Syria

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10586
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Syria

Post by blindpig » Tue May 24, 2022 1:38 pm

US Troops Smuggle 70 Oil Tankers Out of Syria
EDITOR2 MAY 23, 2022

Image

US Forces Have Smuggled Hundreds Of Oil Tankers Out Of Syria Over The Past Few Months.

US occupation forces continue to loot Syrian oil from the northern Al-Jazeera region of Syria’s Hasakah governorate, as a US military convoy of around 70 oil tankers reportedly made their way towards Iraq through the illegal Al-Waleed border crossing on 14 May.

According to local sources in the Al-Yarubiyah countryside, the convoy was accompanied by an additional 15 trucks carrying military equipment as well as six armored vehicles.

A day earlier, 46 US vehicles were reportedly transferred out of Syria through the same border crossing.

US troops and their proxy in northern Syria – the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) – are in control of most of the oil fields in Hasakah and Deir Ezzor and have been regularly smuggling Syrian oil out of the country to sell it abroad.

Dozens of similar US convoys have been reported over the last year and a half. On 18 December 2021, nearly one hundred oil tankers were smuggled into northern Iraq through the same illegal crossing.

In August 2020, a US company, Delta Crescent Energy, signed a deal with armed groups to develop oil wells and a refinery in areas under US occupation.

Damascus reacted angrily to this move and accused the US of engaging in “state piracy.”

On 10 January, Syrian media reported that the US occupation and one of its various armed groups, set up a refinery to process stolen oil in the town of Rmelan in Hasakah governorate.

According to the report, this installed oil facility has a capacity to refine 3,000 barrels of oil per day. The refinery was set up to increase US looting of Syrian oil.

The US has smuggled tens of thousands of barrels of Syrian oil into Iraq.

https://orinocotribune.com/us-troops-sm ... -of-syria/

****************************

Israeli missile strike kills three in Damascus, Syria

Image
The three deaths are anti-aircraft defense officers with the ranks of captain, first lieutenant and lieutenant. | Photo: AA
Published May 20, 2022

Syrian anti-aircraft defenses repelled an attack coming from areas of the occupied Golan Heights.

A missile attack perpetrated by Israel on Damascus, the Syrian capital, left at least three dead on Friday, according to local media.

The anti-aircraft defenses of the Syrian Arab Army reported that they repelled an attack from areas of the occupied Golan Heights on some points in the southern part of the capital city.

Likewise, the military authorities detailed that the anti-aircraft batteries responded to the aggression and managed to shoot down most of the missiles, although they regretted the death of the three people.


They detailed that the three deaths are anti-aircraft defense officers with the ranks of captain, first lieutenant and lieutenant.

Israel has carried out at least 13 attacks during the current year against Syrian territory. Prior to this, one had been registered against the town of Messiaf in the center of the nation, which caused the death of four members of the army and a civilian.

Syria has condemned these actions before the United Nations Organization on numerous occasions, as well as deploring the silence of the international community and has demanded the return of the occupied territories in the Golan Heights.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/ataque-i ... -0030.html

Google Translator
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10586
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Syria

Post by blindpig » Mon Jun 06, 2022 2:18 pm

Biden’s Famine: US Robbery Depriving Syrians and Ukrainians of Wheat, Syrian Scholars Say
JUNE 4, 2022

Image
Syrian children in a refugee camp holding boxes of food delivered by humanitarian organizations. Syria is suffering an extreme food shortage as US-NATO forces continue to steal wheat from occupied north-eastern Syria. Photo: Syria News.

The US has expanded the smuggling of Syrian wheat from illegally occupied regions amid an unfolding food crisis, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzia revealed on 25 May. Washington now plans to ship over 20 million tonnes of grain out of Ukraine also.

“The US began the great organised robbery in Syria five years ago,” says Dr Taleb Ibrahim, a Syrian political analyst and deputy director of the Damascus Centre for Strategic Studies.

“The regions where they are stealing oil and grains are the most productive parts of Syria,” he continued. “As an example, the eastern parts of Syria where the US established the illegal military bases provide Syrian people with 90% of oil products and 80% of grain. At the same time the US has imposed heavy sanctions on Syria to prevent the Syrian government from importing the most important necessities for the Syrian people, which is a war crime, like what had happened in Iraq, Libya, Cuba, North Korea, and other countries.”

The US and its proxies, the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), currently control most of Syria’s known oil and gas wells, as well as arable lands in northeast of the country.

“For 20 years, Syria had been the only Arab country that is self-sufficient in wheat and had a surplus to export, besides that it had the best seeds in the world,” notes Basma Qaddour, a Syrian journalist, co-author of Voices from Syria, and head of the news department at The Syria Times.

In 2007, Syrian wheat crops cultivated over nearly 1.7 million hectares produced over 4 million tonnes, according to Qaddour. “The country kept production above the need, maintaining a strategic stock for two years,” she adds.

However, in 2012, a year after the beginning of the war in Syria, the Arab Republic was forced to import flour for the first time, according to the journalist. Since then, Syria has turned into a permanent importer of grain. The problem has worsened with the US and its proxies’ illegal occupations.

Stealing Syrian wheat

“The story of stealing the Syrian wheat dates back to the 2019-2020 season, when the SDF militia, upon direct orders from the US occupants, prevented Syrian farmers in the areas that are under [the SDF] control in the provinces of Hasakah, Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, from marketing and selling their wheat to the centres established by the Syrian government [across the country],” Qaddour says.

According to the Syrian journalist, the SDF militia sold 800,000 tonnes of wheat from the 2019 season to traders and a private company in northern Iraq in coordination with the US military. Out of this, the US military “stole 100,000 tonnes and transported them to the US for cultivation there, since Syrian wheat is one of the best types of wheat in the world,” she continued.

To complicate matters further, she alleges that the US-led coalition burnt Syrian crops in order to raise the commodity’s purchasing price and force farmers into selling grain. As a result, the SDF militia traded Syrian wheat at $658.50 for one tonne, with the per-kilo price sitting at over 2,000 Syrian pounds ($0.80) which is “five times of the purchase price from the Syrian farmer months ago,” she says citing March 2021 local media reports.

“The Syrian economy is badly affected by the US sabotage as the [Arab Republic] now has to import 180,000 tonnes of per month, according to a statement made by the Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade Mohammad Samer Al-Khalil in a press conference in Damascus in February 2022,” highlights the Syrian journalist.

Ukraine heading to famine due to US policies
Ukraine may soon end up in Syria’s shoes, according to Dr Taleb Ibrahim and Basma Qaddour.

If the US maintains control of Ukrainian grain and the arable area contracts in the Eastern European state amid Washington’s fanning of the conflict via heavy arms deliveries, the Ukrainian people will meet the same fate, the Syrian journalist believes.

“Unfortunately, America is playing the role of an international thief with extraordinary military capabilities,” says Dr Ibrahim. “In Ukraine they want to threaten international security by admitting this country to NATO. They are making a very bad exchange of food for weapons, and weapons will cause more death and damage in Ukraine. In Syria they are playing a very dirty role: they talk about human rights and democracy, while stealing Syrian food and oil.”

On April 30, the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) revealed that Ukrainian authorities had increased exports of grain, corn, oil crops and farm animals from the country by road and rail on a daily basis, even though Ukrainians are facing shortages of foodstuffs and a lack of crops for the spring sowing campaign.

Russia has reason to suspect that the grain is not being delivered to the “starving global South”, but is being transported to some European countries as “compensation” for the weapons supplied to Kiev by the West, according to Ambassador Nebenzia.

Furthermore, if Washington and its NATO allies manage to ship out a whopping 20 million tonnes of grain from Ukraine that may lead to famine inside the country, warned Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin earlier this month.

Meanwhile, the US and the EU are pointing the finger of blame at Russia, accusing Moscow of the emerging food crisis. While Western officials claim that Russia’s special operation in Ukraine could lead to a global famine, they almost paralysed Russia’s food and fertiliser trade via severe sanctions, at the same time flooding Ukraine with weapons, according to Qaddour.

“The US and EU will never blame themselves for the food crisis,” she says. “They want this crisis to occur to blame Russia for it; otherwise, they will not hinder the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. The US knows well that its sanctions on certain countries and depriving them of necessary agricultural products kill people.”

If one continues to delude oneself into believing that the US and its NATO allies care about the food crisis in the Global South, one should look at how Washington has been starving the people of Syria via sweeping sanctions and wheat looting, according to the Syrian scholars.

“The Western countries are taking the whole world for an international famine, they do not care about humanitarian considerations,” says Dr Ibrahim. “The most important Western rational thinkers like Henry Kissinger said that Ukraine must be a neutral state and it must act as a bridge between the East and the West. The US and its allies chose to destroy Ukraine and to undermine international stability instead of looking for a new world order which must be established and based on cooperation and coexistence between all nations, this new world order will emerge soon after the war against Russia and it will be a multi-polar world.”

https://orinocotribune.com/bidens-famin ... olars-say/

***************************

Russia Raises Military Alert in Syria Over Turkish Operation

Image
Russia urges Turkey not to launch offensive in northern Syria. | Photo: Twitter @AJEnglish

Published 6 June 2022 (6 hours 53 minutes ago)

On May 30, Turkiye announced a plan to attack Northern Syria with the alleged purpose of “eradicating from the area the Kurdish militias”, groups that Ankara considers to be terrorists, while the Syrian government has repeatedly branded the Turkish presence in its territory as an “occupation”.

Russia has raised its military alert status in the face of threats of illegal armed groups in the Syrian region of Idlib following Turkey's announcement of the start of a military operation in the Arab country.

“In view of the Turkish government's statements on the launch of a new military operation in the north of the Syrian Arab Republic, an intensification of the activity of illegal armed groups is observed in the Idlib de-escalation zone to aggravate the situation,” Deputy Director of the Russian Defense Ministry's Reconciliation Center Oleg Zhuravliov said on Sunday.

According to the official's statements, members of the Al-Nusra Front (self-proclaimed Fath Al-Sham Front) terrorist group carried out 12 attacks in the Idlib de-escalation zone in just one day. Six were carried out in the province of the same name in northwestern Syria and as many in Aleppo province, in which two Syrian servicemen were wounded.


On May 30, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a plan to attack Northern Syria with the alleged purpose of “eradicating from the area the Kurdish militias of the People's Protection Units (YPG) and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), groups that Ankara considers to be terrorists.

For its part, the Syrian government, headed by Bashar al-Assad, has repeatedly branded the Turkish presence in its territory as an “occupation”.

Syria has also warned U.S. troops stationed in Northeastern Syria not to provide any false excuse to the Turkish regime to justify its colonial policies and plans in Syrian territory, while urging the United Nations (UN) and its member countries to take strong measures in the face of Turkiye's dangerous project.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Rus ... -0001.html
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10586
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Syria

Post by blindpig » Mon Aug 15, 2022 2:28 pm

US STEALS MORE THAN 80% OF SYRIA'S OIL PRODUCTION PER DAY
12 Aug 2022 , 11:13 am .

Image
The losses suffered by the trafficking campaign exceed 100 billion dollars (Photo: USA Today)

The Syrian Oil Ministry accused the US forces occupying Syria of being responsible for the theft of most of the country's oil.

"The amount of oil production during the first half of 2022 amounted to about 14.5 million barrels, with an average daily production of 80.3 thousand barrels, of which 14.2 thousand are delivered daily to refineries" , says the statement from the Ministry of Petroleum, reviews The Cradle .

He also stressed that "the US occupation forces and their mercenaries", referring to the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), "steal up to 66,000 barrels every day from the occupied fields in the eastern region", which is equivalent to about 83% of Syria's daily oil production.


According to the ministry, losses due to theft amount to about 105 billion dollars from the beginning of the war until the middle of this year.

In addition to the financial losses suffered by the oil sector, there have also been 235 Syrian troops killed, 46 wounded and 112 kidnapped in the same period.

The US military has been looting oil from Syria and smuggling it to its bases in Iraq through illegal border crossings. However, it is not something that is surprising since the former president of the United States, Donald Trump, had already said it publicly: "We keep the oil [from Syria]. We have the oil. The oil is safe. We left troops behind. just for the oil.

https://misionverdad.com/eeuu-roba-mas- ... ia-por-dia

Google Translator

****************

US occupation loots 100 tankers of Syrian oil – heading to northern Iraq

15 August، 2022

Image

Hasaka, SANA-US occupation intensified the operations of stealing the resources of the Syrian people and transferring them to their bases in Iraqi lands, as SANA’s camera observed dozens of tankers loaded with stolen Syrian oil heading to the illegitimate Mahmoudiya border crossing on their way to northern Iraq.

“Over the past hours, the US occupation forces brought out a convoy of 100 tankers filled with Syrian oil from Hasaka countryside to its bases in the Iraqi lands through the crossing.” local sources from Al-Yaarubiyah countryside told SANA reporter.

The US occupation transferred Saturday a convoy of 89 tankers loaded with stolen oil to its bases in the Iraqi territories through the same crossing, which is dedicated for looting oil from the Syrian fields.

Bushra Dabin /Baraa Ali

https://www.sana.sy/en/?p=280819

A number of QSD militiamen killed in north of Raqqa city

14 August، 2022

Image

Raqqa, SANA- A number of US-backed QSD militiamen were killed in an attack targeting a military point north of Raqqa city.

Local sources told SANA that unknown individuals carried out an attack with machine-gun that targeted a military point of the QSD militia near the town of Tal al-Saman, north of Raqqa, killing a number of the militia members and causing a huge material damage to the military point.

Manar Salameh /Mazen Eyon

https://www.sana.sy/en/?p=280709

*******************

Syrian child reported dead as asylum seekers left stranded in Greece-Turkey border area

A 5-year-old Syrian girl has reportedly died as a group of 39 asylum seekers remained stranded on an islet on the Evros River this week. Some members of the group have been stranded for weeks after being pushed back and forth by the Turkish and Greek authorities

August 12, 2022 by Tanupriya Singh

Image
Photo shared of the group of Syrian asylum seekers stranded on Greek soil on July 25. (Photo: @g_christides/Twitter)

A five-year old Syrian girl reportedly died on Tuesday, August 9, as a group of 39 asylum seekers remained stranded on a Greek islet on the Evros River this week. The child died early on Tuesday after she was bitten by a scorpion. Another nine-year old child was reportedly in a critical condition and in need of urgent medical care. The islet is located on Greek territory near the border with Turkey in a highly militarized and restricted area.

On July 19, Human Rights 360 was first alerted to the presence of a large transit group of predominantly Syrian people who had been stranded on an islet in the middle of the Evros since July 14.

Members of the group stated that after they entered the Greek mainland, they were apprehended, forced to undress, and then pushed back into the islet by the authorities. The transit group reported that two people had died during the process as they were unable to swim.

The practice of pushbacks of asylum seekers is illegal, and thereby prohibited under international law.

On July 20, Human Rights 360 and the Greek Council for Refugees approached the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) to seek interim relief. The court ruled in favor of the two organizations and ordered Greece to provide the asylum seekers on the islet with food, water and adequate medical care, and to ensure that they were not removed from Greek territory.

According to a report by the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN) on July 27, despite relevant authorities being made aware of the court’s order, the asylum seekers were left on the islet for almost a week more without any assistance. Officials claimed that they could not locate the group, even as local citizens and journalists reported hearing screams for help on July 25.


The next day, the transit group reported that they had been pushed back to Turkey, in direct violation of the ECtHR order, despite evidence that they were on Greek territory and had expressed their intention to seek international protection.


On August 9, over three weeks after the first group was identified, it was reported that a transit group was stranded on the same islet. Its members included several people from the first group. A BVMN update stated that the group had been pushed back and forth by Turkish and Greek authorities to different locations on the Evros before being left stranded on the islet for days.

According to testimonies shared by Alarm Phone, the group reported being subjected to beatings by Greek authorities before being held in military barracks by Turkish officials, and then being returned to the Evros border.

On August 8, a member of the transit group reported that they were transferred to a second islet, where there were 40 people including children and pregnant women. The 70 people were dispersed into groups. On August 9, rights groups filed an updated application for interim relief to the ECtHR.

As of Wednesday, Greek authorities continued to claim that the group could not be located. Meanwhile, a journalist also confirmed that screams of the people stranded could be heard in the area. The same day, the ECtHR issued a second order mandating that the asylum seekers be provided food, water and medical care, and that they must not be removed from Greek territory.


On August 11, it was reported that the Greek police had approached Turkey to assist the asylum seekers, claiming that the coordinates it had received for the location of the islet lay outside of Greek sovereignty. However, the Greek Council for Refugees contested this claim on August 12, stating that the islet was on Greek soil according to Google Maps.

For years now, Greece has been accused of carrying out violent pushbacks of asylum seekers. In May, Greece’s Civil Protection Minister Takis Theodorikakos stated that the country had stopped 40,000 undocumented migrants from entering its territory via the Evros border in the first four months of 2022.

A classified report submitted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) in February, a copy of which was accessed by organizations including Lighthouse Reports, Der Spiegel and Le Monde, has also revealed that the European Union’s border agency Frontex has been actively complicit in illegal push backs. The report found that not only was Frontex aware of the human rights violations being committed by Greece, it helped cover them up.

Under the leadership of its former head Fabrice Leggeri, the agency lied to the European Parliament and hid the fact that Frontex had provided support for pushbacks using European taxpayers’ money in at least six instances.

Meanwhile, the Greek police have reportedly also coerced third country nationals, who are themselves asylum seekers, into acting as proxies in pushback operations.

“As pushbacks in the Evros region become more systematized, violent, and life-threatening, access to asylum on the [Greek] mainland has become virtually impossible,” stated a report released by BVMN in July. In November 2021, Greece instituted major changes in the asylum process for people on mainland Greece, Crete and Rhodes. The existing Skype pre-registration system was terminated and all new arrivals were required to file their applications for international protection through reception and identification procedures.

The policy changes were enforced with only a single Reception and Identification Center in Fylakio, which has capacity for only 282 people. The center itself is located only 20 kilometers from the Evros border. BVMN took testimonies from people who were illegally pushed back from Fylakio as a direct result of requesting access to the asylum process.

People who are not recognized as having one of the 10 “vulnerabilities” under Greek asylum law are left with the sole option of registering their asylum claims via a police note – a document giving an individual upto 25 days to leave the country voluntarily.

People seeking international protection therefore need to present themselves to the authorities to obtain a police note, which they can then register at a Regional Asylum Office (RAOs). However, in practice, BVMN has found that police notes are issued inconsistently, and “people live in well-founded fear of Greek authorities due to pushbacks, detention and police violence.”

RAOs also function differently across the country, resulting in a majority of requests going unanswered. Other issues including discrepancies amongst actors and lack of up-to-date information also lead to substantive delays in access to international protection.

“As a result, the majority of people seeking international protection on mainland Greece are left undocumented, without access to basic food, accommodation or medical care. This leads to a high prevalence of homelessness, destitution, exploitation including sexual and gender-based violence, ill-health, and poor living conditions,” BVMN has stated.

https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/08/12/ ... rder-area/
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10586
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Syria

Post by blindpig » Wed Aug 17, 2022 2:30 pm

Drone strikes at US military base in Syria’s al-Tanf reiterate its dubious role

The base in al-Tanf was built by the US during the war against ISIS in 2016 without the consent of the Syrian government. The US is accused of using the base to train anti-Assad forces and steal the country’s resources

August 16, 2022 by Abdul Rahman

Image
On Monday, SANA reported that at least 100 tankers of Syrian oil were illegally transferred by US troops to northern Iraq via the illegal border crossing at Mahmoudiya. (Photo: SANA)

Two drones struck the US’ illegal al-Tanf base in Syria on Monday, August 15, according to a statement issued by the US forces. No group has taken responsibility for the attack so far in which no casualties were reported, Reuters reported. The attack on al-Tanf comes at a time when the base is at the center of accusations by the Syrian government which claims that it is being used to support the loot of billions of dollars worth of Syrian oil resources and prolonging the war in the country.

According to the US statement, one of the drones was engaged by its forces and destroyed before it could enter the base. The second drone landed inside the building but did not cause any casualties or significant damage.

The attack came hours after an Israeli airstrike killed three Syrian soldiers in Tartus on Sunday. The Israeli media reported that the attack in Tartus was allegedly against an Iranian base.

The al-Tanf base was the target of a similar attack in October 2021, when drones caused massive damage to it. The base, built in 2016, is located in Syria’s Homs province near the Jordan and Iraq borders. It has a garrison and other facilities that were built without the Syrian government’s consent. The US government claims that the base provides training and support to forces fighting against the Islamic State or ISIS.

However, the Syrian government claims that the base is illegal and a violation of international law and Syrian sovereignty. Accusing it of playing a dubious role in the war and looting the country’s resources, the Syrian government has been demanding that the international community take action and force the US to withdraw its forces from the country.

Al-Tanf used to train anti-Assad forces
The government of Bashar al-Assad has accused the US of using the base to train forces fighting against it to prolong the war in the country. In May, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that the Maghawir al-Thawra (previously known as the New Syrian Army) was trained by the US forces and given the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System or HIMARS to fight against the Assad government.

The Syrian government alleges that US forces used the pretext of fighting ISIS to deliberately prolong their stay in the country despite the fact that former US President Donald Trump declared complete victory against ISIS in Syria in 2019.

Syria claims that the US is fueling the war by providing constant military support to anti-Assad forces and preventing the unification of the country. According to some reports, al-Tanf has also been used by Israeli forces to coordinate their attacks inside Syria.

Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes inside Syria since the beginning of the war in 2012. These attacks have killed hundreds of people, including those who died in Sunday’s strike in Tartus. According to a recent report in The Wall Street Journal, all Israeli airstrikes inside Syria are reviewed by the US.

Stealth of Syrian oil resources

Syria has time and again accused the US forces of stealing its natural resources in collaboration with the non-state armed groups fighting against the Assad regime. Al-Tanf is based near Syria’s main oil fields in Deir al-Zour, which is under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

On Monday, SANA reported that at least 100 tankers of Syrian oil were illegally transferred by US troops to northern Iraq via the illegal border crossing at Mahmoudiya. This was in addition to 89 tankers of oil transferred on Saturday, footage of which shows a long line of trucks moving towards the Syria-Iraq border.

Prior to the war, export of oil was one of the main sources of state revenue for Syria. Oil production has been greatly affected by the decade-long war in the country. Both ISIS and the US forces in alliance with local militias have been accused of stealing Syrian oil. According to a government estimate earlier this month, the country produces around 80,000 barrels of oil every day, out of which 66,000 barrels are stolen by the US-backed forces and sold via Iraq. This amounts to over a billion dollars worth of Syrian oil allegedly smuggled by the US forces so far.

Given the widespread suffering and impoverishment of millions of Syrian citizens caused by the protracted war and the unilateral sanctions imposed by the EU and the US, the loss of crucial oil revenues is a big setback for Syria.

While justifying the reversal of his decision to withdraw US forces from Syria in October 2020 following the Turkish invasion of the country, Trump had justified the control of oil resources as the main reason for the presence of US troops in the country. .

https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/08/16/ ... ious-role/

Of course the oil is not the reason the US occupies Syrian territory. Neither is protection of the Kurdish mini-state, the US throws the Kurds to the wolves on a regular basis. But that ignorant greedhead Trump could only understand the policy on a 'transactional basis', as they say. Imperial statecraft is entirely beyond him, which is why he will not be re-elected, one way or the other....His ignorance of and disinterest in the subject was his one redeeming quality according to many non-US observers.

While that oil ain't a drop in the US bucket it is everything to Syria. By crippling the last independent secular nation in the region Iran, the bigger target, is also discomfited.
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10586
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Syria

Post by blindpig » Fri Oct 07, 2022 2:01 pm

Tracking the Flow of Stolen Syrian Oil Into Iraq
OCTOBER 6, 2022

Image
The US military and its Kurdish allies steal 80 percent of Syria’s daily oil production and smuggle it into Iraq for distribution. Photo: The Cradle.

By The Cradle’s Iraq Correspondent – Sep 28, 2022

While the US role in looting Syria’s resources is well-documented, less is known about the complicity of Iraq’s Kurdistan region in its transportation and distribution

Although the porous Iraqi-Syrian border stretches for over 600 kilometers, about half of it – in practice – is not subject to the authority of either state. Over the years, this lack of comprehensive border control has given rise to a number of security threats to both nations, not least the persistent presence of ISIS elements in border regions.

From the Iraqi side, there has been a pro-active approach in countering this low-level terrorism with the establishment of two defensive lines by the Joint Operations Command, in addition to concrete barriers and watchtowers.

Smuggling from Syria into Iraqi border towns is another salient feature of current border activities, and one which presents both a threat and an opportunity for the US-led international coalition whose forces operate on both sides of the border.

The US loots and smuggles Syria’s oil

Under the guise of this international coalition, the US army controls the borders between Iraq and Syria, specifically at the Fishkhabour-Semalka crossing, the illegal Al-Waleed crossing between Iraqi Kurdistan and US-occupied Syrian territory, and the Al-Mahmoudiyah crossing. All of these border crossings have become notorious for the illicit smuggling of Syrian crude oil into northern Iraq, with direct involvement from US military forces.


Reconnaissance drones routinely hover over the skies of the region, and security is contracted out to private security firms by the US military. The employees of these companies, who travel in four-wheel drive vehicles under US air cover, are responsible for securing the transportation of Syrian oil to Iraqi territory – even though their mandate is solely to transport logistical equipment belonging to the international coalition.

When The Cradle reached the border area to investigate further, we were prevented from reaching beyond the joint control point of the Peshmerga and Asayish forces, the Kurdish military and intelligence agency forces, respectively.

This checkpoint reflects the security coordination between the Pentagon and the Ministry of Peshmerga in Iraqi Kurdistan, and is conducted without Baghdad’s knowledge or coordination. The central Iraqi government’s lack of awareness of the situation on its borders may be summed up in what one senior Iraqi security source told The Cradle: that the US troops were there “supporting Kurdish forces as part of the Iraqi defense system to combat terrorism.”

Destination: Iraqi Kurdistan

However, tribal sources confirm that under the cover of this “security zone,” illegal crossings between Iraq and Syria are active, with dozens of tankers passing weekly in convoys transporting smuggled Syrian oil, accompanied by US warplanes or helicopters.

Shepherds in the region also corroborate these claims, and indicate that the Syrian oil is transported to the Harir military site in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region of Iraq (KRI), for the benefit of the Kurdish oil company KAR Group, owned by Sheikh Baz Karim Barzanji, who is close to the family of the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Massoud Barzani.

Image
Iraqi PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi and Sheikh Baz Karim Barzanji after the IRGC missile attack on Erbil (Photo credit: Reuters)

The latter has strong relations with the new so-called “Club of Influential Countries” in Iraq, in reference to the UAE and Turkey. Barzani also maintains a strong relationship with the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria, whose members have been protecting convoys of Syrian oil tanks.

Sheikh Baz came under some scrutiny in March when one of his villas, reportedly used as a safe house by Israel’s Mossad spy agency, was struck by Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) missiles, killing and injuring agents inside.

At the time, Kurdish politician Hiwa Seid Salim told The Cradle he suspects the reason for the Iranian attack on Sheikh Baz’s villa was due to his business activities, which Iranian security sources say includes selling Iraqi (or Syrian) oil and gas to Israel.

Sheikh Baz was one of the channels of communication between the KDP and government of Saddam Hussein on the transportation of Iraqi oil to Turkey during the economic embargo on Iraq. After the 2003 US invasion, he worked with USAID and transformed his construction contracting company – set up in the 1990s – into an oil conglomerate.

The logistics of the looting

Speaking to The Cradle, a former Iraqi diplomat points out that the theft of Syrian natural resources witnessed a significant increase when former US President Donald Trump came to power. At that time, he told Iraqi officials that “Syrian oil is a cheap price for Washington’s contribution to the fight against ISIS.”

While it is not possible to accurately determine the quantities of looted oil, Iraqi tribal sources confirm that the tanker journey takes approximately 48 hours through the main crossings, approved by the US army (Fishkhabour, Al-Waleed or Al-Yaarubiyah), in a process that only pauses for brief periods to fill their tanks.

According to these sources, there are usually no less than 70 to 100 tankers transporting Syrian oil during each journey.

Inside Syria, tanker convoys travel through areas outside the authority of the central state. The trip starts from the Syrian Al-Jazira region and passes through Al-Hasakah, where it stops for hours before continuing to one of the border outlets to procure supplies, and then proceeds to the Harir site in Erbil in the KRI.

There, the oil is emptied into other tanks that carry it to the US base at Ain al-Assad in Iraq’s Anbar province, or to Halabja province, where another US military base is located.

Image
Map depicting the transportation of stolen Syrian oil to Iraq

The transfer of tankers from Kurdistan to the Ain al-Assad base or any other US military site must obtain prior approval from the National Operations Center. Therefore, these transfers take place under the guise of “logistical support for the international coalition forces,” according to one Iraqi security source in close contact with the US. Although Baghdad is unlikely to be completely kept in the dark about this repeated violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, it appears to have very little say in the matter.

The source tells The Cradle that the tankers’ journey through the Al-Qaim-al-Bukamal crossing would have been shorter had this crossing not been under the control of armed Iraqi factions that accuse Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi of “opening the doors” for the Americans.

The same security source points out that these factions “have not stopped calling for the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, which continue their security and intelligence work inside the state under the cover of providing security and military advice to the Iraqi forces in the fight against terrorism.”

How much does the Iraqi government know?

The US military’s “advisory work” is ostensibly limited to providing Iraqi forces with some satellite images of the ISIS presence in the mountains in northern Iraq. However, this information is arguably already attainable by Iraqi authorities without US help, according to sources in the military joint operations room, the highest military and security authority in Iraq.

The Cradle attempted to reach out to officials in the Iraqi government for a comment on what is happening at Iraq’s border crossings, but there was no response.

A political source attributed this non-response to “political fragility,” whereby it has become common for decision-makers to avoid commenting on what is considered “sensitive” information. This is particularly the case at a time when Iraq is undergoing political uncertainty while very tentatively emerging from its economic crisis.

There are positive steps recently undertaken by the Iraqi authorities, including a recent meeting by the country’s border guards with Syrian army officers in Baghdad – the first of its kind since 2021 – aimed at strengthening cooperation and fortifying the border against terrorism and smuggling networks.

Yet Baghdad’s failure to confront and clamp down on the illegal transportation of stolen Syrian oil into Iraq further cements – and confirms – the perception of a number of Iraqi factions that the government of Mustafa al-Kadhimi is a mere puppet in American hands.

https://orinocotribune.com/tracking-the ... into-iraq/
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10586
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Syria

Post by blindpig » Tue Nov 01, 2022 2:24 pm

THE US HAS NO PLANS TO WITHDRAW ITS TROOPS FROM SYRIA OR END "SANCTIONS"
Oct 31, 2022 , 1:32 p.m.

Image
The theft of oil in Syria would serve to deal with the energy crisis, as well as to alleviate the effect of the latest OPEC + decision to reduce production levels (Photo: John Moore / Getty Images)

A White House spokesman recently stated that there are no plans to ease the Caesar Act "sanctions" against Syria or withdraw the illegal occupation forces from the country. This law criminalizes the Damascus government and everyone involved.

The person in charge of the statements was John Kirby, coordinator of Strategic Communications of the National Security Council in Washington, who said that "only a thousand American soldiers" were stationed there, whose mission is "solely to fight ISIS".

He also added that Washington does not want to change "the balance of power" in Syria, suggesting that it has abandoned its policy of regime change against Damascus. However, there is evidence to the contrary: he continues to support the country's opposition with weapons, including the CIA-trained anti-government faction, Maghawir al-Thawra (MaT).

But beyond going after ISIS, US troops have other interests. Oil looting has been taking place in Syria for some time now, carried out by the occupying forces themselves. One wonders if this theft would serve to deal with the energy crisis, as well as to alleviate the effect of the latest OPEC + decision to reduce production levels.

According to the Syrian Oil Ministry, The Cradle collects , US forces have stolen more than 80% of the country's daily oil production. Some agree that the withdrawal of the United States from Syria would facilitate the end of terrorism, since they are its main promoters.

https://misionverdad.com/eeuu-no-tiene- ... -sanciones

Google Translator

************

US occupation loots 55 tankers of Syrian oil from Hasaka countryside

Image

30 October، 2022

Hasaka, SANA- The US occupation forces looted Sunday new quantities of Syrian resources from Syrian al-Jazeera region in Hasaka countryside and brought them out to their bases in the northern Iraq.

“A US convoy of 55 tankers loaded with stolen oil from Syrian al-Jazeera, headed Sunday from Hasaka countryside to northern Iraq via the illegal al-Mahmoudiyah crossing,” local sources in al-Ya’arubyia countryside told SANA reporter.

The US forces has also transferred a number of military vehicles via the aforementioned crossing, the sources added.

Kinda ALMahmoud/ Shaza Qriema

https://www.sana.sy/en/?p=288646

Demonstrations in protest against QSD militia, Deir Ezzor countryside

Image

1 November، 2022

Deir Ezzor, SANA-Citizens of Jadeed Bakara town in the eastern countryside of Deir -Ezzor staged demonstrations in protest against practices of US occupation forces – backed QSD militia.

Local sources told SANA reporter that Dozens from Jadeed Bakara town protested against kidnappings, killing, oil theft, and plundering the Syrian al-Jazeera region’s resources by the QSD militia.

The sources indicated that the protesters blocked the main road to the town with burning tires and stones, chanting slogans calling for the expulsion of the QSD militia from the area and ending crimes against the people.

Bushra Dabin / Shaza Qriema

https://www.sana.sy/en/?p=288843
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10586
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Syria

Post by blindpig » Fri Nov 11, 2022 3:41 pm

THE US CONTINUES TO INCREASE ITS MILITARY PRESENCE IN SYRIA
Nov 8, 2022 , 1:23 p.m.

Image
A convoy of US forces arrived in the city of Raqqa as part of preparations to set up a new base in the area (Photo: AFP)

US-led international coalition forces continue to expand into northeastern Syrian territory. They currently intend to establish a new military base in their controlled areas in the Raqqa countryside.

According to local sources, reports The Cradle , a convoy of US forces arrived in the city of Raqqa as part of preparations to install a new base in the area. Once there, they began to transfer the logistics team, which was heavily guarded by surveillance drones.

Currently, the illegal occupation has at least 28 declared military sites in Syria, distributed in three provinces, mainly Hasakah (17 sites), Deir Ezzor (nine locations) and Homs (two areas).

For what purpose do they occupy Syrian territory? The layout of Washington's illegal bases resembles the cordon surrounding the oil and gas sources east of the Euphrates River, which account for most of Syria's underground wealth. As expected, military occupation is proportional to energy wealth. That is why the most strategic military bases are in the eastern rural area of ​​Deir Ezzor.

According to the London-based Syrian Human Rights Watch, US troops recently set up another military post in the village of Naqara, just three kilometers from Qamishli in the northeastern province of Hasakah.

The Syrian Arab Army has been a front in resistance to the occupation, constantly pushing back US military convoys and patrols trying to pass through its checkpoints at multiple locations in the province.

https://misionverdad.com/eeuu-sigue-aum ... r-en-siria

Google Translator

***************

Iranian tankers delivering oil to Lebanon attacked in Syria
At least 15 people were killed in the attacks. According to Lebanese media, the attacks were carried out by Israel which has a history of attacking civilian targets inside Syria

November 10, 2022 by Peoples Dispatch

Image
The aftermath of the attack on Iranian tankers. Photo: Rudaw

Iranian oil tankers carrying oil to Lebanon through Syria were attacked by unknown forces late on Tuesday, November 8, Iranian Press Tv reported. The number of casualties is not clear.

According to the Cradle, at least 15 people were killed in the attack. The identity of the people killed, however, has not been verified. The blast caused by the oil tankers also caused massive damage to civilian infrastructure in the area.

Some reports claimed the attacks were carried out by “unknown aircraft” which targeted the Iraqi militia camps near the town of Al-Bukamal. According to Iran’s official news source IRIB, the attacks were carried out by using “Israeli drones.” Similar claims were made by Al-Mayadeen Arabic.

The Iranian convoy of 22 tankers was passing through Syria’s eastern Deir Ezzor province when the attack happened. The Iranian government claimed the tankers were carrying oil to Lebanon. According to an Iraqi official quoted by Al Jazeera, at least 10 of those trucks came under attack when they crossed into Syria from Al-Qaim/Al-Bukamal border crossing.

Some Twitter handles and reports had earlier claimed that the attacks were carried out by the US forces who have a base in the region in Al-Tanf and also provide support to anti Syrian government forces.

Denying those claims, army Major Rachael L Jaffcoat said that US forces did not conduct any such operation on the said dates, Al-Jazeera reported.


Israel has been carrying out such attacks inside Syria for years now, citing self-defense needs. It claims that such attacks target Iranian military bases and supply routes to Syria. Both Iran and Syria have denied the presence of such bases. Israeli strikes often target civilian areas, killing innocents and causing massive damages to infrastructure such as the Damascus airport.

Iran has been supplying oil to Lebanon through land routes which pass through Iran, Iraq, and Syria for months now. The supply of oil through the land routes is per a tripartite agreement between the countries and does not violate any international law.

Iranian oil provides a lifeline to Lebanon which has been undergoing a severe economic crisis for several years now. The recent rise in the fuel prices has led to a further deterioration of conditions. Lack of oil imports has caused frequent power cuts and unavailability of fuel to most Lebanese.

https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/11/10/ ... -in-syria/

**********

Army checkpoint intercepts US convoy in surroundings of Tal Tamer in Hasaka

Image

8 November، 2022

Hasaka, SANA-A Syrian Arab Army’s checkpoint intercepted on Tuesday a convoy for the US occupation’s military vehicles in the surroundings of Tal Tamer in Hasaka north-western countryside and expelled it.

Local sources told SANA that a Syrian Arab Army’s checkpoint at Qubor al-Gharajneh village in Tal Tamer town intercepted a US convoy of 8 vehicles, preventing it from going into the area.

Mazen Eyon

https://www.sana.sy/en/?p=289606

Turkish artillery aggression on Abu Rasin town continues , Hasaka counrtyside

Image

9 November، 2022

Hasaka, SANA-Turkish occupation forces and their mercenaries of terrorist organizations renewed their artillery shelling on Abu Rasin town, west of Hasaka ,and on a number of surrounding villages.

“The shelling focused on the western side of the town, causing material damage to some buildings and service facilities” local sources told SANA.

“The attacks expanded to a number of villages located north of the town which caused material damage to civilian homes and properties “the sources added.

ALI,Baraa

https://www.sana.sy/en/?p=289683
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10586
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Syria

Post by blindpig » Tue Nov 22, 2022 4:09 pm

Turkey strikes US base in Rojava
November 21, 22:07

Image

Regarding the Turkish air strike on the American PKK training and education center in Rojava.
The very purpose was obvious, since it was at this base that the Americans trained the terrorist who staged a terrorist attack in the center of Istanbul, killing 6 and injuring several dozen civilians. Erdogan's revenge was inevitable.

It is believed that the Turks informed the United States through closed channels that such a strike would be delivered in any case, and American personnel were evacuated from there before the strike. According to the same scheme, Iran once bombed the American Ain Assad base in Iraq, informing the United States a few hours before the strike (via Qatar and Iraq) that missile attacks would be launched on the base, which gave the United States time to transfer personnel to underground shelters. However, at that time, even according to official data, the United States had 114 wounded and shell-shocked (according to unofficial data, there were also dead).

But the main thing here is the very situation when American facilities can be bombed. First Iran, now Turkey. The world has changed...

Russia publicly disapproves of Turkish actions, but if you look at the situation in progression, then the public rhetoric and actions of the parties are not much different from standard agreements like Afrinsky. Erdogan publicly denies this, but he has publicly denied it in the past as well.

There is an important point in all these strikes - Russia and Iran are making efforts to correct Erdogan's line towards Assad. And she has already changed. Erdogan said that after the elections in Turkey, there could be progress in relations with Syria. And the other day he announced the beginning of relations from scratch with Egypt. Accordingly, if the process of normalization in relations between Syria and Turkey moves forward in the medium term, the Kurds will become superfluous in these scenarios and few will be worried about the next strikes against them.

As it is not difficult to see, Turkey's attacks on the Kurds in Syria and Iraq and Iran's attacks on the Kurds in Iraq do not meet any serious opposition.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7988186.html

Google Translator

*****************

US occupation convoy laden with stolen Syrian oil leaves Hasaka heading for Iraq

22 November، 2022

Image

Hasaka, SANA- the US occupation forces brought out a new convoy of tanks loaded with oil from Syrian territory towards the Iraqi territories.

Local sources from al-Yarubiya in Hasaka countryside told SANA reporter that a convoy including 44 US occupation tanks laden with stolen Syrian oil left Hasaka province heading towards Iraq via the illegitimate al- Mahmoudiyah crossing over the past hours.

Bushra Dabin / Shaza Qriema

https://www.sana.sy/en/?p=291079

***************

Israeli attack leaves at least four soldiers dead in Syria

Image
So far this year there have been 29 attacks, the most recent occurred on the 13th of this month against the al-Shayerat airbase, southeast of the city of Homs in central Syria. | Photo: Twitter @pbi_es
Published 19 November 2022

It was specified that the Syrian anti-aircraft defense repelled the attack, but "as a result of the attack, four soldiers were killed.

At least four Syrian soldiers were killed and another wounded by a new Israeli missile barrage against points in the center and west of that country, military sources told the SANA news agency.

"The Israeli Air Force launched attacks against the Syrian Army positions in the center of the country and on the coast, while they were over the Mediterranean Sea near the city of Baniás," the ministry reported on social media, citing a military source. .

The note clarified that Tel Aviv Air Force fighter jets fired from the airspace of the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of the Syrian city of Banias, barrages of missiles and anti-aircraft defenses acted and intercepted some projectiles.


It was specified that the Syrian anti-aircraft defense repelled the attack, but "as a result of the aggression, four soldiers died, one was wounded and material damage was caused."

So far this year there have been 29 attacks, the most recent occurred on the 13th of this month against the al-Shayerat airbase, some 15 kilometers southeast of the city of Homs in central Syria.

The Arab nation urged the Security Council of the United Nations (UN) to issue a public condemnation of the constant aggressive Zionist actions that directly threaten regional and international peace and security.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/siria-is ... -0007.html

Google Translator
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10586
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Syria

Post by blindpig » Sat Nov 26, 2022 4:23 pm

Syria - Another Turkish Invasion Is Imminent

After two years of relative quietness the situation in Syria is again escalating.

This follows a terror attack in Istanbul two weeks ago allegedly committed by a woman who had traveled there from the Kurdish controlled city of Kobani in northeast Syria. Turkey accused the U.S., which is occupying northeast Syria, of complicity in the attack.

A week after the Istanbul incident Turkey started to bomb Kurdish positions in east Syria. It has now threatened to (again) invade it.

Image

I have not written about the conflict for quite a while and there are many new readers. So here is a list of names and abbreviations relevant to the story:

PKK - Kurdistan Workers Party - fighting, often with terrorist methods, for a larger Kurdistan country to be formed from Kurdish areas in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey
YPG - People's Defense Units - Kurdish-Syrian part of the PKK, currently silently allied with the U.S. occupation force in eastern Syria
YPJ - Female units of the YPG
SDF - Syrian Democratic Forces - 'former' YPG currently openly allied with the U.S. occupation force in eastern Syria
Mazlum - 'former' YPG head, current SDF head in Syria collaborating with the U.S.
Rojava - self-administrating area in northeast Syria under SDF / U.S. control
Barzani - head of government in the Kurdish ruled province in north Iraq - hostile to PKK/YPG, friend with U.S.
SAA - Syrian Arab Army - Syria's regular military
HTS - Hayat Tahir al-Sham - Al-Qaeda derivative, Turkish proxy which rules parts of northwest Syria


Stealing from the Turkish commentator Agitpapa here is, slightly edited, the latest news from the area.

agitpapa @agitpapa - 9:09 UTC · 26 Nov 2022
It's the PKK's anniversary tomorrow and there are rumors that Turkey wants to kick off its land war against the Kurds in Rojava on that date.

Three days of Turkish airstrikes allegedly greenlit by Russia and the US - although the Turks claim they were all from inside Turkish airspace - have devastated the civilian and military infrastructure of Rojava. Power generation was knocked out, leaving 65K villages in the dark. Oil wells, the LNG bottling plant, and grain silos were destroyed and top SDF bases in Hasaka were bombed, including Mazlum's HQ.

The US only registered a weak protest against its main occupation base being bombed by a NATO member. Airstrikes also hit SAA and Russian positions in Tal Tamer, killing SAA soldiers. SDF sources claim the Russians evacuated shortly before the airstrike.

The Turks bombed over 40 targets in both US- and Russian-controlled areas, in N Syria as well as Jazeera, tracing a wide map of the many-sided blackmail and treachery that seems to be culminating now with the total cleansing of the Kurdish population:

The Ukraine blackmail of the Turks vs Russia, extracting Russian acquiescence in exchange for their economic/political support for Russia against the West, the treachery of the SDF, allying itself with the imperialist global hegemon against the Syrian people and Russia, and the treachery of the US, stabbing its colonial Kurdish army in the back yet again.

The pro-PKK former SDF spox Mustafa Bali made it very clear how he sees the betrayal of his people. He's from the PKK and knows that NATO has never meant anything but death for his people.

Image

Yes, the Yanks briefly helped the Kurds defeat ISIS, which they themselves created, but it turned out that it was only to turn the YPG/YPJ into their colonial army.
For Syrian Kurds, the great enemy is still Assad and his ally Russia but the PKK knows better.
As the PKK resists the Turkish invasion in the Iraqi Zap river area, Barzani stabs it in the back while NATO and the EU heap praises on Barzani and try to pressure the SDF into submitting to him. Even Mazlum couldn't betray the PKK that much but still remains in the service of the Yanks.


Today the Russians gave the YPG one last chance:

Balanche @FabriceBalanche - 10:43 UTC · 26 Nov 2022
At the meeting held in Qamishli, Russia asked the YPG to withdraw all its military presence from the Turkish border to the M4 road (and leave the entire region to the government). Otherwise, Russia warned the #YPG that Turkey's military operation was inevitable. The YPG has rejected it.

If the Westerners don't stop Turkey, it's the end of the Kurdish autonomy in northeastern Syria. But can Europe and the United States oppose to Turkey in the context of the Ukrainian crisis?


In my view the 'westerner's' still need the wannabe Sultan Erdogan and can not a risk a further drift of Turkey towards Russia. If Erdogan wants to invade northeast Syria he can now do so. The Kurdish leaders, in their never ending obstinacy, will again sacrifice their people.

Posted by b on November 26, 2022 at 16:01 UTC | Permalink

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/11/s ... .html#more

The Kurds have always been disposable for US foreign policy, it's hard to feel sorry for them after their serial dupings.
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10586
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Syria

Post by blindpig » Sat Dec 31, 2022 2:35 pm

Reconciliation: Turkey Has Not Made Any Serious Offer to Syria
DECEMBER 28, 2022

Image
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (left) and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (right), with scenes from the war in Syria in the background. Photo: The Cradle.

By Erman Çete – Dec 23, 2022

While Damascus is open to negotiations with Ankara, it is wary of being used as a Turkish pre-election political ploy.

On 15 December, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that his government planned to schedule a tripartite mechanism with Russia to work toward Syrian-Turkish rapprochement.

Initially, he suggested the establishment of meetings between intelligence agencies, and defense and foreign ministries, to be followed by a meeting of the respective leaders. “I offered it to Mr Putin and he has a positive view on it,” the Turkish president was cited as saying.

In the past few months, Erdoğan has displayed an increasing interest in meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whom he characterized as a “murderer” only a few short years ago.

Diplomatic developments
Early signs of rapprochement between Ankara and Damascus are already evident in multiple, ongoing meetings between their respective intelligence agencies.

Somer Sultan, a Turkish journalist residing in Syria, told The Cradle that recently the level of talks between intelligence services has been raised.

According to Sultan, one of the outcomes of these talks is the establishment of the 25th Special Mission Forces Division of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA)—commonly known as the “Tiger Forces”—on the Turkish-Syrian border in many areas evacuated by the US-backed Kurdish militia, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

It also appears that—at least for now—Russia and the US have blocked a new Turkish ground offensive in Syria against SDF/YPG Kurdish militias, which Erdoğan has been threatening to launch for several months.

Meeting of the US, SDF, and PUK
Two days before Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and his US counterpart Antony Blinken met on 22 December, an interesting meeting was held in Syria.

US General Matthew McFarlane, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader and the son of Jalal Talabani, Bafel Talabani, and SDF leader Mazloum Abdi participated in this meeting. During his visit to North Syria, Bafel Talabani also met with PYD co-leaders Asya Abdullah and Salih Muslim.

It is important to note that Turkiye has recently threatened the PUK-held Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq, and accused the PUK of supporting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group viewed as a terrorist organization by both Washington and Ankara.

So far, the US and Russia have managed to deter Turkiye from launching a ground incursion into Syria. However, a new Turkish security concept, “meeting and eliminating threats across borders,” continues in Iraq and Syria whereby PKK targets continue to be identified and eliminated.

Turkish journalist Murat Yetkin quotes a senior Turkish security officer as saying that Ankara has warned the US to stop escorting PKK/YPG elements in Syria. According to this officer, Turkiye has advised the US forces to affix a UN or US flag on their cars to avoid any friendly fire.

What does Turkiye offer?
Relations with Syria, its related refugee conundrum, and generalized economic crisis are among the most heated topics in Turkiye’s domestic politics. Indeed, several Turkish opposition parties have attributed the refugee problem as a direct consequence of Erdoğan’s misguided Syrian policy—a popular view in Turkiye today.

Former Turkish Ambassador Ahmet Kamil Erozan, now a deputy of the opposition IYI (Good) Party, revealed to The Cradle that Turkiye has thus far not made any serious offer to the Syrian side.

“What the government says in public is the threat of YPG/PKK,” Erozan said. “But we, IYI Party, think that this is not enough. Idlib is the hotbed of terrorism and AKP (Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party) has not touched upon this topic during the negotiations yet.”

He believes that Erdoğan does not have an exit strategy from Syria, and is biding his time on this issue until Turkiye’s next key elections in June 2023.

Erozan says that the IYI Party, as a potential ruling party after the elections, will seek to make direct contact with the Syrian government. “We wrote a letter to our foreign ministry about our intention to visit Syria and waited for a response until December 15. They did not respond and now we will try to contact Bashar al-Assad on our own,” he said.

If the Assad government accepts, Erozan said, then they are open for dialogue with Damascus even before the elections, at any time and in any place.

“When we are in power, we are going to raise the dialogue level in our negotiations,” Erozan claimed. He said that the most important point is to solve the urgent Syrian refugee question, and then the difficult issues about the PKK/YPG and Idlib.

When asked whether his party has a plan to withdraw Turkish troops from Syria, he said this could be negotiable. According to Erozan, the Erdoğan government has itself not yet put the withdrawal of the Turkish troops from Syria on the table.

However, it is unclear whether the Syrian government would accept IYI’s offer—Somer Sultan thinks that the party’s offer would not satisfy Damascus “because IYI wants the Syrian government to accept an alliance against the PKK/YPG but for other terrorist organizations they want a ‘common approach.’ This is not acceptable for Syria.”

The view from Syria
A Syrian source with close ties to the government told The Cradle that in a closed door meeting Assad assured his audience that he will not meet Erdoğan prior to Turkiye’s elections.

However, according to Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, the Syrian president has also said that the level of dialogue between intelligence agencies will rise in the near future—which has, in fact, recently happened. Assad also said Syrians will continue to keep an eye open regarding the Turkish government’s intentions.

Editor-in-Chief of the Syrian newspaper Al-Watan and a close Assad confidante, Waddah Abdrabbo, wrote an editorial in a similar tone: “No pro bono gift for Erdogan.”

Abdrabbo said that the Syrians are waiting for a concrete step from Ankara. “Syrians want territorial integrity, end terrorism, and lifting sanctions,” he stressed.

Despite Erdogan’s overtures and Assad’s willingness to expand dialogue with Ankara, Syria is cautious about her neighbor’s intentions and does not intend to play a hand in Erdoğan’s electoral ambitions.

Rapprochement scenarios
For both Turkiye’s ruling AKP and its opposition, any possible Syrian-Turkish reconciliation process must include a settlement on the Syrian refugee problem. One of the ostensible reasons for all Turkish ground offensives into Syria after 2016 has been the safe repatriation of the Syrian refugees.

However, Erozan is doubtful about Assad’s intentions: “He may not accept all refugees to his country.” When reminded that Syrian refugees in Lebanon had already started to return, he stated that Lebanon is a different case.

IYI’s negotiation plans depend on Damascus’ signals. Last September, the party convened a “Migration Doctrine” conference and announced that through negotiations with the Syrian government and the participation of the EU, refugees will be able to return to Syria. If the plan does not go ahead, then Turkiye would take matters into its own hands and create a safe zone in Syria. It appears, on the surface, to be a carbon copy of Erdogan’s post-2016 policies.

While it is inevitable that high level negotiations will eventually take place between Syria and Turkiye, Damascus’ primary condition will always remain the withdrawal of Turkish troops. If a future Turkish government can view this condition as negotiable, things can rapidly improve on the rapprochement front.

For Syria, reclaiming territory from Turkiye, but also from the US-backed SDF, is of utmost importance. Securing Turkish cooperation against the SDF (and the US) would be a huge achievement for Damascus. However, the Syrian leadership evaluates the US presence in Syria as ephemeral. Therefore, cutting a deal with a powerful neighbor like Turkey is more important than to drive out American forces first.

Second, although the SDF poses a mutual threat for both countries, Syria and Turkiye have starkly different views on Islamist groups. Regaining Idlib, the northern Syrian governorate which remains the last bastion of extremist militants, is not just a question of territorial integrity for Syria—it also illustrates continued Turkish support for armed Islamist militias. Therefore, Ankara severing ties with those takfiri-salafist groups could provide an important basis for high level negotiations.

Whether the AKP or its opposition can provide this outcome is doubtful. Erdoğan is not a reliable partner for Damascus for obvious reasons, but the opposition coalition also hosts some dubious figures, such as Erdoğan’s former foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, a champion of the catastrophic Syrian war.

For now, both countries choose to maintain their mutual talks at a certain level, and it seems unlikely that the Syrian question will be resolved until after the Turkish elections.

https://orinocotribune.com/reconciliati ... -to-syria/

*******

10 workers martyred in a terrorist attack in al-Taym oil field in deir Ezzor

30 December، 2022

Image

Deir Ezzor,SANA- 10 workers were killed and 2 others injured in a terrorist attack that targeted 3 buses carrying workers in the al-Taym oil field in Deir Ezzor, SANA reporter reported .

Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources, Bassam Tohme, said in a telephone conversation with the Syrian channel that the Syrian people are suffering from an oil crisis, and the American occupation, through its mercenaries and terrorist groups, wants to cut off the available oil part that secures the minimum needs of the Syrian people, and therefore they carried out this blatant attack on cars Shifts of workers of al-Tayyem field at al-Furat Company.

https://www.sana.sy/en/?p=294502
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

Post Reply