Syrian Revolution News & Discussions

[Khafee]

From who do you think they're facing a genocide from?

They are not facing, they are undergoing it, from the nutcase who suffers from illusions of grandeur.

Senator Blumenthal: Turkish offensive against Kurds in Syria 'on the cusp of genocide'

 

[Berke2]

They are not facing, they are undergoing it, from the nutcase who suffers from illusions of grandeur.

Senator Blumenthal: Turkish offensive against Kurds in Syria 'on the cusp of genocide'

I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one bro. I don't believe that fighting the YPG is genocide and I don't think US senators are very trustworthy either.

When the Turks start actively massacring 10,000s of kurdish civilians in Syria, then I will say it is a targeted genocide. But currently it doesn't look like that.

 

[Khafee]

I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one bro. I don't believe that fighting the YPG is genocide and I don't think US senators are very trustworthy either.

When the Turks start actively massacring 10,000s of kurdish civilians in Syria, then I will say it is a targeted genocide. But currently it doesn't look like that.

Its not just US Senators, but you are entitled to your opinion.

 

[Berke2]

Its not just US Senators, but you are entitled to your opinion.

Who else?

 

[Khafee]

Who else?

Amnesty International reports Turkey forced refugees into combat zone
Oct. 25, 2019

 

[Berke2]

Amnesty International reports Turkey forced refugees into combat zone
Oct. 25, 2019

With all due respect bro but that is not proof of a kurdish genocide. Mistreating a couple hundred syrian refugees in Turkey and forcing or tricking them back into Syria is wrong yes but that is not a genocide.

And if those refugees turn out to be mostly arab, which they probably are, how are you going to say that's a kurdish genocide? As far as the link says, Turkey didn't kill them either, they just pushed them back into Syria in order to make it look like Syrians are returning to Syria to live in Turkey's proposed safezone.

 

[Berke2]

Russia Releases Damning Evidence Of The U.S. Smuggling Syrian Oil

The Russian military just dropped a geopolitical bomb, with satellite imagery supposedly showing the United States smuggling oil from Syria

finance.yahoo.com

USA stealing oil apparently.

 

[yavar]

the Future mission for remaining U.S. troops in Syria under Trump presidency

 

[space cadet]

Russia Releases Damning Evidence Of The U.S. Smuggling Syrian Oil

The Russian military just dropped a geopolitical bomb, with satellite imagery supposedly showing the United States smuggling oil from Syria

finance.yahoo.com

USA stealing oil apparently.

Army National Guard Bradley Fighting Vehicles Are Now In Syria Guarding Oil And Gas Fields
The mission, which is focused on keeping ISIS and Assad from getting these resources, is still rapidly evolving, but now includes heavy armor.
BY JOSEPH TREVITHICKOCTOBER 31, 2019

• THE WAR ZONE

CJTF-OIR
SHARE



More than three weeks after the United States announced it would be withdrawing the bulk of its forces from Syria, a contingent of U.S. Army National Guard M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles and other troops have traveled aboard U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft to a forward position in Deir Ez Zor in the eastern portion of that country. This also comes just days after the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi during a U.S. special operations raid in Syria. This new deployment appears to be the first wave of heavy armored forces headed to the area as part of plan, aimed at ensuring that ISIS and the Syrian regime of Bashar Al Assad do not regain control of oil and gas fields in that province, which the Pentagon formally announced last week.




HERE'S EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT THE REPORTED U.S. PLAN TO SEND TANKS TO SYRIA (UPDATED)By Joseph TrevithickPosted in THE WAR ZONE
OUR ANALYSIS OF NEW INFO AND VIDEO FROM THE RAID THAT KILLED ISIS HEAD AL BAGHDADIBy Joseph Trevithick and Tyler RogowayPosted in THE WAR ZONE
EVERYTHING WE KNOW AND DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE RAID THAT KILLED ISIS LEADER AL BAGHDADI (UPDATED)By Tyler Rogoway and Joseph TrevithickPosted in THE WAR ZONE
SATELLITE PHOTOS CALL INTO QUESTION IMPACT OF U.S. BOMBING ITS OWN SYRIAN BASE AFTER RETREATBy Tyler Rogoway and Joseph TrevithickPosted in THE WAR ZONE
U.S. AIRPOWER MAKES SHOW OF FORCE TO PROTECT TROOPS IN SYRIA AS SECURITY SITUATION UNRAVELSBy Joseph TrevithickPosted in THE WAR ZONE
NBC News first reported the deployment early on Oct. 31, 2019. U.S. Army Colonel Myles Caggins, the top spokesperson for the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria, Tweeted out three pictures of U.S. personnel loading a Bradley from the South Carolina Army National Guard's 4th Battalion, 118th Infantry onto a C-17 at an unspecified base in the Middle East later that day. The base in question appears to be Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait based on hardened aircraft shelters and other features seen in the background.
Caggins also included a fourth picture showed one of the battalion's M2A2s on a training range in Kuwait earlier in the week. The social media post did say specifically that troops from 4-118th were headed to Deir Ez Zor.

OIR Spokesman Col. Myles B. Caggins III

✔@OIRSpox
https://twitter.com/OIRSpox/status/1189865708588584960

.@USArmy troops in 4-118th Infantry Regiment, @30thabct, @NCNationalGuard attached to the 218th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, @SCNationalGuard, load M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles to support the @CJTFOIR mission in Deir ez Zor, Syria. #DefeatDaesh


526
5:24 AM - Oct 31, 2019
Twitter Ads info and privacy

390 people are talking about this



"What we want to do is ensure that ISIS is not able to regain possession of any of the oil fields that would allow them to gain income going forward," U.S. Marine Corps General Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, had told reporters regarding the overall plan during a press conference on Oct. 30, 2019. "As of right now, we have secured the oil fields at Deir Ez Zor, generally east of the Euphrates River, in the vicinity of [the] Conoco [Gas Plant] and Green Village."

CRS
A map showing the general zones of influence in Syria as of March 2019. The situation in the country has shifted dramatically since then, with the blue and green areas expanding significantly in the northeast. The marker indicating the prense of U.S. forces in Deir Ez Zor is the general location of the existing American position near the Conoco Gas Plant and Green Village.
The first batch of reinforcements for U.S. forces already in Deir Ez Zor, riding in a mix 4x4 mine-resistant M-ATVs and other light vehicles, had crossed the border from Iraq into Syria this past weekend. Additional American personnel in M-ATVs moved into Syria from Iraq on Oct. 31, 2019, as well, but it is not clear if they are also headed further east.

Kurdistan 24 English

✔@K24English
https://twitter.com/K24English/status/1189860940268879872

#EXCLUSIVE: US special forces in an area of northern #Syria near the Turkish border conduct a patrol between the towns of Rimelan and Tirbespiye, outside Qamishli. (Photos: Kurdistan 24/Akram Salih) #TwitterKurds #Turkey


191
5:05 AM - Oct 31, 2019
Twitter Ads info and privacy

119 people are talking about this



However, on Oct. 25, 2019, U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper had confirmedthat the final force posture in Deir Ez Zor would include "some mechanized forces," a term that typically refers to tanks or other heavy armored vehicles. Previous reports, citing unnamed sources, had said that M1 Abrams tankswould also be among this particular group of troops.
4-118th is a combined arms battalion equipped with both Bradleys and Abrams and had those vehicles with it when it deployed to Kuwait sometime earlier in the month. The battalion is part of the Army National Guard's 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team, the bulk of which is part of the North Carolina National Guard, but which also includes troops from the South Carolina and West Virginia Army National Guards. The 30th began arriving in Kuwait last week to relieve the regular Army 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.

US ARMY NATIONAL GUARD
An M2A2 Bradley, at left, and three M1 Abrams tanks belonging to 4th Battalion, 118th Infantry conduct routine training in Kuwait on Oct. 28, 2019.
The Army always has a forward-deployed armored brigade in that country as part of Operation Spartan Shield. Forces deployed in support of this operation are on call to be able to respond to any potential contingency in the Middle East and the War Zone had posited last week that whatever brigade was deployed to Kuwait was the most likely force provider for the new mission in Deir Ez Zor. Units from the various brigades that have rotated through this deployment over the years have already taken part in operations in Syria.
It is not clear yet whether the battalion is also sending some of its tanks into Syria. The M2A2s, with their 25mm automatic cannons and TOW anti-tank missiles, are certainly better armed and armored than lighter vehicles, such as M-ATVs. They also have a more robust suite of sensors that will help troops monitor the areas around their positions, especially at night.
However, the Bradleys would still not offer the same anti-armor capability as even a small group of M1s with their 120mm main guns, which could be important if the force finds itself facing off against a more conventionally armed opponent. In 2018, a force aligned with the Syrian regime of dictator Bashar Al Assad, with the support of Russian mercenaries and equipped with tanks and heavy artillery, notably attempted to eject American forces and their local partners from a position near the Conoco Gas Plant in Deir Ez Zor. A massive counterattack involving air and artillery strikes was necessary to repel that threat.






The full size and scope of force that will take up positions in Deir Ez Zor remains unclear, as well. Previous estimates have ranged anywhere from 200 to 700 troops in total, which would be in addition to U.S. personnel who have been occupying the position near the Conoco Gas Plant since at least the beginning of 2018.
"We've got forces at Deir ez-Zor, that is – we have brought in some reinforcements there," General McKenzie had said on Oct. 30. "We'll await further decisions of the U.S. government about how that plan is going to look in the long term."
It's also important to note that this deployment very publicly shifts what had been a U.S. special operations forces-led mission in Syria to a more outwardly conventional military operation. Of course, conventional forces had been supporting special operators for years in large numbers and had been assisting local forces in what was already a largely conventional conflict.
The exact scope of the mission has been a matter of debate, as well. As McKenzie had said, the primary official goal was to prevent ISIS from retaking the area, which could be a potentially lucrative source of income for the terrorists. It has also been widely reported that the Pentagon is eager to ensure that Assad and his regime in Damascus, as well as its Russian and Iranian allies, cannot take advantage of these resources, which had been a major source of income for Syria in the past, and otherwise cannot reassert themselves in the eastern part the country.
With regards to ISIS, despite the recent loss of its leader in a U.S. special operations raid, and its second in command, in an airstrike soon thereafter, there are concerns that this group may be regaining strength amid the chaos in Syria that a Turkish intervention in the north that began earlier this month has unleashed. Turkey's operation has targeted the U.S.-backed predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which have been instrumental in rolling back ISIS, and have drawn their attention away from that mission. It also precipitated a hasty withdrawal of American forces from much of northeastern Syria. The Syrian regime of Bashar Al Assad, together with its Russian and Iranian allies, has also made territorial gains and could be looking to launch a new push to retake Deir Ez Zor.

US ARMY
US personnel load a mine-resistant vehicle into a C-17 at the Kobane Landing Zone in Syria on Oct. 24, 2019, as part of the withdrawal of American forces from northeastern Syria.
However, President Donald Trump, as well as members Congress, have also indicated that the United States may be looking to find some way to help reestablish more robust oil and gas extraction operations in Deir Ez Zor, which could involve American companies. "What I intend to do, perhaps, is make a deal with an Exxon Mobil or one of our great companies to go in there and do it properly," Trump had said on Oct. 27, amid remarks regarding the operation that led to the death of Baghdadi.
"This is a win-win: The SDF will get more money if we can modernize the oil fields," Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and major political ally of President Trumps, who was initially critical of the U.S. withdrawal from Syria, said on Oct. 29. "We're not going over there to enrich America – we're over there to help our allies, deny our enemy resources that will allow them to get stronger over time and finally – and this is O.K. – to lower the cost to us."
There are questions about whether this oil-and-gas-related mission is even legal under existing U.S. and international laws. Russia has, unsurprisingly, already criticized the American plan as violating Syrian sovereignty.

Минобороны России

✔@mod_russia
https://twitter.com/mod_russia/status/1187988787227451392

Russian Defence Ministry comments on the statement of the head of the Pentagon on the retention of the US military personnel group in Eastern Syria, allegedly “to prevent Islamic State access to oil fields” http://s.mil.ru/36gZepQ #mod


140
1:06 AM - Oct 26, 2019
Twitter Ads info and privacy

138 people are talking about this



Reports, citing anonymous sources, have also indicated that the U.S. military deliberately framed the issue around those resources in order to win President Trump's support for remaining Syria to combat ISIS and to prevent Assad and his allies from regaining control of the eastern part of the country. Trump had originally announced his intention to fully withdraw American forces from the country in December 2018.
Experts also debate just how lucrative the oil in Deir Ez Zor might be for anyone, given that production there has historically been low in both quantity and quality. Still, while it hasn't been a major factor in global oil markets, it had provided up to 25 percent of the the Syrian regime's total annual revenues in the past and could be equally valuable for a small, non-state actor, such as ISIS. The SDF itself has been working with Syrians tied to Assad in order to sell the oil anyway, for lack of other realistic options, though the U.S. government might be looking now at ways to cut out these middlemen for good.
As the War Zone noted in its initial reporting, questions also remain about just how viable a U.S. presence of any kind will be in Deir Ez Zor in the long term. These positions could be especially precarious if they become increasingly isolated as American forces withdraw from much of the rest of the country, ceding territory to other actors in the process. You can read more in detail about the complex logistical and force protection issues involved in our previous story here.
Regardless, the U.S. force posture in Deir Ez Zor, at least for the time being, will now feature M2A2 Bradleys and could be home to other U.S. heavy armored forces soon.

 

[yavar]

co-founder White Helmets of Syria & ex-England Army officer James Le Mesurier found dead in Istanbul Turkey

James Le Mesurier found dead near his home in Istanbul

The founder of the controversial White Helmets organisation has been found dead days after coming under intense scrutiny.

www.presstv.com

 

[Khafee]

Syria says Israeli helicopters strike targets in southern Syria
May 1, 2020

Israeli helicopters fired several rockets from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on targets inside southern Syria, Syrian state media reported on Friday, in what intelligence sources say is part of an increase in strikes against Iran-backed militias.

Opposition sources in the area said several militia posts near Quneitra were targeted in the attack, which reports said caused only material damage.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army.

Bases and convoys run by Lebanon’s Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia, which has a strong presence in the Syrian Golan Heights, have been hit by Israel in recent years.

A regional intelligence source said Israel was stepping up raids in Syria at a time when world attention and the region, including Syria, were distracted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Separately, the Syrian army said on Friday a series of blasts at an ammunition depot east of Homs had led to casualties but was not caused by an attack as earlier announced.

However, the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the blasts were caused by Israeli strikes targeting a military base on the Homs-Palmyra road run by Hezbollah.

Two weeks ago, an Israeli drone attack targeted a car carrying forces from Hezbollah in southern Syria along the border with Lebanon without causing casualties.

A few days later, Israel struck central Syria near the ancient city of Palmyra, in what regional intelligence sources said were Iranian-backed outposts and a command centre.

STRATEGIC THREAT
Israel has acknowledged in recent years it has conducted many raids inside Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011.

After Syria announced last Monday it had intercepted airstrikes by Israel near the capital Damascus, Israeli defence minister Naftali Bennett told Israeli media that Israel would step up its campaign against Iran in Syria. [L5N2CF05P]
“We have moved from blocking Iran’s entrenchment in Syria to forcing it out of there, and we will not stop,” Bennett said in a statement.
“We will not allow more strategic threats to grow just across our borders without taking action, We will continue to take the fight to the enemy’s territory,” Bennett said.

The Syrian army said Monday’s strikes had killed three Syrian civilians and injured several others from shrapnel that hit their homes.

Israel says Iran’s military presence in Syria, where its militias are fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar al Assad’s forces, is a strategic threat and claims Tehran seeks a permanent presence along its northern borders.

The threat of direct confrontation between arch-enemies Israel and Iran has long simmered in Syria.

Assad has said Iranian forces are welcome to stay in Syria after years of military victories in which Iran and Russia have played a key role in bringing back most of the country under his control.

 

[Khafee]

Syria says casualties in Homs blast, war monitor says Israel behind it
May 1, 2020

(Reuters) - The Syrian army said on Friday a series of blasts at an ammunition depot east of Homs city led to casualties but was not caused by an attack as earlier announced, but a war monitor said it was the result of an Israeli strike.

The army said in a statement released on state television there were civilian losses without elaborating on details.

The U.K. based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Israeli strikes on a military base run by Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah, which lies on the Homs-Palmyra road, caused the series of blasts.

The war monitor echoed reports by residents of the area that the sounds of the explosions were heard across Homs city.

The attack follows overnight strikes by Israeli helicopters from the Israeli occupied Golan Heights on Iranian bases in southern Syria, according to the monitor and intelligence sources.

Syria announced after midnight Israel had attacked, but did not elaborate on the targets in Quneitra province. It rarely says Iranian bases are hit

Israel in recent years has launched hundreds of attacks on Iranian-backed militias and their bases in Syria, where they have a large presence across the country.

Israel was stepping up its raids in Syria at a time when world attention and the region, including Syria, was distracted with tackling the new coronavirus, a regional intelligence source said.

 

[Khafee]

Syrian tycoon Makhlouf says security forces are arresting his employees
May 3, 2020

Rami Makhlouf, the cousin of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad

AMMAN (Reuters) - Sanctions-hit Syrian tycoon Rami Makhlouf on Sunday said that security forces were arresting employees at his diversified companies in what he said was “mounting pressure” on him days after Syrian authorities asked him to pay hefty taxes.

Makhlouf, a maternal cousin of President Bashar al-Assad and widely considered part of the president’s inner circle, has a business empire that ranges from telecoms and real estate to construction and oil trading. He played a big role in financing Assad’s war effort, Western officials have said.

“Today pressures began in an unacceptable ways and the security forces, in an inhumane way, are arresting our employees,” Makhlouf said in a video.

The security forces did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Addressing Assad in the video, Makhlouf said he had been asked to step down from the companies he runs, including Syriatel, the country’s main mobile operator and main source of revenue for the sanctions-hit government.

“Did anyone expect the security forces would pounce on Rami Makhlouf’s companies who were their biggest supporters and their patron during the war?” Makhlouf said.

The billionaire has been under U.S. sanctions since 2008 for what Washington calls public corruption and it has since toughened measures against top businessmen who are close to him.

The European Union has also slapped sanctions on Makhlouf since the Syrian conflict began in 2011, accusing him of bankrolling Assad.

He became a hated figure to many pro-democracy protesters who rose up against corruption and the authoritarian rule of Assad in March 2011.
Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by David Goodman and Nick Macfie

 

[Khafee]

Syrian gov't says 5th Israeli airstrike targeted base used by Iran
May 5, 2020

An Israeli Air Force F15i flies over the Hatzerim Air Force base in the Negev Desert, near the southern Israeli city of Beersheva on June 27, 2019. File Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI | License Photo

May 5 (UPI) -- The Syrian government on Tuesday accused Israeli forces of bombing a research center and military base that's often used by Iranian militia.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported three explosions in the al-Mayadeen desert in rural Deir ez-Zor that targeted Iranian militia positions.

Syrian state media reported the attacks occurred just before midnight Monday and the attacking aircraft was fired on by air defenses southeast of Aleppo.

Western Israeli allies say Iranian militants have dug into Aleppo governorate as part of a growing presence in Syria, which has long concerned officials in Jerusalem who say it puts Iranian forces at Israel's doorstep.

"For Iran, Syria is an adventure far from home. ... For us, it's life," Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett said last week.

Damascus officials said the new attack is the fifth by Israeli forces in Syria over the last two weeks.

 

[Khafee]

Investigation Urged into Syrian Gorge Used to Dump Dead Bodies
May 05, 2020

Map of Raqqa in Syria


Human Rights Watch is calling for an investigation into a gorge in northwest Syria that was used as a dumping site for dead bodies over the years.

The rights group said in a report Monday that it learned of the al-Hota gorge, 85 kilometers north of Raqqa city, through interviews with local residents, analysis of satellite imagery, Islamic State videos and by flying a drone through the 50-meter deep gorge.

“Al-Hota gorge, once a beautiful natural site, has become a place of horror and reckoning,” said Sara Kayyali, Syria researcher at Human Rights Watch.

The group said Islamic State fighters controlled the territory around the gorge from 2013 to 2015. The rights group said across Syria, there are more than 20 mass graves containing thousands of bodies.

“Exposing what happened [at al-Hota gorge], and at the other mass graves in Syria, is crucial to determining what happened to the thousands of the people ISIS executed and holding their killers to account.”

HRW said it also found evidence at the gorge that bodies were dumped there after Islamic State fighters had left the area. It said those now in control of the gorge have “an obligation to preserve the site, identify the missing, and investigate their deaths.”

The rights group said the area around al-Hota gorge is currently controlled by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army while the nearby city of Raqqa is under the control of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

Human Rights Watch said its drone investigation of the gorge revealed at least six bodies floating in the water at the bottom of the site and more remains likely lie below the water’s surface. It also said an Islamic State video posted to Facebook in 2014 shows a group of men throwing two bodies into the gorge.

The rights group said in a report earlier this year that IS abducted and detained thousands of people during its rule in Syria and executed many of them. It said those missing include activists, journalists, militia fighters, and local residents who were targeted by the militants.