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

Israel Trains to destroy Russian air defense systems (photos ) | Muraselon
Nov 13, 2018
Israeli military is conducting special trainings on destroying Russian air defense systems used by the Syrian Army.

The reports of such trainings came when photos taken from Negev desert were recently released showing inflatable dummies of the Osa and Kvadrat surface-to-air missile systems.


The IDF hasn’t commented on the claims yet, and the photos have yet to be verified.

Designed during the Soviet era, the Osa and Kvadrat are known to NATO as SA-8 and SA-6, respectively.

The two air defense systems are used by the Syrian Army and deployed in various locations across Syria.

This comes a few days after an Israeli official threatened to destroy the recently-supplied S-300 missile systems in Syria if used against Israeli fighter jets.

Russia has completed delivery of the advanced S-300 air defense system to Syria on early October. The decision was made after an Israeli F-16 was held fully responsible for the downing of Russian IL-20 aircraft in late September.

North Syria Opposition Factions Mobilize over Fears of Regime Assault
Monday, 12 November, 2018 - 07:45 -
Guarantor states have been facing difficulties to contain violations of the Russian-Turkish truce deal in the provinces of Aleppo, Hama, Idlib and Latakia amid rising attacks in Syria’s “buffer zone,” particularly in the countryside of Idlib and Hama.

Syrian opposition sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Sunday that the Turkish-Russian deal was “collapsing.”

On Sept. 17, Moscow and Ankara agreed on setting up a demilitarized zone 15-20 kilometers deep and stretching along the front lines around Idlib, including parts of the provinces of Latakia, Hama and Aleppo.

But attacks launched lately by the Syrian regime pushed opposition factions to take preventive measures in those areas.

“Opposition factions and extremist groups in the southwest of Idlib sent reinforcements to the fronts, and increased mobilization ahead of any possible escalatory measures by Syria’s regime forces,” the sources said.

The new developments came following two days of military tension, and the closure of the Morek crossing in north Hama.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Sunday regime forces used heavy machineguns in areas surrounding the town of Al-Lataminah in the Hama countryside.

“In the wake of a new round of fierce fighting between factions and regime forces, all sides are mobilizing their fighters and pushing for reinforcements,” SOHR director Rami Abdul Rahman told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Meanwhile, regime forces and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham clashed in the demilitarized zone in the countryside of east Idlib.

Activists said regime forces targeted the town of Jisr beit al-Rass and other areas west of the city of Aleppo and in the northern part of Al-Hamawi's countryside.

However, the Syrian regime accused opposition factions of violating the truce in Idlib.

SANA news agency reported that “terrorist” groups linked to Jabhat al-Nusra and the Turkistan Party, tried to infiltrate from Morek, Tal al-Shakher, Al-Lataminah and Maarakaba towns in the direction of regime positions.


A political expert says Saudi Arabia will never be able to assassinate Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani because Iranian counter-intelligence is “impeccable.”

The New York Times earlier reported that a Saudi aide to Crown Prince Mohammed Salman had taken part in a meeting in Riyadh in 2017 where plans were discussed to assassinate the kingdom’s “determined enemy,” Major General Qassem Soleimani.

General Soleimani has been at the forefront of Iran’s advisory efforts in Syria and Iraq, two Muslim countries suffering from Takfiri militancy — which is sponsored chiefly by Saudi Arabia.

Alexander Azadegan, a political analyst, told Press TV on Tuesday that the assassination plot “is not going to happen to him, because the Iranian intelligence services are impeccable.”

The new revelation by The New York Times added to the embarrassment the Saudi royal family is facing in the wake of another perceived enemy, Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered by Saudi Arabian agents at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

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Saudi Major General Ahmed al-Assiri, who has allegedly been fired over the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, took part at a meeting in Riyadh in 2017 that involved plans to assassinate the kingdom’s “determined enemy,” Iran’s Major General Qassem Soleimani, as well as sabotaging Iran’s economy, The New York Times reports, citing three sources familiar with the matter.

The March 2017 meeting in Riyadh brought together businessmen that “pitched a $2 billion plan to use private intelligence operatives to sabotage the Iranian economy,” read the report released Sunday.

“Top Saudi intelligence officials close to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked a small group of businessmen last year about using private companies to assassinate Iranian enemies of the kingdom,” it said.

As the meeting came at a time that bin Salman was consolidating his power in the kingdom, the report concludes that planning for assassinations, like that of dissident journalist Khashoggi, started “since the beginning of Prince Mohammed’s ascent.”

Assiri’s top aides also “inquired about killing” Iran’s General Soleimani as the attendees were trying to “win Saudi funding for their plan,” read the report by the US daily.

General Solemani has been at the forefront of Iran’s advisory efforts in Syria and Iraq, two Muslim countries suffering from Takfiri militancy, allegedly backed by Saudi Arabia and some other US allies.

Iran’s foreign ministry has accused Washington of seeking to wage an extensive “psychological war” against Tehran, insisting that such US measures are not worthy of much concern.

The new revelation adds to the embarrassment the US ally is facing in the wake of Khashoggi’s assassination at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul as well as violation of human rights in the war on Yemen.

“The interest in assassinations, covert operations and military campaigns like the war in Yemen — overseen by Prince Mohammed — is a change for the kingdom, which historically has avoided an adventurous foreign policy that could create instability and imperil Saudi Arabia’s comfortable position as one of the world’s largest oil suppliers,” added the report.

Turkish intelligence intercepts reportedly show that Khashoggi, who was last seen entering the Saudi mission in Istanbul on October 2, was murdered on a direct order from the Saudi de facto ruler.

Saudi Arabia has acknowledged the murder, yet left many questions unanswered.

Khashoggi had been there to obtain a document certifying he divorced his ex-wife.

 
Over 60 Civilians Killed or Injured by Coalition Airstrike in Syria - Reports

Over 60 civilians have been killed or injured by a US-led coalition airstrike on Syria's eastern province of Deir ez-Zor, Syrian SANA news agency reported.

Syrian SANA news agency reported on Monday that over 60 civilians were killed or injured by an airstrike, made by the US-led coalition on al-Sha'afa town in eastern Deir ez-Zor.

"More than 60 dead and wounded civilians as a result of an attack by the international coalition on the village of al-Sha'afa in the east of Deir ez-Zor province," SANA said, citing local sources.

Previously, another coalition airstrike on the city of Hajin in Syria's Deir ez-Zor province reportedly killed at least 15 civilians. Ikhbariya TV channel reported then that the majority among those killed were women and children.

Earlier, Damascus accused the US-led coalition of violating international law and killing civilians in a letter to the United Nations, saying that Washington wasn't fighting terrorism in the country.

The coalition’s strikes in Syria have repeatedly come under fire for a large number of deaths among the civilians. In 2017, the strikes in Raqqa led to at least 1,400 civilian deaths, according to London-based NGO Airwars estimates.


Fierce clashes breakout across Idlib buffer zone as Sochi Agreement falls apart

A series of fierce clashes have broken out across the Idlib buffer zone as both the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and rebel forces continue to trade blows.

According to a military source in the government stronghold of Mhardeh, the Syrian Arab Army and rebel forces are currently clashing at least four different areas along the Idlib buffer zone.

The source added that the most intense clashes are taking place at the eastern part of the Idlib buffer zone.

Earlier today, the Syrian Arab Army managed to foil an infiltration attempt by the Islamist rebels of Jaysh Al-‘Izza in the northern countryside of the Hama Governorate.

This failed infiltration attempt by the Islamist rebels resulted in a powerful response from the Syrian Arab Army troops that are currently positioned along the Idlib buffer zone.

In the next few weeks, the Syrian Arab Army is expected to kickoff a new offensive in southeast Idlib; this operation will focus on clearing the towns near the strategic Abu Dhuhour Military Airport.


Military Source: Syrian Army Planning for Imminent Operation in Hama, Idlib

The Arabic-language website of Sputnik quoted a source as saying that the army's intelligence units have been monitoring reinvigoration of terrorists' positions in the demilitarized zone since conclusion of the Sochi Agreement.

In the meantime, the terrorists have been launching mortar and artillery attacks on army positions in Eastern Idlib and Northern and Northwestern Hama, adding that the Turkistani Islamic Party's terrorists have recently targeted the army in al-Ghaab Plain by the US-made TOW missiles, the report added.

The source said if the terrorists continue attacks and Turkey fails to comply with its commitments to urge the terrorists to withdraw from the demilitarized zone, the Syrian government forces will launch a large-scale operation in Hama and Idlib provinces.

It said that the army has collected intel on the locations of the terrorists' arms depots and command posts to target them in the first phase of any possible operation in Hama and Idlib.

On Monday, a senior Syrian military and strategic analyst said that continued attacks by Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front) against the army positions in Northern Syria accelerate collapse of terrorist groups in Idlib.

Colonel Mar'ei Hamdan was quoted by the Arabic-language website of Sputnik news agency as saying that Tahrir al-Sham is in control of nearly 70% of towns and villages in Idlib province and makes provocative moves against the Syrian army, adding that the army's commitment to decrease tensions is not lasting forever.

He added that the Syrian army has so far repelled all attacks by terrorists against its positions and inflicted heavy damages on them, noting that the army is now necessitated to come out of the defensive mood to retake control of Idlib.

Hamdan said that Tahrir al-Sham will resort to a full-scale military operation against the Syrian and Russian armies soon, after rejecting the Sochi agreement last October, which leaves no room for ceasefire or disarmament anymore, and underlined that the Syrian army's battle against Tahrir al-Sham is inevitable.

Meantime, the Turkey-backed Ahrar al-Sham and National Liberation Front (NLF) terrorist groups has also dismissed the Russian-Turkish Sochi agreement and is preparing for military operations against the army in Northern Syria, calling for a coalition with Tahrir al-Sham.

Tahrir al-Sham and other allied terrorist groups have not left the demilitarized zone two months after the Sochi agreement and have instead reinvigorated their strongholds and targeted the army positions every day.


Syria: US Conducts More Heliborne Operations to Rescue ISIL Terrorists

The US-led coalition helicopters landed in the village of al-Suweidiyah in Northeastern Hasaka and took 3 ISIL terrorists away.

In the meantime, several other helicopters carried out a heliborne operation in Hajin desert in Eastern Deir Ezzur, transferring a group of ISIL terrorists to an unspecified location.

Heliborne of ISIL members by the US military has long been underway amid the US claims of campaign against ISIL terrorists on the Eastern bank of the Euphrates River.


Eight People Injured as Bomb Detonates in Bus in Syria’s Homs – Source

A bomb detonated in a bus in the Syrian city of Homs on Tuesday, leaving eight people injured, a source in the city administration told Sputnik.

"The explosion occurred in a bus that was moving from the Sittin Street in the Al Zahraa neighbourhood. According to our data, eight people have been injured, with some of them being in serious condition," the source said.

Meanwhile, the SANA news agency reported, citing the province’s police, about six people injured as a result of the blast.



Before Homs was liberated from terrorists, the Al Zahraa neighbourhood had been one of the most vulnerable areas in the city, being frequently rocked by terrorist attacks and shelling. Terrorists purposefully targeted the area, which has been mainly home to Muslim Shiites and Alawites.


Car Bomb Rocks Rebel Base In Northeast Aleppo (VIDEO)

At least one person was killed, score others wounded when a car blast hit a base for Syrian rebels in the city of Jarabulus located to the northeast of Aleppo.

Pro-rebel media sources said that a booby-trapped car exploded near a building used by rebel groups as Military Police base, killing and injuring scores including civilians.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the deadly explosion.

The city of Jarabukus , as well several other areas controlled by Turkish-backed rebel groups, has been repeatedly hit by car bombs, roadside bombs, IEDs and assassinations which claimed the lives of dozens.


ISIS KILLED 4 MEMBERS OF SDF SECURITY FORCES IN SYRIA’S MANBIJ

Last night, ISIS carried out an attack on a checkpoint of security forces of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northern Syrian city of Manbij. The attack resulted in the death of 4 servicemembers of the SDF security forces.

The ISIS attack in Manbij once again showed security gaps in the area controlled by the Kurdish-dominated group.
 
A political expert says Saudi Arabia will never be able to assassinate Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani because Iranian counter-intelligence is “impeccable.”


Trump Nominates Ex-CENTCOM Chief to Be US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia

President Donald Trump nominated the former head of US Central Command (CENTCOM) to be the country’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, the White House said in a press release.

"President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Individual to Key Administration Post… John P. Abizaid of Nevada, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," the release said on Tuesday.

Abizaid, the release added, began his career in the US Army as a platoon leader and rose to become the longest-serving commander of CENTCOM.

Lawmakers have pressed Trump to fill the long-vacant position amid mounting tensions with Saudi Arabia over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the war in Yemen.

Yemen has been in a state of conflict, with the government headed by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. The Saudi-led coalition supports the Yemeni government in the conflict, carrying out airstrikes targeting the other warring party, the Houthi rebel movement. The conflict has resulted in a huge civilian death toll, leading to an acute humanitarian disaster and outbreaks of cholera across the country.

The killing of Jamal Khashoggi, The Washington Post columnist, triggered an escalation of criticism against Saudi authorities. The journalist went missing after visiting the Saudi Consulate in early October, while Riyadh eventually acknowledged that he had been killed inside the building.


WATCH Syrians Carry Assad on Their Shoulders, Thanking Him for Liberation

Residents of the Syrian province of Suwayda, grateful for their liberation from the captivity of Daesh* terrorists, lifted Syrian President Bashar Assad onto their shoulders during an official reception.

President Bashar Assad met with the liberated Syrians and their families on Tuesday.

In a video clip published by the media outlet Al-Watan, several men lift Assad into the air, with one of them putting the nation's president on his shoulders. Assad's head even grazes the chandelier hanging in the room.

Then they are seen chanting slogans in support of Assad and Syria.

Syria’s army recently freed a group of 19 women and children who were abducted by Daesh during a raid on the province in July, Syrian state television reported on Thursday. The abductees belonged to the Druze ethno-religious group, just one of several of the region's minority groups which have been targeted by the Islamist extremists.


*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group, banned in Russia


Premature to talk about reconciliation in Idlib: Syrian minister

Syrian Minister of State for National Reconciliation Affairs Ali Haidar said on Tuesday that it was still premature to talk about a reconciliation process in the province of Idlib since the situation in the militant-held region remains “fragile.”

“Today it is impossible to talk about a reconciliation process in Idlib, given that the situation is fragile and critical – it’s like a person balancing on a ball. This problem is connected with a number of other issues,” Haidar was quoted by the Al-Watan newspaper as saying in parliament during the budget discussions.

According to Haidar, “the political process in Idlib has come to a halt, even though a military operation was suspended.”
“The reason is that the Turkish side does not meet the obligations undertaken by it in Sochi,” he pointed out.

The minister suggested that Moscow does not want to damage its relations with Ankara, and therefore “seeks justification for [the latter] in the hope that Turkey will honour its commitments.”

“At the same time, Moscow is sure that Idlib will return under the control of the Syrian state, and is working very hard on this issue,” the minister stressed.

Meanwhile, the ministry is seeking to maintain contact with residents of the areas bordering the provinces of Latakia, Aleppo, and Hama, to assure the locals that the state will recapture the province and also find out more about the situation on the ground, Haidar noted.

On November 8, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that was too early to talk about the completion of creating a demilitarized zone in Idlib, as terrorists continue provocations.

Prior to that, on September 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed at talks in Sochi to set up a demilitarized zone in Idlib along the contact line of the armed opposition and the government forces by October 15.

The withdrawal of heavy weaponry operated by the militants is also part of the agreement.


Jihadist rebels send reinforcements to eastern Idlib as situation worsens around buffer zone

The jihadist rebels sent reinforcements to the eastern countryside of the Idlib Governorate in response to the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) recent movements near the designated buffer zone.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the jihadist rebels of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham sent a large number of reinforcements to eastern Idlib as tensions around the buffer zone reach an all-time high.

In particular, it appears that Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham reinforced their lines near the strategic Abu Dhuhour Military Airport.

This aforementioned installation is currently under the control of the Syrian Arab Army and their allies from the Russian military.

The Syrian Army is preparing to clear this area around the airport in order to make it accessible for their air force again.


Syrian Army continues mass mobilization of troops in northern Syria

The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) continued their mass mobilization in northern Syria this week after reports of Turkish troops deploying to the border for a new military operation.

According to a military source in Damascus, the Syrian Army sent a large number of reinforcement to the town of Ma’adan, which is located just south of Tabaqa city in western Al-Raqqa.

The source said that these reinforcements came from the Homs and Damascus countrysides; they had previously served at these fronts for several years before the Islamist rebels finally surrendered these areas.

While the Syrian Army has no plans to invade the territories controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), they do want to make sure the Turkish military doesn’t expand into northern Syria.

Furthermore, the Tabaqa region is an important source of electricity to the people in the Euphrates River Valley; its loss to the Turkish-backed forces could be a major problem for the government.

The Syrian government is currently working with the Syrian Democratic Council to jointly run the Tabaqa Dam and rebuild much of the towns nearby.


Fresh terrorist shelling attack in Aleppo city causes only material damage

Terrorist organizations positioned in Aleppo western countryside shelled residential neighborhoods in Aleppo City.

SANA’s reporter in Aleppo said that the shrapnel of three shells fired by terrorists positioned in the western countryside on Tuesday evening fell on commercial shops in the neighborhood of al-Neel Street at the center of Aleppo City, and no civilian causalities were reported .

The reporter noted that the shells exploded in the air before falling on the ground, therefore, they only caused material damage.

Over the past few days, residential neighborhoods in Aleppo city have been shelled by terrorist organizations positioned in the western and southwestern countryside.


Authorities find IEDs, landmines, and shells left behind by terrorists in Damascus Countryside

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The authorities found IEDs, landmines, and shells left behind by terrorists in the far southwestern part of Damascus Countryside.

SANA’s correspondent said that while securing areas and farms cleansed from terrorism on both sides of the administrative line between Damascus Countryside and Quneitra provinces, engineering units uncovered a number of IEDs, landmines, and shells that terrorist had concealed in a sewage treatment station and an underground cache in the area between the villages of Beit Saber and Beit Tima.

The correspondent said the items that were found included 130 mm artillery shells, mortar shells, various types of IEDs including one made to look like a piece of rock like the ones found in the area, and anti-armor landmines.

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Militants Exploit Ceasefire To Launch More Attacks On Syrian Army
14.11.2018
On November 14, radical militants attempted to launch a new attack against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) from their positions within the demilitarized zone in the northern Hama countryside, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
“A unit of the army detected a terrorist group that attempted to take advantage of the heavy rain to sneak from the town of al-Lataminah, 35km north of the city of Hama, towards military positions in the al-Zilaqiat, southwest of the town,” the SANA’s reporter in Hama said.​
After detecting the militants, the SAA targeted them with heavy weapons killing and injuring many of them, while the rest withdrew to their positions in al-Lataminah.

Few hours later, another group of militants gathered in the area of Tell al-Sakhr, near al-Lataminah, in order to carry out an attack on the SAA. However, the army’s artillery shelled the militants’ gathering forcing them to flee.

The demilitarized zone, which covers the opposition-held part of northern Hama, was established under the Russian-Turkish deconfliction agreement on the governorate of Idlib. However, the militants in Idlib are yet to respect the agreement.



Syrian Security Forces Dismantle Several IEDs In Lattakia City
On November 14, Syrian security forces dismantled several heavy improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which had been planted near a railway in the southern part of the coastal city of Lattakia, according to several Syrian pro-government sources.
“Security forces’ engineer units closed the southern corniche road near the railway after finding IEDs packed with high explosives,” a local news Facebook page said.
According to local sources, the Syrian intelligence received detailed information about the terrorists who had planted the IEDs and it is now pursuing them inside Lattakia.

If the IEDs exploded, dozens of people would have been killed and injured because the southern corniche road is one of the busiest areas in Lattakia. Most of the people who live there are college students.

The Syrian authorities have not accused any group of planning the failed attack yet. However, local observers believe that the IEDs were planted by cells of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the former branch of al-Qaeda in Syria, which controls a large part of the nearby governorate of Idlib.

America’s Absence From Summit on Syria: A Sign of Rapidly Declining Power
Patrick Lawrence 4 hours ago (Bold Writer's Emphasis)
US is failing to accept it can no longer merely dictate but must work with others -- which is speeding up up the decline of its diplomatic primary all the more


You would hardly know it from reading the U.S. press, but a summit of considerable significance took place late last month. German, French, Russian, and Turkish leaders convened in Istanbul Oct. 27 to create a comprehensive plan to end the seven-year war in Syria. On the agenda: increase humanitarian aid, rebuild ruined towns and cities, assist returning refugees, draft a new constitution and arrange internationally supervised elections. All this will take time, but the Syria story is evolving from one of conflict to one of reconciliation and reconstruction.

Two features of the summit deserve special note.

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The four nations are not all fast friends, to put it mildly. But they drew together to find common interests in resolving what may count as the worst crisis since the Cold War’s end. Second, there was a conspicuous absence at the Istanbul gathering: the United States. Despite its prominent role in the Syrian conflict for at least the past six years, if not longer, the United States wanted no part of a many-sided summit dedicated to resolving it via negotiation.

A matter of days later came the Trump administration’s sweeping new sanctions against Iran, planned for many months and put into force at midnight on Nov. 4.

Never mind Washington’s adversaries: Even its traditional allies in Europe are resisting the United States. This new round of sanctions rank among the stupidest foreign policy moves of Trump’s two years in office. Two others were withdrawing from the climate pact in June 2017 and unilaterally recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital six months later.

Three Things Now Clear

At this point, three things are clear about the Trump administration’s approach to global affairs.

No. 1: Team Trump’s foreign policies are easily the most incoherent of any administration in recent memory. The United States does or does not want to settle the Korean question. It does or does not have an even-handed plan for peace in the Mideast. It has or has not abandoned its campaign to depose the Assad government in Damascus. What appears so on Monday appears otherwise by midweek.

No 2: Time and again, this administration overplays its hand. In case after case it acts on its own, expecting other nations to follow, only to discover that few or none do. Since Trump took office, misjudging U.S. prerogatives may be among the only consistent feature of his foreign policy.

No. 3: “America First” begins to shape up as “America Last” on the foreign policy side. We are a long way from “the indispensable nation,” the phrase that Madeleine Albright used for the United States during her time as secretary of state in the Clinton administration. Two years into Trump’s presidency, Albright’s assertion—which was never more than U.S. hubris at its purest—looks like it might be headed to a museum.

This is not solely due to incompetence in the Trump White House, although this is considerable. The United States has been unable to find its place in a swiftly changing world order at least since the George W. Bush administration. It has consistently mishandled relations with China and Russia from one administration to the next, to take two prominent examples: trans–Atlantic ties with longtime allies (who too often behave like vassals) have deteriorated steadily for years due to Washington’s misjudgments.

The Trump administration’s confusion merely makes the gravity of our moment more difficult to deny: Absent last century’s simplicities—chief among them the binary East-West division—the United States is losing its grip on leading.

Talk of Withdrawal

There is much talk in Washington these days of a U.S. withdrawal from global affairs. Ivo Daalder, a former ambassador to NATO and now president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, recently co-authored a book, with James Lindsay, called “The Empty Throne: America’s Abdication of Global Leadership.” It is a long lament about what its title suggests: the United States is surrendering—supposedly—its position as No. 1 among nations.

This is a misreading, perfectly upside down from reality. The United States is not surrendering anything. That is precisely the problem. It refuses to give up its long-asserted right to act unilaterally on the assumption other nations will either fall in line or silently acquiesce.

At the same time, Washington declines to participate in multilateral efforts to resolve wars, competing political or territorial claims, and other such problems via diplomatic negotiation, often with adversaries. This helps explain why the Trump administration repudiated the Paris climate pact and then the accord governing Iran’s nuclear programs: Both implicitly demonstrate that multipolarity is an inevitable 21st Century reality.

Daalder acknowledged this during a recent talk at the Council on Foreign Relations, even if he seemed not to have grasped his own lesson. “As the U.S. withdraws,” he said, “it’s not involved in building coalitions bringing people together to deal with global challenges, people are going to turn to others.”

The Istanbul summit on Syria is an excellent case in point. The United States should have been there. South Korea is another. While President Moon Jae-in has to manage Seoul’s traditional ties to Washington delicately, he has unmistakably seized the lead in Northeast Asia and repeatedly signals that he remains committed to a settlement with the North—ultimately with or without U.S. cooperation.

Nostalgia is part of the problem. The world turns, and Washington is lost in a kind of memory palace, where it nurses the desire to prolong those decades of unchallenged primacy that it enjoyed after World War II. It refuses to accept there is no turning back the clock. While it wants to play “follow the leader” other nations drop out of the game.

Vigorous, nearly universal opposition to the new sanctions against Iran, Seoul’s determination to press on toward peace on the Korean Peninsula, the summit on Syria in Istanbul: They all make the same point. Washington must abandon its Wilsonian ambition to shape the world in its own image if it is to remain an effective power—as it can and should—in the new global order. The new Iran sanctions already appear to be a turning point in this respect: Donald Trump’s Washington thought it could lead, but virtually no one is following.

There is no “abdication” and no new isolationist era in the offing. But until the U.S. accepts the new norms of statecraft in a world of rising powers, we will watch as other nations withdraw from America—a very different thing.


Published on Nov 14, 2018
 
US-led Coalition Used Cluster Bombs in Syria, Causing Casualties - Reports

The strikes were the second reported instance of US-coalition forces carrying out deadly attacks in the town of al-Sha'afa, Deir ez-Zor this week, with Syrian media earlier reporting that over 60 civilians had been killed or injured in deadly coalition airstrikes in the town on Monday.

The US-led coalition resorted to the use of cluster munitions in airstrikes on the towns of al-Sha'afa and Hajin on Wednesday, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) has reported, citing local media and civilian sources.

The strikes caused several civilian deaths, with several injuries reported, as well as significant material damage to local houses and other property, SANA said.

The news follows reports from earlier this week that over 60 civilians were killed or injured by a US-led coalition airstrike in al-Sha'afa, Deir ez-Zor province this week, along with a separate attack in the city of Hajin earlier this month, which reportedly killed over 15 civilians.

Syrian media have accused the US of repeatedly engaging in illegal strikes in the Arab Republic's eastern province of Der ez-Zor in recent weeks. Last week, SANA reported on the use of white phosphorus munitions in Hajin. A coalition spokesman said the reports of civilian deaths were "under investigation," and that the coalition was taking "extraordinary measures to avoid civilian casualties" while targeting Daesh (ISIS)* targets in the area. The coalition has repeatedly denied the use of white phosphorus munitions.

The use of cluster munitions in civilian-populated areas are prohibited under multiple conventions, including the Convention on Cluster Munitions, a 2010 treaty to which neither the US, Syria or Russia are a party. The Pentagon backpeddled on plans to ban cluster munitions late last year after previously committing to eliminating the weapon class by 2019. Cluster bombs are a type of munition which ejects smaller submunitions to kill personnel and obliterate enemy vehicles while spreading across a wide area. The non-precision weapon has received criticism for its tendency to result in civilian casualties.

Last month, the Syrian Foreign Ministry sent a letter to the United Nations calling for a probe on the US-led coalition's string of airstrikes in Deir ez-Zor. The letter accused the coalition of violating international law, killing civilians, and not living up to its stated goal of fighting terrorism in Syria.

The US-led coalition began a campaign of airstrikes in Syria in 2014. The campaign, ostensibly aimed at fighting jihadist terrorists in eastern Syria, was never approved by Damascus. Through its air and ground-based presence in eastern and southern Syria, US-led forces have repeatedly struck Syrian military targets, usually claiming that the strikes were accidental, or the result of aggressive actions from the Syrian side.

*A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.


Assad calls on Syria's Druze minority to do military service

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has called on the country's Druze community to do military service, weeks after members of the minority were released following a mass abduction in July by the Islamic State (IS).

Sweida province is the heartland of Syria's Druze minority, who made up around three percent of the country's pre-war population, totalling around 700,000 people.

Since the conflict erupted in 2011, thousands of Druze, especially those in Sweida, have refused to be conscripted, instead joining local militias in the region.

Damascus has so far turned a blind eye as long as the Druze militias did not ally with rebel groups, AFP news agency reported.

Speaking to a group of former hostages and their families on Tuesday, Assad thanked the army, saying that, without it, "the abducted people would not have been freed".

"We owe a great debt to [the army] and as for you... your responsibility is even greater," he said in a video published on the presidency's official Telegram account.

The main way the Druze community could support the army was to do military service, Assad added.

The Druze, followers of an offshoot of Islam, are considered heretics by Islamic State.

IS fighters abducted about 30 people, mostly women and children, from Sweida in late July during the deadliest attack on the Druze since the beginning of the Syrian civil war. More than 200 people were killed.

Some of the hostages also died, while others were freed last month in a prisoner swap.

The remaining 19, mostly women and children, were released last week.

Before the war began, Syrian men aged 18 and older had to serve up to two years in the army, after which they became reserves available for call-up in times of crisis.

In the past seven years, fatalities, injuries and defections are estimated to have halved the once 300,000-strong army.

To compensate, the force has relied on reservists and militias as well as indefinitely extending military service for young conscripts.


Syrian Army Deploys Tanks To Kurdish YPG-Held Airbase In North Aleppo (VIDEO)

The Syrian Army has send major reinforcements to northern Aleppo province in order to bolster its defenses against Turkish-led rebel forces.

According to early reports, the Syrian Army reinforcements are bound for the town of Tel Riffat and Minaq Air Base which are both front-line areas opposite areas held by Turkish-led rebel groups.

Despite still being shown by many maps as being under Kurdish YPG control, Tel Riffat has effectively been under the joint control of the Syrian Army’s Republican Guard and Russian military police since at least February of this year; Minaq for its part under the joint control of the YPG and Russian military police since February.


The video of the reinforcements clearly shows tanks and BMPs, indicating that the Syrian Army seriously intends to lock-down key areas in north Aleppo.

The exact reason for the Syrian Army reinforcement is unclear and comes amid two separate escalations – first, the obvious failure of the Idlib de-escalation agreement and, second, very real threats by Turkey regarding the launch of an operation to clear the Syrian Democratic Forces (which the YPG is a major element of) east of the Euphrates River.


Turkey declares borders with Idlib military zone for 15 days

Turkish authorities announced the border area between Hatay province and Syria a security and military zone for at least 1 days.

This includes the areas expanding from Afrin region in north Aleppo all the way to Idlib province border with Turkey.

During the 15 days period, no journalists are allowed in, and no photos or videos shall be posted from inside the announced military zone.

Turkey has previously threatened to launch a major attack against the Kurdish forces stationed in northern Aleppo and eastern Syria.

This comes as the Idlib agreement falters due to jihadists’ refusal to withdraw from the de-militarized zone.

Jihadi forces in Idlib and northern Hama have repeatedly attacked the Syrian Army positions along the frontlines.

In another context, more than 260,000 Syrian refugees have returned to Syria from Turkey, mainly to northern Aleppo countryside currently under the control of Turkish-backed rebels.


Northern Syria: Turkish Troops Continue Preparing for Battle against Kurds

The Turkish army has gathered tens of Free Army militants in the small town of Akshakli near the town of Shanli Urfa in Southern Turkey for an imminent operation against the Kurds on the Eastern bank of the Euphrates River.

In the meantime, a local source said that the Turkish army has dispatched almost 1,200 allied militants to the region.

Meanwhile, sources affiliated to the Kurdish militias reported that a high-ranking delegation from the US-led collation, including former US Ambassador to Bahrain and adviser for the US State Department in Northern Syria William Robak, General Robinson, and several senior commanders held a meeting with Manbij Military Council forces, including Mohammad Mustafa Abu Adel, the council's chief commander and Shervan Darvish, the spokesman for the council.

The sources further said that the coalition forces underlined their full support for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the council.

According to field reports tensions stand at the highest between the Turkish troops and its allied militants and the Kurds on the Eastern bank of the Euphrates River.


Tahrir Al-Sham Dispatches More Military Hardware to Demilitarized Zone in Northwestern Syria

Tahrir al-Sham sent more gunmen, arms and ammunition to regions near contact lines with Syrian Army in Eastern Idlib to reinvigorate its positions in the demilitarized zone.

In the meantime, militant-affiliated sources reported that Tahrir al-Sham has turned down a Turkish army offer to join the assault on the Kurdish militias on the Eastern bank of the Euphrates River, declaring that it is preparing to enter a battle against the Syrian Army in Idlib.

Meanwhile, sources in Northern Hama said that the Syrian Army units, deployed in Tal al-Hamamiat, fended off an invasion of Kata'eb al-Izzah terrorists in Tal al-Sakhar after pounding their movements with heavy artillery fire.

Other units of the Syrian army's artillery and missile units targeted a groups of terrorists in Ma'arkabah and Lahaya in Northern Hama, and preempted their attack after inflicted a large number of casualties on them.
 

Breaking: Intense clashes erupt along Idlib-Hama axis
2018-11-15
BEIRUT, LEBANON (6:00 P.M.) – A series of intense clashes broke out this afternoon between the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and jihadist rebels in the southern countryside of the Idlib Governorate.

The clashes broke out when scouts from the pro-government National Defense Forces (NDF) caught several militants trying to move towards the Syrian Army’s lines near the town of Al-Taman’ah.


According to a military source in nearby Hama city, the Syrian Arab Army unleashed a barrage of machine gunfire and artillery shells towards the militants.

The jihadist rebels responded with heavy gunfire of their own before they backed away from the Syrian Arab Army’s lines in the southern countryside of Idlib.

This latest exchange resulted comes just hours after the Syrian Arab Army and Free Syrian Army (FSA) clashed in the northern part of Hama.

R&U Videos Published on Nov 14, 2018

Saudi jihadist commander stabbed to death in southern Aleppo
By Leith Aboufadel 2018-11-15
BEIRUT, LEBANON (3:30 P.M.) – A high ranking jihadist commander was assassinated in the southern countryside of Aleppo this week after an agent from the so-called “Islamic State” (ISIS/ISIL/IS/Daesh) carried out a knife attack.

According to reports, the Saudi commander of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham, “Abu ‘Obeidah Al-Jazrawi”, was stabbed to death by the Daesh member as the former was traveling through the southern countryside of Aleppo.

Opposition activists reported that the Saudi jihadist commander was stabbed at least 50 times by an unknown assailant; however, Daesh would later claim responsibility for this attack on the Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham leader.

Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham and Daesh have been trading attacks in northwestern Syria for several weeks now; this exchange has resulted in the death of a number of combatants, including many HTS commanders.

Bad Weather Forces Syrian Army To Put On Pause Anti-ISIS Operation In Al-Safa 15.11.2018
Poor weather conditions have forced the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies to pause their military operation against ISIS in the area of al-Safa, the Syria-based al-Suwayda 24 blog reported on November 14.

“Clashes stopped in the area of al-Safa today, Wednesday 14-11-2018, and yesterday, Tuesday, after the formation of several streams and swamps as a result of heavy rain … military operation is limited to some artillery strikes now and then,” al-Suwayda 24 reporter around al-Safa said.

The SAA launched a new attack on al-Safa, which is located north of the generate of al-Suwayda, on November 11. Unlike previous attacks, the army and its allies managed to advance several kilometers deep inside the heavily fortified area.

ISIS will likely take advantage of the bad weather to reorganize its forces and launch new attacks against the SAA and its allies around al-Safa. Last month, the terrorist groups followed the same approach and attacked US-backed forces when a storm hit the middle Euphrates River Valley.


 
Why he is special representative? - Because he is 'specially stupid'! :rotfl:

US State Department Claims Daesh Was Created to 'Protect People' From Assad

Damascus and its allies have repeatedly accused Washington of waging a phony war on the jihadists, and of providing various forms of covert support for terrorists operating on Syrian territory.

The Syrian government is directly responsible for creating Daesh (ISIS)*, US special representative for Syria engagement James Jeffrey has alleged.

"The Syrian regime produced ISIS," the diplomat said, speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday. "The elements of ISIS in the hundreds, probably, saw an opportunity in the total breakdown of civil society and of the upsurge of violence as the population rose up against the Assad regime, and the Assad regime, rather than try to negotiate or try to find any kind of solution, unleashed massive violence against its own population."

"That created a space for ISIS to recruit people; to protect people to some degree, ironic as it sounds, from the depredations of the Assad regime; and very soon, ISIS had an army of 35,000 troops and had seized big chunks of both Iraq and Syria," Jeffrey said.

Later in the press conference, Jeffrey appeared to contradict himself, recalling that al-Qaeda in Iraq, the direct precursor to Daesh, was actually started in Iraq.

"ISIS's predecessor under the same leader, [Abu Bakr] al-Baghdadi, al-Qaeda in Iraq, was almost completely defeated when I was in Iraq…But it was able to regenerate itself because there was no long-term strategy in either Syria or Iraq, but particularly in Iraq at the time, because that's where we were focused on, to ensure the enduring defeat of these elements," the diplomat said.

Daesh's predecessor, al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), was formed in 2004, soon after the US invasion of Iraq, which caused the country to descend into chaos as a number of terrorist groups, warlords and militia groups waged guerrilla warfare against the central administration, US forces, and each other for control of their territories.

No US Aid for Reconstruction

Calling Syria a "pariah" state, Jeffrey stressed that neither Washington nor "most of the rest of the international community that typically provides reconstruction funds" would do so "until we see a great deal more progress" in Syria.

Earlier this year, Syrian President Bashar Assad estimated that Syria's reconstruction could cost up to $400 billion and take 10-15 years to complete.

US Will Stay in Syria After Daesh is Gone

Noting that the US and its allies expect Daesh's holdings in Syria to be mopped up "in a few months'" time, Jeffrey admitted that the US military presence also supports other, "secondary" goals, including countering alleged Iranian "malign activities" and demonstrating a US "interest in achieving a political solution by the various ways we have, not just diplomatic but security and military, through economic tools and other assets that we have and that we're deploying in this conflict".

Accusing Iran of "contributing greatly" to Daesh's rise in 2013 and 2014, the US diplomat said that any resolution to the conflict will require their withdrawal. "Technically, the Syrian government invited them in; we expect the Syrian government to ask them to leave."

Damascus has repeatedly urged US forces to end their illegal presence in Syria, and have alleged that the US anti-Daesh mission was never about fighting terrorism.

* A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.


US-Led Coalition Strikes in Deir Ez-Zor Kill at Least 17 Civilians - Reports

Earlier in the day, Moscow confirmed that the US-led coalition has resumed airstrikes east of the Euphrates River in Syria, using white phosphorous munitions banned by the international law.

US-Led Coalition airstrikes targeting the village of Bu-Badran in the Syrian Deir ez-Zor province resulted in the death of 17 civilians on Thursday, SANA reported citing local sources.

"17 civilians died as a result of airstrikes conducted by the international coalition targeting Bu-Badran in the east of Deir ez-Zor province," the agency reported.

Previously, SANA reported about the Coalition conducted numerous airstrikes targeting towns in Deir ez-Zor province, including the use of banned white phosphorus. These strikes led to multiple casualties, the media stated.

Addressing the reports, the coalition spokesman stated they would investigate the civilian casualties, but refuted the alleged use of white phosphorus. The Coalition has repeatedly denied the use of this type of munitions, which are banned under the 1977 First Additional Protocol to the 1949 Geneva Conventions.

The Syrian government, in its turn, has condemned the Coalition's efforts, stressing that they have not been authorized by the Syrian government or the UN Security Council. Damascus has also repeatedly accused Washington of waging a phony war on the jihadists, pointing to numerous reports of the US providing assistance to suspected terrorist targets or interfering with Syrian military efforts to destroy Daesh* and other terrorist militants operating on Syrian soil.

*Daesh is a terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.


US resumes phosphorus strikes in Syria – Zakharova

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the US has resumed air strikes in Syria using white phosphorus ammunition, speaking during her weekly briefing in Moscow on Thursday.

“According to Syrian agency SANA, as a result of these attacks more than 60 civilians were killed and injured in Al-Sha-Fah, located to the south of Hajin,” the spokesperson said.

Zakharova also said the fact that Washington and the militants under its control have refused to allow representatives of the Syrian Red Crescent into the Rukban refugee camp show they have “something to hide.”

Video credit: Ruptly



Russia slams US for using rebels to protect convoys in Al-Tanf

Moscow considers the use of militants of the Revolutionary Commando Army, also known as the Partisans of Revolution, to protect the US convoys deployed near the US military base in al-Tanf completely unacceptable, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

“We consider the fact that, despite the preliminary arrangements, the United States did invite [the Revolutionary Commando Army], which is translated as Partisans of Revolution, for the protection of convoys inside the so-called exclusive zone completely unacceptable,” Zakharova said.

She added that Moscow also had questions regarding Washington’s refusal to let the representatives of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent charity in the Rukban refugee camp located near At-Tanf.

“This means that they have something to hide,” she indicated.

The US military currently occupies a 34-mile zone around its base in al-Tanf, where it has been training Syrian opposition forces since 2016.

The base has become the subject of criticism as Damascus and Moscow have expressed concerns that Washington was “spewing Daesh” mobile groups who make inroads to launch subversive terrorist operations against Syrian troops and civilians.”


IDLIB DE-ESCALATION AGREEMENT IS SHRINKING AMID NEW VIOLATIONS

On November 15, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported new violations of the Russian-Turkish deconfliction agreement by militants in the northern Hama countryside.

In details, two units of Jaysh al-Izza and another unnamed radical group attempted to sneak from their positions in the towns of al-Lataminah and al-Zakat towards military positions in the government-held part of the northern Hama countryside. However, the SAA detected both units and targeted them.

“Accurate shelling forced the terrorist infiltrators to run away towards their hideouts and positions in the outskirt of the demilitarized zone and many of them were killed and injured,” the SANA’s reporter in Hama said.​

Militants in the northern Hama countryside violate the deconfliction agreement on a daily basis. A Syrian source had warned that these repeated violations may eventually force the SAA and its allies to launch a military operation in the region.


Terrorists Strengthen Strongholds in Demilitarized Zone One Month after Sochi Agreement

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Thursday that the terrorist groups have not yet shown any sign of withdrawal from the demilitarized zone from Northeastern Lattakia, Hama and Idlib to Northwestern Aleppo.

It added that the militants have in the past few days sent new weapons and military equipment to the regions under their control in the weapons-free zone.

According to the report, Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front) has recently reinvigorated its strongholds in Eastern Saraqib in Eastern Idlib and regions near the army-held areas.

In addition to strengthening their positions in the demilitarized zone, the terrorists launch continued offensives against the army in Northern Syria.

Analysts believe that continued attacks by Tahrir al-Sham against the army positions in Northern Syria encourage the army to stage its long-waited assault on terrorists in Idlib.


Breaking: Intense clashes erupt along Idlib-Hama axis

A series of intense clashes broke out this afternoon between the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and jihadist rebels in the southern countryside of the Idlib Governorate.

The clashes broke out when scouts from the pro-government National Defense Forces (NDF) caught several militants trying to move towards the Syrian Army’s lines near the town of Al-Taman’ah.

According to a military source in nearby Hama city, the Syrian Arab Army unleashed a barrage of machine gunfire and artillery shells towards the militants.

The jihadist rebels responded with heavy gunfire of their own before they backed away from the Syrian Arab Army’s lines in the southern countryside of Idlib.

This latest exchange resulted comes just hours after the Syrian Arab Army and Free Syrian Army (FSA) clashed in the northern part of Hama.


Syrian Army Engages in Clash with US-Backed SDF in Deir Ezzur

The Arabic-language al-Watan newspaper reported that the army forces and the militants of the so-called Military Council affiliated to the SDF engaged in fierce clashes on both banks of the Euphrates river in Eastern Deir Ezzur.

It added that the SDF targeted the Syrian army positions in al-Hajaneh and al-Jisr checkpoint with heavy machine-gun fire from the town of Zabyan in Eastern Euphrates. The army troops responded with attacks on their strongholds in Zabyan.

One of the SDF forces was killed in the exchange of fire between the two sides, sources affiliated to the militants said.
 
The development of "killer robot" drones has actively been funded by the British government, which is making public statements that it has no plans to create such unmanned aerial vehicles, according to a leaked report by a UK anti-drone campaign group.

Thu Nov 15, 2018 - Leaked Report: UK Funding 'Killer Robot' Drone Project
Farsnews
13961223000637_PhotoI.jpg


The group, called Drone Wars, published a survey called 'Off the Leash: The Development of Autonomous Military Drones in the UK', RIA Novosti reported.

It specifically claims that Britain's Defense and Security Accelerator (DASA) is specifically injecting money into the creation of the Taranis drone, as well as dozens of other similar research programs.

Developed by BAE Systems and the UK Ministry of Defense (MoD), Taranis is capable of autonomously flying, plotting routes and locating targets.

The project has cost more than 200 million GBP (259 million USD) so far, according to the Drone Wars report.

Peter Burt, author of the report, referred to "tangible evidence" that the UK MoD is actively engaged in development of "the underpinning technology with the aim of using it in military applications".

In this vein, Burt cited Taranis as an example of a drone with "advanced autonomous capabilities", arguing that the development of a "truly autonomous lethal drone" in the foreseeable future was now a "real possibility".

"The government should be supporting international initiatives to prevent the development and use of fully autonomous weapons, and should be investigating the enormous potential of artificial intelligence to identify potential conflict areas and prevent wars before they start," Brunt underscored.

The Independent cited an unnamed MoD Spokesperson as rejecting reports about the UK government's plans to create any weapons systems which would operate without input from humans.

The Spokesperson pointed out that the MoD's weapons will "always be under human control as an absolute guarantee of oversight, authority and accountability".

Last week, The Times reported that during its Saif Sareea-3 military exercise, which wrapped up on November 3, the UK military for the first time engaged in wargames where it practiced fighting countries with more powerful armed forces, including Russia, using unmanned flying drones.

Speaking at the Web Summit in Lisbon in 2017, prominent UK physicist Stephen Hawking specifically cited the advent of powerful autonomous weapons, warning that if it is not used properly, artificial intelligence "could be the worst event in the history of our civilization".


Thu Nov 15, 2018 - Report: At Least 13 States Mull Buying Russia’s S-400 Despite US Sanctions
Farsnews

At least 13 countries expressed their interest in purchasing the Russian S-400 Triumph surface-to-air missile systems instead of US equipment despite the likelihood of provoking Washington’s sanctions, media reported citing people with first-hand knowledge of a US intelligence assessment.

Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam were among the countries that had already engaged in talks on buying the Russian missile systems, the CNBC broadcaster reported on Wednesday.

Washington expected that several countries would yield to the US pressure and abandon their plans to purchase the Russian equipment, the outlet added.

"Many of these countries do not want to wait for US regulatory hurdles … The S-400 has less export restrictions and the Kremlin is willing to expedite sales by skipping over any regulatory hurdles. It's like buying it off the shelf," one of the sources told the broadcaster.

Another source noted that S-400 had been more powerful, in terms of capability, than the US most capable Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.

"No other US system can match the S-400's ability to protect large swathes of airspace at such long ranges," the source, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said.

Sanctions over the purchase of the Russian military equipment could be triggered under the US Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which came into force in 2017 and is set to punish Moscow for it alleged meddling in the US 2016 presidential election, something vehemently denied by Russia.

In September, Washington imposed sanctions on China over its purchase of Su-35 fighter jets in 2017 and S-400 system-related equipment in 2018.

Apart from China, India and Turkey have also reached agreements on the purchases of the missile systems from Russia.

Turkey’s plans have, particularly, been a point of concern for the United States since Ankara is Washington’s NATO ally.

The Saudi authorities have also been openly engaged in talks with Russia on the missile system purchase.

S-400 is the next-generation mobile missile system which can carry three different types of missiles capable of destroying a variety of aerial targets at a short-to-extremely-long range, from reconnaissance aircraft to ballistic missiles.


Thu Nov 15, 2018 - US Continues Attacks on Residential Areas in Eastern Syria with Banned Weapons
Farsnews

The US fighter jets pounded the residential areas in Southeastern Deir Ezzur with internationally-forbidden weapons.

Local sources in Southeastern Deir Ezzur reported that the US-led coalition warplanes conducted cluster bomb attacks on civilian districts in the towns of Hajin and al-Sha'afah in Southeastern Deir Ezzur on Wednesday afternoon.

They added that a number of civilians were killed and wounded and heavy damages were inflicted on their houses and properties.

The US army claims it is fighting against terrorism in Syria but its attacks mostly target the residential areas and civilians.

In a relevant development on Tuesday, the US-led coalition fighter jets bombed an ISIL-run prison in residential areas in Southeastern Deir Ezzur, and killed scores of civilians who had been jailed by the terrorist group, a militant-affiliated news website reported.

Arabic-language website, Orient, quoted local sources as reporting that the warplanes targeted an ISIL-run jail in the town of Hajin in Southeastern Deir Ezzur, destroying several residential units.

It further said that scores of civilian inmates who had been round up and jailed by the ISIL were killed in the air attack.

There is yet no report on the precise number of casualties, but a large death toll is expected as large groups of people had been locked up in the prison by the ISIL.


Thu Nov 15, 2018 - More Civilians Killed by US in Deir Ezzur (Preplanned Slaughter-missions???)
Farsnews

The US-led coalition airstrikes in Deir Ezzur in Eastern Syria took civilian tolls again.

Local sources in Southeastern Deir Ezzur reported that the US warplanes targeted the town of al-Souseh on Thursday morning.

They added that during the airstrikes, 15 civilians were killed and a number of others were wounded, noting that several of those injured are in critical conditions.

Earlier reports said today that the US fighter jets pounded the residential areas in Southeastern Deir Ezzur with internationally-forbidden weapons.


Thu Nov 15, 2018 - Bodies of More Victims of ISIL, US Attacks Found in Raqqa
Farsnews

The bodies of over two dozen civilians killed in the US-led coalition airstrikes and the ISIL attacks were found from debris of ruined buildings and also in mass-graves in Raqqa.

Media activists in Raqqa reported on Wednesday that the corpses of 20 civilians, including children and women, have been found in a mass-grave in Panorama district in Southern Raqqa in the past two days.

They added that the dead bodies of 4 other civilians killed in the US airstrikes were also unearthed from under the ruins of damaged buildings in al-Badou district in Raqqa.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that the bodies of over 8,000 Syrians killed in the bombing raids carried out by the US and the coalition led by it had been found in mass graves in Syria’s Raqqa after the rubble was partially cleared away.

Last week, the Syrian government, in its letters addressed to the UN secretary general and the UN Security Council president, provided the tragic statistics on the victims of the coalition’s bombing raids in the city of Raqqa during its ‘liberation’ from ISIL (known as ISIS or Daesh)," she noted.

"The bodies of over 4,000 people were found while clearing away the rubble in two of the city’s residential neighborhoods left over from the airstrikes and also around the stadium and the zoo. Those were mainly women, the elderly and children. In addition, a mass grave where more than 2,500 people were buried was uncovered at a farm near a pediatric clinic and the National Hospital, while another burial site was opened near Al-Panorama where 1,500 bombing raids’ victims were buried," Zakharova added.

The letters stressed that to date just two percent of the rubble had been cleared away in Raqqa, which had been literally razed to the ground," Zakharova emphasized.

According to the diplomat, the statistics turned out to be in stark contrast with "the hysterical reaction expressed by the US and other Western countries with respect to protecting Syrians’ rights", and "the information provided in recent reports by various Western NGOs on the situation in Raqqa".


2018-11-15 - US renews call for Assad to step down
US renews call for Assad to step down

The U.S. envoy to Syria James Jeffrey has once again renewed the call for Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to immediately step down from his position.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Jeffrey said that the U.S. does not believe the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS/Daesh) can be fully defeated until Assad and his government are removed from power.

“We also think that you cannot have an enduring defeat of ISIS until you have fundamental change in the Syrian regime and fundamental change in Iran’s role in Syria, which contributed greatly to the rise of ISIS in the first place in 2013 and 2014,” Jeffrey said.

Jeffrey stated during his press conference that there needs to be a new regime that is not as ‘toxic’ as the current government.

“As laid out in that U.N. Security Council resolution, moving forward to encourage all of the actors in Syria to achieve a basic security system that will end the fighting permanently…..

Jeffrey said, adding that he hopes to “produce a Syrian regime that is not as toxic as the current one is to its own people and its neighborhood.”


November 10, 2018 - Analyzing BBC documentary – A Dangerous Dynasty: House of Assad (3 Part Video below)
Analyzing BBC documentary - A Dangerous Dynasty: House of Assad (Video)

Kevork Almassian analyzes the BBC documentary “A Dangerous Dynasty: House of Assad”, addressing the content, bizarre background music, conspiracy theories about Asmaa Assad and the guests participating in the documentary.

Published on Nov 10, 2018 (18:36 min.)


Oct, 24, 2018 - BBC Documentary – “A Dangerous Dynasty: House of Assad”
BBC Documentary – “A Dangerous Dynasty: House of Assad”

I rarely watch anything on the BBC now and this first part in a three part character assassination of Bashar Assad is a testament as to why watching anything the BBC produces is as near perverse as some of their DJ’s. “Nick Greene”, the Grun states ” forensic excision of the tumour at the heart of Syria,” is about as sick as gaggle of Bishops at a Jimmy Saville party.

The sickly female voice over 20 years ago would only be found on a childrens program explainingg basics of a subject to ten year olds but now, it seems, is standard fare for adults happy to accept such condescension.

To start with the ommision of how Hafez Assad rescued Syria from American and French colonial interference that by policy was designed to keep Syria a fractured state of warring tribes is as I expected a deafening silence. That he came from a peasant family with nothing to be President that united his nation in a secular peace and a growing prosperity for all is cast as his crime because he stomped on the Mossad/CIA sponsored rebels hiding under the guise of the Muslim Brotherhood. Indeed the situation today with the myriad factions we can collectively call ISIS/Al Qaida funded and assisted by Israel, the US and allies is a clear case of history repeating itself.

To hammer home the idea to aunties gullible children that Hafez was some kind of monster, a stitched together film of female soldiers biting the heads off snakes and unrelated footage of males stabbing puppies is presented. This is in fact an old propaganda film put together by Saddam Hussein when he was still dancing to an American flute and given to Donald Rumsfeld when they were still buddies.

The snake biting is authentic and a common theme around the world. Indeed US Secretary of Defence James Mattis in January this year was following in the footsteps of Hafez in congratulating Indonesian soldiers in their snake decapitation and blood drinking abilities.

Next there is a bit about Assads older brother being groomed to take over before he died in a car accident. Not before he is savaged for owning a Porsche and a BMW. It seems to be a respectable heir in waiting one must have an extensive collection of Italian HyperCars.

Bashar is shown by their own script to be an unassuming character of deep humanity who had planned to devote his life to help giving sight to the blind. This is something I would argue he continues to do in his interviews in recent years. Anybody listening to him interviewed, if they can get past his unfortunate discomfort of limelight, can only be struck with his reasonableness, his integrity and his humanity. Yet with strained contrivance and meaningless anecdotes from western stooges he is portrayed as a sinister character full of deceit.

Why? Because he talked and negotiated with western leaders but remained unbending over the defence of his nation, it’s secular inclusive ideals and of Arab people’s in general. But mostly for refusing to be a party to the new crusade of the post 9/11 landscape. Without any evidence he was charged with deporting militant prisoners to fight Americans in Iraq. But worst of all his crimes the despicable, heinous crime of foreseeing that the invasion of Iraq would mean Syria would see an influx of refugees and preparing in advance for that reality by putting the infrastructure in place to take care of them. Yes, the sinister dictator set up refugee camps. Such evil!

Mrs Assad does not escape the assault. Far from it, Asma is portrayed as nothing better than a social climber who connived her way to a wedding ceremony. Despite it being obvious that they are two peas in a pod, as made for each other a couple as you are likely to see, thrust into their position by fate not design. No laudits that they share the same desire to be as close to the ordinary citizens as is possible and portrayed as manipulative because they can drive the streets of Damascus as ordinary citizens without fear and do so on a daily basis.

Watching this should do the exact opposite that was intended. It should demonstrate that this couple are good people in a bad world. That they gave up their own lives and all the wealth and privileges that would have come with capitulation to western hegemony and opted to stand firm in defense of Syrian independence and the secular ideals of respect and harmony the Syrian state embodies.

* 72 films is a production company founded by David Glover and Mark Raphael.
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BBC iPlayer - A Dangerous Dynasty: House of Assad - Series 1: Episode 1 - Audio Described (3 part series)

A Dangerous Dynasty House of Assad - Seson 1 Episode 1 - October 10, 2018 (Part 1 - 59.01 min.)

A Dangerous Dynasty House of Assad - Season 1 Episode 2 - October 16,2018 (Part 2 - 59.10 min.)

A Dangerous Dynasty House of Assad - Episode 3 of 3 (Part 3 - 55:28 min.)
 
Why he is special representative? - Because he is 'specially stupid'! :rotfl:

US State Department Claims Daesh Was Created to 'Protect People' From Assad

Damascus and its allies have repeatedly accused Washington of waging a phony war on the jihadists, and of providing various forms of covert support for terrorists operating on Syrian territory.

The Syrian government is directly responsible for creating Daesh (ISIS)*, US special representative for Syria engagement James Jeffrey has alleged.

"The Syrian regime produced ISIS," the diplomat said, speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday. "The elements of ISIS in the hundreds, probably, saw an opportunity in the total breakdown of civil society and of the upsurge of violence as the population rose up against the Assad regime, and the Assad regime, rather than try to negotiate or try to find any kind of solution, unleashed massive violence against its own population."

"That created a space for ISIS to recruit people; to protect people to some degree, ironic as it sounds, from the depredations of the Assad regime; and very soon, ISIS had an army of 35,000 troops and had seized big chunks of both Iraq and Syria," Jeffrey said.

Later in the press conference, Jeffrey appeared to contradict himself, recalling that al-Qaeda in Iraq, the direct precursor to Daesh, was actually started in Iraq.

"ISIS's predecessor under the same leader, [Abu Bakr] al-Baghdadi, al-Qaeda in Iraq, was almost completely defeated when I was in Iraq…But it was able to regenerate itself because there was no long-term strategy in either Syria or Iraq, but particularly in Iraq at the time, because that's where we were focused on, to ensure the enduring defeat of these elements," the diplomat said.

Daesh's predecessor, al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), was formed in 2004, soon after the US invasion of Iraq, which caused the country to descend into chaos as a number of terrorist groups, warlords and militia groups waged guerrilla warfare against the central administration, US forces, and each other for control of their territories.

No US Aid for Reconstruction

Calling Syria a "pariah" state, Jeffrey stressed that neither Washington nor "most of the rest of the international community that typically provides reconstruction funds" would do so "until we see a great deal more progress" in Syria.

Earlier this year, Syrian President Bashar Assad estimated that Syria's reconstruction could cost up to $400 billion and take 10-15 years to complete.

In regards to "No US Aid for Reconstruction" in a link provided above in my last Post:
BBC Documentary – “A Dangerous Dynasty: House of Assad”
there were these interesting comments:

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Jen says Oct, 25, 2018

In the early 2000’s, Dr. Assad’s government did carry out neoliberal economic reforms, as recommended by the World Bank and the IMF, that among other things helped destroy much of Syria’s agriculture and led to grudges and grievances among rural Sunni Muslim communities in the eastern and northeastern parts of the country. In those days, the Syrian government relied on Abdullah Dardari, who held senior positions in the government for economics affairs and planning, to shape and direct the country’s economic policy.

Since the war began in 2011, Dardari has resurfaced in various UN-related positions. We must ask what his role in shaping Syrian economic policy during Assad’s early years as President was really aiming at.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_Dardari

Dardari has now been appointed Senior Advisor on Reconstruction for the Middle East and North Africa Region by the World Bank:
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2017/02/16/world-bank-appoints-senior-advisor-on-reconstruction-for-the-middle-east-and-north-arica-region

(Hmm, the World Bank can employ a supposed expert on economic reform but forgot to employ someone who can monitor its spellchecking programs.)

Ironically much of the MSM jeering at Assad aims at rubbishing the “reforms” his government carried out, that alienated many Syrians who ended up joining ISIS and Jabhat Al Nusra (current Hayat Tahrir al Shams), and which had actually been initially endorsed by organizations like the IMF and the World Bank.


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John says Oct, 25, 2018

Excellent point about dardari. A rat if I ever saw one.

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Haltonbrat says Oct, 24, 2018

This (BBC Documentary – “A Dangerous Dynasty: House of Assad”) was pure propaganda to hide the fact that Brown/Cameron planned the war in Syria to bring down Assad and trash the country on the orders of Israel. This is made clear here by former French Foreign Minister Roland Dumas:

Roland Dumas: The British prepared for war in Syria 2 years before the eruption of the crisis in 2011
Published on Jun 18, 2013 (1:34 min.)

~~~
Comment: Maybe the US is holding back on aid for Syrian reconstruction - hoping to force Assad to turn to the IMF and World Bank for loans? Abdullah Dardari might be on the IMF/WB payroll and will work against any real progress?

I might have my facts wrong but as I understand it, President Putin made it "a top priority" to get the IMF loans paid off (from past administration) before he was able to finally reverse the economic situation in Russia. Russia, Iran, China and a few other Countries are involved in the Reconstruction process. I doubt, the Assad Government would be pushed into an IMF/World Bank Loan just because the US decided to hold back aid?
 
US-led Coalition Used Cluster Bombs in Syria, Causing Casualties - Reports

The strikes were the second reported instance of US-coalition forces carrying out deadly attacks in the town of al-Sha'afa, Deir ez-Zor this week, with Syrian media earlier reporting that over 60 civilians had been killed or injured in deadly coalition airstrikes in the town on Monday.


US-Led Coalition Confirms Strikes in Deir Ez-Zor, But Denies Civilian Casualties

The US-led coalition fighting the Daesh terrorist group* confirms that it carried out strikes in Syria's Deir ez-Zor province but insists that no civilian casualties resulted from the operations, spokesman Sean Ryan told Sputnik on Friday.

"We have confirmed Coalition strikes in the area of Deir ez-Zor province on Thursday and no civilian casualties are associated with the strikes in question," spokesman Sean Ryan said when asked about reports that at least 17 non-combatants died in a strike on Bu-Badran, Syria. "The Coalition takes great measures to identify and strike appropriate ISIS targets in order to avoid non-combatant casualties."

Prior to the spokesman's comment, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said it was concerned by reports that as many as 30 children were killed in recent attacks on Syria's al-Shafa village, controlled by the US-led coalition, the director Cappelaere said in a statement Friday.

“UNICEF is alarmed by recent reports of up to 30 children who have been killed in recent violence in Al Shafa village, in eastern Syria. These reported killings demonstrate that the war on children is far from over in Syria,” Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Geert Cappelaere said. “UNICEF calls on warring parties to protect all children – no matter where they are in Syria and no matter whose control they live under.”

The statement comes after the Syrian state-run SANA news agency reported on Monday that over 60 civilians were killed or injured as a result of the US-led international coalition airstrike on al-Shafa village in Deir ez-Zor province.

In its letters, Damascus describes the coalition's strikes as a crime, urging the UN Security Council to take action to stop similar massacres in the future, probe all such incidents and bring perpetrators to justice.

The US-led coalition has carried out airstrikes in Deir ez-Zor province numerous times within the last several months. Earlier this month, media reported that 26 civilians, including women and children, were killed in an airstrike by the coalition on the city of Hajin. Following the airstrike, Damascus similarly sent letters to the UN secretary-general and UN Security Council president.


US responsible for ‘chaos’ in Syria’s Rukban Refugee Camp – Russian MoD

Russian Defence Ministry representative Yury Tarasov slammed the United Stated for being responsible of the “horrifying” conditions in the Rukban refugee camp in southern Syria on the border with Jordan. He was speaking via video link at the Meeting of the Interdepartmental Coordination Unit on the return of refugees to Syria in Moscow on Friday.

Tarasov said the camp’s residents, some 50,000 people, suffer from constant lack of food and water and have no access to healthcare.

“There are cases of severe abuse as the refugees have no money [to pay for food.] The help of international organisations almost completely goes to the militants’ hands and does not radically improve the situation,” he added.

Tarasov also said the camp’s administrators are unable to provide security for the refugees.

“On Rukban’s territory, theft, prostitution and forced marriages are frequent. Sexual exploitation of minors and gender inequality are widely practiced. Marriages, births and deaths are not registered. Many temporarily displaced people in the camp do not have documents at their disposal,” he said.

“The full responsibility for creating chaos in Rukban lays upon the USA which occupied this region illegally and used humanitarian problems in the refugee camp to legitimize their military presence in the south of Syria,” the MoD official said.

On Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the fact that Syrian Red Crescent representatives have not been allowed into the Rukban refugee camp show that the Americans have “something to hide.”

Ruptly has requested a comment from US Central Command, however, no reply has so far been received.



Prostitution, human trafficking, sexual slavery thrive in Rukban refugee camp — top brass

The administration of the Al Rukban camp is unable to provide security for the refugees, and prostitution, theft, sexual slavery of minors and human trafficking thrive there, the Russian Defense Ministry’s representative in the ceasefire and humanitarian aid groups in Geneva, Yuri Tarasov, said at a meeting of the Russian and Syrian centers for the return of refugees on Friday.

"Another negative aspect of the current state of affairs in the camp is the inability of the local administration to guarantee refugees’ personal safety. On the territory of Al Rukban theft, prostitution and forced marriages are frequent. Sexual exploitation of minors and gender inequality thrive," Tarasov said.

In particular, he said that human trafficking was widely spread.

No registration of marriages, births and deaths is carried out.

"Many temporarily displaced persons in the camp carry no documents. Al Rukban has just four elementary schools. The teachers are refugee volunteers, who have to work without teaching aids or being paid for the job they do," Tarasov said.

Refugee crisis

The United Nations and the entire international community should initiate the termination of the illegal occupation of the territory where the Rukban refugee camp in Syria is located to rescue people staying there, Head of Russia’s National Defense Control Center Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev said on Friday.

Mizintsev made this statement at a session of the Russian and Syrian headquarters for the return of refugees. The session was devoted to the disastrous humanitarian situation in the camp located in the zone illegally occupied by the United States.

"The results of the first humanitarian convoy show perfectly clear the scope of the humanitarian disaster in Al Rukban, which is so enormous that subsequent humanitarian actions initiated now cannot solve the crisis and will only put the situation on hold in the interests of Americans and militant formations controlled by them," Mizintsev said.

"In this situation, the United Nations Organization and the entire international community should immediately initiate this process and resolve this issue once and forever," the general stressed.

The Russian general called on all the members of the headquarters, and also the Foreign Ministries of Russia and Syria to persistently bring Russia’s position and the objective picture on the Rukban camp to the notice of the world public at all venues, first of all, at the UN.

"We are urging the United States of America to immediately stop the illegal occupation of the 55km zone around al-Tanf, which is the sovereign territory of the Syrian Arab Republic. This will automatically resolve the al-Rukban problem itself and help residents staying there return to their homes," the general said.

The position of refugees in the Al-Rukban camp is reminiscent of conditions that existed in World War II Nazi concentration camps, he added.

"The condition of the camp’s residents reminds one of those in the World War II concentration camps, which at a certain point looked gone never to return. How is that possible in the modern world? This is the first question. Secondly, why in a situation like this does the world community, which professes concern about human rights, prefer to stubbornly keep quiet about the humanitarian disaster of Al Rukban, whose residents are in fact in the position of hostages?" Mizintsev said.

He remarked that official UN agencies, responsible for all-round assistance to refugees, as a matter of fact display no initiative or insistence in tackling the global humanitarian disaster and the appalling conditions of Syrian citizens in the camp.

"Lastly, why the mass media is not allowed to visit refugees in Al Rukban? The explanation is there exists something that some consider worth hiding. Who is responsible for this barbarity? The answer lies on the surface," Mizintsev said.

"The American side has all the way excused its presence on Syrian territory by the need for struggle with the groups of the Islamic State (outlawed in Russia) operating in the region. But in the south of Syria there are none already! Then what’s the purpose of the US forces there? This question, too, requires, a concrete answer," Mizintsev stated.


Over 6,000 US-controlled militants remain in Rukban refugee camp

More than 6,000 militants of the Maghawir al-Thawra group controlled by the US are currently in the Rukban refugee camp along with 50,000 refugees, Yuri Tarasov, the Russian Defense Ministry's Envoy to the Ceasefire and Humanitarian Task Forces in Geneva, said at a meeting of the Russian and Syrian headquarters for refugees’ return on Friday.

"One of the most pressing issues today is the situation in the Rukban refugee camp, where a dire humanitarian situation has emerged. It is noteworthy that the total number of temporarily displaced individuals there is around 50,000. Of these, about 6,000 are militants from the US-controlled Maghawir al-Thawra group," he said.

According to Tarasov, weekly meetings of the Ceasefire and Humanitarian Task Forces are held in Geneva as part of the International Syria Support Group, which comprises representatives of 23 countries and four international organizations.

"Participants in these meetings discuss issues related to compliance with the cessation of hostilities and provision of assistance to Syria’s population," Tarasov added.


Russian military demands US withdrawal from Al-Tanf

The Russian military accused the U.S. of prohibiting refugees from returning to their homes in Syria, as their presence in the southern part of the country has deterred people from reaching government lines.

According to the Interfax News Agency, the Russian military has called on the U.S. to end its occupation of the Al-Tanf region in southern Syria.

Furthermore, the Russian military demanded that the U.S. withdraw their forces from the area around the Rukban Refugee Camp.

The Russian military said that the situation at the Rukban Refugee Camp is becoming unbearable for the people there, as a new report revealed that at least 100 people died as a result of the poor hygienic situation there.

“All these circumstances are leading to a high mortality rate. Over 100 people died in Rukban last month. I confirm the difficult, catastrophic situation in Rukban,” Russian Health Ministry official Sergei Grabchak said on Friday.


Syrian Army resumes offensive to liberate last Daesh bastion in southern Syria

The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) resumed their offensive in the Al-Safa region of southern Syria, today, after taking a brief hiatus due to weather conditions.

Led by their 3rd Corps and 4th Armored Division, the Syrian Arab Army launched a powerful attack on the defenses of the so-called “Islamic State” (ISIS/ISIL/IS/Daesh) in a bid to retake some areas they lost to the terrorist forces this week.

According to a military report from this front, the Syrian Arab Army struck Daesh’s positions from the northern and northwestern axes; this would result in a fierce exchange that is still ongoing at this time.

The report did not specify if the Syrian Arab Army managed to regain ground in Al-Safa; however, most advances are announced during the evening hours, when the military is able to fully secure the liberated ground.

Earlier this week, the Syrian Arab Army found themselves on the defensive due to poor visibility from the rough weather in southern Syria.


Syrian Army scores big advance in Al-Safa after overrunning Daesh lines

The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) scored another big advance in southern Syria this week after resuming their offensive against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS/Daesh) in the Al-Safa volcanic region.

Led by their 3rd Corps and 4th Armored Division, the Syrian Arab Army began their assault on Friday morning by storming the Daesh defenses at the northern and northwestern axes of Al-Safa.

Following a fierce battle that last for several hours on Friday, the Syrian Arab Army was able to liberate more than 1.5 kilometers of mountainous terrain after breaking through the Daesh defenses.

According to a military report from Al-Safa, the Syrian Arab Army quickly secured the ground they liberated by sending in reinforcements to begin digging in around this imperative area.

The report added that more than 15 Daesh terrorists were killed during the Syrian Arab Army’s large-scale assault on Friday.

The Al-Safa region is located in the Al-Sweida Governorate’s northeastern countryside; it has been occupied by the Daesh forces since their 2015 offensive.


HORAS AL-DIN AND ITS ALLIES CLAIM THEY KILLED 18 SYRIAN SOLDIERS IN NORTHERN LATTAKIA

On November 16, the “Wa Harid al-Muminin” operations room claimed that its fighters had killed 18 Syrian soldiers and officers during an attack on a position of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) near the al-Burkan hill in the northern Lattakia countryside.

“All Mujahedeen returned to their position safely, praise to Allah, lord of the worlds,” the operations room said in short press release on its official Telegram channel.​

Contrary to these claims, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that 5 militants were killed in the attack. Furthermore, the pro-opposition monitoring group revealed that only 9 soldiers of the SAA were killed by Wa Harid al-Muminin militants.

The al-Qaeda-affiliated groups of Jamat Ansar al-Islam, Horas al-Din, Jabhat Ansar al-Islam and Ansar al-Tawhid formed the Wa Harid al-Muminin operations room earlier this month. Since then, the operations room has been working to sabotage the Russian-Turkish deconfliction agreement on the governorate of Idlib.

The SAA and its allies will likely respond to this new attack in the upcoming few days in order to deter the radical militants and reinforce the deconfliction agreement.


Syrian Army unleashes heavy assault in west Idlib after jihadists kill 20+ soldiers

The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has unleashed a powerful assault across the Al-Ghaab Plain of Hama and Idlib this afternoon.

Using surface-to-surface missiles, the Syrian Arab Army repeatedly hammered the defenses of the Turkestan Islamic Party and Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham around the vast Al-Ghaab Plain.

According to a military source in nearby Latakia, the Syrian Army’s large-scale missile assault was conducted in response to the jihadist attack that killed several soldiers in the town of Al-Fouro.

The attack referenced above was conducted by Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham earlier today; it resulted in the death of an estimated 20+ soldiers.

Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham launched the attack under the cover of fog and managed to score several direct hits on the Syrian Arab Army’s position at Al-Fouro.

The jihadist strikes resulted in the highest number of casualties for the Syrian Arab Army since the Sochi Agreement was established on September 17th.
 
Fri Nov 16, 2018 - Moscow Slams US for Using Militants to Protect Convoys in Syria's Al-Tanf
Farsnews

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Moscow considers the use of militants, known as the Partisans of the so-called Revolution, to protect the US convoys deployed near the US military base in al-Tanf completely unacceptable, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"We consider the fact that, despite the preliminary arrangements, the United States did invite (the militants) for the protection of convoys inside the so-called exclusive zone completely unacceptable," Zakharova said, Sputnik reported.

She added that Moscow also had questions regarding Washington's refusal to let the representatives of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent charity in the Rukban refugee camp located near al-Tanf.

"This means that they have something to hide," she indicated.

The US military currently occupies a 34-mile zone around its base in al-Tanf, where it has been training Syrian opposition forces since 2016.

The base has become the subject of criticism as Damascus and Moscow have expressed concerns that Washington was "spewing ISIL mobile groups who make inroads to launch subversive terrorist operations against Syrian troops and civilians."


Fri Nov 16, 2018 - Senior Security Commander of Kurdish Militia Killed in Northern Syria
Farsnews

One of the key security commanders of Kurdish Asayesh Police was gunned down by unidentified attackers in Manbij region as tension and infighting is on rise among the US-backed militias in Northeastern Aleppo, a militant-affiliated news website reported on Friday.

Al-Baladi quoted local sources in Northeastern Aleppo as reporting that Hafal nom de guerre Bouzan, a security commander of PYD-affiliated Asayesh Police was killed after unknown attackers opened fire at him near the town on Ein al-Arab (Kobani) in Northeastern Aleppo.

It further said that the body of Bouzan was discovered along a road to the village of Dandoshan near the village of Sarin, adding that Asayehs kept forces on alert after the incident.


Sat Nov 17, 2018 - Syrian Army Vows to Avenge Soldiers Killed in Terrorists' Attack in Northwest
Farsnews

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The Syrian Army vowed to avenge the death of over 20 soldiers that were the victims of the terrorists' attack on the government forces' positions near al-Ghaab Plain.

According to a military source in nearby Lattakia, the Syrian Army has shifted their focus to the jihadist rebels of the Horras al-Deen group and Tahrir Al-Sham Hay’at, massdar news reported.

The army has been pounding the jihadist positions all day in al-Ghaab Plain, as they look to avenge their losses in the region in Northwestern Syria.

The source said that the army may request the country's air force to resume their airstrikes on al-Ghaab Plain and nearby Jisr Al-Shughour District.

The Syrian Air Force has not launched any strikes in Northwestern Syria since the Sochi Agreement was put in place on September 17th.


Sat Nov 17, 2018 - At Least 25 Syrian Soldiers Killed Since Concluding Sochi Memorandum on Idlib Demilitarized Zone
Farsnews

More than 530 ceasefire violations, which resulted in the deaths of 25 Syrian soldiers, have been documented since an agreement to set up a demilitarized zone in the Idlib province was signed last September, Lieutenant General Vladimir Savchenko, chief of the Russian center for reconciliation of conflicting sides in Syria, told reporters.

"Since the memorandum to establish a demilitarized zone was signed on 17 September 2018, the reconciliation center has documented more than 530 violations of the ceasefire agreement. As a result, 25 Syrian soldiers were killed, 67 people were wounded, including five civilians," he said, TASS reported.

The Russian reconciliation center continues to fulfill assigned tasks after the completion of the military campaign in Syria. The center’s officers regularly travel around the country's liberated areas to assess the humanitarian situation. The main efforts of the Russian military are now focused on assistance to the refugees returning to their homes and evacuation of civilians from de-escalation zones.


2018-11-16 - Militants and moderates still not separated in Idlib: Russia
Militants and moderates still not separated in Idlib: Russia



The separation of radical militants from moderate opposition groups in the demilitarized zone in Syria’s Idlib region has not yet been successfully achieved, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

The process, which was launched as part of a deal between Turkey and Russia in September, has not been successful despite efforts by Ankara, she noted.

Syrian Ambassador to Russia, Riyad Haddad, said on Thursday that the upcoming meeting on Syria in Astana, Kazakhstan to be held in the near future will be dedicated, in particular, to the implementation of the Russian-Turkish agreements on Idlib, TASS reported.

On Tuesday, Syria’s Minister of State for National Reconciliation Affairs Ali Haidar said that it was still premature to talk about a reconciliation process in the Idlib province since the situation in the militant-held region remains “fragile,” according to Sputnik.


Sat Nov 17, 2018 - Arab Paper: Syrian Army to Kick Off Idlib Operations after Turkey's Failure under Sochi Agreement
Farsnews

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A leading Syrian newspaper wrote that Turkey's inability to persuade the terrorists to leave the demilitarized zone under the Sochi agreement is motivating the Syrian army to start military operations in Idlib.

"The US savage reaction and intensified attacks against Deir Ezzur shows the importance of freedom fights in Syria," the Arabic-language al-Thawra newspaper wrote on Saturday.

"This US behavior is the result of the its fear of the start of the Syrian army's Idlib operations and its impacts on the terrorists' morale," it added.

The paper also said that the Syrian army's battle in Idlib will start in response to the repeated violation of the Sochi agreement by Turkey which had vowed to persuade the terrorist groups to leave the weapons-free zone, but done nothing in this regard so far.


Sat Nov 17, 2018 - Syrian Army Discovers US-Made Missiles at Terrorists' Strongholds in Damascus
Farsnews

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The Syrian army found a large number of weapons and military equipment, including US-made missiles, during cleansing operations in Southern Damascus.

The engineering units of the army discovered the arms and equipment which included the US-made TOW missiles, RPGs and its ammunition, machine-guns, grenades, mortars and other ammunitions in a farm between the towns of Babbila and Beit Saham near the capital, a field source reported on Saturday.

Meantime, the army forces also found a network of tunnels near Damascus used by the terrorists for transferring goods and weapons in their purging operations in the towns of Yalda, Babbila and Beit Saham in Southern Damascus.

Also, at least 100kg of explosives and 75kg of mines and grenades were discovered in the wells near the farms of the two towns of Beit Tima and Beit Saber.

In a relevant development last Monday, the Syrian army forces discovered and seized a large number of arms and military equipment manufactured by the US and Britain from the bases of terrorist groups that had been captured by the government troops in Quneitra and Damascus provinces.


Sat Nov 17, 2018 - UN Votes Overwhelmingly in Favor of Condemning Israel’s Occupation of Syria's Golan Heights
UN votes overwhelmingly in favor of condemning Israel's occupation of Golan Heights region

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The General Assembly of the United Nations voted overwhelmingly in favor on Friday of recognizing the Golan Heights region as Syrian territory.

A total of 151 votes were cast in favor of the draft resolution, while both the United States and Israel voted against it, the AMN reported.

Another 14 states abstained from the vote, resulting in the adoption of this latest draft that calls for the condemnation of Israel’s occupation of the Golan Heights.

During the meeting of the General Assembly’s Fourth Committee, Syria’s Permanent Representative at the UN Bashar al-Jaafari said that the vast majority of nations favored the resolution, adding that it sends a clear message to Israel about its ongoing occupation of the Golan Heights.

Furthermore, Al-Jaafari said that this vote shows that the majority of members states are against the continuation of the Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan, and also affirms that Israel’s attempts to annex the Golan are null and void and without any legal effect.

Syria’s Representative said that the United States’ vote against the resolution isn’t surprising, since Washington is Israel’s partner in its wars and aggression in the region.

He accused the US of allowing businesses like Genie Energy, Afek, and AES Corporation of conducting the illegal exploration of the Golan Heights’ oil.
 
40 martyred in new massacre by “Int’l Coalition” in Deir Ezzor countryside

40 civilians, mostly women and children, were martyred on Saturday in a new aggression launched by warplanes of the US-led “International Coalition” on al-Buqa’an village in the surrounding of Hajin town, about 110 km southeastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, local sources said.

The sources talked about continued heavy shelling carried out by coalition aircrafts since last night on Hajin city and the villages and towns affiliated to it where dozens of houses were destroyed and hundreds of families were displaced.

The sources warned that the death toll is likely to rise due to the difficulty of evacuating civilians trapped under the rubble of houses destroyed by the airstrikes.

The new massacre committed by the coalition is added to a series of massacres committed last week in Hajin city, villages and towns of al-Sha’fah, al-Boubadran and al-Sousse, calming the lives of more than 100 civilians.

US-led coalition aircrafts, last week, bombed villages and towns in the countryside of Deir Ezzor with internationally banned white phosphorus bombs and cluster bombs without hearing any comment or position from the UN Security Council and the United Nations.

Syria has repeatedly demanded, through dozens of letters to the UN Secretary General and UNSC President, a serious and an immediate action to stop such attacks and massacres and to take necessary measures to set an independent international mechanism to probe into these crimes, condemn them and to punish perpetrators.


Arab Paper: Syrian Army to Kick Off Idlib Operations after Turkey's Failure under Sochi Agreement

"The US savage reaction and intensified attacks against Deir Ezzur shows the importance of freedom fights in Syria," the Arabic-language al-Thawra newspaper wrote on Saturday.

"This US behavior is the result of the its fear of the start of the Syrian army's Idlib operations and its impacts on the terrorists' morale," it added.

The paper also said that the Syrian army's battle in Idlib will start in response to the repeated violation of the Sochi agreement by Turkey which had vowed to persuade the terrorist groups to leave the weapons-free zone, but done nothing in this regard so far.


Turkey Outraged Over Photos of US Soldiers Dining With Syrian Kurds

Ankara is concerned over recently published photos featuring US servicemen having dinner with members of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria, near the Turkish border, as such photos damage the image of the US military, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Saturday.

"These photos have found wide coverage in our media and disturbed our people. They tarnished the image of the U.S. and its army… for the Turkish public… We expect US to stop cooperation with the YPG terror group as promised… is unacceptable for the U.S. to provide arms and ammunition by plane and trucks to the YPG terrorist group even when Daesh has been neutralized to a large extent," Akari said at the Halifax International Security Forum, currently underway in Canada, as quoted by the Turkish Anadolu news agency.

He added that Turkey would not tolerate a "terror corridor" along its southern border.

Akari also reaffirmed Turkey's request to extradite Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen from the United States, saying that Ankara had provided 85 folders with terrorists' dossiers to the United States and was ready to provide some additional information if necessary.

Turkey has repeatedly slammed the United States for supplying the YPG with weapons. While Turkey regards the YPG as a terrorist organization linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (banned in Turkey), the United States considers it as an ally, as the YPG is a major component of the Syrian Democratic Forces, which are seeking to defeat the Islamic State terrorist group (outlawed in Russia) in Syria.

Turkey has accused Gulen, who has been living in the United States since 1999, of orchestrating a failed military coup on July 15, 2016. Gulen repeatedly denied taking part in the coup.

On Friday, US Department of State spokesperson Heather Nauert said that the White House had not taken any steps toward Gulen's extradition.


20 MORE ISIS FIGHTERS WERE KILLED IN NEW ROUND OF CLASHES AROUND HAJIN

On November 17, heavy clashes broke out between the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and ISIS around the strategic town of Hajin in the middle Euphrates River Valley. The clashes were likely caused by another attack of the terrorist group.

The SDF media center said that US-backed fighters killed 20 ISIS elements during the clashes. A suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (SVBIED) and a vehicle of the terrorist group were also destroyed.

US-led coalition warplanes backed SDF fighters and carried out more than sixteen airstrikes on the Euphrates valley. The SDF media center claimed that the coalition airstrikes targeted ammo depots, positions and supply routes of ISIS.

“The warplanes managed to destroy two weapons and ammunition depots and blocked a key road that was being used to supply and support the terrorists,” the SDF media center said in its daily press release.​

Contrary to the SDF’s claims, Syrian pro-government and opposition sources said that the coalition airstrikes had killed more than 40 civilians. The Half of the victims reportedly was children.

The US-led coalition had stepped up its aerial operations in the Euphrates Valley in order to support the SDF, which is still unable to advance in the region due to the fierce resistance from ISIS fighters.


[Graphic 18+] Daesh corpses litter battlefield as Syrian troops liberate key region

The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) scored a big advance in southern Syria, today, after breaking through the Islamic State’s (ISIS/ISIL/IS/Daesh) lines at the Al-Safa region.

Led by their 3rd Corps and 4th Armored Division, the Syrian Arab Army managed to seize the Al-Safa volcano, following the collapse of Daesh’s lines on Saturday afternoon.

According to a military source in Sweida, the Syrian Arab Army killed scores of Daesh terrorists in the Al-Safa region, including the emir of southern Syria Abu Hajer Al-Shishani.

In addition to the high death toll, several Daesh terrorists surrendered themselves to the Syrian Army, ending their long battle in Al-Safa.
As shown in the photos below, some Daesh corpses were left behind by the terrorist group as they retreated to the western axis of this region:

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Photo credit: Syrian Army

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Photo credit: Syrian Army

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Photo credit: Syrian Army


AL-SAFA IS LIBERATED. SYRIAN ARMY ELIMINATED LAST ISIS-HELD POSITION IN AL-SAFA

The Syrian Army (SAA) and its allies have imposed their control of al-Safa amid collapse in ISIS’ positions in this heavily fortified area, a source in the SAA told SouthFront on November 17.

According to the source, the heavy rain destroyed most of the fortifications and hideouts of the terrorist group during the last few days. This forced the remaining terrorists to flee towards the eastern Homs desert, where ISIS maintain a small pocket.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) confirmed that the SAA had made a significant advance in al-Safa and said that the highest positions in the area are currently under the army control.

“Our units in the southern region made significant advance in al-Safa and imposed fire control on the remaining ISIS-held positions,” the SANA quotes a military source as saying.​

Meanwhile, Syrian pro-government activists reported that the SAA had killed, injured and captured dozens of ISIS fighters during its final push in al-Safa. “Abu Hajar al-Sheshani,” a senior ISIS military commander in the Damascus desert is among the terrorist killed by the army.

The SAA launched its military operation in al-Safa following a brutal ISIS attack on the southern governorate of al-Suwayda in late September. The army faced several major setbacks in the course of the operation. However, it finally achieved success in mid November.


Syrian Army unleashes big attack in southeast Idlib

The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) unleashed a major assault across the southeastern axis of the Idlib province this evening, a military source told Al-Masdar News.

According to the source, the Syrian Arab Army heavily pounded the jihadist defenses in southeast Idlib with a plethora of artillery shells and surface-to-surface missiles.

The source said the primary targets for the Syrian Arab Army were the trenches and military posts for Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham in the towns of Al-Taman’ah, Khuwayn, Babulin, Haish, Jarjanaz, Um Jalal, and Mashirfah Shmaliyah.

In retaliation for the Syrian Army assault, the jihadist rebels began shelling the government towns of Ma’an, Um Hariteen, and ‘Atshan.
This latest exchange between the Syrian military and jihadist rebels comes as the Sochi Agreement falls apart in northwestern Syria.
 
Syrian Army preparing for large-scale operation in Idlib – report

The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) is preparing for a large-scale operation in the southeastern countryside of the Idlib province, a new military report from northwest Syria read.

According to the report, the Syrian Army has closed the Morek Crossing after the jihadist rebels in the area began to heavily strike the government’s positions.

The closure of the Morek Crossing is also one of the first steps the Syrian military is taking to prepare for this upcoming security operation in the southeastern countryside of Idlib.

There has been a lot of speculation regarding this operation for several weeks now; however, it appears the Syrian and Russian high commands have approved the offensive.

Leading this operation will be the elite Tiger Forces, who are currently deployed at the Abu Dhuhour Military Airport in southeast Idlib.

The main objective of this operation will be clear the remaining towns under the control of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham near this imperative military installation.


Militant Shelling Attack Kills 18 Syrian Soldiers in Latakia Province

Militants attacked on Saturday Syrian troops in the province of Latakia leaving 18 servicemen dead and one more injured, the Russian Center for Syrian reconciliation said.

According to the centre's head Lt. Gen. Vladimir Savchenko, illegal armed formations continue to violate the ceasefire in the Idlib de-escalation zone. He also noted that militants continued to shell the outskirts of Aleppo and Hama.

"As a result of the shelling of Tall-Alush [settlement] in the Aleppo province, one Syrian serviceman was wounded. As a result of the shelling of Safsara [settlement] in the Latakia province, one Syrian serviceman was wounded and 18 more were killed," Savchenko said.

He added that the Russian servicemen had also held a humanitarian action in the settlement of Salhiyah in the province of Deir ez-Zor having distributed 450 food sets. Another action was held in the Qarim-Hun district, south of the city of Aleppo, with local residents having received a tonne of bread.

Russia, Iran and Turkey, are guarantors of the ceasefire in Syria, while Kremlin has also been assisting Damascus both through supporting the struggle against terrorist groups and providing humanitarian aid to the residents of the crisis-torn country.


SYRIAN ARMY ARTILLERY HAMMERS MILITANTS POSITIONS IN SOUTHERN IDLIB (VIDEO)

On November 17, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) artillery and rocket launchers shelled militant positions in the towns of al-Tamanah, Aziziya and Jarjnaz in the southern Idlib countryside. No civilians were reportedly hurt as a result of the shelling.

Some Syrian pro-government activists said that the shelling was a response to a recent attack in northern Lattakia, which resulted in the death of more than 18 Syrian soldiers. However, others viewed the shelling as a sign of a nearing attack.

A day earlier, several reports said that the SAA and its allies are preparing to launch a large-scale military operation against the militants in northwestern Syria. The operations will supposedly be a response to the repeated violations of the Russian-Turkish deconfliction agreement.

The operation, which will be limited, will kick off in few days, according to several pro-government sources. However, this is yet to be confirmed.



HAY’AT TAHRIR AL-SHAM ATTACKS FRENCH MILITANTS IN NORTHERN IDLIB

Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) security forces besieged a headquarters of al-Qaeda affiliated Horas al-Din in the town of Harim in the northern Idlib countryside and clashes with several French militants who were hiding inside it, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on November 17.

According to Syrian opposition sources, 5 French militants were killed in the clashes, while 45 others are still besieged inside the headquarters.

The SOHR said that the tension between the two radical groups began few days ago, when HTS’ security forces arrested several foreign militants of Horas al-Din. Many attempts were reportedly made to end the problem and release the militants. However, all of them failed.

HTS likely fears the growing influence of Horas al-Din in Idlib because the al-Qaeda-affiliated group has managed to form a strong alliance with other radical groups recently. These groups rejected many of HTS’ decisions, including its stand on the Russian-Turkish deconfliction agreement, which allowed them to gain much support from hardliners and foreign militants in HTS-held areas.


Turkish Army, rebels starts new security operation in northern Aleppo

The Turkish Army and their rebel allies have begun a new security operation, tonight, in northern region of Aleppo, opposition activists reported.

According to the opposition activists, the Turkish Army and their rebel allies launched a security operation targeting the “thieves and looters” in the Afrin region of the Aleppo Governorate.

The Turkish Army operation comes just months after they took control of the Afrin region from the Kurdish-led People’s Protection Units (YPG).

The looting in Afrin has been well-documented by local activists; it has gotten so bad that rebels have begun fighting each other for the booty taken from the abandoned homes in this region.

Update:

Tens of rebels arrested by Turkish forces in northern Aleppo

The Turkish Army and their rebel allies launched a new security operation in the northern countryside of the Aleppo Governorate tonight.

In an effort to target looters and kidnappers, the Turkish Army and their allies rounded up tens of rebels that have been accused of committing these crimes inside the Afrin region of Aleppo.

The Turkish Army also announced a new curfew in Afrin as they continue to crackdown on those committing crimes inside this area.

Earlier this year, the Turkish military and their rebel allies captured the Afrin region after a two-month long battle against the Kurdish-led People’s Protection Units (YPG).


Russia sends humanitarian aid to Syrian children, disabled persons

The employees of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria have delivered humanitarian aid to Syria’s Damascus. Children and servicemen disabled in the course of war have received new wheelchairs, food and warm clothes, head of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria Vladimir Savchenko told reporters.

"We have carried out humanitarian activities in the specialized institute for the people disabled during the war (in Damascus - TASS). During this, we have delivered wheelchairs, warm clothes and other basic necessities free of charge to the Syrian servicemen who fought during the war, as well as children disabled in the course of war," Savchenko said, adding that the Russian center was aided by Syrian officials.

"Four years ago the militants attacked me, I injured my back. My spine was grazed, and since then, I cannot walk. Now I’ve got a wheelchair, I can go and see my friends," one of the Syrian citizens injured in the war said.

According to the Russian Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria, Russia has provided Syria with over 3100 tons of provisions, basic necessities and medicine.
 
Newsweek
Europe wants to limit arms sale to the U.S. and Saudi Arabia because weapons went to ISIS
11/14/18 at 4:23 PM
he European Union's top legislative body has issued a call to control arms exports in order to avoid perpetuating human rights abuses and allowing weapons to fall into the wrong hands.

The European Parliament warned that "member states have systematically failed to apply" EU rules when selling arms abroad, and called for "a mechanism to enforce sanctions on EU members that break the rules," according to a press release issued Wednesday. The document cited specific examples of taking measures to cut weapons exports to Saudi Arabia and the United States in order to ensure they were not acquired by banned organizations such as the Islamic State militant group, commonly known as ISIS or Daesh.

The document quoted parliamentarians as saying they were "shocked at the amount of EU-made weapons and ammunition found in the hands of Da’esh, in Syria and Iraq." The lawmakers highlighted EU protocols designed to prevent arms intended for a legitimate customer from then being transferred to a restricted one, but called out Bulgaria and Romania specifically for not adhering to them.

Due to the risks associated with such sales, the lawmakers said member states should "refuse similar transfer in the future, notably to the US and Saudi Arabia."

gettyimages-991476808.jpg

Syrian troops display weapons confiscated from rebels at a military base in the town of Izra, in Daraa province, Syria, on July 4. The Syrian government said that a number of Western-made arms were among the recovered cache, including TOW missile launchers and weapons designed to take out tanks and aircraft. YOUSSEF KARWASHAN/AFP/Getty Images

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have garnered criticism for their support of groups fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the wake of a 2011 rebel and jihadi uprising. As the opposition made gains in the early years of the war, ISIS arose out of a post-U.S. invasion Sunni Muslim insurgency in neighboring Iraq and came to control up to half of both countries at its height in 2014. That same year, the U.S. formed a coalition to battle ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

ISIS’s rapid takeover, however, was assisted by U.S. weapons looted from government forces in Iraq and from Syrian fighters that either were defeated or absorbed by the militant group. In December, the U.K.-based Conflict Armament Research released a report that accused the U.S. and Saudi Arabia of intentionally violating EU rules by purchasing "large numbers" of European arms and ammunition and then quietly diverting them to nonstate actors in Syria without telling the suppliers.

These sales were reportedly made possible through deals between Eastern European members of the EU, as well as the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, both of whom "supplied most of this material without authorization, apparently to Syrian opposition forces," the 2017 report found. It added: "Supplies of material into the Syrian conflict from foreign parties—notably the United States and Saudi Arabia—have indirectly allowed IS to obtain substantial quantities of anti-armor ammunition."

Saudi Arabia, which has drawn criticism for alleged war crimes committed amid the Yemen civil war it leads against a Zaidi Shiite Muslim rebel group known as Ansar Allah, or the Houthis, is also the top U.S. weapons export partner. President Donald Trump has come under heightened pressure to limit this military assistance in the wake of the kingdom's murky role in Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder at Riyadh's embassy in Istanbul.

Beyond Saudi Arabia, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found last year that 49 percent of U.S. arms sales abroad went toward the Middle East, where the Pentagon has been involved in numerous military operations under the umbrella of counterterrorism.

gettyimages-1059022708.jpg

Saudi-backed Yemeni pro-government forces pose for a picture as they advance toward the port area from the eastern outskirts of Al-Hodeidah, as they continue to battle for the city controlled by Houthi rebels, on November 7. A number of European countries have moved to restrict arms sales to Saudi Arabia due to reports of human rights abuses throughout the three-and-a-half-year war. KHALED ZIAD/AFP/Getty Images

Wednesday's European Parliament report said legislators commended countries such as Germany and the Netherlands for suspending military sales to Saudi Arabia. A resolution affirming the enforcement of arms exports control was approved by 427 votes to 150, with 97 abstentions.

"Arms exports do not stabilize foreign countries or regions, neither do they help create peace. Arms amplify conflicts," rapporteur Sabine Lösing of Germany was quoted as saying. "In Yemen, European weapons are fundamentally responsible for the war taking place. The Common Position on arms exports must be implemented effectively. That includes, among others, a sanctions mechanism."



 


Translated from Russian by Microsoft
#Syria #Idlib #Hama #Aleppo #Latakia outfit Ingimassi "Hayyat Tahrir al-Sham" in Idlib action-Ingimassi, Chechen origin of the banned in Russia organization "Hayyat Tahrir al-Sham" (formerly "Jabhat An-Nusra", Syrian branch of al-Qaeda) in the province Idlib.

Russian Aircraft Buzzing Over Idlib Ahead Expected Escalation In Northwestern Syria (Video)
On November 18, an Il-20 reconnaissance plane and several unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) of the Russian Aerospace Forces conducted multiple sorties over radical militants positions in the northern Syrian governorate of Idlib, according to Syrian opposition sources.

The Il-20 is a signal and electronic intelligence plane, that is also equipped with a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) capable of taking radar images. Electro-optical systems were also installed in some planes of this type. The main task of the Il-20 is spying on the enemy’s communication and identifying its positions.

Local observers said that this number of sorties is unusual, as Russia has stepped down its aerial operations over Idlib after reaching the deconfliction agreement with Turkey. According to them, the reconnaissance sorties may be a part of ongoing preparations to resume military operations in the militant-held governorate.

Two days ago, Syrian and Lebanese sources reported that the SAA and its allies may soon launch a limited military operation around Idlib. According to the sources, the supposed operation will be a response to the repeated violation of the deconfliction agreement.


https://twitter.com/smmsyria/status/1063689894248239104
SMM Syria‏ @smmsyria Nov 16
#Damascus asked #Tehran to send #peacekeepers to #Idlib and the NW of #Aleppo. What #Iranian forces (army or proxies) will be these "peacekeeping units" remains unknown.
 
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