regime while building up opposition forces and political groups and seeking a political settlement to the conflict have made little progress.

Last Update: Tuesday, 22 September 2015 KSA 14:20 - GMT 11:20
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/09/22/U-S-increases-aid-to-Syrian-refugees.html

 

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Kerry: Russian jets in Syria to protect own base

According to the officials, Russia has sent 12 SU-24 attack aircraft, 12 SU-25 ground attack aircraft (seen in picture) and four Flanker fighter jets. (File photo: Reuters)

By Staff writer, Al Arabiya News
Tuesday, 22 September 2015

Russia has increased its deployment of warplanes to Syria but so far they appear to be positioned to defend their own base rather than to mount an offensive campaign, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday.

“Yes, they have increased aircraft and there are certain kinds of aircraft there which, depending on what Russia’s decision is about its long-term intentions, could raise questions,” Kerry said.

“But for the moment, it is the judgment of our military and most experts that the level and type represents basically force protection for their deployment to an airbase, given the fact that it is in an area of conflict.”

Kerry, however, said Russian and Iranian support for Syrian President Bashar Assad is misplaced and will only prolong the war. But he said the U.S. is ready to engage in an immediate dialogue with Russia to promote a peace agreement that would see Assad removed from power.

Meanwhile, Damascus has received new warplanes and reconnaissance aircraft from Moscow to fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group, a Syrian military source told AFP on Tuesday.

“Our air force has taken delivery of at least five fighter planes from Moscow as well as reconnaissance aircraft which allow us to identify targets with great accuracy,” the senior official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The source said the aircraft had arrived on Friday at a military base in Latakia province, the traditional heartland of Assad’s regime.

Moscow has also delivered other “sophisticated military equipment to fight ISIS,” the official said.

“These are defensive and offensive weapons” including “sophisticated arms that target with accuracy and precision-guided missiles,” the official said.

“Russian weapons are starting to have an effect in Syria,” the official said.

“The Syrian military has started using them in the cities of Deir Ezzor and Raqa, in particular against ISIS positions,” the official said.

Another military source in Latakia told AFP the army had “received Russian reconnaissance planes that will allow Syrian ground and air forces to accurately identify targets.”

The deliveries also included “radars and infra-red binoculars,” the source said.

On Monday, U.S. officials said Russia has deployed 28 combat planes in Syria, confirming the latest move in Moscow’s increasing military presence in the war-torn nation.

U.S. says Russia deployed 28 combat planes
Russia has deployed 28 combat planes in Syria, U.S. officials said on Monday, confirming the latest move in Moscow’s increasing military presence in the war-torn nation.

Washington in recent weeks has expressed growing concern over Russia’s moves to support President Assad and warned that militarily backing his regime risks further hampering efforts at bringing peace.

Experts said the buildup is likely a prelude to military action.

This kind of aircraft suggests that the Russians intend to exert their combat power outside of Latakia in an offensive role.

Jeffrey White, Analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy
“There are 28 fighter and bomber aircraft” at an airfield in the western Syrian province of Latakia, one of the officials told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

A second official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the figure and added there were also about 20 Russian combat and transport helicopters at the base.

That official also said Russia was operating drones over Syria, but did not give additional details.

According to the officials, Russia has sent 12 SU-24 attack aircraft, 12 SU-25 ground attack aircraft and four Flanker fighter jets.

IN OPINION: Putin’s plan: Moscow handles Syria, U.S. looks after Iraq

Analyst Jeffrey White of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy said: “They are not going to sit around and defend the airfield or maybe even the province of Latakia.

“This kind of aircraft suggests that the Russians intend to exert their combat power outside of Latakia in an offensive role.”

Moscow has been on a diplomatic push to get the coalition of Western and regional powers fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group in Syria to join forces with Assad against the extremists.

The U.S.-led coalition is carrying out almost daily strikes against the ISIS extremists in Syria.

(With AFP and AP)

Last Update: Wednesday, 23 September 2015 KSA 00:57 - GMT 21:57
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/09/22/Russia-deploys-28-combat-planes-in-Syria-.html

 

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Syria says it would welcome Russian army base in Latakia

Residence buildings look by the Mediterranean coastline of the Latakia governorate, Syria, Wednesday. (File photo: AP)

By Reuters, Moscow
Wednesday, 23 September 2015

The Syrian ambassador in Moscow said on Wednesday Damascus would welcome the deployment of a Russian military base in the city of Latakia (Lattakia) if Moscow decides to build one there, Interfax news agency reported.

“If Russia agrees, Syria would only welcome such a step, because it would be aimed against terrorism on our soil,” Interfax is quoting Riad Haddad as saying.

Last Update: Wednesday, 23 September 2015 KSA 18:13 - GMT 15:13
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/09/23/Syria-welcomes-Russian-military-base-if-Moscow-decides-to-build-one-.html

 

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Armed clashes kill 66 Islamist militants and 40 pro-government militiamen in Syria's Idlib
IHS Jane's Terrorism Watch Report - Daily Update
22 September 2015
ACCORDING to the pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 66 Jabhat al-Nusra and other Islamist militants - including eight suicide bombers - and 40 pro-government militiamen were killed during armed clashes between the two sides in an area near the town of Al-Fuah in Syria's Idlib governorate between 19 and 20 September. Casualty figures provided by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights cannot be independently verified but have been assessed to be the most reliable.

Armed clashes kill 66 Islamist militants and 40 pro-government militiamen in Syria's Idlib - IHS Jane's 360

 

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Russia to defend core Syrian government areas
Mark Galeotti and Jonathan Spyer - IHS Jane's Intelligence Review
22 September 2015

Imagery analysis of the Istamo weapons storage complex (top), and of the Al-Sanobar site (bottom). (©CNES 2015, Distribution Airbus DS/©2015 IHS)

US officials first alluded publicly to the deployment of additional Russian forces into Syria on 4 September, claiming that new housing under construction at Latakia airport, also known as Bassel al-Assad International Airport, could billet up to 1,000 military personnel. By 16 September, Washington was briefing media outlets that up to two Russian military cargo flights a day were arriving at Latakia, and that a total of 200 naval infantry soldiers had been deployed into the airport (rising to 500 by 18 September, according to briefings by US officials). By 21 September, four Sukhoi Su-30SM 'Flanker' multirole combat aircraft, 12 Su-25 'Frogfoot' strike aircraft, 12 Su-24M 'Fencer' attack fighters, and numerous helicopters including possible Kamov Ka-52 'Alligator' attack helicopter airframes had arrived at Latakia.

The rapid build-up of a Russian expeditionary force was troubling for the United States, given continued airstrikes by a US-led coalition against insurgent Islamic State targets in the country and Russia's support for the embattled government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Concerned about deconflicting military operations to avoid accidental clashes, US secretary of defense Ashton Carter and Russian minister of defence Sergei Shoigu held their first direct talks by telephone in more than a year on 18 September, with Shoigu maintaining that Russian operations were "defensive in nature". Their talks hinted at how the Russian deployment had political as well as military drivers, with Russia interested in supporting the Assad administration but also keen to recalibrate parts of its relationship with the West.

Historically, Russia has been committed to providing support for Syrian military planning and intelligence operations, although such support has been explicitly limited and distanced from the battlefield. The closest that Russia came to a combat role was its sanction for the short-lived use of mercenaries from the so-called Slavonic Corps in 2013, which only fought in a single engagement before withdrawing from Syria.
Russia to defend core Syrian government areas - IHS Jane's 360

 

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ISIS have claimed they have shot down a Su-22M-4 in Syria By Dylan Vosman - Sep 18, 2015 0 2281 Share on Facebook Tweet on Twitter 17th Sep. 2015, a SyAAF Su-22M-4 operating from T4 airbase was shot down over Jazal oil field area located around 40km to the north east of the said airbase. ISIS media reported shooting down the aircraft claimed as ‘MiG-21‘ which is apparently not. The Islamic State (IS) group reported on Thursday that it has shot down a MiG-21, a Russian jet, near the Jazal oil field in the Homs governorate.

ISIS have claimed they have shot down a Su-22M-4 in Syria | Defence blog

 

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Photo : Russia military aviation deployed in Syria By Dylan Vosman - Sep 21, 2015

Russia military aviation deployed to an airbase near Latakia in Syria It is important to note that least 28 Russian combat aircraft in Syria inclu. 12 Su-25, 12 Su-24s & 4 Flankers Su-30SM An Airbus Defence and Space satellite image courtesy of Stratfor, a geopolitical intelligence and advisory firm in Austin, Texas, shows at least 16 Russian combat aircraft stationed at the Bassel al Assad air base near the Syrian town of Latakia September 20, 2015.

Photo : Russia military aviation deployed in Syria | Defence blog

 

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VIDEO : Russian aircraft spotted over Northern Homs province

By Dylan Vosman - Sep 20, 2015


Russian aircraft spotted over Northern Homs province. It can be a Il-78 / Il-76 and four Su-24 bombers The Sukhoi Su-24 (NATO reporting name: Fencer) is a supersonic, all-weather attack aircraft/interdictor. This variable-sweep wing, twin-engined side-by-side two-seater carried the USSR’s first integrated digital navigation/attack system. It remains in service with former Soviet air forces and various air forces to which it was exported. Syrian Arab Air Force – 22 received. 20 Su-24MKs from the Soviet Union, 1 Su-24MK and 1 Su-24MR from Libya 20 were in service in January 2013. All the Su-24MKs have been upgraded to SU-24M2 standard, between 2009 and 2013. The contract for that was signed in 2009 and the upgrade started in 2010. But Syria dont have air tankers Il-78. VIDEO №2 Il-78 and four Su-30SM


VIDEO : Russian aircraft spotted over Northern Homs province | Defence blog

 

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[UAE]

So the Russkies are no officially involved in Syria? Maybe we can support the Tatars in Ukraine and let Russia get a taste of its won medicine.

What else do you expect from a helpless man.

 

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Jordan-backed tribesmen fighting ISIS


BEIRUT – An anti-regime tribal coalition that is financed by Amman and seeks to roll back the threat of ISIS in southern Syria has emerged in recent weeks, a pro-rebel outlet reported on Monday.

Dubai based Al-Aan TV published a report profiling the Collective of Free Southern Tribesmen, a newly re-named rebel conglomeration that is fighting ISIS in southern Syria’s Al-Lajat Plain.

The Collective on September 4 publicly announced that it was beginning an offensive against ISIS in Al-Lajat, which is located on the northeastern edge of the Daraa province near the Druze-populated Suweida region.

Originally called The Free Men of the South, 80% of the group’s fighters are from tribes in Suweida, Daraa, Quneitra and southern rural Damascus, according to the group’s spokesperson Mohammad Adnan.

Adnan told Al-Aan that the group now has 3,000 fighters, is led Syrian Army defectors, and is commanded inside Syrian by former Syrian Army officer Captain Hussam al-Karahisha.

“The Collective’s fighters are deployed in southern Syria and they are fully prepared to wage and direct the fiercest of battles against both the regime and ISIS.”

Coordinating with Jordan

The tribal group has publicly touted its ties with Jordan, with spokesperson Mohammad Adan going into details on the link.

“The Collective of Free Southern Tribesmen is coordinating with neighboring states, especially Jordan, to confront ISIS… in southern Syria,” Adnan said.

“[It] is funded by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and businessman Sheikh Rakkan al-Khudeir.”

“The Collective’s fighters are deployed in the Al-Lajat area and along the eastern Syrian-Jordanian border,” he added.

“[It] coordinates and communicates with Free Syrian Army factions, [and] participates with them in joint operations rooms during battles.”

In March, Jordan announced that it was preparing to train tribesmen and Syrian rebels to battle ISIS and has since made a number of overtures to tribal groups in southern Syria.

On June 19, representatives of a number of tribal leaders in Syria officially rejected Jordan’s offer for support, however only a week later other tribal leaders voiced their acceptance of King Abdullah’s offer to arm and train tribal leaders.

British daily The Independent reported on July 8 that a group of tribal chiefs in Syria had formed a new “Coalition of Syrian Tribes and Clans” that had held secret meetings with the General John Allen, the US point-man for the international coalition’s campaign against ISIS.

Ongoing battle with ISIS

“The battle to uproot ISIS from the Al-Lajat area to the northeast of Daraa Province is ongoing,” the spokesperson for the Collective of Free Southern Tribesmen said in his Monday interview.

Al-Aan cited an official statement from the collective as saying that clashes are currently centered on the village Housh Hamad, “where ISIS has a strong presence.”

“The village’s surroundings have been cleansed but the ruggedness of area [coupled with] the group’s possession of modern weaponry and [the fact that] it is supported by regime warplanes has made the task difficult.”

“ISIS members are being pursued on foot without vehicles and with light to mid-range weaponry only.”

The battle is important because it opens the road to the regime’s Khalkhala Airbase as well as the road to the Syrian Desert and Deir Ezzor, Al-Aan added.

 

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Syria deploys Russian drones for first time

The deployment of Russian drones comes a day after a senior military official said Damascus had received new weaponry from Russia, including at least five fighter jets. (File photo: Reuters)

AFP, Damascus
Wednesday, 23 September 2015

The Syrian military for the first time on Wednesday deployed drones supplied by Russia for its fight against jihadists, a security source in Damascus said.

“For the first time, the army today used drones received from Moscow in operations against extremists in the north and east of the country,” the source said, without elaborating on the type of drones or locating exactly where they were deployed.

The deployment came amid a Russian military build-up in Syria, over which the United States has expressed deep concern.

It also comes a day after a senior military official said Damascus had received new weaponry from Russia, including at least five fighter jets.

“Russian weapons are starting to have an effect in Syria,” the official told AFP.

The official added that President Bashar al-Assad’s forces had already been using these weapons against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group in the cities of Deir Ezzor and Raqa, the ISIS de facto “capital” in Syria.

Assad’s forces have stepped up air strikes in the past week, killing at least 38 IS jihadists in central Syria, especially Palmyra, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Last Update: Wednesday, 23 September 2015 KSA 21:04 - GMT 18:04
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/09/23/Syria-deploys-Russian-drones-for-first-time.html