Syrian Revolution News & Discussions

[BLACKEAGLE]

U.S. airdrops ammunition to Syrian Arabs

File photo of Free Syrian Army’ fighter carrying a weapon as he walks towards his position on the frontline against the forces of Syria’s President Assad in Jobar, a suburb of Damascus. (File photo: Reuters)

By Staff writer, Al Arabiya News
Monday, 12 October 2015

U.S.-led coalition forces have parachuted ammunition to rebels fighting ISIS jihadists in northern Syria, a U.S. military spokesman said Monday as al-Qaeda’s offshoot in the war-torn country say Russia is ignoring ISIS.

The move follows the Pentagon's announcement last week that it would halt its much-criticized program to train moderate rebels, and instead focus efforts on equipping pre-screened rebel leaders from groups actively fighting ISIS.

Colonel Steve Warren, the Baghdad-based spokesman for the U.S.-led effort to strike ISIS in Iraq and Syria, said the ammunition had gone to a group called the Syrian Arab Coalition (SAC) that has for months been fighting ISIS across an arc of territory north of the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa.

The coalition, comprising several smaller Arab groups, includes between 4,000 and 5,000 fighters and US forces have carefully vetted the group’s leader, Warren said.

The United States and its allies could eventually strike ISIS targets identified by SAC fighters on the ground, he added.

“Coalition forces conducted an airdrop Sunday in northern Syria to resupply local counter-ISIL ground forces as they conduct operations against ISIL,” U.S. Central Command spokesman Colonel Patrick Ryder said in a statement, using an alternative acronym for ISIS.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a U.S. official told AFP the drop included 50 tons of ammunition and hand grenades.

The United States is leading a coalition that has carried out more than 7,000 drone and plane strikes against ISIS in Iraq and Syria since launching operations more than a year ago.

The Pentagon had to scrap a $500-million program to train thousands of Syrian rebels in Turkey and Jordan after many failed to pass the screening process and one group gave ammo and other gear to an Al-Qaeda affiliate.

Nusra says Russia ignoring ISIS
The head of Syria’s Nusra Front, an offshoot of al-Qaeda, urged insurgents on Monday to escalate attacks on President Bashar al-Assad’s minority Alawite sect’s strongholds in retaliation for what he said was the indiscriminate killing of Muslim Sunnis by invading Russians.

The audio message from Nusra’s Abu Mohamad al-Golani, posted on YouTube, said Russia's military intervention since last week was aimed at saving Assad's rule from collapse but was doomed to fail, as had previous Iranian and Hezbollah military support.

“There is no choice but to escalate the battle and to target Alawite towns and villages in Latakia and I call on all factions to ... daily hit their villages with hundreds of missiles as they do to Sunni cities and villages,” Golani said.

Nusra Front, a radical Muslim Sunni fundamentalist group, is one of the most powerful forces fighting the Syrian government in an increasingly complex conflict that Russia’s intervention has only worsened.

U.N. pushes Russia, U.S. on Syria
Meanwhile, the U.N. mediator trying to convene Syria peace talks said on Monday it was urgent for Russia and the United States to reach an understanding to avert a military escalation that could effectively dismember the country.

The two powers are pivotal to ushering Syria's warring sides into talks, Staffan de Mistura said, though their differences seem so deep Moscow and Washington may not be able to establish a cohesive steering group of countries with peacemaking clout.

He said he would hold talks in Russia on Tuesday and then in Washington. De Mistura said intensifying fighting coinciding with Russia’s military intervention in Syria made it more urgent to get Syrian government and opposition groups talking.

The U.N. plan is for the talks to be supported by a contact group of interested countries that de Mistura said would include the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey and other regional players.

“If some countries don’t want to talk to each other, one could imagine separate contact groups that then are facilitated to discuss through the help of the U.N.,” he said.

He urged Damascus to end its barrel-bombing campaign against rebels and said its forces and the Russian military must respect a stalled, regional U.N.-brokered ceasefire deal that would allow evacuations of civilians and wounded from the town of Zabadani and villages of Kufreya and al-Foua.

(With agencies)

Last Update: Tuesday, 13 October 2015 KSA 00:08 - GMT 21:08
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/10/12/U-S-forces-air-drop-ammunition-to-Syrian-Arabs-military-official.html

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

FM: Saudi position on Syria ‘unchanged’

Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir during a joint press conference with his French counterpart. (File: Reuters)


By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News
Tuesday, 13 October 2015

Saudi Arabia’s position on Syria is unchanged as the kingdom calls for President Bashar al-Assad’s step down, Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said on Tuesday in a press conference with his French counterpart.

In his remarks, Jubeir insisted that Assad has no future in Syria.

Speaking at a joint news conference with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, Jubeir said that it was up to the Houthi group and former Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh to bring an end to the conflict.

“We believe that a political solution is better in Yemen but the Houthis preferred the armed option,” he said.

He also said that denying Iran’s support for the Houthis is “like saying the sun does not rise from the East.”

“Iran’s involvement in the affairs of other states represents a regional problem,” he added.

Fabius, in remarks translated into Arabic, called on Russia to use its influence to stop Assad from using barrel bombs in Syria and said Paris did not want Syria to descend into chaos.

[With Reuters]

Last Update: Tuesday, 13 October 2015 KSA 19:01 - GMT 16:01
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/10/13/FM-Saudi-position-on-Syria-unchanged-.html

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Syrian Kurdish forces accused of war crimes

Fighters of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) crawl under barbed wires with their weapons at a military training camp in Ras al-Ain February 13, 2015. Picture taken February 13, 2015. (Reuters)

By AFP | Beirut
Tuesday, 13 October 2015

Waves of forced displacement and home demolitions carried out by Kurdish forces operating in Syria's north and northeast amount to "war crimes," a rights group said on Tuesday.

Amnesty International said a fact-finding mission to 14 towns and villages in northern and northeast Syria "has uncovered a wave of forced displacement and home demolitions amounting to war crimes carried out by the autonomous administration" led by Syrian Kurds.

"By deliberately demolishing civilian homes, in some cases razing and burning entire villages, displacing their inhabitants with no justifiable military grounds, the Autonomous Administration is abusing its authority and brazenly flouting international humanitarian law," said Lama Fakih, Amnesty's senior crisis adviser.

After Syrian government troops withdrew from majority-Kurdish areas in 2012, a Kurdish-led autonomous administration stepped in to fill the void.

Its security forces, including the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and Asayish police, have fought ISIS militants in these areas.

But residents of Raqa province in the north and Hasakeh in the northeast interviewed by Amnesty say Kurdish forces have used the pretext of fighting ISIS to conduct mass demolitions.

Amnesty said the destruction it examined had not occurred as a result of fighting, but was part of "a deliberate, coordinated campaign of collective punishment of civilians in villages previously captured by ISIS, or where a small minority were suspected of supporting the group".

"They pulled us out of our homes and began burning the home... they brought the bulldozers... They demolished home after home until the entire village was destroyed," said one resident of the northeastern village of Husseiniya.

Amnesty said satellite images of Husseiniya showed that nearly 94 percent of the village had been destroyed between June 2014 and June 2015.

In villages in Raqa province, an ISIS stronghold, some residents told Amnesty that YPG fighters had accused them of supporting ISIS and threatened to shoot them if they did not leave.

Others said the YPG had threatened to call in air strikes by the U.S.-led coalition fighting IS if residents did not evacuate their homes.

"They told us we had to leave or they would tell the U.S. coalition that we were terrorists and their planes would hit us and our families," said one resident, Safwan.

Syrian Kurdish forces have regularly responded to such accusations by calling the incidents "isolated", and saying short-term evacuations occur to keep civilians safe from nearby fighting.

But Amnesty said many areas where forced displacement had occurred were not near the front lines.

"The Autonomous Administration must immediately stop the unlawful demolition of civilian homes, compensate all civilians whose homes were unlawfully destroyed, cease unlawful forced displacements, and allow civilians to return and rebuild," Fakih said.

Last Update: Tuesday, 13 October 2015 KSA 07:28 - GMT 04:28
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/10/13/Syrian-Kurdish-forces-accused-of-war-crimes-.html

 

[Redheart]

Syria conflict: Shells hit Russian embassy compound - BBC News

Two shells have struck the Russian embassy compound in the Syrian capital Damascus as hundreds of pro-government supporters rallied outside in support of Russian air strikes.

No-one was killed but a BBC Arabic correspondent in Damascus says some people were injured.

The explosions triggered widespread panic and smoke was seen coming from the embassy compound.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described it as "a terrorist attack".

"This is... most likely intended to intimidate supporters of the fight against terror and prevent them from prevailing in the struggle against extremists," he said.

"Together with the Syrian authorities, we are now trying to establish those responsible."

Moments before, demonstrators had been waving Russian flags and holding up photographs of Russian President Vladimir Putin, witnesses said.

Rebel forces based in the suburbs of Damascus have previously targeted the embassy. Last month, Russia demanded "concrete action" after a missile struck the embassy compound.

One person was killed in May when mortar rounds landed near the embassy, and three people were hurt in April when mortars exploded inside the compound.

 

[Gasoline]

@WebMaster

 

[UAE]

@WebMaster

I admire his intelligence. He is supposed to be the foreigner minster of Saudi Arabia.

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Top Cuban general, key forces in Syria to aid Assad, Russia, sources say
Published October 14, 2015

FoxNews.com

Cuba's army is small, but highly trained, according to military experts. (Reuters)

Cuban military operatives reportedly have been spotted in Syria, where sources believe they are advising President Bashar al-Assad’s soldiers and may be preparing to man Russian-made tanks to aid Damascus in fighting rebel forces backed by the U.S.

Gen. Leopoldo Cintra Frias, head of Cuba's Armed Forces, recently visited Syria to lead a group of Cuban military personnel joining forces with Russia in their support of Assad, according to information received by the University of Miami's Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies.

On Wednesday, a U.S. official confirmed to Fox News that Cuban paramilitary and special forces units are on the ground in Syria, citing evidence from intelligence reports. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Cuban troops may have been training in Russia and may have arrived in Syria on Russian planes.

" ... it would indicate that General Raul Castro is more interested in supporting his allies, Russia and Syria, than in continuing to normalize relations with the U.S."

- Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami

An Arab military officer at the Damascus airport reportedly witnessed two Russian planes arrive there with Cuban military personnel on board. When the officer questioned the Cubans, they told him they were there to assist Assad because they are experts at operating Russian tanks, according to Jaime Suchlicki, the institute's executive director.

"It doesn't surprise me," Suchlicki told FoxNews.com, noting Russia's long history of supplying military equipment to Cuba as well as Cuba's assistance in Soviet-led operations in Africa the 1970's.

"They have a very close relationship," Suchlicki said. "The Russians have been training the Cubans for years and supplying them with all sorts of military equipment."

Syria's bloody civil war is in its fourth year and has so far cost an estimated 250,000 people their lives and sparked a humanitarian crisis as displaced refugees flee the embattled nation. The U.S. has called for the ouster of dictator Assad, and is supporting a rebel group known as the Free Syrian Army. But ISIS and Al Qaeda offshoot Al Nusra are also present in Syria, battling Assad, the FSA and each other. Russia, Iran and now apparently Cuba are helping Assad in his bid to maintain power.

Cuba's military is ranked the world's 110th most powerful by the site globalfirepower.com. While small, the Cuban military is "very well-trained," according to Suchlicki, who said their presence in Syria is a "departure from what the U.S. expected."

President Obama earlier this year removed Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, seeking to normalize relations between the two countries. The U.S. cut off diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961 after Fidel Castro's revolution. The U.S. spent decades trying to either actively overthrow the Cuban government or isolate the island, including toughening the economic embargo first imposed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The U.S. Embassy in Havana reopened in July 2015.

"Yes, there are those who want to turn back the clock and double down on a policy of isolation," Obama said at the time, "but it's long past time for us to realize that this approach doesn't work. It hasn't worked for 50 years."

"This is a historic step forward in our efforts to normalize relations with the Cuban government and people, and begin a new chapter with our neighbors in the Americas," Obama said in July from the White House Rose Garden.

The U.S. official described Cuban's involved in Syria as similar to the "Cuba-Angola arrangement" -- a reference to Cuban troops operating on behalf of the Soviets in several central African countries in the 1970's. Cuba also sent troops to Syria in 1973 to support them in the Yom Kippur War against Israel and deployed officers to observe Israeli military tactics.

The official could not confirm whether Cuba's top general is in Syria, or if Cuban forces are manning Russian tanks provided to Assad by Russia.

"If this information about the presence of Cuban troops in Syria now is confirmed, it would indicate that General Raul Castro is more interested in supporting his allies, Russia and Syria, than in continuing to normalize relations with the U.S.," the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies said in a statement Tuesday.

"Raul Castro has expressed publicly his support for the Syrian regime and his solidarity with Russian and Iranian objectives in the Middle East," the group said. "This new Cuban internationalism reaffirms one more time that the Castro’s brothers are more interested in their role in the world in opposition to the U.S. than in modernizing Cuba and helping the Cuban people rise above their current misery."

Fox News' Cristina Corbin and Doug McKelway contributed to this report.
Top Cuban general, key forces in Syria to aid Assad, Russia, sources say | Fox News

 

[UAE]

Top Cuban general, key forces in Syria to aid Assad, Russia, sources say
Published October 14, 2015

FoxNews.com

Cuba's army is small, but highly trained, according to military experts. (Reuters)

Cuban military operatives reportedly have been spotted in Syria, where sources believe they are advising President Bashar al-Assad’s soldiers and may be preparing to man Russian-made tanks to aid Damascus in fighting rebel forces backed by the U.S.

Gen. Leopoldo Cintra Frias, head of Cuba's Armed Forces, recently visited Syria to lead a group of Cuban military personnel joining forces with Russia in their support of Assad, according to information received by the University of Miami's Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies.

On Wednesday, a U.S. official confirmed to Fox News that Cuban paramilitary and special forces units are on the ground in Syria, citing evidence from intelligence reports. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Cuban troops may have been training in Russia and may have arrived in Syria on Russian planes.

" ... it would indicate that General Raul Castro is more interested in supporting his allies, Russia and Syria, than in continuing to normalize relations with the U.S."

- Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami

An Arab military officer at the Damascus airport reportedly witnessed two Russian planes arrive there with Cuban military personnel on board. When the officer questioned the Cubans, they told him they were there to assist Assad because they are experts at operating Russian tanks, according to Jaime Suchlicki, the institute's executive director.

"It doesn't surprise me," Suchlicki told FoxNews.com, noting Russia's long history of supplying military equipment to Cuba as well as Cuba's assistance in Soviet-led operations in Africa the 1970's.

"They have a very close relationship," Suchlicki said. "The Russians have been training the Cubans for years and supplying them with all sorts of military equipment."

Syria's bloody civil war is in its fourth year and has so far cost an estimated 250,000 people their lives and sparked a humanitarian crisis as displaced refugees flee the embattled nation. The U.S. has called for the ouster of dictator Assad, and is supporting a rebel group known as the Free Syrian Army. But ISIS and Al Qaeda offshoot Al Nusra are also present in Syria, battling Assad, the FSA and each other. Russia, Iran and now apparently Cuba are helping Assad in his bid to maintain power.

Cuba's military is ranked the world's 110th most powerful by the site globalfirepower.com. While small, the Cuban military is "very well-trained," according to Suchlicki, who said their presence in Syria is a "departure from what the U.S. expected."

President Obama earlier this year removed Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, seeking to normalize relations between the two countries. The U.S. cut off diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961 after Fidel Castro's revolution. The U.S. spent decades trying to either actively overthrow the Cuban government or isolate the island, including toughening the economic embargo first imposed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The U.S. Embassy in Havana reopened in July 2015.

"Yes, there are those who want to turn back the clock and double down on a policy of isolation," Obama said at the time, "but it's long past time for us to realize that this approach doesn't work. It hasn't worked for 50 years."

"This is a historic step forward in our efforts to normalize relations with the Cuban government and people, and begin a new chapter with our neighbors in the Americas," Obama said in July from the White House Rose Garden.

The U.S. official described Cuban's involved in Syria as similar to the "Cuba-Angola arrangement" -- a reference to Cuban troops operating on behalf of the Soviets in several central African countries in the 1970's. Cuba also sent troops to Syria in 1973 to support them in the Yom Kippur War against Israel and deployed officers to observe Israeli military tactics.

The official could not confirm whether Cuba's top general is in Syria, or if Cuban forces are manning Russian tanks provided to Assad by Russia.

"If this information about the presence of Cuban troops in Syria now is confirmed, it would indicate that General Raul Castro is more interested in supporting his allies, Russia and Syria, than in continuing to normalize relations with the U.S.," the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies said in a statement Tuesday.

"Raul Castro has expressed publicly his support for the Syrian regime and his solidarity with Russian and Iranian objectives in the Middle East," the group said. "This new Cuban internationalism reaffirms one more time that the Castro’s brothers are more interested in their role in the world in opposition to the U.S. than in modernizing Cuba and helping the Cuban people rise above their current misery."

Fox News' Cristina Corbin and Doug McKelway contributed to this report.
Top Cuban general, key forces in Syria to aid Assad, Russia, sources say | Fox News

Who else isn't in Syria these days!

 

[Redheart]

Syria is being used as a proving ground by the Russians, Iranians and others. According to unconfirmed rumors, China is also considering wading in.

Chinese Warships En Route to Syria | The War Monitor

IBD reported that Russian and Chinese officials confirmed China having several warships en route to Syria to assist Russia in supporting the Assad regime against the US-backed rebels.

“The world cannot afford to stand by and look on with folded arms, but must also not arbitrarily interfere,” China’s foreign minister stated.

There are reports that China may also be sending J-15 war planes to the already crowded skies above Syria.

“It is known that China has joined our military operation in Syria,” said a member of Russia’s Committee on International Affairs. “The Chinese cruiser has already entered the Mediterranean, followed by its aircraft carrier.”

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/10/16/Russia-agrees-all-technical-questions-for-Syria-flight-safety-with-U-S-.html

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Bulgaria denies airspace access to Syria-bound Russian aid plane

Frame grab taken from Russia’s Defence Ministry footage shows Russian military jet landing on tarmac at Hmeymim air base near Latakia, Syria. (Reuters)

Reuters, Sofia
Friday, 16 October 2015

Bulgaria has denied access to its airspace to a Russian plane carrying humanitarian aid for Syria, as Moscow failed to file an application on time, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman said.

“We have denied access because legal terms were not followed. We have received a request for a flight to take place today in the afternoon of Oct 14. Such request needs to be filed at least five days ahead,” spokeswoman Betina Zhoteva said.


Last Update: Friday, 16 October 2015 KSA 17:09 - GMT 14:09
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/10/16/Bulgaria-denies-airspace-access-to-Syria-bound-Russian-aid-plane.html

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

More than 250,000 people killed in Syria war

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it has documented the deaths of 250,124 people, including at least 74,426 civilians. (File photo: Reuters)

By AFP | Beirut
Friday, 16 October 2015

More than a quarter of a million people have been killed in Syria’s brutal conflict since it began with anti-government protests over four years ago, a monitoring group said Friday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it has documented the deaths of 250,124 people, including at least 74,426 civilians.

The civilian toll includes 12,517 children and 8,062 women.

Compiled by the British-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources on the ground in Syria, the toll is an increase from the 240,000 figure it announced in August.

It puts the toll for rebel fighters at 43,752, and the number of foreign militants killed at 37,010.

At least 91,678 pro-government forces, among them 52,077 regime soldiers and other allied Syrian and non-Syrian fighters, have also been killed.

Syria’s army is backed by local pro-government militias but also fighters from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah militia.

The monitor said it had recorded the deaths of 971 Hezbollah fighters in Syria.

The Observatory also documented the deaths of 3,258 people who could not be identified.

Its toll does not include some 30,000 people missing in Syria, among them 20,000 said to be held in Syrian jails.

It also does not include thousands of loyalist forces held by rebel factions or by the ISIS militant group.

The Syrian conflict began with anti-government protests in March 2011 before spiraling into a multi-front war across the country after a brutal regime crackdown.

At least four million Syrians have been forced to flee the violence to neighboring countries, and millions more are displaced inside the war-torn country.

Last Update: Friday, 16 October 2015 KSA 15:05 - GMT 12:05
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/10/16/More-than-250-000-people-killed-in-Syria-war-.html

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Syrian army attacks rebels with Iranian support

Man drives a motorcycle near a site hit by what residents said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Darat Izza in Aleppo's countryside. (Reuters)

By Mariam Karouny | Reuters, Beirut
Friday, 16 October 2015

Syrian troops backed by Hezbollah and Iranian fighters launched an offensive south of Aleppo on Friday, expanding the army’s counter-attack against rebels across western Syria with support from Russian air strikes.

The assault means the army is now pressing insurgents on several fronts near Syria’s main cities in the west, control of which would secure President Bashar al-Assad's hold on power even if the east of the country is still held by ISIS.

Aleppo, a commercial and industrial hub near the border with Turkey, was Syria’s largest city before its four-year civil war, which grew out of protests against Assad's rule.

Control of the city, still home to two million people, is divided between the government and rebels.

“This is the promised battle,” a senior military source in Syria said of the offensive backed by hundreds of Hezbollah and Iranian forces which he said had made some gains on the ground.

It was the first time Iranian fighters had taken part on such a scale in the Syrian conflict, he said, although their numbers were modest compared to the army force. “The main core is the Syrian army,” the source said.

Hezbollah, which has supported Assad in several battles during the civil war, said the army was carrying out a “broad military operation,” with support from Russian and Syrian jets, across a front at least 10 miles (15 km) wide from the southwest to southeast of Aleppo.

It made no mention of Hezbollah fighters in its statement.

Two senior regional sources said this week that Iran sent thousands of troops to Syria to bolster an offensive already underway in Hama province and ahead of the Aleppo attack.

Iran says it has sent weapons and military advisers to support its ally Assad, but has denied providing troops.

In the last week Iranian media have reported the deaths in Syria of three senior officers from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps. Hossein Hamedani, a corps deputy commander, was killed near Aleppo and two other officers have also died fighting ISIS forces in Syria, Iran’s Tasnim news agency said.

Two senior Hezbollah officers have also been killed in Syria in the last week, a Lebanese security source said.

Army retakes villages
Rami Abdulrahman, director of UK-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said there were heavy clashes near the Jebel Azzan region, about 12 km (8 miles) south of Aleppo city.

The area that the army and Russian jets were targeting was close to a main road heading south towards the capital Damascus, Abdulrahman said.

The army had recaptured the village of Abtin from rebel fighters, he said, as well as a tank battalion base close to Sabiqiya village. Both villages lie close to Jebel Azzan. Rebels had hit one army tank with a U.S.-made TOW anti-tank missile.

The military source said the rebel fighters were mainly from the Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham and al-Qaeda’s Syrian wing, the Nusra Front, as well as the Suqour al-Sham and Failaq al-Sham insurgent groups.

The head of another rebel brigade Fursan al Haq, which is backed by Assad’s foreign opponents and operates under the umbrella of the Free Syrian Army, said his fighters had sent more TOW missiles to the Aleppo area to try to stem the attack.

“The battle is ongoing, and the resistance is stronger than the attack,” Fares al Bayoush, told Reuters.

Since Russia launched air strikes on Sept. 30 in support of Assad, the army has waged offensives against several insurgent-held regions in western Syria, starting with areas of Hama, Idlib and Latakia provinces taken by the rebels over the summer.

Moscow says its air campaign has targeted ISIS fighters in Syria, much like the U.S.-led international coalition that has been separately striking the ultra-hardline Islamist group in Syria and neighboring Iraq for over a year.

But most of the Russian air strikes appear to have targeted rival, foreign-backed insurgents whose advances in recent months, helped by supplies of the U.S.-made TOW missiles, had threatened Assad's grip on power.

On Thursday the army targeted a long-held rebel enclave north of the city of Homs, with coordinated air strikes, artillery bombardment and ground assaults.

The Observatory said on Friday the death toll from the fighting there had risen to 60, including 30 women and children. Responding to the reports of civilian deaths on Thursday, a Syrian military source quoted by state media said Russian jets and Syrian forces do not target civilian areas.

Assad’s opponents say Syrian forces have killed many thousands of civilians in the course of the war, particularly with the use of untargeted “barrel bombs” dropped from helicopters above rebel-held cities.

Last Update: Friday, 16 October 2015 KSA 18:05 - GMT 15:05
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/10/16/Syrian-army-Russian-jets-attack-rebels-in-southern-Aleppo-.html

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

U.S. ‘ready to drop’ weapons to Syria rebels

Free Syrian Army fighters take their positions, close to a military base, near Azaz, Syria. (file photo: AP)

By AFP | Washington
Friday, 16 October 2015

The U.S. military is poised to boost its supply runs to rebels fighting ISIS militants in northern Syria, a U.S. official said Thursday, days after an initial air drop of ammunition.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official told AFP the Pentagon is ready to augment ammunition deliveries with weapons, provided rebels on the ground can prove they are fighting ISIS.

"There will be more deliveries but only if they can demonstrate that they have used it in an effective way against ISIL," the official said, using an alternate acronym for ISIS.

"As they demonstrate results, the packages will get heavier and U.S. strikes will occur in places that are advantageous to their operations."

The official described the rebel-arming program as "performance-based."

"We've left the door open to more things to include some weaponry," he added. "If they fail ... if the things fall into the wrong hands, then those particular groups will be cut off."

U.S.-led coalition forces on Sunday parachuted 50 tons of small-arms ammunition and rockets to rebels fighting ISIS militants.

The move followed the Pentagon's announcement last week it would halt its much-criticized program to train moderate rebels, and instead focus efforts on equipping pre-screened rebel leaders from groups actively fighting ISIS.

The Pentagon had to scrap the $500-million program after many failed to pass the screening process, and one group gave ammo and other gear to an Al-Qaeda affiliate.

The Pentagon says the latest batch of ammunition has gone to a group called the Syrian Arab Coalition that has for months been fighting ISIS across an arc of territory north of the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa.

The official said the military was confident the SAC had picked up the ammo, and denied reports some of it had gone to Kurdish groups.

Russia on September 30 began its own bombing campaign in Syria. Moscow claims it, too, is targeting ISIS and "terrorists" but the Pentagon says the vast majority of strikes have been against opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Last Update: Friday, 16 October 2015 KSA 10:34 - GMT 07:34
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/10/16/U-S-ready-to-drop-weapons-to-Syria-rebels.html

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Russia planes ‘safe’ after Turkey downs aircraft

The unidentified aircraft near Syria was shot down in line with Turkey’s rules of engagement. (File photo: AP)

By Agencies | Ankara
Friday, 16 October 2015

The Turkish military on Friday said it had downed an “air vehicle” of unknown origin which had violated its air space close to the Syrian border with a U.S. official suspecting it was of Russian origin.

The army said that the craft had been warned three times by Turkish planes but had maintained course. It was then “downed by fire from our aircraft on patrol, according to the rules of engagement.”

The statement did not say if the downed aircraft was manned or a drone. It warned the air force would “decisively” implement Turkey’s rules of engagement.

Meanwhile, a U.S. official told Reuters that Washington suspected it was a Russian drone, but said the information was still preliminary and declined to give any more details.

Russian reaction
However, the Russian defence ministry said on Friday all its planes in Syria had safely returned to base and all its drones were operating “as planned” after Turkish warplanes shot down a drone near the Syrian border, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

“All the Russian planes in Syria have returned to the Hmeimim air base after completing their tasks. Russian unmanned aerial vehicles monitoring the situation on the territory of Syria and carrying out air reconnaissance are working as normal,” defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told Russian news agencies.

On Friday, Russia said it has agreed all technical questions for Syria flight safety with the United States after Turkey downing the plane.

Turkey's NTV television, without citing its sources, said the object was a drone, and it had fallen three kilometers (1.85 miles) inside Turkish territory.

Television pictures showed the military examining the crash site. The location was not specified.

Turkey had earlier this month bitterly complained about two violations of its air space by Russian warplanes operating in Syria.

Russia’s air strikes in Syria mean that Russian and NATO planes are now flying combat missions in the same air space for the first time since World War Two, heightening concern that the Cold War enemies could fire on each other.

The Russian air force officially informed the Turkish military on Thursday about the violations by Russian jets earlier this month, and about steps it would take to prevent a repetition.

Turkey has also reported unidentified aircraft and Syria-based missile air defence systems harassing its warplanes several times in recent months.

(With Reuters and AFP)

Last Update: Friday, 16 October 2015 KSA 17:46 - GMT 14:46
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/10/16/Turkish-military-an-aircraft-of-unidentified-nationality-was-shot-down.html