Syria

chlamor
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Re: Syria

Post by chlamor » Fri Nov 23, 2018 4:23 pm

US wants to choke off oil supplies to Syria, but it’s Russia which is “breaking the law”

The US has introduced sanctions against what it called a network of petroleum shipments to Syria, including Russian and Iranian companies and individuals. Washington says it wants to disrupt shipments to Syrian-owned ports.
Six individuals have been sanctioned over oil shipments to Syria, the US Treasury Department has said. Three institutions have also been sanctioned.

In addition to the fresh measures, the US Coast Guard has issued an advisory warning of “significant sanctions risks” on petroleum shipments to Syria. The US has promised that it will “disrupt” any attempted shipments to government-owned ports in Syria.

The Treasury Department claims that the individuals and companies affected by the measures are involved in a “complex and malign scheme” to bolster the regime of Syrian leader Bashar Assad. It claims that oil is being imported into Syria from Iran in defiance of American sanctions. The Syrian government then allegedly transfers cash to Islamic militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah, at Iran’s direction.

It claims that Russian companies act as middlemen, taking money from Iran to move the oil to Syria. In one case detailed in a Treasury Department press release, the Iranian central bank transferred money to an Iranian pharmaceutical company, hoping that its humanitarian name would throw US observers off the trail.

That money was then allegedly wired to a Russian bank, then to a Russian company that shipped the oil from Iran to Syria. Along the way, the Treasury Department claims that Russian ships would switch off their GPS tracking systems to conceal the origin of their cargo.

Once the cash is stashed in the Central Bank of Syria, it is then allegedly sent to Hezbollah and Hamas units operating in Lebanon and on Palestinian territory.

While the operation is painted as a vast conspiracy unearthed by the US, the latest sanctions build on an ongoing campaign against Iran and its allies. When the US fully reimposed economic sanctions on Tehran earlier this month, it targeted the country’s banking, shipping, and oil sectors. Banks that provided services to Hamas and Hezbollah were slapped with sanctions, as were shipping companies that moved Iranian troops and supplies around the Middle East.

Facing the threat of US penalties, the SWIFT financial messaging system cut the Iranian central bank off from its network a week later, making it even more difficult for the country to settle its import and export bills.

Sanctions against Iran had been lifted under the 2015 JCPOA, or Iran deal. This guaranteed Tehran some sanctions relief in exchange for halting its nuclear weapons program. President Trump unilaterally withdrew from the deal in May, however, and has since reapplied all of the sanctions that it had lifted.

Keeping up the Trump administration’s tough rhetoric on Iran, Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Sigal Mandelker, warned on Tuesday that “shipping companies, insurers, vessel owners, managers, and operators should all be aware of the grave consequences of engaging in sanctionable conduct involving Iranian oil shipments.”

https://www.greanvillepost.com/2018/11/ ... companies/

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Re: Syria

Post by blindpig » Wed Nov 28, 2018 2:04 pm

Arab Tribes in Northeastern Syria Declare Strong Opposition to Forced Recruitment by US-Backed Militia

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TEHRAN (FNA)- Arab tribes, in a statement on Wednesday, declared their opposition to continued forced recruitment by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Manbij region in Northeastern Syria.
The Arab tribes issued a statement and firmly condemned the SDF's forced conscription of young men, saying that they will not allow their sons to join the militia.

The tribes also demanded a general strike to grow more united against the SDF.

A fresh wave of anger has covered the Arab tribes in the region as the SDF casualties in battle with ISIL includes 98 percent Arab fighters and only 2 percent Kurdish gunmen.

The Arab tribes' opposition rose after the SDF announced that young men between the ages of 18-30 have to join the militia, or will be legally prosecuted.

Last week, a commander of the US-supported Syrian Democratic Forces was killed in Manbij in Northeastern Aleppo.

Media activists in Eastern Aleppo reported that a bomb was detonated on al-Jazeera road near Manbij, targeting and killing SDF's intelligence commander Morad.

Reports from Manbij said that the SDF forces have increased forced recruitment from civilians recently, adding that actue shortage of fuel in the past week has angered the people residing in the region.

Several SDF forces have been killed and wounded in sporadic attacks in the past few days.

Relevant reports said that armed raiders targeted a base of the SDF known as al-Mahkamah in the town of Manbij, killing 3 militias and wounding several more.

The SDF sent more gunmen to the scene following the attack, but, one of the vehicles of the convoy came under attack by unspecified attackers near the town's general hospital, leaving a number of SDF militias killed or wounded.

Meanwhile, a number of the SDF gunmen were killed by unknown parties in Abu Qolqol region South of Manbij in recent days.

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13970907000570

Geez, wonder what part of 'Democratic' they don't like? Sheer ingratitude...
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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blindpig
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Re: Syria

Post by blindpig » Tue Dec 04, 2018 12:37 pm

Al-Nusra terrorists obtain 100 drones through Turkish borders to use them in chemical attacks

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3 December، 2018

Damascus, SANA- Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organization has obtained 100 drones through one of the Turkish merchants with the aim of carrying out terrorist attacks with chemical substances on civilians and positions of the Syrian Arab Army from Idleb.

In a report published on Monday, Russian Sputnik Agency quoted local sources as saying that drones had been transported from Harem town in vicinity of the Turkish borders to one of the positions of Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organization in Ma’ar Masrin town, about 9 km to the north of Idleb City.

The drones were handed over to Moroccan and Libyan terrorists, the sources added.

“Terrorists are working under the supervision of a British expert to make modifications on the drones to become lighter and to able to carry small shells loaded with toxic chemical substances,” according to the sources.

On August 30th, Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organization transported 200 drones from Sarmada area in Idleb Countryside to one of its positions in al-Muhandisin neighborhood in Idleb City as Turkish and Chechen experts made technical and electronic modifications on them, and the drones had entered the Syrian territories earlier from Turkey.

On Nov. 25th, local sources and media reports revealed that Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organization transported about 50 missiles and they were modified by French experts at one of al-Nusra’s positions near Idleb Central Prison, and the heads of the missiles became loaded with chlorine gas and they were distributed among terrorist groups in the countryside of Idleb and Hama.

Ruaa al-Jazaeri

https://sana.sy/en/?p=152613
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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blindpig
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Re: Syria

Post by blindpig » Thu Dec 06, 2018 5:35 pm

EXCLUSIVE: @EvaKBartlett sat down with the Grand Mufti of Syria, Dr. Ahmad Badr Al-Din Hassoun, scholar and highest official of Islamic law in Syria, to discuss coexistence, love, and an inclusive, nonsectarian Syria.

DAMASCUS, SYRIA — On October 2, 2018, I met with the Grand Mufti of Syria, Dr. Ahmad Badr Al-Din Hassoun, a scholar and the highest official of Islamic law in Syria, who assumed the position of grand mufti in 2005.

Dr. Hassoun’s (archived) website notes that in addition to his title of grand mufti, his other positions include, “Chairman of the Media Committee of the Higher Consultative Council for the Rapprochement between the Islamic Schools of Thought, Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.” Essentially meaning that the mufti focuses on interfaith, and inter-sect, dialogue.

His speeches routinely focus on the theme of rapprochement or, more generally, coexistence and love. He takes a firmly anti-sectarian stance, and supports the removal of barriers between sects, in order to achieve national unity.




Yet Dr. Hassoun’s detractors — most often aligned with NATO, Gulf, Turkish, or Israeli interests — accuse him of supporting terrorism. These claims emanate from a mistranslated version of a speech Hassoun gave in 2011 following the assassination of his son Saria just days before. The translation was provided by MEMRI, an organization founded by former Israeli intelligence officials that translates political speeches from Arabic into English.

Dr. Hassoun has long since addressed the accusation, including in a November 2011 interview with Der Spiegel, in which he clarified:

I didn’t threaten to send suicide bombers. I merely described a scenario in which it could easily emerge from the situation, and I warned against what could happen. Sentences were taken out of context and given a different coloring. Besides, the context to which my remark applied was a self-defense situation: a possible NATO attack on Syria.”

As I wrote previously, Dr. Hassoun spoke of the murder of his son Saria, “’…who had never carried a weapon in his life” and was gunned-down as he was leaving his university:

In a public address at the funeral the next day, Mufti Hassoun, while weeping, forgave the gunmen and called on them to lay down their weapons and re-join Syria. The following day, he received a text message saying the assassins would kill him as they had killed his son.

A year later, when two of the gunmen were caught, the Mufti went to speak with them. Again bestowing his forgiveness and asking only to know why they had murdered Saria, Mufti Hassoun learned that the assassins were simply following orders from Turkey and Saudi Arabia, and were paid for their dirty work, one thousand dollars per person. Embodying the forgiveness he preaches, the Mufti asks for their pardon and release.”

My conversation with Dr. Hassoun touched on Syria’s rich mosaic of cultures and faiths; Syria’s history of plurality and coexistence; the role of the media in shaping narratives on Syria, and the issue of Western sanctions on Syria, sanctions that specifically hurt the Syrian people — depriving Syrians of access to medicines, cancer treatments, medical equipment, even ambulances.

Mufti Hassoun is described in Western media as one of the most powerful figures in Syria. In my experiences, he is one of the most humble, approachable and compassionate figures, beloved by Syrians of all faiths.



Below is a translated transcript of my interview with Mufti Hassoun.
Eva Bartlett (EB): First of all, I’d like to thank you, Mufti Hassoun for your time today and for meeting with me.

Mufti Hassoun (MH): I would like to thank you, because you were able to penetrate through the lies of the media, and come to Syria several times to report an authentic image of what has been happening in Syria.

Because the media, as President Trump put it, can be bought nowadays. The media write what they are told, not the truth.

Whereas you, Eva, you insisted on coming to Syria to see the truth and to report what is happening in Syria, and in Gaza, and in places where the fire of wars is raging.

You refused to lease your mind. You wanted to see the truth, and that is what I wish from all journalists in the world. that journalists were never traders of values and principles, whose dignity and values can be bought. So they write what they are told, and report what they are told, not the truth.

The truth will be known to people through history. And God will hold us accountable for it [the truth], if we believe in God. And history will also hold us accountable.

So Eva, I have highly respected you since the first day you came. It wasn’t enough for you to listen to what I said and my words. You went on the streets, mixed with the people, went to Aleppo, went to Latakia, visited people in their homes.

You took the words from the supporters and the opposition, listened to both parties and wrote the truth, that Syria is oppressed and that Syria has wonderful people. And that in Syria, there is no conflict between the people and the government.

The conflict is between the values and civilization that Syria enjoys [on the one hand], and those who want to drive people backwards [on the other hand] to a version of Islam that is not Islam, and to values that are not values. They want to enslave the people.

Thank you, Eva. I hope you will become a role model for free journalism, and for a noble, impartial, media, to report people’s pain and their hopes. Thanks to you, and to a father and a mother who raised you to become a truth seeker, and not one to follow others.

EB: How can Syria combat the sectarianism that is being thrust upon it by Saudi and Gulf television channels, and by their sheikhs (religious leaders), and by their muftis.

MH: Syria is a civilized country — it embraces all the civilizations of the world because it is the gate to the Orient. So [historically] those who wanted to go to China from Europe passed through Syria. And those who want to go back to Europe pass through Syria. Syria a hundred years ago was far bigger than Syria today. In Syria in 1900, 118 years ago, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria were one country. One bank, one currency, one president, and one nation. There were no religious minorities in it. The reason is that it is the land of Abraham, and Abraham was the forefather of all prophets. He was the forefather of Moses, and of Jesus, and the forefather of Muhammad, may prayers and peace be upon them.

Therefore, Syria embraced those divine messages. So, in one family, you can find a Christian, you can find a Muslim, you can find a secularist, you can find a capitalist and you can find a socialist.

Syria embraced everyone. And it also embraced ethnicities like the Arabs, the Kurds, the Syriacs, the Assyrians, and the Arameans. One could hear many languages: Arabic, Armenian, Chaldean, and Aramaic. One could find people from all over the world. If you went to its churches in Palestine, which was part of Syria at the time, you could find in these churches a Greek monk, a French bishop, an Aramean bishop, a Chaldean, an Arab, all of them in the churches praying together.

And if you went to the Aqsa mosque, you would see the Arabs, the Kurds, others from all ethnicities or regions, such as Egyptians and Libyans, inside the Aqsa Mosque. There were no ‘minorities’ in Syria. Syria is a nation in which all ethnicities are gathered. Therefore, when they [imperialist nations] divided it in 1900 into four countries, they wanted to create conditions for establishing countries on an ethnic, religious, and racist basis, which fight one another.

After the division, we did not fight with Lebanon, nor did we fight with Iraq, nor did we fight with Jordan, nor did we fight with Palestine.

They went to the world and told them that Solomon’s Temple was in Palestine. Come to Solomon’s Temple… I am very surprised by these words, that Solomon’s Temple, or the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, or the Aqsa Mosque, or the Kaaba, gather all the people of this religion in this country!

That means every Jew should be in Palestine, every Christian should be in Bethlehem, and every Muslim should be in al-Aqsa. This is untrue! Exalted God is in my heart, and in the heart of that Jew and that Christian. God is in our hearts. He is not in the church, nor in the temple, nor in the Kaaba. Thus began this religious, extremist ideology, by making countries fight one another for hundreds of years, and kill one another in the name of God.

The difference between war in the name of religion and war for money or oil is that with war for oil, when you put your hand on oil wells, the war ends. When you control politics, the war is over. But when it comes to religion, here is the problem: the fight will go on for hundreds of years.

The reason is that wars become “holy.” This is what happened 500 years ago when Europe came to wage war in Syria and in Palestine. If you asked those fighters who came from Norway, Italy, France and Britain, “Why did you come to Syria?” they would say: “We came to save the tomb of the Messiah.” To save the tomb of the Messiah. And we could ask them: “Is Jesus buried in the ground? Jesus is in Heaven. So why are you fighting for a tomb that is empty?”

But the clergies used to fuel these wars to profit from them, and politicians used to work with them, so they could be leaders and kings.

The war in Syria, which has been going on for the last eight years, started for similar reasons. It is a war to divide Syria into ethnicities and sects, and to weaken it.

Like what they did in Lebanon. In Lebanon in 1960, and before 1960, the president was Maronite, and the prime minister was Sunni, and the president of the parliament was Shia, and they did not fight. They were one family.

But, after the Lebanese war, Lebanon was divided into four divisions: There was a Sunni state, a Durzi state, a Shia state, and a Maronite state. It was a big lie. Syria entered into Lebanon, eliminated the borders, and withdrew.

We were surprised by the war on Iraq. From long ago, Iraq has had Sunnis, Shias, Kurds, Assyrians, Chaldeans and Syriacs. They are there in Iraq. Iraq is a country that houses nations. They have always integrated and coexisted.

[Paul] Bremer came and established their constitution. That constitution is a sectarian and racist constitution. That constitution states that the president of the republic should be a Kurd, the prime minister should be a Shia, and the president of the parliament should be a Sunni.

Am I electing a bishop for a church or an Imam for a mosque depending on his being a Kurd, a Sunni, or a Shia? I am electing a person to govern the state and serve the people. So when I say that the president of the parliament must be a Shia, and the prime minister be a Sunni… Why Sunni or Shia?

He must be an Iraqi citizen. He must be a Syrian citizen, whether Christian or Muslim.

Today, the president of the parliament in Syria is a Christian. Where is the problem? Eighty years ago, the prime minister was a Christian, Faris Al-Khouri. Where is the problem?

Syria has held on to this humanitarian notion that the children of this country are not minorities. There are tens of Yazidi villages, they are originally Zoroastrian. There are Christians of all sects. There are Sunnis of all doctrines. There are Shias of all doctrines. There are sects from all ethnicities.

They are all a population of 23 million citizens. They have the right to vote. They have the right to occupy any rank in the government, like the Ministry of Defense. One is never asked whether he is a Muslim, a Christian, or a Jew, Sunni, Shia, or an Arab, or a Kurd, or an Assyrian. As long as he is a Syrian citizen.

For this reason, the war was started in Syria. Because it is a civil and secular state, but not non-religious. Syria respects religions and acknowledges everyone’s religion, and has a law that protects everyone’s religious and ethnic rights.

The Armenians, who came from Armenia after the wars that were waged there, we didn’t say to any of them: ‘abandon your language.’ There are Armenian schools. There are Syriac schools. Along with Arabic, they study Armenian and Syriac. They did not lose their identity.

All this hatred to Syria is because it did not submit to the European or American division that was imposed on Iraq and Lebanon. France imposed this ethnic and religious division in Lebanon.

Regarding Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait, they do not have the same diversity that exists in Syria. They are states based on clans. Let’s take al-Hijaz, the state of Hijaz. Al-Hijaz, since the time of prophet Muhammad (prayers and peace be upon him) until one hundred years ago, was the home for all Arab tribes, from Najran to Dammam, to Abha, to Khamis Mishait, to Ma’an. All Arab tribes lived there, and all those tribes were Muslims.

When the Saudis came into power, they replaced the name of the country al-Hijaz with the name of the family. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the country was no longer for the nation but for a family.

Syria is a nation, and does not belong to the Assad family. Syria is for the nation, and does not belong to al-Quwatli family. Syria is for the nation, and does not belong to Amin al-Hafiz. (Al-Quwatli and al-Hafiz were presidents of Syria). Syria is a nation.

Saudi Arabia — a part of which was called Hijaz — was a country for all Arab tribes, before a single tribal name was imposed on them.

That is why these countries do not know the meaning of the sectarian and ethnic diversity that we know in Syria. Diversity gives you power, it gives you richness. When there are Kurds, Armenians, Christians, Muslims, Jews and the secular, they all each think in their own way.

So, when they sit together they produce a wealth of ideas and culture. There, they don’t accept a different opinion. For example, I used to go to al-Hijaz to perform Hajj [pilgrimage] with a group of Syrians. I wanted to deliver a speech to them; it’s forbidden: ‘You should not speak. The speaker must be a Saudi.’

Whereas, in Syria, we welcomed the Saudi, the Egyptian, the British, and the American, in our cultural centers and we would listen to them, and listen to their speeches.

I myself received in my mosque, al-Rawda mosque in Aleppo, members of parliament from all over the world. Even one of the Philippines’ presidents visited us. Austria’s minister of foreign affairs visited me in the mosque and listened to the sermon, and we listened to their words.

We have no objection to listening to the other. Whereas, those countries are racist and religious countries. [They] don’t accept other religions, and not only other religions, but also other doctrines.

For example, the Wahhabi doctrine — they don’t accept other doctrines. In Syria, we have a mufti for the Shafie school, a mufti for the Jafari school, a mufti for Hanbali school, and a mufti for the Maliki school. As long as there is a group, it has its own religious doctrine.

There is a patriarch for the Orthodox, a patriarch for the Syriacs, and a patriarch for the Catholics. This is their natural right.

In Saudi Arabia, such a thing is prohibited, unless [the mufti is] a Sunni Salafist. These days, you [Saudi Arabia] receive around 3 or 4 million Muslim pilgrims from all over the world. There are Sunni pilgrims, Shia pilgrims, Sufi pilgrims. As long as he [the pilgrim] is speaking to his group, it is his right. So why do you prevent him [from doing so]?

In Syria, this is the intellectual freedom they wanted to get rid of with this sectarian war, where they said: ‘This is Alawite, this is Sunni’ … and that the government in Syria is Alawite.

Who says that Alawites are not Syrians, and not Muslims, or not sons of this country? If they had studied only the word ‘Alawite,’ [they would have found] that it means a spiritual Sufi Muslim who loves [Imam] Ali and does not hate others. This is the meaning of the word ‘Alawite.’

And the Druze, they are the Unitarians; [they are] a Muslim nation called the Unitarians, whose forefathers build al-Azhar [mosque].

The Jafari Shias are the followers of Imam Jafar al-Sadiq whose forefather is the Messenger of God [Muhammad].

The Sunnis, their sheikhs were the students of Jafar al-Sadiq. All of them. Imam Malik, Imam Abu Hanifa, were students of Jafar al-Sadiq.

What you see today of religious division is not religious; it is political division hiding under a religious cloak to control people by coercion, not by thoughts, nor by mind, nor by culture. ‘There shall be no compulsion in the religion’ (The Qur’an 2:256).

This is the main difference between us [Syria] and other countries.

EB: My next question dovetails with your response, because I had wanted to note how the Saudi mufti is sectarian, and has called for the churches on the Arabian peninsula to be destroyed, whereas I recall that Reverend Ibrahim Nseir told me that when his church was destroyed by terrorists in Aleppo, the first person to call him was Mufti Hassoun, who said: ‘Don’t worry, Reverend, we will rebuild your church.’ So, there is a stark difference between the ideology and mentality of this Wahhabi, Saudi, mufti, and Mufti Hassoun – who, I believe – is it correct to say you consider yourself Mufti of all Syrians?

MH: First of all, what is happening in Syria, the demolition of churches and mosques … they destroyed both churches and mosques. They are not defending a religion; they are fighting to destroy the Syrian state, and to destroy this humanitarian fabric that is present in Syria.

Therefore, they tried to demolish Tadmur [Palmyra]. Palmyra has nothing to do with Muslims or Christians. They tried to loot Syrian artifacts that go back five thousand, ten thousand years, including the ruins of Afamia and other ruins in Syria. So, they are trying to wipe out history in attempts to build a future. This future that they are trying to create is built on ethnic, sectarian, doctrinal and racist bases, where people kill one another.

And this is what you can see today in Israeli society. Israeli society has extremist and non-extremist components. There are neighbourhoods in al-Quds [Jerusalem] and neighbourhoods in Tel Aviv where one can walk and not feel they are in a civilized country, but a regressive one that goes back a thousand years. Long hair, beards. At 6 p.m. every Friday, no one is seen in the streets. It is prohibited to walk in the streets because God rests on Saturday, therefore people have to rest, too.

Why do you impose your opinion compulsorily on people when God says: ‘There shall be no compulsion in religion’?

The extremist Jew is like the extremist Muslim, whether this Muslim is a Sufi, Salafi or Wahhabi. The extremist is the one who wants to impose their beliefs on others and say, ‘You are all kuffar [disbelievers] except me. I’m the believer.’ Whether they are Christians, Muslims, or Jews, the extremists consider others as ‘kuffar.’

The extremist Jew considers the Israeli prime minister a disbeliever. And the extremist Christian considers Christians who don’t regularly go to church as disbelievers. And the extremist Muslim considers ones who belong to a different Islamic doctrine as disbelievers, not only the ones who belong to a different religion.

The Protestant does not see the Orthodox as a believer, and the Orthodox believes that the Protestant has renounced Christianity.

We consider everyone as believers, and God is the one who will judge me for my faith, because the place of faith is in the heart, not the church, nor the mosque. How many a person goes to the church or the mosque, but with no faith?! And how many a person has faith but has never been to a church or a mosque, and he is reconciled with exalted God?

How many a person has never been to Bethlehem, nor to the Wailing Wall, or to the Kabba, but to God, he is a believer?

Therefore, this extremism in the world is due to the political and economic dominance over the religious sphere. Politicians and economists want to dominate the religious and human sphere to govern people in the name of the divine, to the extent that people will start kissing the hand of the president or king because he is the son [descendent] of Muhammad (peace be upon him). Or because he represents Jesus, or because he represents Israel. People will submissively kiss the hands of this rabbi, that sheikh or mufti, or that priest. They love this.

Whereas for me, I believe that all people of the world, seven billion people, are my brothers. They fall into two groups. Those who believe and walk with me on the same path, these are my healthy brothers [who are in the right]. The other group do not walk with me on the same path, those are my ill brothers [who are in the wrong]. My duty is to offer them medicine and love, not to call them criminals or disbelievers. I have to show them the path. Those who walk beside me and take the medicine, it is their decision. Those who refuse to take the medicine, it is also their decision. It is you who are in pain.

This is what makes me, in Syria, not represent any sect or religion or ethnicity. I am a son of Syria. My forefather, 500 years ago, might have been a Kurd, or my other forefather or foremother a Turk. My forefather might have been from the tribe of Tai, and my mother’s lineage might have descended from the tribe of Thubian, and my other forefather might have been from the tribe of Hashim. This is not important to me today. What matters is how to save Syria.

Fourteen hundred years ago, Syria as a whole was Christian. Before Islam came here, all Syrians from Gaza to Antioch were Christians. [Before that] the Byzantines came to them from Greece; they were pagans 2,000 years ago.

When Jesus came with his message, Syria was divided into two groups: the indigenous Christians, and the pagan invaders. Islam arrived and some Christians, like al-Ghasasinah and other big tribes, remained Christian, and the rest embraced Islam. They were of one big tribe, some of them remained Christian and others became Muslims. They coexisted.

When the Commander of the believers, Othman bin Affan, was martyred, his wife, Naila bint Qerfais, was a Christian from Kufa [Iraq], and her father was a Christian cleric.

In Syria, we have this broad vision of thought, and that is why they are waging war on us. They want our thoughts to be narrow and closed. No. We will keep calling out: ‘Praise be to the Lord of the worlds,’ not the Lord of the Muslims, nor the Lord of Christians, but the Lord of the Worlds. For God is the Lord of us all.

Those who agree, they are welcome. And for those who do not: ‘For you is your religion, and for me is my religion’ (The Qur’an, 109:6). I will not force my religion on you, and you [also] don’t force yours on me. However, I swear I do love you and have mercy for you.

EB: At the beginning [of the interview], you mentioned how the corporate media has lied about Syria. So I’d like to bring up something from a few years ago. And that was that you warned the Western world that if terrorism didn’t stop in Syria, it would spread to Europe and beyond. And some media — I think it was Gulf media — took your words and distorted them, and lied about your message. So, I would just ask you if you could please clarify what it was you said and how they lied, I’m sure you remember which incident I’m referring to.

MH: This question comes on a special day. Today is the anniversary of the martyrdom of [my son] Saria. I said those words five days after the martyrdom of Saria.

A delegation from Lebanon was visiting me. The delegation was named ‘the Caravan of Mary.’ They came to visit me in Aleppo to express their condolences for my son’s martyrdom. They were Lebanese and Syrians, Christians and Muslims. I met them in a mosque called the Omayyad mosque in Aleppo, at the shrine of Zakaria.

On that day, I said: ‘This fire that you are starting in Syria by the extremists. This fire … you have sleeper cells in Europe, these cells send extremists to Syria. Someday, these sleeper cells will be active and burn up in Europe as they did in Syria.’ So they reported that I said: ‘we have sleeper cells that we will send to you.’

How could we send them to you, when they are burning us, and while they came from your countries?!

Some of those so-called opposition members mistranslated my speech to some European governments, and claimed that the Syrian Mufti is threatening that he would send sleeper cells to bomb Europe. When my son Saria was martyred, five days before this speech, I said I had forgiven those who killed my son. How would I accept to send someone to kill your children? How could I accept this?

For three years, corporate media and Syrian opposition members residing over there [in Europe] complained to the United Nations that the mufti of Syria should be held accountable, the mufti of Syria is a terrorist, the mufti of Syria…

It is indeed extremely surprising that Europeans listened to my speech in front of the European Council in 2009. I told them then: ‘I call you my brothers, not Europeans. I told them ‘you are my brothers, and our civilization is one.’ European, Syrian, and Arabic civilizations are one civilization which is neither a Muslim civilization, nor a Christian one. It is produced by humanity.

They entirely forgot this speech, as well as the martyrdom of my son, Saria. They also forgot my forgiveness. Instead, they would say: ‘He threatened us and is forbidden from entering Europe.’

I received several invitations from universities in Britain, France, and the United States to lecture there. The governments refuse to grant me entry. Why? Because they do not want the truth to reach their people.

For me, I disapprove of killing any human being in the universe. Even Israelis, I disapprove of killing them. However, I approve of their return to the countries they originally came from, and the return of Palestinians [to their land and homes]. The Jews, Christians, and Muslims who stay in Palestine are the ones who decide what type of government to have, and also welcome visitors from all over the world to Palestine.

The Jews, the Christians, and the Muslims should have the right to come and pray freely [in Palestine] under the protection of law.

But, this banning and this war that’s ongoing in the world, it’s all a political, economic and racist war, wearing the cloak of religion to claim: ‘We are Muslims. We are Christians. We are Jews.’

No, you are not Muslims, nor Jews, nor Christians when you kill humans. You are God’s enemies.

God says in the Psalms of David: ‘Man is my creation, man is the creation of God. Cursed is he who destroys God’s creation.’

Cursed is the one who manufactures weapons of mass destruction. Cursed is the one who plants landmines in the roads to kill people. Cursed is the one who manufactures nuclear weapons. Cursed is the one who manufactures hydrogen weapons [bombs]. Cursed is the one who launches long-range missiles at people, to kill people. Cursed are the ones who manufacture such weapons and use them to kill people, even if they are in the mosque, church, or synagogue.

God has not put us is this universe to kill one another. All prophets — Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Noah — they are all our prophets. Who did they kill? They did not kill anyone, but rather, they invited people to life, they encouraged the culture of life. So, those who kill nowadays in their names [in the names of the prophets] …

The massacre of Deir Yassin in Palestine, the displacement of 4 million Palestinians, the demolition of 3,000 Palestinian villages. By God, Moses is innocent in all of this. Moses was not sent to kill people, because he was oppressed by the Pharaoh.

Our master, Jesus, peace be upon him … when we look at those wars, the Crusades — I prefer to say ‘foreign’ wars, not Crusades … In the name of Jesus’ grave, more than 75,000 Palestinians were killed inside the Aqsa mosque, killed by the British and French armies that came to Palestine to liberate the tomb of Jesus.

Jesus came to promote life. When he touched the dead, he resurrected them. So, you kill in the name of Jesus, while Jesus would give life to the dead. So how false you are! This has nothing to do with Jesus. Jesus said: ‘God is love.’

Those who do not love are not Christians, neither are those who want [accept] other people to starve. Today, Europe consumes all types of food, while in Africa there are children dying of famine[ in Gaza there are children dying of illness; and the Rohingya, the Muslims who were forcibly displaced from Myanmar, are dying of hunger and illness. Are we truly Christians or Muslims when we see these scenes? No. No, not at all.

Therefore, we have to reconsider what is being said in the media, because the media … I can pay it [pay the media] now to make me the Gandhi of the world, and to make me the Trustworthy Joseph, and to make me the messenger of love. I can buy the media. But I do not want to lie, nor do I want them [the media] to lie; this is what I am.

There are some who buy the media to make the mufti of Syria look like a ‘terrorist,’ although I have never shown anything but love to seven billion human beings — they are my brothers and sisters from the same ancestors. My soul is, as their souls, from Heaven, and my body is, as their bodies, from clay.

EB: I want to convey my condolences to you for the anniversary of his your son’s martyrdom.

MH: This is Saria, with me and with my father [the Mufti showed me images on a cell phone of his deceased son]. They have sent me these messages through Facebook today, as it is the anniversary of Saria’s martyrdom.

EB: Thank you very much, Mufti Hassoun.

MH: You are welcome. Thank you. Thank you. I hope you convey this message to the whole world. We love the people of the world. In Syria, we do not hate anyone. Yes, we hate the oppression of the aggressors, and if the aggressor refrains from their aggression, we will love them, too.

We hate the wrong deed, not the person. Jesus, peace be upon him, said to the ones who were stoning a woman because she was an adultress, he said: ‘Who is without sin amongst you that can cast a stone at her.’

We are all sinners, but our duty is to guide people to repentance, not to sin. We have to promote life among human beings.

Please, convey our regards to the nations of the world; we love them, and we want peace.

Tell the ones who are manufacturing weapons in the world that it is enough! Come, let’s cooperate to build a humane world free of wars and weapons of mass destruction, where all of us cooperate with one another.

Oil does not belong to one family. Oil should be for everyone.

Humanity shares three things:

Water: we should never prevent anyone in the world from accessing water.

Food: we should never let a nation suffer from hunger.

Energy: fuel energy, solar energy, nuclear energy—which we use as cure, not for killing. Energy should not be monopolized.

I wrote to many countries around the world … I have two charitable hospitals: the Omar Bin Abdul Aziz Hospital, and the Shifaa Hospital, in Aleppo. I requested equipment for breast cancer treatment.

They responded that such equipment is banned for Syria, because of the boycott [sanctions].

What sin has Syria committed to be boycotted [sanctioned] on a humanitarian level? What sin have these people committed?

Today, when I want to travel from here to any country in the world, four countries surround us, including Turkey. Syrian airlines are not allowed to fly over them. Why? You are preventing Syrian citizens [from traveling], not the Syrian government. You are torturing the people, you are harming the people.

Now, it is forbidden to deliver oil to Syria. It is forbidden to deliver medicine to Syria. It is forbidden to deliver medical equipment to Syria. It is forbidden to deliver ambulances to Syria. Why? These are meant for the people. You claim that you disagree with the government, so why do you oppress the people?

Therefore, the ones who died in the Mediterranean Sea [refugees], in the boats, their blood is on the hands of the European politicians and the Arab politicians. Saudi Arabia and those [with Saudi Arabia] in the Arab coalition. And those who are bombarding Yemen today, will be accountable before God.

Yemen has never attacked any country, and Syria never attacked any country. Today, Syria and Yemen have been destroyed in order to humiliate their people and control their countries. But God has granted us victory, and will grant it to Yemen. Indeed, he will grant victory to all the oppressed in the world.

Thank you, and my regards to you and to everyone watching this interview. We speak truthfully and with sincerity. So, please come to us in Syria, with our dear sister, to witness the truth.



Read more of Eva Bartlett’s previous works on Syria’s Grand Mufti Hassoun

“The Real Syrian Moderates: Voices of Reason”
Mufti Hassoun calls his Greek Orthodox counterpart, Bishop Luca al-Khoury, his cousin and brother. ‘Our grandfathers, 1,400 years ago, were one family. My grandfather embraced Islam and his remained Christian.’ He maintains that he, as Grand Mufti, serves the Syrian people, period. ‘In Syria, there are 23 million Christians, and 23 million Muslims. My title is Grand Mufti of the Syrian Arab Republic, not the Mufti of a particular denomination.’”

Excerpts from U.S. Delegation Visit to Syria, February 2015
Grand Mufti, Sheikh Ahmad Badr al-Din Hassoun, is an approachable man, usually wearing a broad smile or mirthful half-smile. He calls himself the Mufti of all Syrians, not solely of Syria’s Muslims. Having met Sara Flounders previously, Sheikh Hassoun embraces her with a friendly squeeze of both shoulders and big smile. Recognizing me from a visit last year, he welcomes me the same way, beaming widely.

We take our seat and listen as he welcomes us with the standard Arab hospitality of well-wishes and gratitude for our concern and our visit at this time of crisis. Then, he breaks from formality, the mirthful smile present, to tease Ramsey [Clark]: ‘Anyone who reaches his seventies in such good health has a girlfriend in addition to his wife.’

Mufti Hassoun laughs louder than all of us, clearly enjoying our collective shock.

He resumes seriousness, speaking of his country, ‘a beautiful garden:’

‘Today we are paying a tax due to our having the richest culture in the region. We never expected that terrorists from outside Syria — from our Arab brothers and those west of them, particularly from USA, Turkey and England — would come here to make unrest. The Syrian people did not support the terrorists. They are working to destroy not only Syria but humanity.’”

A Journalist’s Journey to the Heart of Syria
“They Want to Start a Religious War. We Want to Extinguish It.”
…he’d been granted a prestigious Italian peace prize, by The Ducci Foundation, for his non-sectarian preaching of interfaith peace. But the Mufti never got to Rome. “I was granted a visa for only ten days. They were afraid I’d stay longer. But Europeans are among those killing our people. If all the Syrian people die, it’s okay, no problem, just to keep their oil. I reject this ‘democracy.’ We in Syria are not Sunni nor Shia nor Allawi nor Muslim nor Christian. We are human beings and must be respected. They want to start a religious war. We are going to extinguish this fire.””

Top Photo | Dr. Ahmad Bader Eddin Mohammad Adib Hassoun. Photo | Abdul Rauf

Eva Bartlett is a Canadian independent journalist and activist. She has spent years on the ground covering conflict zones in the Middle East, especially in Syria and Palestine. She is a recipient of the International Journalism Award for International Reporting. Visit her personal blog, In Gaza, and support her work on Patreon.

https://www.mintpressnews.com/interview ... ia/252590/
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Re: Syria

Post by blindpig » Mon Dec 10, 2018 11:42 pm

Terrorists breach demilitarized zone agreement, army responds and destroys their fortified dens

10 December، 2018

Hama, SANA- Syrian Arab Army units operating in Hama’s northern countryside responded to attacks and infiltration attempts by terrorist groups, inflicting losses upon them.

SANA’s correspondent in Hama said that army units targeted on Monday evening with concentrated fire the positions and movements of terrorists in the surroundings of Ma’rkabeh village in the province’s northern countryside, inflicting losses upon them.

An army unit positioned west of Tibet al-Imam village inflicted losses upon a terrorist group that was attempting to sneak through farmlands south of Morek town in the direction of military positions, forcing the terrorists to flee many of them were left dead or injured.

Earlier on Monday, the correspondent said that an army unit tracked an infiltration attempt by a terrorist group from Ma’rkabeh village towards a military point and responded with appropriate weapons, killing and wounding most of its members.

The reporter added that an army unit positioned in al-Mghair village in Mhardeh northern countryside destroyed a fortified hideout for terrorists of the so-called “Ahrar al-Sham” in the vicinity of Tal al-Sakher village, who attacked, with automatic weapons, a military point in a new breach of the demilitarized zone agreement in Idleb.

To the west of Soran city, the reporter pointed out that an army targeted with light machine guns and mortars fortified points of terrorist groups in response to the aggression on a military point stationed in the vicinity of al-Masasneh village, destroying machinegun and mortar launching pads and killing all terrorists.

Mohammed al-Razouk , Ibrahim Ahmed Khalil, and Khaled al-Atrash were identified among the killed terrorists.

Since the implementation of the demilitarized zone agreement in Idleb, the army units have foiled dozens of infiltration attempts by terrorist groups from the countryside of Idleb and Hama towards military points centered to protect safe towns in the northern Hama countryside.

Gh.A.Hassoun

https://www.sana.sy/en/?p=153208
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Re: Syria

Post by blindpig » Fri Dec 14, 2018 3:26 pm

On anniversary of Israeli void annexation decision, locals of Quneitra and occupied Golan reiterate their steadfastness

14 December، 2018

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Quneitra, SANA- Citizens of the occupied Syrian Golan and Quneitra province reiterated confidence in the inevitability of fully liberation of Golan at the hands of heroes of the Syrian Arab Army who managed to eliminate terrorism supported by the Zionist entity.

Marking the 37th anniversary of the baleful decision issued by the occupation authorities on December 14, 1981 on annexing the occupied Syrian Golan to the Israeli occupation, the locals of Quneitra and occupied Syrian Golan affirmed that all the occupation’s decision are null and illegal , stressing that Golan has always been Syrian.

Speaking to SANA, the liberated detainee Sulaiman al-Maqt from the occupied village of Majdal Shams said that the locals of Golan rejected all the illegitimate Israeli laws and established public resistance, which was the first core of resistance against the occupation , indicating that all the forms of arbitrary arrests against hundreds of the locals in Golan have not dissuaded them from voicing rejection against the occupation and their adherence to belonging to their motherland , Syria.

Hisham Sha’lan from Ain Qinya village indicated that the unjust decision clearly reflects the Zionist ambitions in this area of the Syrian territory and the disregard of Israeli occupation to all international and international resolutions related to the occupied Syrian Golan.

Head of the Syrian Committee for Supporting the Syrian Detainees and Freed Prisoners in Israeli Jails, the liberated captive Ali al-Younis pointed out that the anniversary of the null decision coincides with the victories of the Syrian Arab Army on terrorism , in a step forward the liberation of Golan fully.

Shaza/Rasha Milhem

https://www.sana.sy/en/?p=153487
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Re: Syria

Post by blindpig » Sat Dec 15, 2018 9:17 pm

‘Unity against imperialist hypocrisy and conspiracies in Syria’

The Syrian CP issued a statement on the invasion of Syrian soil by foreign forces and warned against the conspiracies of imperialists towards the Kurdish people.

ICP, 14 December 2018

The statement issued on 7 December appealed to the patriots of the Syrian homeland to challange imperialism and Zionism. Reminding that Syria has been subjected to Zionist wars for years to undermine Syrian national steadfastness, the statement pointed out that the current imperialist aggression seeks to maintain US influence through the military bases in the east of the Euphrates in violation of Syria’s ‘independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity’. ‘The abominable Turkish occupation is also legitimizing the dark reactionary stronghold on the valuable parts of the land of our homeland in the north of Aleppo’ said the statement.

According to the statement, just as in the Atlantic war on Libya, Syria, Iraq, and Yugoslavia, the former French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner ‘sheds crocodile tears on the rights of Kurds in Afrin and other Syrian cities under the slogan of a hypocrite ‘anti-ethnic cleansing and demographic change’. Meanwhile this slogan disregards the global imperialist conspiracies, in particular those of US, British and French imperialism on the rights of the Kurds, also disregarding the historical memory of the region.

The Syrian CP affirmed that the Kurds and their history are a part of the Syrian national fabric attested by their resistance to French colonialism along with all the national forces of the country and later by their resistance to the Zionist attacks in the ranks of the Syrian Army. The statement said, ‘The realization of the cultural rights of Kurdish citizens as the second nation in the formation of our Syrian people will strengthen the unity of our homeland on a democratic basis, strengthen its steadfastness in the face of imperialist aggression, and of the conspiracies.’
The Syrian CP affirmed that the struggle of all the patriots of the country will keep Syria independent.

http://icp.sol.org.tr/asia/unity-agains ... cies-syria
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Re: Syria

Post by blindpig » Mon Dec 17, 2018 12:25 pm

The ISIS Massacre In Sweida: A Story Of Torment And Resilience For An Uninterested World

December 14th, 2018

By Vanessa Beeley

SWEIDA, SYRIA – On July 25, 2018, ISIS terrorists attacked Sweida City and villages in the surrounding countryside. The ensuing massacre, one of the bloodiest of the eight-year Syrian conflict, went virtually unreported in the West. The U.S. coalition, illegally occupying Syrian territory, turned a blind eye as the ISIS terrorists that they claim to be waging war on entered the seven villages to the east of Sweida City that were targeted for wanton bloodshed.

At 4 a.m. the terrorist group approached under cover of darkness. They encircled each village, posting snipers around the villages and along the straight road that connects them all, to prevent civilians from leaving or coming to the aid of others. ISIS fighters entered homes and murdered civilians — even children as they slept, unaware of the horror that was approaching. In Shbeki a disabled child was beheaded as he slept. In Shrehi “the roads ran with blood,” according to resident of the village, H. Saab (his full name is not given for security reasons), who lost 35 members of his extended family in the attack.

In September 2018, I visited three of the seven villages that had endured the July attack. Sweida is a province around 110 km to the south of Damascus. It is the home of the Syrian Druze community that has remained steadfastly loyal to the Syrian state and Syrian Arab Army throughout the regime-change war waged against Syria by the U.S. coalition, Turkey, the Gulf States and Israel for eight long years. Until this massacre, the Druze had rarely been catastrophically affected by the conflict. The SAA had successfully kept a check on ISIS advances into the heartland of this fiercely resilient province.

The attack was given cursory coverage by most in the media; it was certainly not marked as one of the most heinous crimes committed by a terrorist group that was effectively enabled and protected by the U.S. coalition embedded in Al-Tanf, 330 km to the northeast of Sweida City and the targeted villages. ISIS fighters moved in from the direction of Tilal Al-Safa, a volcanic desert region situated around 100 km from Sweida City, again to the northeast. At no point did the Al-Tanf military base, bristling with surveillance equipment, detect or react against the ISIS operation. At the time, acclaimed Middle East journalist Elijah Magnier pointed out: “ISIS knew it was possible for its convoy to drive under the eyes of a superpower state [the U.S.] without being disturbed.”

As always, the true victims of this eight-year war will be brushed under the carpet while the focus remains upon the whitewashing of the perpetrators of the crimes against the Syrian people – the “rebel”-washing of the terrorist gangs who have been enabled to roam freely across Syria by the U.S. coalition and its Gulf State financiers of the sectarian ideologues described by the colonial media as “moderates.”

During our drive down to Sweida, I asked our guide, H. Saab, what he believed to be the motive behind these brutal attacks; he responded:

I believe it was to force the SAA to reduce pressure on the ISIS terrorists holding out in Yarmouk Basin close to the border with the illegally Israel-annexed Golan territories. ISIS are given protection in the 55 km buffer zone surrounding the camp and the Syrian Arab Army is not allowed to enter this zone, despite it being Syrian territory. Perhaps it was to allow ISIS an escape route to the U.S. base at Al-Tanf and the buffer zone area where they would receive equipment and protection from the U.S Coalition”

H. Saab also suggested that ISIS may well have wanted to actually take control of the villages, as they would have provided a stronghold that was easy to defend, offering high-ground and networks of ancient caves and underground passageways that could be converted into bunkers and shelter from bombing and artillery fire.

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The basalt mountain on the road to Sweida. Photo | Vanessa Beeley

Sweida does have an other-worldly aspect to it: the vast stretches of desert, the hillsides dotted with fruit trees and the beautiful basalt mountain that rises out of the ground like a massive, glittering obelisk by the side of the road taking you towards this historically rich Byzantine region. Towns and cities date back to the first century B.C., during which time many were famous for the quality of their wines: Sweida was called Dionysias during Hellenistic and Roman times; Dionysus is the god of wine and the excellent reputation of this ancient wine-producing region persists today.

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One of the many memorials to martyred soldiers in Sweida. Photo | Vanessa Beeley

I described these surroundings in a piece I wrote in October, “Sweida: A Bloody Massacre Barely Registered by Western Media as ISIS Slaughter Innocent Civilians in their Sleep:”

As we entered the province of Sweida, we began to see the elaborate memorials to martyrs killed in Syria’s war against Western-sponsored terrorism. Our guide told us that these beautiful monuments are in honour of the soldiers who have given their lives in defence of their homeland. Many of these impressive structures are placed at the entrance to villages ‘so their names are remembered for eternity by all those who live because they died.’

We were told that some of these graves also date back to the 1925 ‘Great Syrian Revolt or ‘Great Druze Revolt’ against France. They are wonderful to behold, rising out of the dry desert plains, backdropped by the hills and trees that pepper the landscape stretching out in front of us.”

In September, a pall of grief still hung over the villages, and an understandable anger at the bloodbath they had endured. The anger was largely directed at the U.S. and its allies, particularly Britain. The overriding sense was one of a massacre that could have happened only with the U.S. collusion and collaboration with the ISIS terrorist entity Washington claims to be combatting. The implications of this belief are huge — the raison d’etre of the U.S. coalition in Syria is the “elimination” of ISIS, yet here we have civilians telling us that, in their informed view, ISIS has been protected and its power multiplied by the U.S. in Al-Tanf.

https://www.mintpressnews.com/isis-mass ... ld/252909/

Much more to this, see link.
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Re: Syria

Post by blindpig » Wed Dec 19, 2018 2:19 pm

U.S. Military Preparing for a Full Withdrawal of Its Forces From Northeastern Syria
Move throws campaign against Islamic State into question

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U.S. officials began informing partners in northeastern Syria of their plans to begin immediately pulling American forces out of the region. PHOTO: HUSSEIN MALLA/ASSOCIATED PRESS

By Dion Nissenbaum
Dec. 19, 2018 8:20 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON—In an abrupt reversal, the U.S. military is preparing to withdraw its forces from northeastern Syria, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday, a move that throws the American strategy in the Middle East into turmoil.

U.S. officials began informing partners in northeastern Syria of their plans to begin immediately pulling American forces out of the region where they have been trying to wrap up the campaign against Islamic State, the people said.

The move follows a call last week between President Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has threatened to launch an assault on America’s Kurdish partners in Syria.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-milita ... 1545225641

Nobody saw this coming.......heh, the Kurds are in the soup again, some people never learn. The post above concerning Kurds defecting to the SAA falls right in with this.
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Re: Syria

Post by blindpig » Mon Dec 24, 2018 2:50 pm

Immigration issues instructions not to detain citizens overdue to join military service at border crossings

24 December، 2018

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Damascus, SANA – The Immigration and Passports Directorate at the Interior Ministry issued instructions to its branches and all border crossing points to not detain any Syrian citizen who has overdue obligation for military service.

According to the instructions, Syrian citizens coming through border crossing points who are overdue for reporting to mandatory or reserve military service are to visit their draft department within 15 days for citizens with overdue mandatory service or within 7 days for those with reserve service after entering Syrian territory.

Hazem Sabbagh

https://www.sana.sy/en/?p=154264

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

New batches of displaced Syrians return from Lebanon

24 December، 2018

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Damascus Countryside, Homs, SANA- In framework of the efforts exerted by the Syrian Government in cooperation with the Lebanese side, hundreds of displaced Syrians on Monday returned from Lebanon through the border crossings of al-Zamrani, Jdeidet Yabous and al-Dabbousyia heading for their villages and towns which have been liberated from terrorism by the Syrian Arab Army.

SANA’s reporters at the three border crossings said that Syrian buses entered the crossings of al-Zamrani, Jdeidet Yabous and al-Dabbousyia coming from the Lebanese territories with hundreds of citizens on board including women and children who had been forced to leave their homes by the terrorist organizations before they were eliminated.

The reporters indicated that medical teams and cadres affiliated to the health directorates in the provinces provided the required health services to the returnees, particularly the anti-polio vaccines for children and other vaccines according to their age.

In the area of western Qalamoun in Damascus Countryside, SANA’s reporter at al-Zamrani crossing said that a new batch of displaced Syrians returning from the Lebanese territories arrived in the crossing.

He added that the authorities concerned took all the required measures to pave the way for them to return to their villages and towns which have been liberated from terrorism.

Meanwhile, SANA’s reporter at Jdeidet Yabous crossing in Damascus Countryside said that hundreds of the Syrians who have been displaced by terrorists returned from Lebanon through the crossing on board buses, adding that they will be later transported to their villages and towns which have been liberated from terrorism.

In Homs western countryside, SANA’s reporter at al-Dabbousyia crossing said that 17 buses with hundreds of displaced Syrians arrived in the crossing.

He added that all the required measures for their entrance were taken by the authorities concerned, in addition to providing health services to those who are in need for them, particularly the children before the buses headed for their towns and villages which have been liberated from terrorism.

A number of the returnees at the crossings expressed happiness over returning to the homeland, thanking the Syrian Arab Army for its heroism and sacrifices to liberate their villages and towns from terrorism.

They hailed the efforts exerted by the authorities concerned to restore the basic services to their areas to help them to start to practice their normal life.

Ruaa al-Jazaeri

https://www.sana.sy/en/?p=154229
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