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Re: Syria

Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2019 8:29 pm
by blindpig
In the Western Media Narrative, SAA-Targeted Underground Bunkers and Terrorist-Run Prisons Become “Hospitals”
We should not allow ourselves to be collectively hypnotized into believing the media hype that would portray armed-group murderers as heroes, and the Syrian people and government struggling to expel them from their country as the villains.

by Vanessa Beeley

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June 10th, 2019

IDLIB PROVINCE, SYRIA (Report) — In recently liberated Qalaat Al Madiq — 500 meters from As Suqaylabiyah, a predominantly Christian town near Syria’s embattled Idlib province — the White Helmets, a controversial rescue group financed primarily by the U.K. Foreign Office, was found to have an established presence in a network of tunnels. The tunnels zigzagged under a former wheat factory that had since been converted into a headquarters of Nusra Front/HTS — Al Qaeda in Syria.

Syrian army finds yet another "White Helmet" and "al-Nusra" joint headquarters
Video by Russian war correspondent Oleg Blokhin pic.twitter.com/ambtRijaDS

— R&U Videos (@r_u_vid) May 12, 2019

This has been a pattern repeated in many of the areas liberated from extremist groups in Syria: a White Helmets presence alongside the Nusra Front, or whichever extremist group happens to dominate specific districts of the occupied territories. Invariably, the majority of the White Helmet operatives departed upon the seemingly endless stream of green buses that carried the various cadres of armed groups from liberated regions of Syria into Idlib.

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Underground hospital in Zamalka, Eastern Ghouta; April 2018. (Photo: SANA)

In Eastern Ghouta, many of the temporary medical centers, which provided treatment almost exclusively to extremist armed factions, were also built underground. I visited a number of them after Eastern Ghouta was liberated in early 2018. They were linked by a vast maze of tunnels that snaked below most of the districts controlled by the armed groups, providing cover for the fighters during SAA military campaigns.

A recent video from occupied Northern Hama, neighboring Idlib, shows members of Jaish Al Izza, an armed terrorist organization, gathering in a series of underground tunnels and caverns used as meeting rooms. The video shows Jaish Al Izza General Commander, Major Jamil al-Saleh, congratulating a group of fighters on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr. At least one of the fighters is wearing an Al Qaeda armband in the video, which was apparently later doctored to conceal the Nusra Front affiliation.

Despite Jaish Al Izza’s well-established affiliation with Al Qaeda, South Front, a website that provides extensive coverage of the Syrian conflict, revealed that when Jaish Al Izza was established in 2013 it was initially listed among a group of “moderate” rebels eligible for U.S support through the CIA’s Timber Sycamore train-and-equip program, which was approved by then-U.S. President Barack Obama:

The group received loads of weapons from the U.S. including Grad rockets, as well as Fagot and TOW anti-tank guided missiles [ATGMs]. … Jaysh al-Izza’s ‘special relationships’ with HTS and its high-tolerance to al-Qaeda ideology confirms the radical views of the group’s fighters and leader. Jaysh al-Izza members are not even making much efforts to hide this after the suspension of the U.S. support in 2017.”

(VIDEO AT LINK)

The hospital masquerade
This use of underground facilities as makeshift medical centers for fighters and the conversion of existing hospitals into Sharia courts, military centers, prisons and torture chambers was demonstrated in East Aleppo and Eastern Ghouta prior to the Idlib campaign.

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A wing of the Ibn Khaldoun mental health hospital in Aleppo, occupied by a succession of armed groups including Nusra Front and Free Syrian Army. (Photo: Vanessa Beeley)

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Ahmad Aldayh, prisoner of the armed groups in the former Eye and Childrens hospital complex in East Aleppo. (Photo: Vanessa Beeley)

In May 2017, I interviewed Ahmad Aldayh, who had been imprisoned by Jabhat Al Shamiya, another of Syria’s myriad anti-government extremist groups and an Al Qaeda affiliate, in the Eye and Children’s Hospital complex in East Aleppo. Aldayh described a hospital that had been converted into a Sharia court, prison and torture chambers and was simultaneously being used as a military center by the succession of armed groups that took control of the complex during the five-year occupation of East Aleppo. Aldayh gives a detailed account of the brutality and savagery of the armed groups towards civilians detained in the former hospital buildings.

(Much more at link)

https://www.mintpressnews.com/white-hel ... ia/259111/

Re: Syria

Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 3:03 pm
by blindpig
SYRIA: Bodies don’t lie
vanessa beeley / 10 mins ago
23rd July 2019

During my last but one trip to #Damascus, I had the privilege of interviewing the Director of Forensics, Dr Zaher Hajjo, in Damascus.

Here are just a few of the statements he gave me during our meeting. Hajjo is a genuine patriot who endures the horrific aspects of his job because he feels profoundly that he can bring some relief to the people of Syria who are waiting for news of their loved ones.

He did tell me that he is “haunted” by what he has witnessed, suffers from recurring nightmares but nothing will deter him from his mission to bring some clarity to the confusion sown by the pure evil that has been given life inside Syria – by Western governments and their cohorts in the Gulf States, Turkey and Israel.
“The bodies I have to inspect tell their own stories of torture, dismemberment, rape and abuse. It is a very painful part of my work but it does bring relief to relatives waiting a very long time for information re loved ones

White Helmets are more dangerous than terrorists. They enable terrorist crimes.They can kill anyone & are immune from condemnation. They can carry guns but not be punished. They are criminals with a fake identity responsible for huge crimes against Syrian people.

“Terrorists or so-called “rebels” murder civilians twice effectively. After people are executed, bodies are hidden, buried or burned & mutilated & IDs stolen or destroyed. This is deliberate to add to suffering of relatives, makes ID almost impossible.

Jisr Al Shughour massacre of Syrian Arab Army soldiers on the 5/6/2011 – Urum al Jawz. “110 soldiers were assassinated during the time of the so-called “peaceful demos” – they were murdered by professional assassins, the guns had a 600m range and all the SAA were killed by one shot to head or heart in one hour as they were on their way to help comrades under siege in Jisr Al Shughour.

“Moderate rebels” – “in 2011, Sarmine, Idlib – a prisoner of the “moderate” terrorist groups begged his wife to pay the demanded $ 40k ransome – not to free him but for terrorists to kill him, the torture was so unbearable for him, he wanted it to end”
Photo: Discovery of mass graves in Raqqa – murdered by US-sponsored proxy forces SDF and ISIS.
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https://thewallwillfall.org/2019/07/23/ ... -dont-lie/

Re: Syria

Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2019 2:54 pm
by blindpig
US-backed forces torture, urinate on Arab family in Syria

July 29, 2019 at 12:37 pm | Published in: Asia & Americas, Middle East, News, Syria, Turkey, US

Shocking video footage has emerged showing militants from the Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG) beating, torturing and urinating on an Arab family in the city of Manbij which it occupies in northern Syria.

The group, which controls large swathes of territory in the north and east of the war-torn country along with other Kurdish militant groups such as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), is backed, funded and armed by the United States (US).

The graphic video, which went viral on Twitter yesterday, shows the YPG militant dragging the Arab family out of a van into a courtyard and proceeding to kick them while they lay on the ground, pulling off the woman’s headscarf, and then standing over them and urinating on them. As he beats the two men and one woman who were allegedly caught after fleeing mandatory military service in YPG-held territory, the group’s flag can be seen at the edge of the courtyard.

Forced military recruitment, torture, extrajudicial killings, and the oppression of local civilian populations have commonly been solely ascribed to the likes of Daesh, opposition groups, and the Syrian army, while the YPG and the Kurdish militias overall have largely maintained the image of being peaceful and ethical amongst Western audiences.

Throughout the Syrian conflict, for example, numerous Western individuals and military personnel have travelled to the country to fight alongside the YPG and SDF, with little to no charges or prosecution over their decision once they return to their home countries. The US and certain EU member states have also made the decision to arm and back the groups over the years due to the perception of them as the most reliable force to eliminate Daesh. This has angered neighbouring Turkey which views the YPG as the Syrian wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which it outlawed as a terrorist group.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190 ... -in-syria/

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

Kurds mobilise forces in Syria, militants flee amid fear of Turkey invasion
July 26, 2019 at 2:07 pm | Published in: Europe & Russia, Middle East, News, Syria, Turkey

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Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) head a convoy of US military vehicles in the town of Darbasiya next to the Turkish border, Syria 28 April, 2017 [Rodi Said/Reuters]

The Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG), the Syrian wing of the internationally-recognised terrorist group the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) in Turkey, is preparing its forces ahead of what it fears is a Turkish military operation in the region.

Local sources in the area east of the Euphrates River reported on the deployment and mobilisation of the militia troops in the city of Ras Al-Ain in Hasakah province and the surrounding rural areas on Wednesday. The mobilisation has also reportedly been followed by raids into the nearby towns and villages, causing the widespread displacement of civilians from areas such as Tal Barak.

This is part of the state of confusion the YPG is reportedly undergoing following the breakdown of talks between the United States (US) and Turkey on a proposed new safe zone in Syria, which Ankara demanded must exclude the YPG and other Kurdish militias. Turkey subsequently threatened to conduct a military operation into the Kurdish-held territories if the safe zone was not agreed upon.

The talks between Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar and US Envoy to Syria James Jeffreys, which were held as talks between US military officials and the YPG were also underway, ended on Wednesday with no agreement having been concluded.

The fear of the looming Turkish military operation has severely lowered the morale of the group and has reportedly caused incidents of militia members and officials defecting and fleeing the area. The YPG-led Kurdish security and intelligence agency Asayish allegedly conducted arrests of men of military-age from the city of Raqqa for the purpose of forced recruitment, and raided the village of Al-Jamous near Tal Abyad in search of five militia members who defected from the group.

YPG customs official Rasho has also fled the territory east of the Euphrates, taking millions of dollars of the militia’s funds with him.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190 ... -invasion/

Re: Syria

Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2019 3:51 pm
by blindpig
U.S. IS LOOTING OIL FIELDS IN NORTHEASTERN SYRIA: RUSSIAN MOD

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US forces, accompanied by Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) fighters, drive their armoured vehicles near the northern Syrian village of Darbasiyah, on the border with Turkey on April 28, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / DELIL SOULEIMAN

U.S. forces are looting oil fields and farmlands in the northeastern region of Syria, head of the Russian General Staff’s Main Operational Department Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi said at a Defense Ministry briefing on July 29.

The Russian commander added that the number of U.S. private military contractors deployed in northeastern Syria’s oil fields has surpassed 3,500.

“Syrian oil is extracted and sold from the fields of Conico, al-Omar and al-Tanak located on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River. There is a criminal scheme to transport Syrian oil across the border,” Col. Gen. Rudskoi said.

Northeastern Syria is currently controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the U.S. main proxy in the war-tron country. The group’s Kurdish-dominated self-administration has full control of all natural resources in the region.

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Last month, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, revealed that the U.S. has been increasing the number of private military contractors deployed in northeastern Syria.

Several reports had accused the self-administration in northeastern Syria of engaging in illegal oil trade. However, it remains unclear if U.S. private military companies are taking a part in these activists in a way or another.

https://southfront.org/u-s-is-looting-o ... ssian-mod/

Re: Syria

Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2019 8:30 pm
by blindpig
The West has waged war against Syria – a war of terror and an economic war
vanessa beeley / 1 hour ago
Syria: what the people have seen cannot be unseen.

When I was last in Damascus and interviewed George and Jean Ibrahim about their horrific experience during a terrorist shelling of Jean’s school in April 2014 – I also had the privilege to interview Ghassan Al Issa, the Principal of Al Noor secondary school who talked to me in the courtyard of the Al Manar elementary school that was the target on that day in April 2014.

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The entrance of Al Manar school leading to the playground that was targeted, by terrorist groups, in April 2014. (Photo: Vanessa Beeley)

Ghassan reinforces what almost all Syrians in Syria will tell you – the terrorists are promoted and sponsored by the West and have waged war against Syrian civilians for almost 9 years, murdering children and innocent people in crowded residential areas.

Ghassan talks about the “black day for this school” when “the courtyard and corridors were covered in blood”.

“Western media always conveyed the exact opposite of truth. The State would never target its citizens and students.”

“Western media, even Arabic media conspired against Syria”.

Ghassan talks about the “steadfast Syrian Arab Army” that has endured such suffering and has made such sacrifices for the people of Syria.

He also talks about the “oppressive economic sanctions”, the hidden war being waged against Syria by the governments in the West.

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Entering Al Manar school in the narrow residential streets of Bab Touma, the Old City, Damascus – regularly targeted by terrorist groups embedded in East Ghouta before 2018 and sponsored by the U.S Coalition. (Photo: Vanessa Beeley)

All these Syrian voices speak in unison. They are not prompted or coached by the hidden hand of the Syrian state as Western media hacks would have us believe. They are united behind the truth, the truth they have been aware of and have spoken of since the first days of this filthy war but their voices have been utterly discarded by Governments and aligned state-media in the West because they are the “inconvenient truth”.

Please listen to Ghassan, he speaks on behalf of Syria and all Syrians who have all endured the trauma and horror of a war they did not want.

Watch the full interview here:



https://thewallwillfall.org/2019/07/31/ ... nomic-war/

Re: Syria

Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2019 1:22 pm
by blindpig
Aug 5 at 5:20am
SYRIA: On the frontline against international terrorism

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There is something about this photograph that captures the biblical nature of the Resistance against international terrorism in Syria. It brought tears to my eyes when I saw it yesterday and this morning, I am expressing the emotions it brought to the surface.

Both men with their feet rooted in the ancient stone of their land, the vast, rolling landscape behind them, the gathering clouds billowing across the endless skies. A moment of humour between these two commanders of their Resistance soldiers as they defy the monsters that have been introduced into the land of the Prophets.

The stone they are standing on has withstood centuries of invasion and hostility and has survived intact - these two men are fighting to defend this history and to ensure a future of peace for their people.

On the left is Nabel Alabdalla, leader of the volunteer National Defence Forces in Al Sqeilbiyyeh, a hero to the people of his town and a man who, with his soldiers, has given everything to defend his homeland, his history and his people. Adored and respected by his fighters, Nabel retains a humility and humanity in the face of the evil he has confronted on a number of campaigns across Syria.

Nabel has often spoken of "holding the candle of peace and love in one hand, with the other hand on the trigger of the gun" - this is the spirit of these Syrian soldiers who fight for peace and the return of love and unity to this land.

(My interview with Nabel after a terrorist attack on the town of Al Sqeilbiyyeh - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfzD7abEzOU )

On the right is Liwa Zaid Saleh one of the most charismatic Generals in the Syrian Arab Army. I first met General Zaid in Aleppo, December 2016, during the final battles to liberate East Aleppo from the terrorist gangs that had occupied it for almost 5 years. The General accompanied us to one of the districts in the final throes of liberation, the industrial area of Sheikh Saeed. War planes were still roaring overhead and smoke plumed skywards from areas only very recently cleansed of their terrorist occupants.

We stood on the rooftop and surveyed the devastation that is the criminal footprint left behind by these U.S Coalition terror groups. Young soldiers, many from the Liwa Al Quds (Palestinian) brigade gathered around us, giving victory signs to the camera and holding up the Al Qaeda banners and flags that had flown from these buildings before the Syrian Arab Army drove them out. General Zaid spoke movingly to the media contingent, describing the SAA determination to end terrorism, not only in Syria but in the world.

I hear this statement from almost every Syrian soldier, regardless of rank. They understand that they are fighting and dying not only for Syria but for us all, for all Humanity.

I later met General Zaid with Nabel in Al Sqeilbiyyeh when the General described his ongoing campaign to offer amnesty and reconciliation to Syrian fighters who had turned against their own people.

The General showed me videos of his speeches to these former "rebel" fighters and described to me how many of them had responded when he spoke. Thousands of them rejoined the Syrian army and are now fighting international terrorism alongside their former "enemies" who are now, once more, their brothers.

I heard the same thing in Al Waer, Homs when we were observing the evacuation of "rebel" fighters from the area - on the green buses to Idlib. The Governor of Homs described how he had entered the buses and spoken to the Syrian citizens that he believed were confused and misled... he told us that many of them had also wept, some had got off the buses and had been allowed to return home. Many who left for Jarablus and Idlib asked to return a few weeks later, life in the extremist hell hole that is Idlib was not what they expected. They were welcomed home.

This is Syria - forgiveness is in their nature, it is embedded in their psyche. I remember also when Eastern Ghouta was liberated, a friend of mine in Damascus said to me:

"The war is finished, but now we have the most difficulat war - the war of forgiveness"

It is a war that all Syrians will win because they know, instinctively, that it is the best way to protect their own humanity and their homeland from any future destabilisation. They know that Humanity must learn to forgive in order to survive and to progress. The Syrian people are light years ahead of the so called "civilised" West.

As Dag Hammarskjold, first Secretary General of the U.N said:

"The pursuit of peace and progress cannot end in a few years in either victory or defeat. The pursuit of peace and progress, with its trials and its errors, its successes and its setbacks, can never be relaxed and never abandoned."

Syria will never be defeated. A country with such a history, culture and civilisation will never kneel, it will always rise and be victorious, perhaps even in ways we cannot yet imagine.

God bless you all for your steadfastness and resilience, we owe you a forever debt of gratitude for preserving what humanity should really stand for.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/syria-on- ... engagement

Re: Syria

Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2019 3:02 pm
by blindpig
SYRIA: Update by Peter Ford, former UK Ambassador
vanessa beeley / 15 mins ago
Update from Peter Ford, Former British Ambassador to Syria – 21 August 2019

After a period of stagnation, progress is now visible on several Syrian fronts – notwithstanding counter-efforts by Western powers and Turkey.

Idlib

The de-escalation agreement concluded in September 2018 under Russian and Turkish auspices was never going to be more than a short-lived truce. From the outset, the militias supported by Turkey refused to implement the provisions for a pull-back from the buffer zone, and shelled from their advanced positions a number of targets including the Russian base at Humaymeen near Lattakia, a cluster of Christian villages in Hama, and the outer suburbs of Aleppo.

This was tolerated while Russia played its own careful game with Turkey, which included the conclusion of an important arms deal (for the S-400 air defence system) vehemently but in the end unsuccessfully opposed by the US. In May, however, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), with strong Russian support, started to advance on the southern Idlib salient, which includes parts of Hama province bordering Idlib. (The jihadis also control a section of mountainous northern Lattakia.)

At first, the SAA made swift progress but then met stiffer resistance as Turkey channelled huge amounts of advanced Western weaponry, notably deadly TOW anti-tank systems, to their allies, particularly the so-called National Liberation Front. The dominant group in Idlib, the Al Qaida affiliate Hayat Tahrir Ash Sham (HTS), also received copious amounts of military assistance from Turkey. It appeared for several weeks as though the war-weary SAA was stymied and opponents of the Syrian government in the West and the Gulf began to exult in what they saw as Assad’s weakness.

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“We brought it back..” Khan Sheikhoun now fully in the hands of the Syrian Arab Army.

Not for the first time in this conflict, however, many were underestimating the resilience of the SAA and the loyalty of Russia to its allies. In mid-August, the SAA struck decisively to rollup fierce resistance in the approaches to Khan Sheykhoun, a key bastion of HTS in southern Idlib. The subsequent recovery of this town, which straddles the M5 highway linking Aleppo and Damascus, is important not only strategically but also psychologically, for what is now to prevent the SAA grinding out a series of similar victories ending up with Idlib city itself? It may take time but the writing is on the wall.

The stakes at Khan Sheykhoun were extremely high, which may explain why Turkey chanced its arm by sending into the eye of the storm a 50-vehicle convoy including armed personnel carriers and tanks, and why Syria attacked it from the air, stopping it in its tracks. On a battlefield where Russia ultimately controls the skies, there can really only be one winner here and it is not Turkey.

It is claimed that, on their way to victory in Khan Sheykhoun, the SAA and Russians pursued scorched earth tactics, but is that not what the Coalition did as it advanced on Mosul, Fallujah and Raqqa? How could it be otherwise when armed gangs supported to the hilt by Turkey and encouraged by hysterical Western media coverage to hope for Western intervention refuse to budge?

As to claims that the Syrian and Russian planes bombed hospitals, civil defence centres and schools, again how could it be otherwise when as per the cruel laws of asymmetric warfare, the jihadis systematically use these locales for military purposes while notifying them as civilian to the UN, which has no international monitors on the ground?

In like vein Turkey has been using the 13 ‘observation posts’ it was allowed to set up in the never implemented Idlib buffer zone to provide assistance and shelter to the armed groups. Russia, having imposed this arrangement on Syria against the latter’s better judgement, was not only honour bound to help Syria in correcting Turkey’s behaviour, but also obliged to do so if it was to retain a pre-eminent position in Syria vis a vis Iran, which at Russia’s behest has held back from sending into Idlib its allied forces such as Hizbollah.

Despite alarums the dog which puzzlingly has not (yet) barked in the Idlib campaign has been the alleged use of chemical weapons. Is it fanciful to imagine that the US has intimated to Turkey that it will not be manipulated by Turkey’s proxies into going head-to-head with Russia over Syria, and that as long as the Syro-Russian operations remain measured the US will not allow itself to be drawn into a conflict which would be bound to put it embarrassingly and openly on the same side as Al Qaida? And not only Al Qaida but also Islamic State since Turkey has reportedly diverted to Idlib 6,000 fighters belonging to Jund Al Aqsa, an IS affiliate, from the Turkish-controlled areas further north, in a desperate bid to stem the advance of the SAA. Or is it that the delivery some months ago of the Russian S-300 air defence system to Syria has made Syria less of a risk-free punchbag for Western air forces, which struck twice before on the back of alleged chemical weapons use?

The North East (Hasakeh and Deir Ez Zor)

The issue of withdrawal of US forces announced by Trump back in December and walked back in January has not gone away. It appears that about half of the 2,000 US troops have quietly been withdrawn and Trump recently repeated his intention that all be withdrawn in due course.

Trump’s lieutenants have had some success in dragooning other countries to supply replacement forces, with the UK reportedly agreeing to increase the number of special forces it has operating in Syria. (Claiming that special forces operations must never be commented on – why, when they involve not commando raids demanding secrecy but what is effectively long term occupation? – the British government has hit upon a novel way to participate in occupation of countries whose governments it dislikes without ever having to face scrutiny.)

The irony is that no Western troops at all are needed to prevent Assad from recovering the resource-rich North East. It is not those token numbers of troops who stand in the way of the reunification of Syria but the implicit threat that the US Air Force (and the RAF?) would bomb Syrian forces if they advanced into areas controlled by the Coalition’s ally, the Kurdishdominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). This has already happened on the rare occasions when pro-Assad forces have forayed over the demarcation lines. It will therefore not necessarily be cause for unalloyed jubilation when the last American and British soldier leaves, which is likely to be delayed anyway because of the situation not with Assad or ISIS but Turkey.

The North: Creation of a ‘safe zone’?

For the best part of a year, the US and Turkey have been haggling over the proposed creation of a demilitarised strip of territory separating Turkey from Kurdish-controlled territory, which would give Turkey what it claims would be a buffer against the Kurds. That the Kurds have never launched any significant attack against Turkey from these areas, and that they would be mad to do so, has not caused the Turks to moderate their demands for a 20-mile deep strip, hundreds of kilometres long, which would include a number of Kurdish-majority towns. After Erdogan appeared to bring matters to a head in July by threatening to send in troops, the US gave him a ladder down which to climb by offering five miles of Syrian territory, joint patrols and the setting up of a joint command centre in Turkey. Erdogan has pocketed the concessions and proclaimed the negotiations a success, without conceding any of his maximal demands.

The contested territory is touted by both US and Turkey as a ‘safe zone’. Even leaving aside the fact that the former imperial power in Syria and the new one cannot under international law dispose as they wish of the territory of a sovereign state, the reality is that the ‘safe zone’ would in fact be a new danger zone. Turkish patrols would inevitably be targeted by the Kurds, prompting retaliation and more problems along the new more southerly seam lines. The idea that some of Turkey’s hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees, an increasing source of friction inside Turkey, might be decanted into this new hellhole, appears absurd yet that is Erdogan’s proclaimed intention.

The Kurds have brought on themselves the spectre of all this happening by putting their faith in the US and spurning meaningful negotiations with the Syrian government. Fortunately for them, the record of a previous US-Turkey arrangement in the Manbij area West of the Euphrates suggests that all these manoeuvres are heading into the sands. In Manbij the Kurds were supposed to withdraw and the town would be monitored by joint US-Turkish patrols. None of this has happened. The outlook therefore is for a continuing messy situation.

One scenario Western planners would be wise to anticipate, however, is that after retaking Idlib, now looking nailed on, Syrian government forces start to tackle the pro-Turkish militias operating close to the Turkish border in areas including Afrin, previously Kurdish-controlled. At that point, assuming a ‘safe zone’ had been set up as per US-Turkish plans, who would bet on Kurdish forces not joining up with Assad against the common enemy, and if that happens how long before the Kurdish rug is pulled out from under the feet of the Americans and British in the Coalition-occupied areas of Hasakeh and Deir Ez Zor?

ISIS

A recent Pentagon report was overstating the evidence but not entirely wrong in reckoning that ISIS is regrouping in both Iraq and Syria. ISIS has metamorphosed into a hit and run gang, mounting raids and assassinations here and there in both countries. The report however appeared designed to bolster the case for leaving US forces in Syria indefinitely.

The contrary case would be stronger: the SDF, being under Kurdish orders, are poorly placed to keep order in majority Arab rural areas where ISIS have gone to ground. The Al Hol camp for 60,000 ISIS families, loosely controlled by SDF under US guidance, has become a new safe haven for ISIS, just as the Al Tanf enclave (including the Rukban camp) under total US control on the Jordanian border has become a safe haven for ISIS and other jihadis.

Constitutional talks

It seems almost absurd in light of the military situation on the ground to be even discussing the Geneva, Sochi and Astana (now renamed Nur Sultan) processes focussed on a new constitution and elections. Yet the UN, the West and Russia continue to flog these dead horses.

The absurdity is even greater when it is remembered that the besuited negotiators on the Syrian opposition side carry zero weight with the jihadi fighters, have no say in their operations, and are totally ventriloquized by their Western, Turkish and Gulf backers. Yet it is so, and progress has been announced towards agreement on the composition of a constitutional committee.

It can perhaps be charitably assumed that the ultimate idea here on the part of the Russians – unrealistic as it seems – is to provide some cloak of international acceptability for the inescapable eventual military solution, thereby unlocking lifting of sanctions and international reconstruction assistance

https://thewallwillfall.org/2019/08/22/ ... mbassador/

Re: Syria

Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2019 1:05 pm
by blindpig
US-Backed SDF Abducts Tens of More Civilians in Deir Ezzur, Hasaka for Forced Battle with Syrian Army

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TEHRAN (FNA)- The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) backed by the occupying US Army troops conducted a series of arrests in Eastern Syria on Wednesday, and abducted a large number of civilians to make them join the fight against the Syrian Army, media reports said.
The SDF has arrested or kidnapped many more Syrian citizens in areas under its control in Hasaka and Deir Ezzur provinces, the Arabic-language SANA news agency quoted local sources as saying.

The sources noted that the SDF’s measures have been taken on the pretext of fighting terrorism or with the goal of forced recruitment of soldiers by the Kurdish militia to take part in the upcoming battle against the Syrian Army.

Residents of Deir Ezzur and Hasaka have, in response, held protest rallies against the SDF’s measures and presence there.

In a relevant development earlier in September, the residents of Deir Ezzur held massive rallies against the Kurdish militias in Eastern Syria, calling for the expulsion of the SDF from the region, the Arabic-language media outlets and sources said.

The local sources in Deir Ezzur province reported that a large number of residents of al-Moizlieh and al-Azabeh in Northeastern Deir Ezzur closed the roads and protested against the SDF and the US.

The Arabic-language al-Watan newspaper reported that the civilians called on the Kurdish militia commanders to hand over the areas under their control to the indigenous population before protests spiral out of control.

The residents of Deir Ezzur also took to the streets for protest after the US Army troops attacked the town of al-Kasar in al-Basirehh region in Eastern Deir Ezzur, abducting four members of a family and transferring them to an unknown place.

https://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13980627000638

Re: Syria

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2019 1:02 pm
by blindpig
Trump Endorses Turkish Military Operation in Syria, Shifting U.S. Policy

WASHINGTON — In a major shift in United States military policy in Syria, the White House said on Sunday that President Trump had given his endorsement for a Turkish military operation that would sweep away American-backed Kurdish forces near the border in Syria.

Turkey considers the Kurdish forces to be a terrorist insurgency, and has long sought to end American support for the group. But the Kurdish fighters, which are part of the Syrian Democratic Forces, or S.D.F., have been the United States’ most reliable partner in fighting the Islamic State in a strategic corner of northern Syria.

Now, Mr. Trump’s decision goes against the recommendations of top officials in the Pentagon and the State Department who have sought to keep a small troop presence in northeast Syria to continue operations against the Islamic State, or ISIS, and to act as a critical counterweight to Iran and Russia.

Administration officials said that Mr. Trump spoke directly with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey on the issue on Sunday. And the officials indicated that the 100 to 150 United States military personnel deployed to that area would be pulled back in advance of any Turkish operation but that they would not be completely withdrawn from Syria.

more at link

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/07/us/p ... tw-nytimes

Dumb fucking Kurds, a blind man could see this coming from a mile away. Perhaps they will seek accommodation with the Syrian government now.

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New York, SANA- Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign and Expatriates Minister Walid al-Moallem affirmed that Syria is determined to liberate every inch of its territories after it has remained steadfast for more than 8 years through which it has combated thousands of terrorists.

Interviewed by al-Mayadeen TV channel on Wednesday evening, Minister al-Moallem noted that the Syrian state has granted many settlement opportunities for terrorists in Idleb area, the latest of which the current ceasefire.

Al-Moallem added that head of the Turkish regime Recep Tayyip Erdogan hasn’t implemented what was agreed upon in Sochi among the guarantor states of Astana process which are Russia, Iran and Turkey, and he hasn’t done anything, therefore, terrorists should leave and return to their homelands.

He indicated that the Western states and Turkey have been encouraging the flow of terrorists to Syria as they have provided all the facilitations for them, and now after their defeat, they don’t want them to return, and they want to take their children only, and this is a defect which the UN must handle, affirming that those terrorists have three choices, whether to remain detained in Syria or to be killed or to return to their countries, and the best one is to return.

“Turkey should choose either to be a neighboring state or a hostile state to Syria, and in case it chooses to be a neighboring state, there is Adana agreement which guarantees the security of the borders between the two countries, and there are bases for the good neighborliness, and if Turkey adheres to them, it should first withdraw its troops from Syria and stop its support to terrorists,” al-Moallem said.

He added “If Erdogan wants the return of the displaced Syrians, he should coordinate with the Syrian state to guarantee their safe return to their hometowns, and not to practice ethnic cleansing in a certain area because this contradicts with the international law.”

Al-Moallem asserted that when Syria achieves its priorities in combating terrorism, it will start to work on other priorities such as the withdrawal of all occupational foreign troops from the Syrian territories, adding that there are legitimate means that can force them to pull out.

Commenting on the opening of al-Bokmal-al-Qaem border crossing with Iraq, al-Moallem said that this is considered as a natural development and a good step, expressing hope that it will be invested for further enhancing relations between the brotherly peoples of Syria and Iraq.

Regarding the bases of the Constitutional Committee, al-Moallem reaffirmed that it is based on respecting the independence and sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic, and it will be led and owned by Syria and the UN will play the role of facilitator in it not the mediator, and it doesn’t impose its opinion.

Al-Moallem added that the constitution is a national issue and any participants should be objective and should reflect the interests of Syria, not the interests of Turkey or other states, expressing Syria’s appreciation for the efforts exerted by Russia and Iran within Astana group.

He reaffirmed that the Syrian Government welcomes the safe return of all refugees, saying “We assure everyone who is willing to return to his homeland that we will provide all facilitations for him and all possible support and aid.”

Regarding the Syrian Kurds, al-Moallem said “Not all the Kurds are (QSD) militias , but they are Syrian citizens and we deal with them on that basis, but those who cooperate with foreign sides, namely the Americans here, against the interests of their homeland are not good citizens, and we should hold them accountable.”

He asserted that all territories which are under control of QSD militias should return to the control of the Syrian state, and they shouldn’t build hopes on the American promises.

Ruaa al-Jazaeri

https://www.sana.sy/en/?p=174794

Re: Syria

Posted: Tue Oct 08, 2019 3:25 pm
by blindpig
Syrian Kurds Astonished to See Hassan Nasrallah's Prediction Come True

Image

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Kurdish forces were surprised after the US turned its back to them and declared decision to withdraw military men from Syria as foreseen by Lebanese Hezbollah resistance group Leader Seyed Hassan Nasrallah.
In a growing number of posts that imply the Kurdish militants' deep regret over their dependence on the US military support against a Turkish incursion, several social media accounts of the Kurdish rebels noted the US retreat from Northern and Northeastern Syria and acknowledged their fatal miscalculation to fully trust and gamble their fate on the US military backup.

In a speech on August 26, 2018, the Hezbollah leader had praised the Syrian Kurds for their vigilance and starting negotiations with the Syrian government, saying that the Kurds entered the talks after they were skeptical about United States’ loyalty and they were not sure when the US government would leave them.

“We know that Pentagon has set aside $500mn-$750mn under the name of protecting Kurds, the Kurdish People Protection Units (YPG). What is this share of the budget for? Is it for establishing democracy in Syria or it is for supporting the Kurds who must know from experience that the United States uses you as an instrument along with its own plans, attacks or in its war in Syria, be it against the Islamic Republic (of Iran), or against Russia, or against the Axis of Resistance,” Nasrallah said at the time.

He warned the Kurds that “they (the Americans) eventually will only think of their own interests and will leave you alone, and will sell you like slaves in the market”.

"This is the Hezbollah leader's correct assessment and predictions that come true," the social media accounts of the Kurdish fighters affiliated to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) admitted after the US decision to withdraw forces from Syria.

The unexpected announcement by President Trump that he would draw down the US military presence in Syria to make way for Turkish troops was greeted by the Kurds as a betrayal of the trust established during the fight, which has cost the lives of more than 12,000 members of the SDF.

For the Kurds, the decision to permit Turkey to invade marked the latest in a long history of betrayals of Kurdish aspirations by the US.

https://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13980716000656

The guy speaks so clearly he could be a communist of the old school.