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Syrian Revolution News & Discussions

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Syria Develops Its First Armoured Personnel Carrier
Jul 8, 2019

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The Free Syrian Army (FSA) has developed and manufactured “Al-Fahd,” its first armored personnel carrier in the Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch areas in northwestern Syria.

The 4x4 vehicle turns at a speed of 80 km/hour on flat land and 30 km/hour through mountainous terrain, Anadolu Agency reported, quoting a source associated with the FSA-affiliated Al-Hamza division, as saying on Monday.

The personnel carrier has a length of 6 meters, height of 3 m and width of 1.75 m. It can take 10 soldiers, including a five-person crew. The carrier is armed with an automatic machinegun, a high-definition night vision screen and an advanced communication system.

“It is equipped with a hydraulic rear door, seven side openings for shooting, bullet-proof glass, a shield against light and heavy landmines and a steel mesh for protection against RPG shells,” the source said.

 

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U.S. forces strike Syrian al Qaeda facility: Defense Department
August 31, 2019 / Updated 14 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. forces struck an al Qaeda facility north of Idlib in Syria on Saturday in an attack aimed at the organization’s leadership, U.S. Central Command, part of the Department of Defense, said.

“This operation targeted AQ-S leaders responsible for attacks threatening U.S. citizens, our partners, and innocent civilians,” Lt. Col. Earl Brown, Central Command Chief of Media Operations, said in an emailed statement.

Brown said the destruction of the facility would further constrain al Qaeda’s ability to carry out attacks and destabilize the region.

“Northwest Syria remains a safe haven where AQ-S leaders actively coordinate terrorist activities throughout the region and in the West,” Brown
said. “With our allies and partners, we will continue to target violent extremists to prevent them from using Syria as a safe haven.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said air strikes pounded bases belonging to jihadist fighters in Syria’s northwest. The UK-based monitor said the strikes, near the town of Maarat Misrin in Idlib province, killed more than 40 militants, including some commanders.

Syria’s northwest corner, which includes Idlib, is the last big chunk of the country still in rebel hands after more than eight years of war.

The dominant force in Idlib is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist alliance formerly known as the Nusra Front, which cut ties to al Qaeda in 2016. However, a wide array of factions, including Turkey-backed rebels, also have a presence.

U.S. air strikes have hit a number of Nusra commanders in northwest Syria in recent years.

Reporting by Diane Bartz, Lucia Mutikani and Idrees Ali in Washington and Khalil Ashawi in Istanbul; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien

 

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IRGC-affiliated Company to Operate Mobile Service Network in Syria
Friday, 6 September, 2019

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Syria's President Bashar al-Assad meets with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran in this handout released by SANA on February 25, 2019. SANA/Handout via REUTERS

London - Ibrahim Hamidi

An agreement between an Iranian company backed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps and the Syrian state-owned telecommunications corporation to operate a third mobile operator in Syria has been recently confirmed.

The agreement will provide the acquisition of stakes from Syriatel and MTN, amid ongoing negotiations to finalize the terms of the contract and the distribution of shares among businessmen and official figures in Damascus and Tehran.

The announcement came days after the start of proceedings against Syriatel, of which Rami Makhlouf - the cousin of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad – is the main shareholder. News emerged about some of the company’s shares being transferred to the “Martyrs’ Fund” of the Syrian army.

Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis visited Tehran in early 2017, where he signed several MoUs concerning a third mobile operator to be run by an Iranian company, the investment in Syrian phosphate for 99 years, the acquisition of land for agricultural and industrial purposes, and the establishment of an oil port the Mediterranean, in addition to the signing of a new $1 billion credit line from Iran, part of which is used to finance the export of crude oil and petroleum products to Syria.

Moscow’s intervention and a quota dispute have prevented the implementation of these agreements over the past two years. The Russian side has acquired the phosphate project near Palmyra. Syria has one of the largest phosphate reserves in the world with 1.8 billion tons, most of which is located in the east, and part of which is exported to Iran.

With the decline of military operations near Damascus and southern Syria, Damascus and Tehran have given new impetus to their economic relations.

Earlier this year, Khamis and Iranian Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri presided over the joint committee's meetings, where nine MoUs were signed in the fields of railways, building houses, investment, and “combating the financing of terrorism and money laundering, in addition to education and culture.”

 

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Turkish military enters Syria to begin joint U.S. 'safe zone' patrol
September 8, 2019
Murad Sezer, Rodi Said
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Turkish soldiers walk together during a joint U.S.-Turkey patrol, near Tel Abyad, Syria September 8, 2019. REUTERS/Rodi Said

AKCAKALE, Turkey/TAL ABYAD, Syria (Reuters) - Armed Turkish military vehicles crossed into war-stricken Syria on Sunday to begin joint patrols with U.S. counterparts to establish a high-stakes “safe zone” along a border region controlled by Kurdish forces.

Vehicles with Turkish flags joined those in Syria with U.S. flags some 15 kilometers (nine miles) east of the Turkish border town of Akcakale, near Syria’s Tel Abyad. With two military helicopters briefly overhead, they headed south for several hours before returning to Turkey.

The land patrol, which Damascus condemned, marks the latest sign of cooperation between the NATO allies east of the Euphrates even while thorny questions remain over the size and oversight of the safe zone.

Underscoring frayed trust between the NATO allies after sometimes conflicting roles in Syria’s eight-year war, President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey does not share many of Washington’s aims and rejects its protection of “terrorist” organizations in the zone.

Erdogan is anxious to push back from Turkey’s borders the Kurdish YPG forces which, with U.S. backing over the last four years, have taken control of much of northeastern Syria from Islamic State militants.

Ankara has labeled the YPG terrorists and says they have links to Kurdish militants in Turkey. Turkey also aims to send 1 million of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees it hosts to a broader safe zone in northern Syria.

“We are negotiating with the U.S. for the safe zone, but we see at every step that what we want and what they have in mind is not the same thing,” Erdogan told supporters in Malatya just hours after the first patrol ended.

“It seems that our ally is looking for a safe zone for the terrorist organization, not for us. We reject such understanding,” he said, adding Turkey must secure “the entire region” to resettle refugees.

On the patrol, Turkish officers accompanied by U.S. troops documented some of the YPG fortifications that had been demolished as part of an agreement that Ankara and Washington hashed out in recent months, a Reuters witness said.

Arab tribes mainly inhabit the proposed safe zone region controlled by the YPG forces. On Sunday, witnesses said residents in some of the villages emerged to greet and wave at Turkish troops on the joint patrol.

After intensive negotiations, Turkey and the United States have also set up a joint operation center and conducted joint helicopter patrols. But they have so far disagreed over how deep the zone would extend into Syria and over the command structure of the forces to operate there.

DAMASCUS ANGRY
The U.S. Combined Joint Task Force said the joint patrol “demonstrates our continued commitment to address Turkey’s legitimate security concerns, while also allowing the coalition and our SDF partners to remain focused on achieving the enduring defeat of (Islamic State).”

Turkey is also involved in Syria’s northwest Idlib region - the last large swathe still controlled by rebels - where its troops and observation posts have come under pressure as Russian-backed Syrian government forces have pushed north in recent months.

An escalation of conflict in recent weeks has strained Ankara’s ties with Moscow, which is allied with Damascus.

The Syrian government said on Sunday the joint U.S.-Turkish patrols were a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty and “territorial integrity.” Damascus has accused the YPG of working toward separatism, a charge the YPG denies.

The SDF, of which the YPG is a part, said the joint patrols are “part of a road map to attain stability in a way that contributes to its efforts to pursue (Islamic State) and uproot them.”

Many of the inhabitants of the predominately Arab area that is expected to comprise the safe zone - including Tel Abyad, Ras al Ain and several Arab villages - had fled to Turkey fearing reprisals by the YPG on charges they had links to Islamic State.

Tribal leaders and rights groups accuse the ruling Kurdish militia of preventing many Arabs from returning to their former homes which they say in some cases have been confiscated and demolished, a charge the Kurdish YPG vehemently denies.

Kurdish leaders say they have long been victims of Arab discrimination.

Sheikh Mudar al Assad, a tribal figure from the region who lives in exile in Turkey, said he expected tens of thousands of displaced Arabs to return back to their homes once the safe zone was established.

“The mere presence of Turkish troops in this area has raised hopes of the return of many who have been exiled ,” al Assad said.

Erdogan’s ruling party suffered some stunning local election losses this year in part due to impatience among Turks over the Syrian refugees. On Sunday, Erdogan repeated that Turkey would act alone in the northeast if by the end of September a “de facto” safe zone with Turkish soldiers is not established.

Additional reporting by Irem Koca in Istanbul and Suleiman Al-Khalidi in Beirut; Writing by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by John Stonestreet and Andrew Cawthorne

 

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Turkey cites disagreements with U.S. even as joint Syria patrols begin
September 8, 2019

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, speaking hours after joint U.S.-Turkey patrols began in northern Syria, said on Sunday Ankara and Washington have constantly disagreed over establishing the planned “safe zone.”

“We are negotiating with the U.S. for the safe zone, but we see at every step that what we want and what they have in mind is not the same thing,” he said. “It seems that our ally is looking for a safe zone for the terrorist organization, not for us. We reject such understanding.”

The safe zone region is mostly controlled by Kurdish YPG forces, U.S. allies that Ankara has labeled terrorists.
Reporting by Irem Koca; Writing by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne

 

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Salaam

I wonder where this conflict is headed? It's a free for all situation - eventually something has got to give.
Where do you see this conflict heading?
 

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Israeli planes struck east Syria, says Hezbollah military media unit
September 10, 2019

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Israeli planes hit a Syrian army camp under construction in eastern Syria early on Monday without casualties, said a military media unit run by Lebanon’s Hezbollah, a Syrian government ally.

War monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had earlier reported that strikes by unidentified planes had killed pro-Iran fighters and attacked positions and arms depots belonging to them in Albu Kamal, a town near the Iraqi border.
“The enemy targeted a camp under construction for the Syrian army and its allies to house soldiers away from civilian homes... The building was empty at the time of targeting and there were no casualties,” the media unit said, quoting a security source in Syria.

It said the incident happened in the Albu Kamal area.

Israel, alarmed by Iran’s growing regional influence through militia allies in countries including Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, says it has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria. It wants to stop Iran establishing a permanent military presence in Syria and has struck against advanced weapon shipments to Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The Israeli military said it does not comment on foreign reports.

Reporting by Lisa Barrington in Beirut and Nayera Abdallah in Cairo, Additional reporting by Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien

 

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Erdogan: Turkey Prepared for Possible Syria Border Operation
Saturday, 21 September, 2019 -
turkish_president_erdogan_addresses_visitors_at_teknofest_technology_and_aerospace_fair_in_istanbul_turkey_september_21_2019._reuters.jpg

Turkish President Erdogan addresses visitors at Teknofest technology and aerospace fair in Istanbul, Turkey, September 21, 2019. (Reuters)

Asharq Al-Awsat

Turkey is ready to act on its southern border with Syria, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, after warning that it could take unilateral steps if the US does not establish a “safe zone” in northeast Syria this month.

“Our preparations along our borders are complete,” Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul on Saturday before departing to attend a UN General Assembly meeting, reported Reuters.

NATO allies Turkey and the US have started joint land and air patrols along part of the border strip, but Ankara says Washington is moving too slowly to establish a sufficiently large safe zone to push Syrian Kurdish forces from the border.

Turkey has been angered by US support for Kurdish-led forces which fought ISIS in Syria. It considers the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) fighters a terrorist organization and wants them removed from more than 400 km (250 miles) of border.

The YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces has said they will pull back up to 14 km in some areas. Turkey says the US had agreed that the “safe zone” should extend 32 km into Syria.

Erdogan reiterated complaints over US support for the Kurdish fighters, saying Washington was providing them with arms.

“We have no wish to come face to face with the US,” he said. “However, we cannot afford to overlook the support that the US is giving to a terrorist organization.”

His comments about border preparations came a day after two security sources said doctors have been stationed in southern Turkish provinces to prepare for a possible incursion into Syria.

One source said doctors’ leave had been suspended. “We have been preparing for a long time,” the source said. “The operation can be conducted whenever deemed necessary.”

Turkey has already launched two military incursions into northern Syria since 2016, targeting ISIS and YPG forces west of the Euphrates.
 

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Syria Says Authorities Capture Explosives-Laden Drone near Golan Heights
Saturday, 21 September, 2019
a_picture_taken_on_july_22_2018_from_the_israeli-annexed_golan_heights_shows_a_smoke_plume_rising_across_the_border_in_quneitra_in_southwestern_syria._afp.jpg

A picture taken on July 22, 2018 from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights shows a smoke plume rising across the border in Quneitra in southwestern Syria. (AFP)

Syrian authorities have captured and dismantled a drone rigged with cluster bombs near the border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, said the state news agency SANA on Saturday.

It gave no further details, but posted several photos.

The incident came two days after another drone was destroyed over the Damascus suburb of Aqraba.

No one claimed responsibility for the drones.

Israel frequently conducts airstrikes and missile attacks inside war-torn Syria but rarely confirms them.

Israel says it targets mostly bases of Iranian forces and the Lebanese Hezbollah party in Syria.

In neighboring Lebanon, a government investigation concluded Thursday that two Israeli drones were on an attack mission when they crashed in the capital last month, one of them armed with 4.5 kilograms (10 pounds) of explosives.
 

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Iraq to open border-crossing with Syria on Monday

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq’s Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has approved the reopening on Monday of the Qaim border-crossing with Syria, state news agency INA said, the latest sign of normalization between Baghdad and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government.

The crossing will be reopened for travelers and trade, INA reported on Friday, citing Iraq’s border agency chief. The western Anbar province town of Qaim, 300 km (185 miles) west of Baghdad, was recaptured from Islamic State in November 2017 and was the group’s last bastion in Iraq to fall.

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Russian S-300s, S-400s Fail to Detect Israeli F-35s Flying Over Syria: Reports
September 19, 2019
israel_f-_1568875128 - Copy.jpg

Flight path of Israeli warplanes over Syria (source: NZIV)

Russia’s advanced air defense systems, the S-300s and S-400s, were ineffectual in detecting Israeli F-35 stealth fighters flying over Syrian capital Damascus, Israeli media reported.

Israeli media published the flight route of its planes, reportedly F-35 Adir jets, that showed the jets entering Syrian airspace and crossing over its capital city, evading hundreds of kilometres of area shielded by Russian-made air defense systems.

f-35_2_1568875161 - Copy.jpg

Israeli F-35 Adir fighter jet

Effectiveness of the S-300s and S-400s to defend against incoming aircraft were questioned by NZIV, an Israeli news outlet. NZIV wrote that the Israeli jets “were able to enter the Syrian air space without any hindrance” since Russian stealth detection systems “simply did not notice the warplanes.”

Notably, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered the indigenously-made air defense systems to Saudi Arabia after Yemeni Houtis’ drone strike against Alqaiq and Khurais oil fields on 14 September.
 

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Sunni arabs got wiped out so hard they even ceased becoming a majority in their own country. Of course not all the missing sunni arabs got wiped out - millions fled the country.


EHaz5ZZWsAE2IxZ.jpg:large
 

Khafee

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Sunni arabs got wiped out so hard they even ceased becoming a majority in their own country. Of course not all the missing sunni arabs got wiped out - millions fled the country.


EHaz5ZZWsAE2IxZ.jpg:large
and now its Kurds who are facing a genocide
 
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