Russia Begins Operations in Syria: End Game for the US Empire?

[angelburst29]

A video has just surfaced where Erdogan brags about how Turkey's military operation in northern Syria has always been for the purpose of advancing regime change, causing a panic on alternative and social media that President Putin and the Iranian Supreme Leader were both devilishly tricked by the wily Erdogan in falling for Turkey's "Trojan Horse" rapprochements with their countries.

No, Erdogan Didn't "Trick" Putin And The Ayatollah
http://katehon.com/article/no-erdogan-didnt-trick-putin-and-ayatollah

The reactionary narrative is predictably one of "I told you so!", with advocates on the verge of "celebrating" what the Sultan has just proclaimed, despite this supposedly being "proof" that Moscow and Tehran are just so woefully incompetent that they couldn't even see a threat to their Damascus ally when it was staring them in the face this entire time.

The intentions of those peddling this narrative vary widely, and it's not the author's purpose to speculate on what's behind their joyful glee now that their dire anti-Syrian "prediction" has supposedly come to pass. Instead, it's much more constructive to examine what's wrong with this narrative and prove how categorically false it really is, with the tangential hope that this solid refutation will allow objective observers to identity the alternative and social media personalities which have "jumped the gun" on this whole episode and may have inadvertently revealed their true biases as a result.

[...] [...] The strongest overlap of strategic commonality between Russia and Iran vis-a-vis Turkey is that Moscow and Tehran were both very receptive to Ankara's pre-coup signals of distancing itself from the US over Washington's support for the YPG and completely recalibrating its policy towards Syria as a result.

For all of the other aforementioned resultant benefits that Russia and Iran aspire to receive from their new policies towards Turkey, it is Ankara's moves away from the unipolar US and towards the multipolar Eurasian World Order which matter the most, particularly because these can facilitate the salvation of their beloved Syrian ally.

It needs to be repeated over and over again that Russia and Iran's support for Syria is unwavering and non-negotiable, and that no amount of pipeline deals or anti-terrorist cooperation can be used to "buy them out", as their complementary policies towards Damascus are driven by concrete geostratgic principles which work out to their supreme self-interests. Nothing can override the unchanging geopolitical facts which underpin their commitments to Syria, which is why anybody alleging that any of these countries has "sold out" either doesn't have a mature enough understanding about the situation to be publicly commenting on it or might perhaps have deeper ulterior motives depending on their professional stature. Neither of these is true, as I argued in my two previous Katehon articles about "Turkey Crosses Into Syria: Unipolar Conspiracy Or Multipolar Coordination?" and "Turkey In Syria, The FSA, And The Upcoming Quarrel Over Syria's Constitution", which should be reviewed if the reader hasn't done so already in order to get the gist of the author's arguments apropos of this complex operation. The main point being proposed is that Russia and Iran - as Syria's loyal protectors - wouldn't allow Turkey to conventionally "invade" Syria if this was indeed Erdogan's intent, and that all related sides had likely reached some sort of agreement about this in advance, though are compelled by strong domestic public opinion to officially say the opposite. There is always the chance that Turkey will deliberately overstep its predetermined boundaries or outright betray its new "partners" (and this was touched upon in one of the articles), but like it was written before, this happened yet.

Observers should assess the situation surrounding Turkey's military operation in northern Syria in as much of an emotionally disconnected way as possible. The optics of the operation evoke very strong feelings among those who truly believe that Turkey is up to no good and is doing all that it can to take advantage of Russia and Iran's "naiveté", pointing to Syria's repeated public statements condemning Erdogan's actions. However, looking more carefully at what's happening, it begins to be clear that Turkey's conventional forces are mostly engaged in a "Lead From Behind" campaign to support its allied FSA proxies, in pursuit of the complicated post-Daesh multilateral political arrangement analyzed in the aforementioned Katehon article about Syria's Constitution. Erdogan obviously is hesitant about committing too many forces to northern Syria and would prefer for his government's allied non-state-actors on the ground to do the bulk of the fighting if he can help it (aside from staged photo-ops and other public relations ploys).

If he really intended to "invade" Syria with the purpose of "toppling Assad", it should be obvious to all non-biased observers that the second-largest military in NATO would likely have dispatched many more forces than it presently has. For a "regime change invasion" - if one is to take Erdogan by his words - the Turkish operation in northern Syria is miserably underperforming and has only "succeeded" in capturing a handful of towns from the YPG and Daesh (the latter of which mostly just melted into the "civilian populace" and/or shaved their beards and joined the FSA).

Over a quarter of a year after it began, Turkey has nothing substantial to show for its efforts to "overthrow Assad", nor would it even be able to had it genuinely tried because Russia and Iran would have mobilized to stop it together with the Syrian Arab Army (and still will if they're compelled to).

This draws into question the entire purpose of Erdogan's recent "regime change" boast since it's proven that he clearly wasn't serious about seeing that new objective through. Furthermore, when he first sent troops to northern Syria, Erdogan said that this was for "anti-terrorist" reasons in stopping the YPG from setting up a rogue state along Turkey's southern borderland, and the Turkish government had hitherto maintained this stance up until now. Erdogan publicly changed his mind on this, however, in order to promote a few other objectives, none of which is actually aimed at "overthrowing" President Assad.

In any order, the first that can be discussed is that he wants to strengthen public opinion in advance of the forthcoming constitutional referendum that his government is planning in order to further centralize the president's control over the country. Judging by the last elections, Erdogan knows that he needs the support of the MHP nationalists for his proposal to pass, hence why he's pandering to them by changing the rhetoric behind why Turkey is in northern Syria. The next reason is closely tied in with the first one and relates to the amazing progress that the Syrian Arab Army and its patriotic militia allies have made in liberating most of East Aleppo. Erdogan is forced to react to this game-changing development, and given that any substantial action in the direction of "regime change" could lead to a devastating trilateral coalition response from Syria, Russia, and Iran, he's left with only empty words to shout in an unconvincing attempt to "save face". Finally, the last main reason behind why Erdogan is now all of a sudden repurposing the Turkish operation in northern Syria from being an "anti-terrorist" mission to a "regime change" one is because he wants to get on President-elect Trump's "good side" by showing that he hasn't completely "abandoned" the West (nor ever will, for that matter), despite recently revealing that he spoke with Russia and Kazakhstan about Turkey's prospective membership in the SCO.

In closing, Erdogan's inflammatory words about dispatching Turkish troops to Syria in order to "topple" President Assad should - like most of what he says - not necessarily he taken at face value, but instead be looked at for what they are, which is just the latest example of a long pattern of saying whatever he finds to be momentarily expedient for his given (usually undisclosed) agenda.

Rather than obsessing over every word that he utters and falling for the "confirmation bias" that so many people have, observers should be realistic and look at Turkey's actions, both in Syria and as regards its Tripartite partners of Russia and Iran, in order to get a more accurate picture of what's really happening. Ultimately, however, many individuals need to get past their greatest "confirmation bias", which is trying to find "evidence" in everything no matter what it may be that Russia and Iran either have "criminally incompetent" leaderships and/or "sold out" their trusted allies.

If these people remain consistent with their obvious innuendo, then one would be led to believe that Russia and Iran "allowed" Turkey to "invade" northern Syria for the purpose of "regime change" in exchange for pipeline deals and anti-terrorist cooperation, and that they've been "conspiring" with Turkey for over a quarter of a year now since Erdogan's operation first commenced. It's not to say that the Turkish strongman won't ever betray his new partners, but just that he hasn't done so yet (which is the operative point), and just because he deceived a few obnoxious Facebookers and alternative media commentators, doesn't mean that he "tricked" the much more experienced President Putin and the Ayatollah.

 

[angelburst29]

FORT CARSON, Colo. — Operations are underway at Fort Carson to prepare for the mountain post’s biggest deployment to Europe since the Cold War.

Fort Carson prepares for biggest deployment to Europe since Cold War
http://kdvr.com/2016/11/30/fort-carson-prepares-for-biggest-deployment-to-europe-since-cold-war/

November 30, 2016 - Approximately 4,400 soldiers are headed to eastern Europe for a nine-month deployment, the Colorado Springs Gazette reports.

They’ll bring along more than 2,800 vehicles, including 72-ton tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles, containers, trailers and a few thousand firearms.

The 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, began loading the first trains that will send a heavy brigade’s worth of equipment overseas in support of Atlantic Resolve, Army officials said on Facebook last week.

“The Army is now working to shore up North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies against rising Russian aggression,” the Gazette reported. “The centerpiece of that effort will be the 3rd Brigade, which will be spread across eastern Europe from the Baltic to the Black Sea starting in January.”

“The rotations throughout Europe will demonstrate the continued U.S. support of its NATO allies while simultaneously allowing Soldiers to bilaterally train with their foreign counterparts,” according to the Fort Carson Mountaineer.

The rail operations at Fort Carson will continue over the next month, Staff Sgt. Ange Desinor wrote in the Mountaineer.

“During our nine-month rotation, we’ll routinely exercise, mass and move throughout the European theater to refine our ability to maneuver an armored force across alliance member states,” the Mountaineer quoted Warrant Officer 1 Abraham Rosales, 3rd ABCT mobility officer, as saying.

Rosales said the plan is to move all the equipment to Poland within a couple of weeks of its arrival to Germany.

“The full set of equipment will arrive in Bremerhaven, Germany, and then move by rail, commercial line haul and military convoy to Poland, where 3rd ABCT will consolidate before dispersing units to Germany and across six other countries from Estonia to Bulgaria,” Desinor wrote.

The US Central Command (USCENTCOM) announced the death of an American soldier in Syria last week. According to the Pentagon this is the first time a US service member lost his life in combat in this country, however such claims are questionable given that the US troops have been illegally present in Syria since a long time.

How the US Conceals American Military Combat Casualties in Syria and Iraq
https://en.insidesyriamc.com/2016/11/29/how-the-us-conceals-american-military-combat-casualties-in-syria-and-iraq/

From the beginning of the international coalition’s involvement in the Syrian campaign US Special Forces were operating on the Syrian soil without UN Security Council mandate or invitation by Damascus and participating in large scale combat, Their actions were by no means limited by training the Syrian opposition, supporting the Kurdish forces and conducting reconnaissance.

The US authorities have used their expertise in manipulating the public opinion to develop numerous ways to conceal real combat casualties long before.

First, the data on the number of dead and wounded of American private military and security companies (PMSCs) is never made public. The PMSCs were specifically created for the purpose of concealing the official casualties. According to TTU, a French defense and strategy newsletter, the number of PMSCs’ employees in Iraq has increased from 250 to 2000 since January 2015. Another 5,800 contractors in Iraq were hired by other US government agencies and services. It is worth taking a moment to examine why such a surge in recruitment happened and how many of the military companies’ employees have not returned from their missions. (Graph - This is only the official data of the contractors KIA and WIA published by the US Department of Labor)

Second, all the bodies of deceased that have no traces of bullets and shell fragments are classified as victims of road accidents which is a common practice. In addition, if a soldier survives the impact but dies of wound in a hospital he is not considered killed in action.

To make it difficult to count the victims a complex system of sanitary battalions and hospitals was created. The wounded are constantly moved depending on the course of treatment and the severity of a trauma. US Army’s hospitals are spread out all over the world. The meaning of this transportation is to distort the real casualties’ rate among the US citizens.

Third, some of the casualties are registered as deaths of personnel serving outside conflict zones, for example somewhere in the neighboring countries or special missions. They are also not considered combat casualties. In addition to the official death pension, US authorities pay relative of the killed military extra compensation for non-disclosure of the circumstances of death, preventing them from spoiling the statistics by contacting the media.

The Pentagon strongly prefers to deal with the media itself. It prohibits dissemination of any data directly or indirectly pointing to the identity of the killed servicemen and. It is forbidden to publish the name, surname, photo and video of servicemen and their families, their date of birth, place of residence, etc. The US military who serve in conflict zones are not allowed to blog and use social media.

Fourth, only the US citizens are included in the statistics. No less than 2/3 of US troops serving in conflict zones do not possess US citizenship. The promise of gaining it is the main reason for joining the ranks in the first place. This is explicitly demonstrated by the infantry and armored units data, where up to 80% of the personnel participating in combat are not US citizens. That’s why only 1/5 of the actual number of casualties is recorded. Will the White House feel sorrow for the unaccounted?

Fifth, victims of terror attack do not fall under combat casualties either. Only the victim’s unit commander decides what can be considered a terrorist attack and what can not. For example, up to half of the casualties goes unmentioned if caused by attack on a patrol or landmine explosion.

With this in mind, the real number of the U.S. soldiers killed in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other conflict zones could be as high as tens of thousands. However, the Department of Defense refrains from any comments, and does not admit such estimations. At the same time the increasing intensity of combat situations raises a concern about the death toll that is expected to increase as well. Washington likely intends to continue concealing casualties among its citizens to bend the public opinion in favor of the US military involvement all around the Middle East.

 

[angelburst29]

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is going to pay a visit to Turkey on December 1st. Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, will head the first meeting of the Joint Strategic Planning Group (SGSP) in Alanya since the crisis in Russian-Turkish relations.

Timely Meeting: Lavrov pays a visit to Turkey
http://katehon.com/agenda/timely-meeting-lavrov-pays-visit-turkey

During this meeting, views will be exchanged on a wide range of issues including the struggle against terrorism, the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, and the settlement of the situation in Cyprus. Particular attention will certainly be paid to the situation in Syria and the paths open for ending the crisis in the country.

Sergey Lavrov is also going to discuss with his counterpart the recent words of the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Turkey’s supposed mission to depose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The night before, the leader of the Turkish administration already commented on this statement, urging for it to not be taken literally. The way in which the media have picked up and replicated Erdogan's statement indicates that information provocation is the West’s main method of attempting to undermine the situation.

Against the backdrop of the successes of Syrian and Russian forces as well as a number of other players in the fight against terrorist groups, the Western axis and those under its influence are doing everything possible to ensure that the formalized Moscow-Ankara-Damascus axis is destroyed. This kind of alliance would put an end to the plans of the current White House administration to establish a regional state of controlled chaos. Thus, it will be important for the two countries' foreign ministers to meet in person and discuss a wide range of problems without intermediaries.

Turkey’s military operation in northern Syria does not target any country or individual, and is aimed only at terrorist groups, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. He had earlier stated that Turkey was in Syria to “end the rule of the cruel Assad.”

Erdogan Backtracks on Syria Goals after Call with Putin, Says Terrorists Only Target
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950911000905

“The aim of the Euphrates Shield Operation [in northern Syria] is not any country or person, but only terrorist organizations,” Erdogan said Thursday, Hurriyet reported.

“No one should doubt this issue that we have uttered over and over, and no one should comment on it in another fashion or try to derail it,” he added.

The latest comments come in contrast to remarks Erdogan made on Tuesday, when he said Turkey’s operation in Syria, launched in late August, aimed “to end the rule of the tyrant Syrian President Assad who terrorizes with state terror.”

This drew surprise from Russia, which asked for clarification of the remarks.

According to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, this was provided when Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish leader Erdogan discussed the issue by phone on Wednesday.

"I can only say that a telephone conversation between our president and Erdogan took place yesterday, and the topic [of Turkey’s presence in Syria] was addressed. Yes, he [Erdogan] gave an explanation," Ushakov told reporters on Thursday, without elaborating.

On Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Ankara’s operation in Syria is aimed at combating ISIL terrorists and other armed terrorist groups.

"Currently, in the framework of the ‘Euphrates Shield’ operation we are specifically working with our partners and allies. Our goal is to clear Syria, this region, from ISIL, from terrorists and Al-Nusra Front (Fatah al-Sham Front) insurgents," Cavusoglu said, speaking at a joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the Mediterranean town of Alanya.

"We will continue to pursue a policy that is harmonic and coincides with the position of Russia to search for and find a political solution to the conflict and to provide systematic humanitarian assistance," Cavusoglu added, as quoted by the Interfax.

He stated that Turkey's policy on Syria "remains unchanged."

"We are cooperating with other countries, but we think that our close cooperation with Russia will provide greater benefits," Cavusoglu said.

The Manbij Military Council announced that two of its foreign military men have been killed in Turkish airstrikes on the Kurdish forces' positions in Northern Syria.

US, German Military Officers Killed in Turkish Airstrikes in Aleppo
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950911000854

"Michel Israel from the US state of California, also known as Robin Akri, and Antoun Lesjek, also known as Vazana Juan, from Germany were killed in the Turkish air raids on Kurdish positions in the Western part of Manbij city on November 26," the council announced.

The council declined to reveal any further detail about the two, including their mission in Northern Syria. Both the US and German armies have deployed spies and military trainers in Northern Syria.

A large number of terrorists have arrived in the Western part of Aleppo province from Idlib to launch a fresh attack on the provincial capital in a bid to decrease pressure on their comrades in the Eastern parts of Aleppo city that are losing ground every hour.

Hundreds of Terrorists Arrive in Western Aleppo Province to Deflate Pressure on Comrades in Eastern City Districts
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950911000437

Hundreds of terrorists have come to the Western parts of Aleppo province to derail army's advances and military gains in the city's Eastern parts as the Syrian army troops have recaptured many districts in Eastern Aleppo city and tightened the siege on the militants in the region, the Arabic-language al-Masdar news website reported.

The Syrian reconnaissance units and drones have observed increasing military build-up of the terrorists in the region, causing government troops to stiffen their defense of the city, it added.

It also said that Jeish al-Fatah (Army of Conquest) terrorist group is expected to launch renewed attacks on the densely-populated government-held suburbs of western Aleppo in the coming days in a last-ditch effort to relieve besieged terrorists in Eastern Aleppo.

The Syrian army units have started special operations in Aleppo after several humanitarian pauses declared by Damascus and Moscow to give a chance to the civilian population as well as the militants to leave the Eastern parts of the city through 8 corridors.

District after district have fallen into the hands of the Syrian army soldiers and their allies in the city of Aleppo, as the pro-government troops have recaptured important blocks and districts in the Northern and Southern parts of Eastern Aleppo as well as Southern and Western parts of the war-ravaged city.

A sum of 16,000 terrorists raided the Western and Southwestern districts of Aleppo late October to rescue their entrapped comrades in the Eastern parts of the city.

But, the so-called 'Great Epic Operation' and 'Abu Omar Saraqib' ended in major defeats even in absence of Russian airstrikes, the militants admitted, blaming their top commander for their "humiliating defeat in Western and Southwestern Aleppo.

The Syrian army units seized a large bomb-making workshop of the terrorists in the newly-liberated al-Sakhour district in Eastern Aleppo.

Aleppo: Syrian Army Seizes Large Bomb-Making Workshop in Al-Sakhour District
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950911000499

The government troops found arms and ammunition depots packed with huge explosives and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) that the terrorists used for killing the civilians in Aleppo.

The terrorists were planning to use the IEDs in their military operations against the residents of Aleppo.

The Syrian army troops and their allies have also found an advanced and fully equipped hospital and a big drug store used by the terrorists groups in Eastern Aleppo after winning control of Hanano Housing Project.

According to al-Hadath news website, the army forces discovered ECHO, MRI and other medical equipment and systems as well as a large stockpile of US-manufactured medicine and advanced labs all made by the US inside the hospital.

On the top of the main door of the hospital that covers an area of 1,000sq/m is written: "A gift by Bani Saud (al-Saud)".

Syria's Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar al-Jafari told the Security Council that all discussions of ending the war has just been 'political theater'.

Syria's UN Envoy to Security Council: End ‘Political Theatre’
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950911000336

A draft resolution, submitted by Egypt, New Zealand and Spain has called for a 10-day humanitarian ceasefire in Aleppo, in which Jafari dismissed because it had no input by the Syrian delegation, Al Masdar reported.

“It is high time to end this political theater” Jafari responded to the draft resolution.

According to SANA, Jafari added in his speech at UNSC session on the state in the Middle East that liberating more than 80 thousand of children and women in Aleppo was not part of the British and French foreign ministries’ plans or the US Department of State’s which all allege they defend civilians in Aleppo.

He noted that these states’ call to impose sanctions on Syria and Russia after the liberation of this number of civilians is another evidence on the exploitation of these Syrians by those who sponsor terrorism to protect terrorists and practice the cheap political blackmail.

Al-Jafari indicated that that once again, representatives of Fatah al-Sham Front (also known as al-Nusra Front) terrorist organization and other groups affiliated to them, call for holding an urgent UNSC session in an attempt to offer political and moral support to these groups following the great achievements of the Syrian army and its allies.

Syria’s permanent representative referred to the dozens of civilians who tried to flee from the Eastern parts of Aleppo city to the safe areas in the Western neighborhoods and were killed at the hands of “moderate opposition” terrorists who are backed by the US, Britain and France.

Al-Jafari read quotes from Syria children’s letter to UNICEF resident representative in Syria in protest of terrorist organizations’ attacks with rocket shells on Aleppo schools, “ We want to go to our schools without fear of car bombs.. We want to play without fear of mortar shells or explosive devices.. We want to live in peace, security and joy.. The blood of our friends who were martyred in different Syrian cities will not have been in vain, rather they will be a beacon for close victory on terrorism.

It seems that the UNICEF representative did not hear about this letter and Fatah al-Sham representatives inside and outside the UN Security Council did not listen to the tens of thousands of liberated civilians’ suffering stories and terrifying testimonies about the practices of Fatah al-Sham and affiliated terrorist groups in Aleppo over the past few years starting from selling humanitarian aid and bread to them, recruiting children, taking women captive and use them as human shields, Al-Jafari added, noting that these are real stories and have nothing to do with stories from the 'Thousand and One Nights' told by some states in this council.

Al-Jafari reiterated the call upon the Council’s member states who sympathize with the “genetically modified terrorists” to bring back their brutal garbage which they have exported to Syria over the past five years and to take care of them if they want through establishing self-governing zones for them in their own cities in Europe, the US and other areas.

He reiterated the Syrian Government’s adherence to its policies which are built on balancing between the priority of combating terrorism as the main threat to security and stability in Syria, and seeking to find a political solution to the crisis based on the Syrian-Syrian dialogue under a Syrian leadership and without any foreign interference or any preconditions.

Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin also said the Security Council should stop supporting “moderate opposition” as they have proven to be aligned with terrorist forces in Syria.

 

[angelburst29]

How the US Conceals American Military Combat Casualties in Syria and Iraq
https://en.insidesyriamc.com/2016/11/29/how-the-us-conceals-american-military-combat-casualties-in-syria-and-iraq/

First, the data on the number of dead and wounded of American private military and security companies (PMSCs) is never made public. The PMSCs were specifically created for the purpose of concealing the official casualties.

Wounded soldiers’ payment scheme overhauled to spare MoD embarrassment in court
https://www.rt.com/uk/368873-wounded-soldier-compensation-court/

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon will announce the changes amid a row about liability and the way legal firms have approached legacy cases from the UK’s recent wars.

The plan is to end the proliferation of legal cases by paying out to injured soldiers and veterans without them having to sue the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Some critics say the sheer amount of cases presents a threat to Britain’s ability to wage war while others hope the move would buttress the UK’s combat immunity, making it harder to sue for incidents occurring on operations.

“Our armed forces put their lives on the line to keep us safe,” Fallon will say.

“I want more generous payments to anyone injured — or the families of those who are killed — in combat and to remove the stress of lengthy legal action.”

A three-month consultation period is expected to begin on Thursday before the new rules come into force.

“As part of these reforms, the MoD will clarify in primary legislation that the common law principle of combat immunity should apply to deaths or injuries which occur in the course of combat situations,” the MoD said in a statement seen by the Times.

In November a blunder at the Treasury was revealed to have forced the MoD to ask for an extra £438 million ($541 million) in emergency funds to cover payments to a compensation scheme for wounded troops.

The error was exposed when Mark Lancaster, MoD parliamentary under-secretary, admitted an “inadvertent publishing error” had been made in a statement to the House of Commons.

The MoD conceded the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme – which pays wounded and retired soldiers – was short by a massive sum.


Opposition behind the creation of the so-called "Army of Aleppo" in the eastern part of the city could seek to rebrand al-Nusra Front terrorists and shield them, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday at a joint press conference with his Italian colleague Paolo Gentiloni.

Lavrov: Creation of 'Army of Aleppo' Could Just Be Rebranding of al-Nusra Front
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612021048098576-army-of-aleppo-nusra-front/

I do not rule out that this is just another attempt to rebrand al-Nusra Front and shield it from righteous retaliation," he said.

Lavrov said that almost all armed groups in Eastern Aleppo (where the so-called "Army of Aleppo" was formed) are controlled by al-Nusra Front. "As I have already mentioned, according to our intelligence,…practically all armed opposition groups in eastern Aleppo report to al-Nusra Front. Nusra has some 1,500 militants there, while other groups under its command have up to 6,000 militants," Lavrov stressed. Political forces that put forward ultimatums and demand the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad have been blocking the intra-Syrian reconciliation talks for more than six months, Lavrov said.

"Unfortunately, for more than half a year the talks are being blocked by those who, in violation of the UNSC resolution, put forward ultimatums in the form of an absolute precondition to oust President Assad, which is, certainly, unacceptable, because these demands are not part of the concluded agreements," Lavrov told reporters.

Attempts to keep a part of Syria under the control of the Al-Nusra Front are unacceptable, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at the second edition of the Mediterranean Dialogues international conference in Rome, on Friday, December 2.

to Keep Part of Syria Under Nusra Front Control Unacceptable - Lavrov
https://sputniknews.com/politics/201612021048106105-lavrov-syria-nusra-aleppo/

"We have already compromised on some issues, as Staffan de Mistura has voiced a proposal to Nusra Front militants to leave eastern Aleppo without surrendering arms. We were against this idea but we agreed as we wanted to help save lives in Aleppo," Lavrov said at the Rome MED — Mediterranean Dialogues 2016 conference.

According to Lavrov, a number of countries have rejected de Mistura's proposal. "I think it was done because someone could benefit from leaving the eastern part of Aleppo under control of Nusra Front, which is, of course, unacceptable," Lavrov stressed. Lavrov said that the current situation in Eastern Aleppo is the result of the failure to dissociate armed opposition from terrorists.

"In Eastern Aleppo, we are witnessing the result and the latest failures of a number of foreign friends of the Syrian opposition to dissociate the Syrian opposition from the Al-Nusra Front terrorist group, in spite of the obligations that the US took upon itself back in January 2016. They then assured us that in literally a few weeks they would be able to dissociate these groups in Syria. This should have been followed by a beginning of a political process, the solution of humanitarian issues; different opposition groups were to take part in the negotiation process," Lavrov said.

"Washington made a big mistake when it missed the chance to implement Russian-US agreements on Syria," Lavrov elaborated. Talking about joint Russian-US joint efforts to counter terrorism, Lavrov said that Russia is ready to cooperate with the administration of US President-elect Donald Trump in anti-terrorism efforts should Washington show such an intention. "If the United States focuses on the fight against terrorism and if it wants to cooperate with Russia, we will certainly be ready," Lavrov said in Rome.

The Russian Defense Ministry urged the United Nations to get down to work and provide real humanitarian aid to the residents of Aleppo instead of merely talking about it.

UN Stops Humanitarian Relief Offers After Syrian Troops Liberate 40% of E Aleppo
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612021048083883-un-aleppo-humanitarian-aid-russia/

The United Nations has not provided humanitarian assistance to the liberated parts of eastern Aleppo, Syria, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Friday.

"Unfortunately, there is no UN humanitarian relief in the liberated areas of eastern Aleppo," Konashenkov said. He said that the ministry was unaware of some 30,000 residents who fled eastern Aleppo receiving humanitarian assistance, as estimated by UN special envoy for Syria Jan Egeland on Thursday. Konashenkov voiced hope that Egeland would "instead of unsubstantiated allegations finally embark on real work of providing humanitarian aid to the residents of eastern Aleppo." The United Nations has stopped its proposals of humanitarian aid deliveries after Syrian government forces liberated 40 percent of eastern Aleppo neighborhoods, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday.

"After the liberation by government troops of more than 40 percent of the city's eastern districts, home to about 90,000 inhabitants, all proposals for the delivery of humanitarian aid to Aleppo stopped," Konashenkov said.

The Syrian Army's general command asked militants of the Daesh and abhat Fatah al Sham (also known as the Nusra Front) to leave southern suburbs of the Syrian capital of Damascus over the course of two weeks, according to local media reports.

Syrian Army Asks Militants to Leave Southern Suburbs of Damascus Within 2 Weeks
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612021048107901-syrian-army-ceasefire/

The Syrian Army's general command requested militants to leave southern suburbs of the Syrian capital of Damascus over the course of two weeks, local media reported Friday.

The requirement primarily concerns the Islamic State (ISIL or Daesh) jihadist group and Jabhat Fatah al Sham (also known as the Nusra Front) militants, whose main outposts are on the territory of the Palestinian Yarmouk refugee camp near Damascus, according to the Al-Watan newspaper.

Earlier in the day, a military source told RIA Novosti that around 1,000 militants besieging Tal city on the northern outskirts of the Syrian capital began leaving the city as part of a local ceasefire agreement with the government. After giving up arms, they were allowed to go together with their families to Idlib province controlled by Jabhat Fatah Sham group.

 

[angelburst29]

The US Ramstein Air Base is used in the US drone warfare which violates international law and therefore must be shut down, Bundestag member of The Left Party Andrej Hunko told Sputnik.

US Ramstein Air Base in Germany Violates Int'l Law, Must be Shut Down - Lawmaker
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201612021048110913-us-ramstein-air-base/

"Since we see the US drone warfare as violating the international law and our law, the Ramstein should be shut down. In this regard, the government should carry out an appropriate investigation," Hunko said.

He added that the drones are used in the so called war against terrorism when suspected terrorists are being killed along with a large number of innocent civilians.

The lawmaker stressed that the issue of military drones usage is "absolutely unregulated." The US drone program has been run through the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) since 2002, enabling a degree of secrecy. Many supporters of transparency in the drone program have argued that the authority to carry out strikes should be transferred from the CIA to the Department of Defense. Drone strikes are generally authorized to destroy high value targets that are not subject to capture. According to estimates by human rights organizations, at least 2,500 civilians have been killed as a result of the US drone strikes.

A senior Syrian analyst predicted that the army and its allies' advances and the internal problems in Turkey will force Ankara to stop its incursion into Syria.

Senior Analyst: Field Developments Force Turkey to Leave Syrian Territories
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950912000465

"Given the field and political developments in Syria, if Turkey wants to increase intervention in Syria and oppose withdrawal from the country, it should wait for counting the number of its toll because the Syrian army and its allies are powerfully and more resolvedly seeking to confront Turkey's new folly," Talib Ibrahim told FNA on Friday.

"Turkey will finally leave the war as a result of its mercenaries' defeats in the Syrian territories and the internal problems it is facing," he added.

A Kurdish commander in Syria underlined his forces' firm will and readiness to stop any attempt by Turkish Army troops to advance towards the town of al-Bab in Northern Aleppo.

Kurdish Fighters Vow to Stand against Turkish Incursion into Syria' Al-Bab
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950912000443

"Al-Bab is a strategic town for us, so, we do no allow the Turkish soldiers to continue their advances in Syria," Co-Chairman of Syria's Democratic Council Elham Ahmad underscored.

He further lashed out at the US' dual track policies and said, "Turkey has sent its troops to Northern Syria after receiving Washington's green light."

"Now, every body knows that war on ISIL was only a pretext and was aimed at sending Turkish troops to Syria to occupy the country and annihilate Kurds," Ahmad said.

"Saudi Arabia and Turkey are the root causes of all violent acts in Syria," the commander said.

"The Turkish soldiers, using its affiliated terrorist groups, tried hard to advances towards Manbij town, but forces of Manbij military council clashed with them and killed nearly 37 terrorists," Elham Ahmad said.

"Terrorists are backed up by Turkish army's armored units," he added.

The Turkish units shelled the village of Olasha on their way towards Manbij, destroying villagers' houses.

Clashes have intensified between Syria's Kurdish forces and the Turkish army in Northern Syria after the Turkish President announced on Tuesday that his country's military forces entered Syrian territories to overthrow government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that the Turkish Army entered Syria to overthrow the Syrian President Bashar Assad, and accused the Syrian government of terrorism.

“We entered Syria to end the rule of al-Assad. We didn’t enter for any other reason,” the Turkish president said at the first Inter-Parliamentary Jerusalem Platform Symposium in Istanbul, RT reported.

Erdogan said that Turkey had no territorial claims in Syria, but instead wanted to hand over power to the Syrian population, adding that Ankara was seeking to restore “justice.”

“Why did we enter? We do not have an eye on Syrian soil. The issue is to provide lands to their real owners. That is to say we are there for the establishment of justice,” he said.

He went on to say that “in his estimation” almost 1 million people died in the conflict in Syria, although no monitoring group provided any similar figures. The latest UN estimate stands at 400,000 people killed in the five-year conflict.

Erdogan said that Turkey “had to enter Syria together with the Free Syrian Army.”

The Turkish leader also accused the UN of inability to influence the situation in Syria and said that the organization iwas ineffective in its current state.
“The world is bigger than five,” he said, referring to the number of permanent members on the UN Security Council, as reported by Hurriyet.

Defense Ministry said that Russian sapper unit departed on Friday to Syria to conduct mine-clearing operations in the embattled city of Aleppo.

Russian Sappers Fly to Syria for Aleppo Mine-Clearing - Defense Ministry
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612021048110658-russian-sappers-aleppo/

A Russian sapper unit departed on Friday to Syria to conduct mine-clearing operations in the embattled city of Aleppo, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"Servicemen from a forward-deployment sapper unit of the International Mine Action Center…boarded military transport planes at the Chekalov airfield to depart for the Hmeymim airbase [in Syria]," the ministry said in a statement. The Russian General Staff said Wednesday that over 200 Russian servicemen and 47 pieces of combat and special equipment would be deployed for mine clearing in Aleppo.

Tens of vehicles, a large number of missiles and a large volume of ammunition were handed over to the Syrian Army troops by the militants that joined peace agreement with government in Western Ghouta.

Syrian Army Seizes Militants Grid in Western Damascus
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950912000611

The militants, who laid down arms and joined the peace agreement with the government in Khan al-Shieh town, handed over tens of armored vehicles, missiles, RPG rockets, rifles and ammunitions to the army soldiers.

The militant groups also handed over 23 kidnapped people to the army men.

Reports said earlier today that the last group of militants that had joined the peace agreement with the Syrian government in Western Ghouta evacuated the two key towns of Khan al-Sheih and Zakiya under the Syrian Army troops' monitoring.

A major part of the last group of militants that comprise of 2,100 militants left the towns of Khan al-Sheih and Zakiya, leaving Western Damascus evacuated from terrorists.

The militants left Khan al-Sheih towards the terrorist-held regions in Idlib.

Based on field sources, Khan al-Sheih and its surroundings have been evacuated from militants, pushing Western Damascus one step more closer to sustainable security.

A major part of 2,100 local militants and their families were transferred from Khan al-Sheih and Zakiyeh to Idlib on Friday and the remaining militants are due to move to Idlib on Saturday.

65 government's green buses with 35 seats transferred the last group of militants from Western Damascus to Idlib.

The first group of militant left the region with 29 buses towards Idlib on Tuesday.

Arabic-language Anab Baladi news website reported that with the evacuation of militants from Khan al-Sheih and Zakiyeh, Western Ghouta has been practically emptied of militants, while two months ago the towns of Darayya and al-Mo'adhamiyeh al-Sham were emptied from the terrorists.

Russia delivered more than 5 metric tons of humanitarian aid to the Syrian provinces of Aleppo and Damascus, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a daily bulletin posted on its website on Friday.

Russia Delivers Over 5 Tonnes of Humanitarian Aid to Syria
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612031048117085-russia-delivers-syria-humanitarian-aid/

Within last 24 hours, two humanitarian events have been held, in course of which civilians had received aid: in the Hananu 3 area of the Aleppo city and al-Mahalej camp for refugees in the Aleppo province – about 4 tons; in the Seid Naya area in the Damascus province – about 1 ton,” the bulletin said adding that points with hot meal and necessities continued their work for civilians fleeing parts of Aleppo controlled by various armed groups.

On Wednesday, Russian Defense Ministry’s spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that the United States, the United Kingdom, France and the United Nations had not yet offered humanitarian relief to 90,000 Aleppo citizens, liberated from militants two days ago.

SARC Delivers Humanitarian Aid to Residents of Liberated Districts in Eastern Aleppo
http://en.farsnews.com/imgrep.aspx?nn=13950912000842

TEHRAN (FNA)- With more families displaced in Hanano Housing district, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent assists people with emergency needs (mattress, blankets, hot food, bread & water). [PHOTOS]

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Russia delivered more than 5 metric tons of humanitarian aid to the Syrian provinces of Aleppo and Damascus, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a daily bulletin posted on its website on Friday.

Russia Delivers Over 5 Tonnes of Humanitarian Aid to Syria
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612031048117085-russia-delivers-syria-humanitarian-aid/

Russia delivers humanitarian aid to Aleppo daily unlike UK — Defense Ministry

http://tass.com/world/916581

"Over the years of the war in Syria, UK has not provided a gram of flour, a tablet or a blanket to help civilians," Russian Defense Ministry's official spokesman Igor Konashenkov said

The Russian Center for reconciliation of the warring parties in Syria delivers humanitarian aid to residents of eastern parts of Aleppo every day while UK has not provided anything over the course of the war, Russian Defense Ministry’s official spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Saturday.

He was commenting on the statement of UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s press secretary who told Daily Mail that Russia allegedly hampers delivery of humanitarian aid to Aleppo. "On the basis of Russophobia, the UK government has lost its ability to objectively assess the situation in Syria, including in Aleppo," Konashenkov said. "I will remind my colleague that Syrian forces have liberated almost half of neighborhoods in the eastern part of the city controlled by militants since November 28," he added.

"Over 90,000 civilians residing there were freed. Another 28,000 civilians, including 14,000 children, escaped from eastern parts of Aleppo controlled by militants to safe areas of the city. Over the course of this time, residents of eastern parts received every day humanitarian aid, medicine and warm clothes from the Russian reconciliation center and Syrian government. Over the years of the war in Syria, UK has not provided a gram of flour, a tablet or a blanket to help civilians," Konashenkov said.

"If the UK government really wants to send humanitarian aid to residents of eastern areas (of Aleppo), there are all conditions for that, just tell us where it is stuck now. If there is no British humanitarian aid to Aleppo, don’t interfere with others’ efforts to help," he concluded.

 

[angelburst29]

Russia delivered more than 5 metric tons of humanitarian aid to the Syrian provinces of Aleppo and Damascus, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a daily bulletin posted on its website on Friday.

Russia Delivers Over 5 Tonnes of Humanitarian Aid to Syria
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612031048117085-russia-delivers-syria-humanitarian-aid/

Russia delivers humanitarian aid to Aleppo daily unlike UK — Defense Ministry
http://tass.com/world/916581

"Over the years of the war in Syria, UK has not provided a gram of flour, a tablet or a blanket to help civilians," Russian Defense Ministry's official spokesman Igor Konashenkov said

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that the claims of UK Prime Minister Theresa May regarding Russia’s alleged interference in humanitarian aid supplies in Syria’s Aleppo are groundless and Britain should stop getting in the way of Russia supplying aid to Syria, especially since it does not supply any aid of its own.

Russian MoD: UK Not Providing Aid to Aleppo, Must Refrain From Sabotaging Help
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612031048120487-russia-uk-syria-aleppo-help/

The claims of UK Prime Minister Theresa May regarding Russia’s alleged interference in humanitarian aid supplies in Syria’s Aleppo are groundless and Britain should stop getting in the way of Russia supplying aid to Syria, especially since it does not supply any aid of its own, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said.

The Daily Mail cited Theresa May’s spokeswoman as saying earlier this week that Moscow was allegedly stopping aid supplies to Aleppo because it would not agree to a ceasefire to allow its safe passage. "All this time, residents of eastern neighborhoods [in Aleppo] have been receiving daily humanitarian aid, medicine and warm clothing from the Russian Center for reconciliation and the Syrian government. The United Kingdom, in the course of all the years of civil war in Syria has not allocated a single gram of flour, a single pill or blanket to help civilians," Konashenkov stressed on Saturday. The defense ministry spokesman said that all conditions exist for the United Kingdom to provide humanitarian aid supplies to Aleppo.

It seems like amid russophobia the British government has lost an objective perspective on what is happening in Syria, including in Aleppo," Konashenkov said, emphasizing that "if there is no British humanitarian aid for Aleppo, stop getting in the way of others’ help."

Over the recent months, Aleppo has turned into a major battleground in Syria, where government forces are fighting against jihadists and numerous opposition groups. Eastern Aleppo is currently encircled by government troops, and the fighting has affected thousands of civilians still trapped in the city. Previous internationally mediated ceasefires have collapsed.

Rebels in E Aleppo Shoot Down Syrian Armed Forces Aircraft, Crew Dead - Reports
DETAILS TO FOLLOW
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612031048132281-e-aleppo-rebels-syrian-aircraft/

Militants shelled residential areas of the Syrian city of Aleppo on Saturday, causing civilian casualties.

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612031048130836-aleppo-terrorist-shelling-victims/

Seven districts of Aleppo were shelled, Syria’s SANA news agency reported, adding that at least five civilians died and 29 others sustained injures.

According to other media reports, the victims included children.

An obscure Syrian opposition group of unclear origin called Israel to help them overthrow the Syrian government.

Syrian Opposition Group Asks Israel to Help Topple Assad
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612021048112692-syrian-opposition-israel-alliance/

A Syrian opposition group called Halas Watani issued a statement to Tel Aviv, offering to join forces in order to overthrow the Syrian government and topple Bashar Assad.

However, it remains unclear exactly whom this group represents and how much popular support it enjoys.

Firas Hadgi Yahya, a lawyer and member of the Syrian opposition, told Sputnik that virtually no one has ever heard of Halas Watani prior to the aforementioned statement, and that this group has no reputation or experience as far as politics are concerned.

The lawyer insisted that such statement couldn’t have been issued by a Syrian citizen because it contradicts the interests of the Syrian people who support Palestinians in their struggle with Israel and would never betray them.

On Friday, December 2, an obscure Syrian opposition group called Halas Watani disseminated a video where a man calling himself Fahd Misri (Egyptian Leopard) urged other Middle Eastern nations, including Israel, to band together and work with the UN to topple Bashar Assad.

EMERCOM specialists have found a fragment of the Russian Progress MS-04 cargo spacecraft in Siberia.

Fragment of Russian Progress Cargo Spacecraft Found in Siberia
https://sputniknews.com/russia/201612031048120595-russian-progress-spacecraft-siberia/

Russian Emergencies Ministry specialists have found a fragment of the Russian Progress MS-04 cargo spacecraft in Siberia, a ministry representative told RIA Novosti on Saturday.

"Right now law enforcement members have organized the protection of the object until members of the Roscosmos [Russian space agency] arrive," the representative said. According to the Russian Emergencies Ministry, the Progress fragment was found about 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the city of Kyzyl.

On Thursday, Roscosmos confirmed the loss of Progress MS-04 space freighter after a faulty launch from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.

The spacecraft was carrying more than 2.6 metric tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the Expedition 50 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Russia's partners in the ISS project are ready to help with deliveries of necessary supplies to the International Space Station following the recent loss of a Progress space freighter, the Roscosmos space corporation said Friday.

Partners to Help Russia With Deliveries to ISS After Progress MS-04 Loss
https://sputniknews.com/science/201612021048097776-iss-progress-loss-russia/

Roscosmos confirmed on Thursday the loss of the Progress MS-04 cargo spacecraft after a faulty launch from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.

"Partners in the ISS project have expressed their full readiness to provide assistance using their own delivery vehicles to supply [the orbital station] will all necessary equipment, as it is our mutual program," Sergei Krikalev, Roscosmos executive director for manned space flights, told reporters. The Progress space freighter was carrying more than 2.6 metric tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the Expedition 50 crew aboard the ISS.

Negligence in the assembly of a carrier rocket's third-stage engine could have caused the Russian Progress space freighter to fall in southern Siberia, a source in the Russian space industry said Friday.

Negligence in Rocket Engine Assembly Could Have Downed Russian Spacecraft
https://sputniknews.com/science/201612021048081746-progress-burns-russia-spacecraft-failure/

The source said Thursday that fragments of the Progress MS-04 cargo spacecraft fell some 40 miles west of the town of Kyzyl in southern Siberia. The source speculated that the failure of the Soyuz-U carrier rocket's third-stage engines could have caused the incident, which did not result in casualties or damage.

"Most likely, after the results of the investigation the state commission will once again be forced to admit the uncovered fact of a defective assembly of the RD-0110 engine," the source said. Ground-based simulation of the available telemetry would point to the components of the propulsion system that was assembled with violations, the source added. "Some personnel decisions would probably follow, and all completed engines — including those installed on the Soyuz-type booster rockets — will need to be removed, delivered to the enterprise, re-tested, possible defects in the assembly eliminated, all of which will lead to more delays in scheduled launches," the source added.

 

[Tiago]

Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey's President is a man to be taken with extreme caution.

He has many personal agendas, he is always trying to obtain his objectives by sheer political pressure.

When the Russian SU-24 was shot in November/2015, he was trying to involve NATO in his confrontation with Russia at the time, since the Russians were blocking him to attain his objectives in Syria. He later invented a story of conspirators responsible for this isolated act.
Believe it if you want.

This year he tried to pressure the EU with refugees invasion in order to obtain the admittance of Turkey as member of the EU.
He wasn't succesful.

So he turned his attention to the Eastern bloc (Russia, China and Iran).
He "apologized" for the downing of the Russian bomber, and began manoeuvers to approach these countries.

In the last G20 meeting in China, he intentionally appeared by the side of Vladimir Putin in all official photos. He was sending a clear message to the West.

In August he began a military campaign in the North of Syria under the pretext of fighting ISIL. Everybody knows that this is a façade, what he really wants is to fight the Kurdish militias, his main problem for a long time.

He has already corrected his recent statement about fighting Assad, we wonder if this change of mood is the result of his phone calls with Putin.

This guy is not reliable, I wonder what will be his next move.

 

[angelburst29]

Armed rebel groups holding quarters in the Eastern part of Aleppo have shot down a Syrian Armed Forces aircraft killing the crew, according to the Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen news channel.

Rebels in East Aleppo Shoot Down Syrian Army Jet, Kill Crew - Reports
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612031048132281-e-aleppo-rebels-syrian-aircraft/

Al Mayadeen reports that the incident took place not far from the Aleppo airport territory.

According to Baladi News website, the aircraft in question was a combat-capable trainer L-39 Albatros. It is reported that the body of one of the pilots, Syrian Airforce colonel Jafar Hasan, has been found already. The search for the second pilot's body is currently underway.

Syrian military officials have not commented on the incident so far.

The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) discovered a warehouse of chemical weapons in Eastern Aleppo where they also found Turkish flags and a plaque in the Turkish language, media sources disclosed on Saturday.

Syria: Popular Forces Seize Terrorists' Chemicals Warehouse in Aleppo
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950913001307

The Kurdish-language Hawar news reported that the Kurdish Fighters found a warehouse of chemicals used for building weapons in Ba'eidin neighborhood Northeast of Aleppo city.

Hawar news added that a plaque was also found in the warehouse which read in both Turkish and Arabic languages 'Turkish-European Campaign to collect aid for Turkmen'. "And this proves that the terrorists were Turkmen militants and the Turkish flags prove that the chemicals have been supplied by Turkey," the report stated.

Head of the Chief Operations Directorate of Russia’s General Staff told reporters on Wednesday that experts of the Russian Defense Ministry had started to examine possible chemical weapons production sites in Aleppo.

"Upon the Syrian government’s request, experts of the Russian Defense Ministry will examine the places where the militants could have produced chemical weapons," said Sergei Rudskoi.

He added that the experts would also provide assistance to Aleppo residents

According to Rudskoi, two weeks ago, experts from Russia’s nuclear, biological and chemical protection troops confirmed that militants had used a homemade chemical bomb against civilians in the province of Aleppo. The bomb contained a poisonous substance reminiscent of mustard gas.

"The bomb was examined, the results have been handed over to the Syrian state body supervising the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention," Rudskoi said.

Abdullah Muhammad al-Muhaysini, the religious leader of the Jeish al-Fatah coalition of terrorist groups, acknowledged militants' defeats and expressed surprise at the rapid advances made by the Syrian government forces in the Eastern districts of Aleppo city.

Syria: Jeish Al-Fatah's Religious Leader Acknowledges Militants' Defeat in Aleppo Battles
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950913001253

Al-Muhaysini underlined the widening rifts among commanders of the militant groups, and added, "Commanders are just justifying the root cause of the existing rifts, while these rifts among the militants pushed the (militant groups') 'Great Epic Operation' in Aleppo into total failure and a major, crushing defeat."

The Saudi Mufti (religious leader) termed as fruitless the start of any fresh offensive by the militants given the absence of unity and widening gaps among the militants, and regreted that unity is no more of any use after the almost complete fall of Aleppo to the army and the recent evacuation of all militants from Damascus.

The Syrian army units started special operations in Aleppo after several humanitarian pauses declared by Damascus and Moscow to give a chance to the civilian population as well as the militants to leave the Eastern parts of the city through 8 corridors.

Looted artifacts from Palmyra have turned up in Switzerland, Geneva state prosecutors announced on Friday.

Looted Palmyra Treasures Discovered in Geneva Warehouse (Photos)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612031048133508-palmyra/

Swiss police have seized several looted items from a duty-free warehouse in Geneva, some of which came from the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, Geneva state prosecutors announced on Friday, Switzerland's Neue Zurcher Zeitung reported.

A total of nine culturally and historically important artifacts were seized, and they should be returned to their place of origin, Swiss authorities said. In the meantime, they will be exhibited in the local museum for art and history. The operation recovered several looted artifacts from the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, a UNESCO world heritage site which was overrun by the Daesh terror group in 2015 and liberated by Syrian government forces in March this year.

The recovered items include several ancient sculptures and tomb decorations from Palmyra, dating to between the first and third centuries AD. They reportedly reached Switzerland via ports in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

The city of Palmyra dates back 4,000 years, and most of its ruins date back to the Roman era. After they overran the city the Daesh terror group destroyed many ancient monuments, including the Baal Shamin temple and triumphal arch.

According to the group's fundamentalist Islamic doctrine, grave markers and statues are symbols of pagan idol-worshipping, and ought to be destroyed.

Serbia organized an exhibition of cultural and historical heritage of Kosovo and Metohija in Paris, the headquarters of UNESCO, to serve as a reminder to the West of how they let it be destroyed since the 2000s.

Europe's Palmyra: How Kosovo's Medieval Culture Was Demolished by Extremists (Video)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201609101045171592-kosovo-historic-monuments-extremists/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rl0gVmyTvLQ (6:52 min.)

10.09.2016 - There is a lot of Serbian cultural heritage in Kosovo and Metohija. Now, Kosovo is an independent state, partially recognized by Western countries. But the world was shocked by anti-Serbian riots organized by Albanians during the Kosovo unrest in 2004. Many Serbian monuments were damaged in the chaos.

Albanian extremists living in Kosovo, since the 2000s, have continued to raid and damage Serbian cultural heritage monuments under the guise of a political crisis. Last year, President of Serbia Tomislav Nikolic showed a film to foreign ambassadors about the anti-Serb riots in March 2004 in a bid to prevent Kosovo’s entry into UNESCO. The diplomats were shocked.

It is unknown whether the ambassadors understood that Serbian heritage in Kosovo does not belong to any particular time or any particular generation, but to all of mankind. The attempt to push Kosovo into UNESCO failed, however, the savagery of Albanian extremists continues today.

Art historian and former director of the National Museum in Belgrade, Nikola Kusovac, said that those who decide the fate of the most significant monuments obviously do not understand that it is thanks to these shrines that the Serbs maintain their identity and their roots. These monuments have a lasting value, Kusovac told Sputnik. “It is ridiculous even to think that the hand of the one who destroyed and burned this heritage for years could now protect it. Their own heritage is limited to just the walls that they built around their homes. All those who do not have evidence of the creative spirit, now want to usurp those created by Serbian hands,” Kusovac told Sputnik. The most recent episode was a fight with Kosovo police who were agitated by the fact that Serbs originally from the Kosovo town of Musutiste wanted to visit a ruined church of the Virgin Protectoress (Church of the Virgin Hodegetria), which is under UNESCO protection, as well as to visit graves of their relatives.

​As the photo demonstrates, not much is left of the church, a symbol for not just Serbia but for Christians in the entire region.

In 1905, archaeologist and art historian Gabriel Millet visited the Serbian lands and wrote that a new world had opened up before him. He immediately understood the specifics of Serbian Byzantine art and wrote that the monuments of Serbian medieval culture were quite special and unique.

A hundred years later, Millet’s covenants have been forgotten and the Serbian scientific community has once again been forced to show the world precious samples of Serbian cultural heritage.

The Government of Serbia organized the exhibition to attract the attention of UNESCO to protect the Serbian treasures located in Kosovo and Metohija. Almost forty ambassadors of the UNESCO member states observed the beauty of “Serbian Byzantium” in Paris. It was just 20 years ago when West closed its eyes on the fate of this heritage and it seems like it is in no hurry to open them. More than 150 churches and monasteries were damaged in 2004 during mass attacks by Albanian extremists on Serbian shrines. Among the rubble were monasteries on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Ten medieval architectural monuments were destroyed just in Prizren, among them was the temple of the Mother of God Ljeviška, as well as the previously mentioned Church of the Virgin Hodegetria. The Monastery of the Holy Archangels was also almost completely demolished.

After the demolition, UNESCO included the monasteries of Visoki Dečani, Gračanica and the Patriarchate of Peć into the list. It should be noted that in 2012, 2 million dollars of the funds slated for the restoration of Orthodox churches in Kosovo were allocated by UNESCO Russia.

Shortly after the destruction of the monuments, the Mayor of Venice Massimo Cacciari said it was as if the Cathedral of St Mark's in Venice had been destroyed or any other such important artifact in Italy or France. Today, slogans of Daesh and other terrorist organizations are now visible on the shrines. Perhaps this slogan best illustrates the extremists’ intentions. Daesh terrorists destroyed the ancient city of Palmyra because they believed that history began with them.

 

[angelburst29]

Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey's President is a man to be taken with extreme caution.

He has many personal agendas, he is always trying to obtain his objectives by sheer political pressure.

When the Russian SU-24 was shot in November/2015, he was trying to involve NATO in his confrontation with Russia at the time, since the Russians were blocking him to attain his objectives in Syria. He later invented a story of conspirators responsible for this isolated act.
Believe it if you want.

This year he tried to pressure the EU with refugees invasion in order to obtain the admittance of Turkey as member of the EU.
He wasn't succesful.

So he turned his attention to the Eastern bloc (Russia, China and Iran).
He "apologized" for the downing of the Russian bomber, and began manoeuvers to approach these countries.

In the last G20 meeting in China, he intentionally appeared by the side of Vladimir Putin in all official photos. He was sending a clear message to the West.

In August he began a military campaign in the North of Syria under the pretext of fighting ISIL. Everybody knows that this is a façade, what he really wants is to fight the Kurdish militias, his main problem for a long time.

He has already corrected his recent statement about fighting Assad, we wonder if this change of mood is the result of his phone calls with Putin.

This guy is not reliable, I wonder what will be his next move.

Hello Tiago and Welcome to the SOTT Forum! Yes, Erdogan does seem to be "a problem child" of sorts, who tends to throw tantrums and act out of character for a President? In my opinion, all that can be determined at this point, is that Erdogan must be serving some useful purpose if the Syrian Government/Assad and the Russian Putin have allowed him to cross the border into Syria with some of his military? I would imagine, he has his own agenda in mind, while also trying to stay on Putin's good side? All we can do is watch Erdogan for any clues to what he is really "up to" if anything? He's definitely a mystery man, at this point.

 

[angelburst29]

Last Friday December 2, Denmark has announced officially that it will suspend its participation in airstrikes on Syria and Iraq. In this press note of The Local, we read that Danish Foreign Ministry Anders Samuelsen stated that “We have decided to withdraw the Danish fighter jets as planned”.

Denmark Withdraws from Airstrikes in Syria and Iraq, allegedly against ISIS-Daesh
http://www.globalresearch.ca/denmark-withdraws-from-airstrikes-in-syria-and-iraq-allegedly-against-isis-daesh/5560109

A few days before, US top officials recognized errors during last operations, and in this note of The Local, it can be read that: Defence Command Denmark, the command centre for the Danish armed forces, released a short statement following the attack that confirmed that Danish fighter jets were part of the mission. The Danish forces said it was “of course unfortunate if the coalition mistakenly struck anything other than ISIL forces.

Last November 30, a note published in Australia stated that:

The United States-led review into the air strike released early Wednesday morning highlights two key points about the international coalition air war over Syria: first, that even the best planned military campaign will make mistakes and kill innocents, and second, that the Coalition air campaign has been one of the most tightly controlled in the history of air power. The remarkable thing is that more people haven’t been wrongly killed by Coalition strikes. This constraint on air operations is legally and morally right, but the effect has been to render much of the Syrian air campaign useless. The review makes it clear that a number of factors contributed to inadvertently targeting a position near Dayr az Zawr, on 18 September occupied by Syrian Army or militia forces. For some reason intelligence reporting incorrectly identified the position as occupied by so-called Islamic State fighters.

Denmark and Belgium, as well as France, The Netherlands and United Kingdom are the only European countries engaged in airstrikes operations in Syria and Iraq of the so called “coalition against ISIS“. It is the first time that a European country decides to suspend its engagement in this kind of military operations. However, it is no the first time that airstrikes in Syria and Irak are suspended by a State: last February 22,2016, Canada officially suspended all operations consisting in bombing targets in Iraq and Syria, ending a controversial action inherited from Prime Minister Harper administration (see pressnote).

DANISH INVOLVEMENT IN THE COALITION AGAINST ISIS

In the last report of Airwars.org (see report on November 2016 operations) the last mission held by Denmark is dated December 1st,

Update from Danish MoD on December 1st: [For Wednesday November 23rd to Wednesday November 30th, Denmark report 11 missions over the Iraqi province of Nineweh and the Syrian governorate of Ar Raqqah. They dropped eight precision bombs, launching attacks on ISIL roadblocks, buildings and facilities that manufactured improvised explosive devices to vehicles.]

We read in this report of Airwars of October 2015 that Denmark initially asked not to identify Danish operations in press releases:

Colonel Andersen confirmed that the Danish military had asked CENTCOM not to identify Danish actions in its press releases, though argued that the introduction of the ‘partner nation’ term was a result of “several interests that had to be united” rather than a Danish request exclusively. A FOIA request by Danish reporter Charlotte Aagaard later confirmed the Danish policy of rendering it impossible to identify Denmark’s role in strikes, “neither directly or by through deduction”, specifying that “the Danish contribution should not be mentioned in Coalition press releases if fewer than three nations are mentioned in relation to the activity in question.” Under pressure from Danish media, mission updates were initially expanded in November to include the names of provinces and cities targeted – although dates and locations of attacks were still withheld.

In this other report on The Netherlands transparency on airstrikes, it can be read that Dutch extreme discretion has suffered indiscretions twice: “On only two occasions have the locations and dates of Dutch airstrikes in Iraq been revealed – on neither occasion by the Netherlands itself. Following a strike on Fallujah on July 25th 2015, France later reported it had carried out the mission with Dutch assistance: “Cette mission fut réalisée conjointement avec des avions américains et hollandais.”5 And in September 2015, Airwars in collaboration with RTL Netherlands was able to show that according to a declassified CENTCOM document, Dutch aircraft had been implicated in a possible civilian casualty incident ten months earlier”

It must be recalled that since August 2014, US led coalition against Islamic State (ISIS) has decided to bomb Iraq and Syria territories. In the case of Syria, without the consent of Syrian authorities. The information provided officially is not necessarily very clear, and numbers differ from one official source to another one, but data base and reports elaborated by Airwars.org allow to have a better idea of the logic behind airstrikes campaign launched by the so called “coalition against ISIS“.

Chart on airstrikes in Syria, taken from this report of Airwars entitled: ”First year of Coalition airstrikes helped stall Islamic State – but at a cost“

An updated chart shows that at the date of November 27, 2016, 5673airstrikes in Syria were launched by US, and 306 by Canada, Australia, France, UK, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, Bahrein and Turkey (see Chart “Cumulative US and allied airstrikes in Syria” available here).

In a recent special report from US Defense Secretary (see text), we read also that: “As of 6:45 a.m. EST Dec. 2, 2016, the U.S. and coalition have conducted a total of 16,592 strikes (10,590 Iraq / 6,002 Syria).

U.S. has conducted 12,876 strikes in Iraq and Syria (7,183 Iraq / 5,693 Syria).

Rest of Coalition has conducted 3,716 strikes in Iraq and Syria (3,407 Iraq / 309 Syria).

The countries that have participated in the strikes include: In Iraq: (1) Australia, (2) Belgium, (3) Canada, (4) Denmark, (5) France, (6) Jordan, (7) The Netherlands, and (8) UK.

In Syria: (1) Australia, (2) Bahrain, (3) Canada, (4) Denmark, (5) France, (6) Jordan, (7) The Netherlands, (8) Saudi Arabia, (9) Turkey (10) UAE and (11) UK.

Between Aug. 8, 2014 and Nov. 28, 2016, U.S. and partner nation aircraft have flown an estimated 127,764 sorties in support of operations in Iraq and Syria”.

ONE YEAR AGO: THE DISCUSSION AT BRITISH PARLIAMENT

One year ago, British Prime Minister appealed to Parliament Members to vote in favor of Royal Air Forces (RAF) airstrikes against Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria, in order to “keep the British people safe” from the threat of terrorism. At the opening of a 10-hour Commons debate on December 2, 2015, he said the country had no other choice. In the report presented to the Parliament he stated that:

I believe that the UK should now join Coalition airstrikes against ISIL in Syria” and pointed out that “On 20 November 2015, the UN Security Council unanimously called on Member States to use all necessary measures to prevent and suppress terrorist acts committed specifically by ISIL, and to deny them safe haven in Syria and Iraq.

We have had the opportunity to clarify some of the very simple (and quite questionable) arguments presented by Primer Minister in our article entitled: ”The UK Parliament’s Decision to Bomb Syria is ILLEGAL Arguments based on UN resolution 2249 in Prime Minister´s report on airstrikes in Syria: some clarifications needed“.

AMBIGUITY OF UN SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 2249 ADOPTED IN NOVEMBER 2015

As known, Security Council 2249 (see full text) resolution does not provide any legal basis for airstrikes in Syria. A careful reading of the text shows that Resolution 2249 does not mention Article 42 of the UN Charter, which allows Security Council to authorize States to the use of force, or even Chapter VII generally; nor does use the verb “decide“, used when Security Council adopts a resolution on the use of force.

However, this text has been presented as a solid legal basis for airstrikes in Syria by France and United Kingdom. In November 2015, two distinguished international lawyers entitled their analysis of Resolution 2249 (see article):

The Constructive Ambiguity of the Security Council’s ISIS Resolution“. For the authors of this article, the legal basis on which military actions can be taken in Syria is totally absent of the text: “Resolution 2249, on the other hand, is constructed in such a way that it can be used to provide political support for military action, without actually endorsing any particular legal theory on which such action can be based or providing legal authority from the Council itself. The creative ambiguity in this resolution lies not only in the fact that it does not legally endorse military action, while appearing to give Council support to action being taken, but also that it allows for continuing disagreement as to the legality of those actions.

With respect to the vote that took place on December 2nd 2015 in London, and, in particular to the arguments presented by Prime Minister concerning UNSC Resolution 2249, a distinguished professor of international law at Nottingham wrote in his article entitled “How the Ambiguity of Resolution 2249 Does Its Work” the following conclusion:

Calling this particular resolution “clear and unambiguous” is, with respect, a real howler. But nonetheless we can see how the ambiguity of the resolution also did its magic in internal UK politics, and not just on the international plane – I very much doubt that without it the Prime Minister could have obtained the necessary majority for the air strikes, or even if he did that majority would have been slim indeed.

WHO ARE REALLY THE MEMBERS OF COALITION AGAINST ISIS

It must be recalled that in a report of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons entitled “The extension of offensive British military operations to Syria“, information was provided in order to know which were the States involved in airstrikes in Syria (and in Iraq). At note 22, page 9, we read the following data, that refers to Denmark withdrawn

Airstrikes in Iraq: US, UK, Australia, Belgium (withdrawn), Canada (expected to withdraw), Denmark (withdrawn), France, Jordan, The Netherlands (9). Airstrikes in Syria: US, Australia, Bahrain, Canada (expected to withdraw), France, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE (9). Total of 13 states overall.

The decision of Denmark to “withdraw” airstrikes in Iraq has been revised after been registered by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons at the end of 2015. On April 20, 2016, we read from US Defense Secretary the following statement:

Statement from Secretary of Defense Ash Carter on Denmark’s Decision to Expand Role in Counter-ISIL Campaign Press Operations Release No: NR-139-16 April 20, 2016

This week’s decision by the Danish Parliament to approve an expanded role in the fight against ISIL is a welcome contribution from a valued partner in the counter-ISIL coalition and another sign of the growing momentum for the campaign to defeat ISIL. Denmark is a steadfast partner in global coalition efforts. Its contributions, including strike aircraft, air defense radar, and training and assistance to Iraqi forces, have already been significant.

Concerning the participation of others members of the so called “coalition against ISIS“, on Nov. 30, 2015 The Washington Times informed (see note) that some members of the coalition have stopped flights against ISIS positions:

One Pentagon official directly involved in the counter-Islamic State fight told The Washington Times that the Saudis haven’t flown a mission against the group in nearly three months. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Bahrain is still involved, but confirmed that Jordan stopped flying sorties against the extremists in August and the UAE hasn’t flown one since March.

Curiously, in its presentation at the “Sénat” in France, on November 25, 2015 French Minister of Foreign Affairs declares publicly that: “Une trentaine d’État sont engagés militairement dans la coalition“. The number 13 is a number of member States quite far from 30. But visually speaking (mainly if you are an urged person acting as a Minister of Foreign Affairs) the number 13 is very close to 31.

A COLLECTIVE CALL AGAINST ABUSIVE INVOCATION OF SELF DEFENSE TO JUSTIFY AIRSTRIKES IN SYRIA AND IRAQ

Last July 2016, we have had the opportunity to refer to a collective call against the abusive invocation of self-defense in the fight against ISIS,
signed by more than 240 international law professors and experts around the world. The text of this global call (available here ) in French, English, Portuguese, Spanish and Arabic) considers, among other arguments, that:

Thus, numerous military interventions have been conducted in the name of self-defense, including against Al Qaeda, ISIS or affiliated groups. While some have downplayed these precedents on account of their exceptional nature, there is a serious risk of self-defense becoming an alibi, used systematically to justify the unilateral launching of military operations around the world. Without opposing the use of force against terrorist groups as a matter of principle — particularly in the current context of the fight against ISIS — we, international law professors and scholars, consider this invocation of self-defense to be problematic. In fact, international law provides for a range of measures to fight terrorism. Priority should be given to these measures before invoking self-defense .

On this collective call, we refer to our modest article entitled “Against the abusive invocation of self-defense against terrorism” and to the updated list of signatures collected, available here.

Publicado por Curso de Derecho Internacional. Costa Ricaen 10:04
The original source of this article is Derecho Internacional Público. Costa Rica
Copyright © Prof Nicolas Boeglin, Derecho Internacional Público. Costa Rica, 2016

 

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Putin: Attempts to Create Unipolar World Failed, Global Balance is Restoring

https://sputniknews.com/politics/201612041048146161-putin-unipolar-world/

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the balance in the world is restoring as attempts to create a unipolar world have failed.

"This is inevitable. Attempts to create a unipolar world have failed. We are already living in different times. Russia has always clung to a point that we must respect the interests of others while defending our own ones. This is how we are going to build our relations with our colleagues," Putin said in an interview with Russia's NTV channel aired on Sunday.

The president commented on why the West has often turned a deaf ear to Moscow's position on settling military conflicts, for example during NATO's law-breaking bombardment of Yugoslavia in 1999 and the Alliance's operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1995.

"The answer is very simple: only loud voices are listened to… The situation has been changing. And I think it is not a secret for anyone that many of our partners now prefer to adhere to international law because the global balance is gradually restoring."

DETAILS TO FOLLOW

 

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Netanyahu plans to discuss 'bad' Iranian nuclear deal with Trump

http://<iframe width="560" height="...s4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

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At least eight NATO ships monitored Russian naval group on way to Mediterranean

http://tass.com/defense/916765

Up to eight ships of NATO’s member-countries were accompanying the Russian naval group on its way to the Mediterranean, but not violations of international laws of the sea occurred in the process, the Russian Navy’s Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Vladimir Korolyov, said on Monday.

"This is the first time that we use our naval aircraft in combat conditions since the moment the heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser was built. Naturally, this draws attention, first and foremost from the NATO countries. Up to eight ships were accompanying us when we reached the area of Britain. But there were no violations of international laws of the sea," Korolyov said told the Rossiya-24 television news channel.

A task force of the Northern Fleet left on a mission for the northeastern part of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean on October 15. The group consists of Russia’s only aircraft carrier The Admiral Kuznetsov, heavy guided missile cruiser The Pyotr Veliky, two anti-submarine ships - The Severomorsk and The Vice-Admiral Kulakov - and logistics ships. On November 15 Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin strikes had been delivered against terrorists against Syria’s Idlib and Homs provinces.

Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry said that a Dutch submarine on November 9 tried to approach and spy on the Russian naval force in the Mediterranean. Anti-submarine ships forced it to leave the area.

 

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On Monday morning, a number of Russian medical workers were killed after a rebel group indiscriminately fired mortar shells towards a west Aleppo neighborhood.

Militants kill Russian medical staff in west Aleppo
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/militants-kill-russian-medical-staff-west-aleppo/

05/12/2016 - The Russian medical staff was comprised of a doctor and two nurses; they were working in the densely populated Al-Furqan Neighborhood before they came under attack this morning.

Several other civilians and medical workers were wounded by the indiscriminate shelling that took place this morning.

Since the Syrian Arab Army's (SAA) launched their east Aleppo offensive two weeks ago, the jihadist rebels have punished the people in the western neighborhoods with non-stop mortar shells and rockets.

A second Russian aircraft has reportedly crashed in the Mediterranean Sea after attempting to land on the Admiral Kuznetsov near the Syrian coast.

Second Russian aircraft crashes near Syrian coast
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/second-russian-aircraft-crashes-near-syrian-coast/

According to local reports, a Russian Su-33 fighter jet was preparing to land on the Admiral Kuznetsov - an aircraft carrier - when technical difficulties forced the pilot to abandon the aircraft on Monday.

No further details were released at this time.

The Russian Air Force has now lost three warplanes since the Admiral Kuznetsov first arrived near the Syrian coast.

A Russian Su-33 fighter jet has skidded off the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean while landing but the pilot ejected and his life is not in danger, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday.

Russian Su-33 Skids Off Admiral Kuznetsov Aircraft Carrier, Pilot Unharmed
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950915000954

"While landing after completing a combat task in the Syrian sky, a Su-33 fighter jet skidded off the dock because of the the cable of arresting device broke. The pilot ejected and was immediately brought aboard the Admiral Kuznetsov heavy aircraft carrier by rescuers. His life is not in danger," the ministry said, Sputnik reported.

The naval group's aviation continues its mission as planned, it added: "The ship-based aviation continues its flights in accordance with its tasks."

On October 15, Russia's Northern Fleet’s press service said that a group of warships headed by the Admiral Kuznetsov accompanied by the Pyotr Veliky battle cruiser, the Severomorsk and Vice-Admiral Kulakov anti-submarine destroyer and support vessels had been sent to the Mediterranean to hold drills and strengthen capabilities.

Su-33 fighter jets based on Admiral Kuznetsov air carrier repeatedly took part in the anti-terrorist strikes in Syria. Russia launched military operation against terrorist groups in Syria in September 2015, at the request of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The EU is reportedly planning to offer Damascus financial aid in exchange for allowing rebel forces stay in power in some regions of Syria. Brussels is no longer insisting on the retirement of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to the Times.

Times: EU’s Syria Plan B Sees Bashar Assad Staying, Brussels Paying for It
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950915001089

The new proposals from the EU were voiced by its foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, at a meeting with opposition leaders two weeks ago, the Times reported.

They reflect developments on the ground, as the Syrian Army has scored several victories and is about to take complete control over Aleppo.

“What Mogherini wanted to do was present an EU plan – this is how to solve the conflict,” a source close to the Western-backed Syrian opposition told the newspaper “There’s a transition, but the details are vague. In return, if all sides agree and everyone does what the EU says, there’s a huge pot of money.”

“Political transition” is a term used by all foreign stakeholders in the Syrian conflict to describe an end to hostilities and the forming of a new system of governance in the country, though various parties have vastly different views on what that transition would look like.

The rebels have for years insisted that the transition must include the ousting of Bashar Assad, while their Western backers have repeated the mantra “Assad must go.” But the latest European plan no longer mentions the president’s future, the report said.

Brussels now consents to Assad remaining head of the Syrian government, but wants a “devolution of power to Syria’s provinces, which would allow for ‘moderate rebel’ forces to be integrated into local security forces.”

The solution is not unlike what Russia proposed for Ukraine’s civil conflict – a diminished role of the central government with regions, including those currently controlled by rebels, given greater financial and cultural autonomy.

The EU is willing to offer financial aid to both the Syrian government and the rebels to sweeten the deal, the Times said. The report suggested that paying Damascus is preferable to dealing with the continued exodus of Syrian refugees to the EU, which is “contributing to electoral chaos across the continent” and “destroying Europe's political fabric.”

On Sunday, the Syrian military air dropped leaflets across jihadist-held areas of eastern Aleppo, warning the militants to surrender or be neutralized.

Syrian army drop leaflets over Aleppo giving final warning to jihadists
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-drop-leaflets-aleppo-giving-final-warning-jihadists/

This comes as a military source told reporters that Aleppo will be cleared of jihadists in only a matter of “weeks.”

The leaflets urged militants to surrender their weapons and allow civilians to escape the conflict zone through humanitarian corridors.

Syrian military helicopters continued to drop thousands of leaflets over the terrorist-held districts of Aleppo city, urging militants to give up fight and surrender themselves to the authorities.

Syrian Army Choppers Drop Surrender-Now Leaflets over Aleppo City again
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950915000249

Helicopters of the Syrian Army dropped thousands of leaflets over the Eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo city, calling on militants to lay down their arms, ask for amnesty and allow the civilians to leave the war-hit neighborhoods.

The Syrian army captured another district and two key squares in Southeastern Aleppo city on Sunday after inflicting heavy casualties on Jeish al-Fatah militants.

The Guardian, one of the United Kingdom's biggest newspaper, has reported that the US and UK are considering dropping aid to jihadist militants in East Aleppo.

US, UK considering air dropping aid to jihadists in East Aleppo
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/us-uk-considering-air-dropping-aid-jihadists-east-aleppo/

The report claimed that little traction has been made in both countries as rival government agencies have differing opinions on it, and no military commander has supported the initiative.

Such an endeavour could aggravate Syria or Russia to respond to planes delivering the aid that can cause a crisis, the report continued.

The last high-profile meeting about airdropping supplies took place in the UK embassy in Washington last week but failed to reach any conclusions as Syrian military forces had retaken a large chunk of the militant-controlled parts. “There was talk in private that all this was too late,” said one of the participants in the meeting.

Sources in militant-held districts of Eastern Aleppo disclosed on Monday that Jeish al-Fatah has arrested a large number of its militants after they attempted to escape their areas to surrender themselves to the government forces.

Jeish Al-Fatah Arrests Tens of Fugitive Members in Aleppo
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950915000970

The sources said that after devastating advances of the Syrian army and popular forces in Eastern Aleppo, a large number of militants, who wanted to leave the city and surrender themselves to the government forces, have been captured by their commanders and hardliners of Jeish al-Fatah.

"Members of the Aleppo Command Council have arrested a number of Jeish al-Islam militants on charges of escaping war, but Jeish al-Islam's commander Soheib has managed to flee," they added.

The Aleppo Command Council also seized the field commander, Omar Qasoumeh who intended to surrender to the Syrian Army along with 150 of his troops.

Local sources had disclosed earlier that Jeish al-Fatah has dispatched a large number of those in its prisons, including the old Aleppo prison, to the frontline.

Local sources and militants' social media pages said on Sunday that the militant groups started accusing each other of committing treason after Syrian Army troops pushed them back from at least 60 percent of the Eastern districts in Aleppo city in recent days.

The Syrian Army's artillery and missile units opened heavy fire at a military column of the ISIL terrorists in energy-rich regions in Eastern Homs, inflicting major losses on the militant group.

Long Convoy of ISIL Vehicles Hit Hard in Syrian Army Attack in Eastern Homs
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950915000390

A number of ISIL militants were killed and at least four machinegun-equipped vehicles were destroyed in the army's artillery and missile attack on the group's convoy near al-Maher oilfield.

In the meantime, the army men engaged in clashes with terrorists of Ahrar al-Sham and Fatah al-Sham Front (previously known as the al-Nusra Front) in the Southern flank of the town of Talbiseh in Northern Homs with the back up of artillery units, leaving a number of militants dead or wounded and destroying their positions and equipment.

Ankara is in talks with Russia to keep a way open for its affiliated forces to stay in regions North-East of Aleppo province, while it has suspended operations in the strategic al-Bab region. dissident sources said.

Turkey Suspends Military Operations in Syria's Al-Bab Region
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950915000574

According to the Shabakat Akhbar Syria Mottaheda news website, dissident sources said Ankara has decided to suspend military operations in al-Bab city as long as the war in Eastern Aleppo city is underway.

The sources added that the Turkish fighter jets have not carried out any mission over the Syrian airspace in the past few days.

Also, the Turkish army has issued a short statement on pounding the ISIL positions in Northern Syria, stressing that the bombing has been carried out from inside the Syrian territories near the borders, they said.

The report was released after the Syrian military aircraft targeted positions of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) terrorists in the area of al-Bab in Aleppo province and halted the advance of the Turkey-backed militants in the area, a media report said.

The bombing carried out by the Syrian Air Force on the positions of the Free Syrian Army militants in the area of al-Bab, previously controlled by ISIL, halted the advance of the FSA fighters, who are supported by Turkey.

A fake US embassy in Ghana was shut down after operating and issuing visas for about a decade, the US State Department announced.

Fake US Embassy Shut Down in Ghana after Operating for About 10 Years
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950915000562

"Signs indicated that you were in the US embassy in Ghana. However, you were not," the US State Department said on its website last month, Xinhua reported.

"It was not operated by the United States government, but by figures from both Ghanaian and Turkish organized crime rings and a Ghanaian attorney practicing immigration and criminal law."

The building flew the American flag, had a picture of US President Barack Obama hanging inside, and issued both counterfeit and legitimate US visas.

The State Department didn't say if anyone entered the United States with the visas, or how they were obtained by criminals.

The regional security office at the actual US embassy in Accra shut down the fake embassy over the summer, according to the State Department.