The Security Council meets in secret after the arrest of NATO officers in Aleppo
http://www.voltairenet.org/article194590.html
17 December 2016 -
The Security Council meets in secret, Friday 16 December 2016 at 17.00 universal time - NATO officers were arrested this morning by Syrian Special Forces in a bunker in East Aleppo. (Translation - Pete Kimberley)
The foreign intelligence officers from the US, Turkey and Israel who helped the terrorists in Aleppo have left the city, a Syrian political and military expert said on Saturday.
US, Israeli, Turkish Spies Leave Aleppo
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950927000706
Sat Dec 17, 2016 -
"The CIA, Mossad, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkish intelligence officers have been leaving Aleppo city in the past two days," ISSA al-Zaher said.
He noted that the Syrian members of the terrorist groups have stayed in Aleppo to continue fight in the region and be swapped later.
Al-Zaher further said that the violation of Aleppo agreement has taken place in coordination with the countries supporting the terrorist groups.
The Arabic-language Hadis News quoted media activists as saying that the presence of these foreign spy agents was the reason why striking an agreement over militants' evacuation from Aleppo took so long as Turkey in its negotiations with Russia was trying to secure their safe exit from Aleppo.
The media activists said that these spies were headquartered in a special operations room of the militants at a building in Sad al-Luz market in al-Sha'ar district.
Earlier on Saturday, the Russian General Staff announced that over 3,400 terrorists have surrendered themselves to the Syrian authorities since the beginning of the military operations in the city of Mosul.
"A total number of 3,406 militants of the so-called moderate opposition groups have surrendered during the liberation of Eastern Aleppo, and over 3,000 of them have been pardoned," Chief of the Russian General Staff Main Operational Directorate Sergei Rudskoy said.
General Rudskoy added that some 108,000 civilians who had not been allowed by militants to leave Eastern Aleppo, are currently in shelters, while only the Syrian government and Russia are providing them with humanitarian aid.
The Russian military official also said that over 7,000 civilians have returned to the newly-liberated areas in Eastern Aleppo.
"The terrorists have destroyed a majority of vital facilities in the city and left behind a large number of mines and booby-trapped buildings, which impedes the safe return of local residents," the Russian official stressed.
He said that while the US under different pretexts declined to evacuate al-Nusra Front (recently changed its name to Fatah al-Sham Front) terrorists, Russia has done it itself.
Militants in the Idlib province have begun protesting the surrender of Aleppo to the Syrian government. Members of various armed gangs and elders from the town of Daret al-Issa bordering the western part of the Aleppo province have issued an ultimatum to the terrorist groups Jebhat Fatah-ash-Sham (formerly Jebhat Al-Nusra) and Ahrar Ash-Sham.
Idlib 'Maidan': Terrorists protest liberation of Aleppo, threaten Al-Nusra (PHOTOS+VIDEO)
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/12/idlib-maidan-terrorists-protest.html
The terrorists have demanded that these influential gangs begin the urgent process of merging into single group within a period of 15 days following the publication of the manifesto. If the leaders refuse, then the gangs located in the town of Daret al-Issa will declare their autonomy and the city will come under the “jurisdiction” of the “Gathering of Theologians of Sham.”
The authors of the ultimatum have urged militants in different areas to join their initiative. Militants from the armed “opposition”, together with their supporters, have blocked the highway from Batbo to the border crossing of Bab al-Hava in the northern part of Idlib and have burned tires. Subsequently, they tried to take by storm the nearby Turkish-Syrian border checkpoint.
The main route for the delivery of assistance from Turkey to Idlib runs through the Bab al-Hava checkpoint.
Through such actions, local jihadists seek to push the leaders of the largest armed formations to unite with the common aim of fighting against the Syrian government.
The Russian General Staff said the terrorist group in Aleppo received and consumed all the food delivered from abroad leaving civilians to starve.
Terrorists in Aleppo Receive, Use Aid Packages from Abroad while Civilians Starved
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950927000617
"In the liberated districts of Aleppo, Syrian servicemen have found several depots with food delivered from abroad. This food was consumed only by terrorists and members of their families, while Eastern Aleppo's population was starving," said Sergei Rudskoy, the chief of the Russian General Staff Main Operational Directorate, RIA Novosti reported.
"It seems that Western states and humanitarian organizations are not hurrying up to deliver aid to Aleppo as those who used to receive it, militants, are no longer there, while civilians don't interest them."
Rudskoy said the western countries repeatedly voiced their concern over the fate of Aleppo residents, while being in Geneva and New York, but they did nothing in practice to help them at the same time.
Moreover, he said that some 108,000 civilians, who had not been let to leave eastern Aleppo by militants, are currently in shelters, while only the Syrian government and Russia are providing them with humanitarian aid.
"We have repeatedly heard calls to immediately organize the delivery of food and essentials to Aleppo residents from the West and international organizations. However, currently not a single state or international organization is providing such aid to the city's population."
Commenting further, Sergei Rudskoy said that claims made by Western politicians that there had been casualties among civilians during the liberation of Aleppo are 'outright lies.'
"A new information campaign is gathering speed. Certain Western politicians are claiming about alleged numerous casualties among civilians in Aleppo. According to these claims, the city's streets are full of dead bodies, and thousands of civilians are still hiding in basements. This information is an outright lie," Lt. Gen. Rudskoy said.
Rudskoy added that the representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and officers from the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation had entered the liberated districts as they had been freed, and found no bodies there.
According to Rudskoy, the real-time drone video of the operation was available across the world. More than 7,000 Eastern Aleppo residents have returned to their homes after the liberation of the city, he said.
"Terrorists destroyed the majority of vital facilities in the city and left behind a large number of mines and booby-trapped buildings, which impedes the safe return of local residents."
The evacuation of militants from Aleppo and the end of the Syrian army's operation to liberate the city has created conditions for the peaceful settlement of the conflict, the Russian General Staff said.
A Russian demining squad is already working in Eastern Aleppo, while electricity and water supplies have been resumed in several districts, he said. A total of 3,406 militants of the so-called "moderate opposition" surrendered during the liberation of eastern Aleppo, and over 3,000 of them were pardoned, Rudskoy said.
He said that while the US under different pretexts declined to evacuate al-Nusra Front militants, Russia has done it itself.
A convoy of the Syrian Army's elite forces stationed near T4 airbase West of the ISIL-held Palmyra city after the Arrival of several contingents of Syrian Army forces and a large number of Hezbollah fighters ahead of an imminent offensive to liberate the ancient city.
Syrian Special Forces Deploy in Homs Province to Join Battle for Palmyra
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950927000598
The Syrian Special Forces were airlifted to station in the Eastern flanks of the T4 airbase just before the start of the imminent operation to recapture the ancient city of Palmyra and the energy-rich fields in Eastern Homs Province from the ISIL terrorists.
A large number of Hezbollah forces had arrived in Eastern Homs on Friday to assist the army to repel ISIL's attack on T4 airbase and take part in an imminent offensive to recapture the ancient city of Palmyra and energy-rich fields with the back up of the Russian and Syrian fighter jets.
Hezbollah also will face ISIL in order not to approach the towns of al-Quaryatayn and Maheen.
After the fall of Palmyra, the strategic T4 airbase is the main base of the Syrian army troops in Eastern Homs and if the ISIL manages to occupy there, the cities of Quaryatayn, Maheen and even Homs city itself will be at the risk of occupation
The ISIL kicked off a large-scale operation on December 8 with thousands of forces in Homs province to take control of Palmyra that was liberated by the Syrian Army in March 2016.
The ISIL took control over some energy fields and strategic heights and approached Palmyra.
The terrorist group finally entered the city of Palmyra on December 10, but the Russian and Syrian forces could repel their attacks, killing hundreds of them. Yet, the terrorists could take the city on late a day later.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced this week that Syrian Army soldiers with aerial support of Russian fighter jets killed over 300 terrorists.
4,000 fighters of the ISIL carried out again a large-scale offensive against government positions in Palmyra from several flanks and finally managed to capture the city on December 11, while only 800 army soldiers were defending the city and there was no possibility for aerial coverage by the Russian and Syrian warplanes due to bad weather.
The Russia's center for Syrian reconciliation noted ISIL had moved considerable forces from their stronghold of Raqqa, while more forces and equipment were relocated from Deir Ezzur.
The center cited intelligence data that ISIL had moved up to 5,000 fighters to the cities of Raqqa and Deir Ezzur from the Iraqi stronghold of Mosul.
The Syrian Army, backed by the Syrian and Russian Aerospace Forces, liberated Palmyra in March, 2016, nearly a year after it was captured by ISIL in May 2015.
During the invasion, terrorists had cruelly destroyed a major portion of the historic sites in the city. UNESCO Chief Irina Bokova had warned that ISIL militants in both Iraq and Syria were responsible for "the most brutal and systematic" destruction of the ancient heritage since World War II.
On December 15, a Chinese warship seized an underwater US drone, patrolling where it doesn’t belong in the South China Sea – in Beijing’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Pivot to Asia, “Underwater Spying”, US Drones Threaten China
http://www.globalresearch.ca/pivot-to-asia-underwater-spying-us-drones-threaten-china/5563123
Sat. December 17, 2016 - Beijing considers foreign vessels, aircraft and other intrusions entering it without permission potential national security threats, especially repeated US provocations.
Thursday’s incident occurred about 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay, off the Philippines’ west coast. The incident reportedly is the first of its kind, occurring shortly before the US navy ship Bowditch was about to retrieve the submersible.
Pentagon director of press operations Capt. Jeff Davis accused China of seizing US military property, saying “(i)t is ours, and it is clearly marked as ours and we would like it back. And we would like this not to happen again.”
This incident is the latest in a series of provocative US actions, deploying its surface warships, aircraft and now an underwater surveillance drone in Chinese waters or airspace where they don’t belong.
Imagine if Beijing did something similar in America’s gulf or close to its east or west coasts. US initiated hostilities might follow.
Washington continues testing China’s patience provocatively, much like its doing to Russia in the Black Sea and along its borders, increasing its military presence – both nations entitled to respond defensively. Anything less would be irresponsible.
Last April, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, aboard the US carrier Stennis sailing in the South China Sea, said the Pentagon would shortly deploy “new undersea drones in multiple sizes and diverse payloads that can, importantly, operate in shallow water where manned submersibles cannot.”
Clearly, his announcement was aimed at Beijing, these vessels deployed for spying – intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance, also to track area submarines. They’re able to launch missiles and UAVs.
They’ll be used in waterways worldwide, undetected if things go as planned, clear threats to China, Russia and other targeted nations.
The advent of submersible drones and their use conflicts with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
It defines the rights and responsibilities of nations, using world oceans and seas. Without permission, foreign vessels have no right of so-called “innocent passage” through territorial waters of other nations. Spying and other forms of intelligence gathering are not innocent. It’s unlawful intrusion.
US encroachment incidents happen with disturbing regularity. Ones in Chinese waters occur in its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), Beijing legitimately calling them a national security threat, taking appropriate measures in response.
Washington seeks dominance over areas not its own, risking direct confrontation. Beijing believes US surface, air and underwater spying is preparing the battlefield for future war.
Seizing Washington’s underwater drone shows US provocations won’t be tolerated. America’s rage to dominate assures continued disturbing incidents, risking eventual war.
The "fuss" made by the United States over an earlier seizure of an unmanned US oceanographic vessel in the South China Sea by the Chinese warship is unacceptable and does not contribute to the solution of the problem, the Chinese Defense Ministry said in a statement Saturday.
Chinese Defense Ministry Slams 'Fuss' Over Seizure of US Underwater Drone
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201612171048695013-us-underwater-drone-china/
On Friday, reports emerged of a Chinese warship seizing a US underwater drone in the international waters of the disputed South China Sea region.
On Thursday, USNS Bowditch, a US oceanographic vessel, stopped some 100 miles off the port at Subic Bay in the Philippines to pick up two drones when a Chinese vessel captured one of them, according to US defense officials. The US Department of Defense urged to immediately return the drone, calling the capture illegal. "China maintains direct contact on the issue with the United States. The fuss that was made unilaterally by the US side is unacceptable, does not contribute to a favorable solution to the problem. We express regret over this matter," the statement read.
It added that the Chinese warship located unknown equipment in the international waters of the South China Sea and, in order to avoid endangering the passing ships and their crews, the Chinese side used friend-or-foe identification, which showed that it was a US underwater drone.
Meanwhile, the United States alleged that China ignored requests for the drone to be returned. The drone is not a classified piece of equipment and is used to gather data on water temperature, salinity and the speed of sound, according Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook. Washington and Beijing interests clash in the South China Sea, with China and US allies, including the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam, having competing territorial claims. The US Navy continues patrols in the area despite Chinese protests.
