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Sign up with GoogleThe Syrian Conflict Thread
snoopdoggydog
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LazyLion
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ASSAD SAYS READY TO STUDY UN PLAN TO 'FREEZE' ALEPPO FIGHTING
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Monday he was ready to study a UN plan to "freeze" fighting in the northern city of Aleppo, a statement from his office said.
"President Assad has been informed by (UN envoy Staffan) de Mistura of the main points of his initiative," said the statement issued after the two men held talks in Damascus.
"(Assad) said it was worthy of study and that work on it is needed... in order to re-establish security in Aleppo," it added.
Source : Sapa-AFP /gm
Date : 10 Nov 2014 14:43
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Monday he was ready to study a UN plan to "freeze" fighting in the northern city of Aleppo, a statement from his office said.
"President Assad has been informed by (UN envoy Staffan) de Mistura of the main points of his initiative," said the statement issued after the two men held talks in Damascus.
"(Assad) said it was worthy of study and that work on it is needed... in order to re-establish security in Aleppo," it added.
Source : Sapa-AFP /gm
Date : 10 Nov 2014 14:43
LazyLion
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ATTACK IN SYRIA KILLS 4 NUCLEAR SCIENTISTS
By DIAA HADID
Associated Press
Four Syrian nuclear scientists were killed near Damascus after gunmen opened fire on their bus in an area where there was no fighting, suggesting they were the target of the attack, according to activists and a pro-government website.
Rami Abdurrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group that relies on activists in Syria, said an Iranian nuclear scientist was also killed in the attack. The pro-government website "Damas Now" also said a fifth person was killed, but that the person's identity was unknown. The pro-government newspaper Al-Watan said only that four "nuclear scientists and electrical engineers" were killed.
Al-Watan said the men were on a bus heading to the Scientific Research Center near the Syrian capital when they were attacked on Sunday, and suggested the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front was behind the assault.
Abdurrahman said there was no fighting in the area where the men were killed, near a bridge on a highway just north of Damascus. "There were no clashes there at all. It was an operation to assassinate them," said Abdurrahman.
Another Syrian activist, who goes by the name Abu Akram al-Shami, also said there were no clashes in the area, which is a mix of rebel and government-held communities. Al-Shami said the area tended to be quiet because of locally-negotiated truces. Al-Shami and the Damas Now site said Syrian troops sealed off the nearby town of al-Tal following the attack.
Syrian facilities suspected of being used for military and nuclear research have been targeted in the past.
An Israeli airstrike struck a military and scientific research center near Damascus last May. The nature of the research center was unclear. In January, Syrian officials accused Israel of striking another scientific research center northwest of Damascus.
In 2007, Israel bombed a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor - an attack confirmed by U.S. officials. Israel has never commented on the incident.
Syrian, Iranian and Israeli officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the killing of the scientists.
Also Monday, U.N. envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura held talks with President Bashar Assad and headed to the central city of Homs, said an official in his delegation, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to media.
The visit came after Al-Watan on Saturday accused de Mistura of overstepping his bounds as a U.N. diplomat by publicly raising the idea of conducting more negotiated truces.
Al-Watan said de Mistura will meet in Homs with a delegation representing armed groups from al-Waar, the last rebel-held part of the city. The international diplomat is on a three-day visit to Syria aimed at reducing the violence. Syria's conflict has claimed an estimated 200,000 lives since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011.
-------
Associated Press writer Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria contributed to this report.
Source : Sapa-AP /gm
Date : 10 Nov 2014 14:42
By DIAA HADID
Associated Press
Four Syrian nuclear scientists were killed near Damascus after gunmen opened fire on their bus in an area where there was no fighting, suggesting they were the target of the attack, according to activists and a pro-government website.
Rami Abdurrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group that relies on activists in Syria, said an Iranian nuclear scientist was also killed in the attack. The pro-government website "Damas Now" also said a fifth person was killed, but that the person's identity was unknown. The pro-government newspaper Al-Watan said only that four "nuclear scientists and electrical engineers" were killed.
Al-Watan said the men were on a bus heading to the Scientific Research Center near the Syrian capital when they were attacked on Sunday, and suggested the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front was behind the assault.
Abdurrahman said there was no fighting in the area where the men were killed, near a bridge on a highway just north of Damascus. "There were no clashes there at all. It was an operation to assassinate them," said Abdurrahman.
Another Syrian activist, who goes by the name Abu Akram al-Shami, also said there were no clashes in the area, which is a mix of rebel and government-held communities. Al-Shami said the area tended to be quiet because of locally-negotiated truces. Al-Shami and the Damas Now site said Syrian troops sealed off the nearby town of al-Tal following the attack.
Syrian facilities suspected of being used for military and nuclear research have been targeted in the past.
An Israeli airstrike struck a military and scientific research center near Damascus last May. The nature of the research center was unclear. In January, Syrian officials accused Israel of striking another scientific research center northwest of Damascus.
In 2007, Israel bombed a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor - an attack confirmed by U.S. officials. Israel has never commented on the incident.
Syrian, Iranian and Israeli officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the killing of the scientists.
Also Monday, U.N. envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura held talks with President Bashar Assad and headed to the central city of Homs, said an official in his delegation, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to media.
The visit came after Al-Watan on Saturday accused de Mistura of overstepping his bounds as a U.N. diplomat by publicly raising the idea of conducting more negotiated truces.
Al-Watan said de Mistura will meet in Homs with a delegation representing armed groups from al-Waar, the last rebel-held part of the city. The international diplomat is on a three-day visit to Syria aimed at reducing the violence. Syria's conflict has claimed an estimated 200,000 lives since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011.
-------
Associated Press writer Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria contributed to this report.
Source : Sapa-AP /gm
Date : 10 Nov 2014 14:42
LazyLion
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SYRIA SAYS 11,000 FREED IN PRISONER AMNESTY
Syria has freed around 11,000 detainees since President Bashar al-Assad declared a general amnesty in June, the country's National Reconciliation Minister Ali Haidar said.
However, rights groups including the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights say 200,000 people are still languishing in government jails.
Speaking to AFP in Damascus on Monday, Haidar said "11,000 people have benefitted from the amnesty and been released from prison."
He was referring to a "general amnesty" announced by Assad a week after his controversial re-election as president.
Haidar said the figure was rising gradually as the justice ministry, which is in charge of applying the presidential decree, examined prisoner files.
The Syrian government presented the amnesty as the largest since the outbreak of the country's conflict in 2011.
It was also the first to include those accused of crimes under a controversial "anti-terrorism" law that has in fact been used to jail thousands of peaceful and armed opponents alike.
But the Observatory disputed the government's figures, saying the number of people released was closer to 7,000 people.
"Between 70,000 and 80,000 detainees were supposed to benefit from the amnesty, and only 10 percent of them have been released," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
And a number of high-profile activists, journalists and lawyers, including Khalil Maatuq and Mazen Darwish, remain behind bars despite the amnesty.
Rights lawyer Anwar al-Bunni told AFP that many of those released were not political prisoners but rather accused common criminals who were not meant to be covered by the amnesty.
Additionally, he said, "security services have refused to meet with the committees charged with applying the amnesty."
"In fact, the amnesty decree has benefitted very few people," he said.
In some cases, he said, tribunals considering prisoners for release simply changed the allegations against them so they would no longer be covered by the terms of the amnesty.
Asked about the reported 200,000 people being held in Syrian prisons, Haidar insisted the figure was "exaggerated."
"They have no documents. We have asked them multiple times to give us the names so we could cooperate together to solve the problem," he said.
Source : Sapa-AFP /mjs
Date : 11 Nov 2014 15:44
Syria has freed around 11,000 detainees since President Bashar al-Assad declared a general amnesty in June, the country's National Reconciliation Minister Ali Haidar said.
However, rights groups including the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights say 200,000 people are still languishing in government jails.
Speaking to AFP in Damascus on Monday, Haidar said "11,000 people have benefitted from the amnesty and been released from prison."
He was referring to a "general amnesty" announced by Assad a week after his controversial re-election as president.
Haidar said the figure was rising gradually as the justice ministry, which is in charge of applying the presidential decree, examined prisoner files.
The Syrian government presented the amnesty as the largest since the outbreak of the country's conflict in 2011.
It was also the first to include those accused of crimes under a controversial "anti-terrorism" law that has in fact been used to jail thousands of peaceful and armed opponents alike.
But the Observatory disputed the government's figures, saying the number of people released was closer to 7,000 people.
"Between 70,000 and 80,000 detainees were supposed to benefit from the amnesty, and only 10 percent of them have been released," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
And a number of high-profile activists, journalists and lawyers, including Khalil Maatuq and Mazen Darwish, remain behind bars despite the amnesty.
Rights lawyer Anwar al-Bunni told AFP that many of those released were not political prisoners but rather accused common criminals who were not meant to be covered by the amnesty.
Additionally, he said, "security services have refused to meet with the committees charged with applying the amnesty."
"In fact, the amnesty decree has benefitted very few people," he said.
In some cases, he said, tribunals considering prisoners for release simply changed the allegations against them so they would no longer be covered by the terms of the amnesty.
Asked about the reported 200,000 people being held in Syrian prisons, Haidar insisted the figure was "exaggerated."
"They have no documents. We have asked them multiple times to give us the names so we could cooperate together to solve the problem," he said.
Source : Sapa-AFP /mjs
Date : 11 Nov 2014 15:44
LazyLion
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SYRIA WAR DEATH TOLL NOW MORE THAN 200,000: MONITOR
Syria's civil war has killed more than 200,000 people in less than four years, a monitoring group told AFP on Tuesday, adding that most were fighters from the two sides.
"We have documented the killing of 202,354 people since March 2011," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman said, adding that more than 130,000 of them were combatants.
"Of the total, 63,074 of the killed were civilians, including 10,377 children," said Abdel Rahman.
"Among the anti-regime fighters, 37,324 were Syrian rebels, while 22,624 were non-Syrian jihadists," he added.
"On the regime side, there were 44,237 soldiers, 28,974 members of the (paramilitary) National Defence Force, 624 members of (Lebanon's Shiite) Hezbollah, and 2,388 pro-regime Shiite fighters from beyond Syria and Lebanon," Abdel Rahman said.
Another 3,011 were unidentified, he added.
Abdel Rahman said the toll "is probably much higher than 200,000, but certain areas under regime and (jihadist) Islamic State group control are impossible to work in freely".
He also said some 300,000 people are being held in Syria's infamous jails, including 20,000 who have gone missing entirely.
Thousands of other people -- combatants and civilians -- have also been taken hostage by IS and other factions active in Syria.
Abdel Rahman blamed the international failure to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court for the constant bloodletting.
"By failing to take the killers to court, the international community gives them the implicit go-ahead to keep on killing," he told AFP.
There have been several attempts to refer Syria to the ICC, but Russian and Chinese vetoes at the Security Council have blocked them.
Source : Sapa-AFP /mm
Date : 02 Dec 2014 14:39
Syria's civil war has killed more than 200,000 people in less than four years, a monitoring group told AFP on Tuesday, adding that most were fighters from the two sides.
"We have documented the killing of 202,354 people since March 2011," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman said, adding that more than 130,000 of them were combatants.
"Of the total, 63,074 of the killed were civilians, including 10,377 children," said Abdel Rahman.
"Among the anti-regime fighters, 37,324 were Syrian rebels, while 22,624 were non-Syrian jihadists," he added.
"On the regime side, there were 44,237 soldiers, 28,974 members of the (paramilitary) National Defence Force, 624 members of (Lebanon's Shiite) Hezbollah, and 2,388 pro-regime Shiite fighters from beyond Syria and Lebanon," Abdel Rahman said.
Another 3,011 were unidentified, he added.
Abdel Rahman said the toll "is probably much higher than 200,000, but certain areas under regime and (jihadist) Islamic State group control are impossible to work in freely".
He also said some 300,000 people are being held in Syria's infamous jails, including 20,000 who have gone missing entirely.
Thousands of other people -- combatants and civilians -- have also been taken hostage by IS and other factions active in Syria.
Abdel Rahman blamed the international failure to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court for the constant bloodletting.
"By failing to take the killers to court, the international community gives them the implicit go-ahead to keep on killing," he told AFP.
There have been several attempts to refer Syria to the ICC, but Russian and Chinese vetoes at the Security Council have blocked them.
Source : Sapa-AFP /mm
Date : 02 Dec 2014 14:39
LazyLion
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WATCHDOG: 2 SYRIAN CHEMICAL WEAPONS FACILITIES DESTROYED
by Edith M. Lederer
The global chemical weapons watchdog said in a new report that it has destroyed two Syrian chemical weapons facilities and expects the destruction of all 12 facilities to be completed this summer.
Ahmet Uzumcu, head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, said in his monthly report to the U.N. Security Council obtained Monday by The Associated Press that he expects the five underground facilities to be destroyed before June 30, and the destruction of seven aircraft hangars where deadly chemicals were also made "to be fully completed shortly thereafter."
The destruction of the chemicals and the facilities to produce them is a key part of the elimination of Syria's chemical weapons program which was ordered by the Security Council in September 2013.
Uzumcu said a special remote monitoring system used by the U.N. nuclear agency will be installed in the five underground facilities, to ensure that they are not used again.
Syria's move to join the OPCW in 2013 was widely seen as a way to avert U.S. airstrikes in the aftermath of a chemical attack on a Damascus suburb that killed hundreds of civilians. The Syrian government and rebels blamed each other for the attack.
Early last month, an OPCW fact-finding mission concluded "with a high degree of confidence" that chlorine was used as a weapon on three villages in northern Syria from April to August 2014, killing 13 people. It did not assign blame, and again the government and rebels blamed each other.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a letter accompanying the report that the work of the fact-finding mission on chlorine "is ongoing." He reiterated his "unequivocal condemnation of the use of toxic chemicals as weapons, by any party to the conflict."
The U.N. and the OPCW have said all 1,300 tons (1,200 metric tons) of Syria's declared chemical weapons and agents have been removed.
The report said 98 percent have been destroyed, including all of most toxic agents like Sarin nerve gas. The remaining chemicals and their residue are being destroyed in the United State, Britain, Germany and Finland.
But the OPCW indicated that it is still concerned that Syria may be hiding some of its chemical weapons capabilities.
The report said an OPCW team visited Syria for the seventh time from Jan. 25 to Feb. 5 for discussions on outstanding issues in the government's original declaration.
Source : Sapa-AP /mm
Date : 03 Mar 2015 01:18
by Edith M. Lederer
The global chemical weapons watchdog said in a new report that it has destroyed two Syrian chemical weapons facilities and expects the destruction of all 12 facilities to be completed this summer.
Ahmet Uzumcu, head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, said in his monthly report to the U.N. Security Council obtained Monday by The Associated Press that he expects the five underground facilities to be destroyed before June 30, and the destruction of seven aircraft hangars where deadly chemicals were also made "to be fully completed shortly thereafter."
The destruction of the chemicals and the facilities to produce them is a key part of the elimination of Syria's chemical weapons program which was ordered by the Security Council in September 2013.
Uzumcu said a special remote monitoring system used by the U.N. nuclear agency will be installed in the five underground facilities, to ensure that they are not used again.
Syria's move to join the OPCW in 2013 was widely seen as a way to avert U.S. airstrikes in the aftermath of a chemical attack on a Damascus suburb that killed hundreds of civilians. The Syrian government and rebels blamed each other for the attack.
Early last month, an OPCW fact-finding mission concluded "with a high degree of confidence" that chlorine was used as a weapon on three villages in northern Syria from April to August 2014, killing 13 people. It did not assign blame, and again the government and rebels blamed each other.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a letter accompanying the report that the work of the fact-finding mission on chlorine "is ongoing." He reiterated his "unequivocal condemnation of the use of toxic chemicals as weapons, by any party to the conflict."
The U.N. and the OPCW have said all 1,300 tons (1,200 metric tons) of Syria's declared chemical weapons and agents have been removed.
The report said 98 percent have been destroyed, including all of most toxic agents like Sarin nerve gas. The remaining chemicals and their residue are being destroyed in the United State, Britain, Germany and Finland.
But the OPCW indicated that it is still concerned that Syria may be hiding some of its chemical weapons capabilities.
The report said an OPCW team visited Syria for the seventh time from Jan. 25 to Feb. 5 for discussions on outstanding issues in the government's original declaration.
Source : Sapa-AP /mm
Date : 03 Mar 2015 01:18
LazyLion
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ACTIVIST SAY SYRIAN TROOPS ATTACKED TOWN WITH CHLORINE
By BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press
Activists say the Syrian air force has carried out a chlorine gas attack on a northern town, killing six people.
A military official immediately denied the claims and blamed the rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees said on Tuesday that the attack targeted the town of Samrin the previous night. The two activist groups say it also injured dozens.
An opposition official in the area says there were two attacks, the first targeting rebels while the second hit a residential area. He says the six killed were members of the same family, including three children.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.
Source : Sapa-AP /mjs
Date : 17 Mar 2015 12:17
By BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press
Activists say the Syrian air force has carried out a chlorine gas attack on a northern town, killing six people.
A military official immediately denied the claims and blamed the rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees said on Tuesday that the attack targeted the town of Samrin the previous night. The two activist groups say it also injured dozens.
An opposition official in the area says there were two attacks, the first targeting rebels while the second hit a residential area. He says the six killed were members of the same family, including three children.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.
Source : Sapa-AP /mjs
Date : 17 Mar 2015 12:17
LazyLion
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SYRIAN REBELS, JIHADISTS CLAIM GAINS IN NORTHERN CITY
Syrian rebels and al-Qaeda jihadists on Wednesday claimed gains against regime forces, a day after they announced the formation of a joint command to capture the north-western provincial capital of Idlib.
Syrian al-Qaeda affiliate the Al-Nusra Front published a picture which it said showed one of its fighters inside a captured checkpoint overlooking an outer district of Idlib.
The opposition Syrian National Coalition said government helicopters overnight dropped barrel bombs containing chlorine gas on the village of Qimyinas at the outskirts of Idlib.
On March 17, a family of six was reported killed in an alleged chlorine gas attack in Sarmeen, east of Idlib.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported at least six air raids around Idlib on Wednesday morning, but did not mention any use of chlorine gas.
The pro-opposition monitoring group said that at least 18 rebels were killed in the fighting, along with ten civilians, three of them children.
Idlib and towns around it are held by government forces, but the surrounding province is mostly controlled by rebels, with al-Nusra Front by far the most powerful force in the area.
The formation of the joint command, named the Army of Conquest, has provided further evidence of al-Nusra's key role in rebel military operations in Syria.
Source : Sapa-dpa /aw
Date : 25 Mar 2015 12:40
Syrian rebels and al-Qaeda jihadists on Wednesday claimed gains against regime forces, a day after they announced the formation of a joint command to capture the north-western provincial capital of Idlib.
Syrian al-Qaeda affiliate the Al-Nusra Front published a picture which it said showed one of its fighters inside a captured checkpoint overlooking an outer district of Idlib.
The opposition Syrian National Coalition said government helicopters overnight dropped barrel bombs containing chlorine gas on the village of Qimyinas at the outskirts of Idlib.
On March 17, a family of six was reported killed in an alleged chlorine gas attack in Sarmeen, east of Idlib.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported at least six air raids around Idlib on Wednesday morning, but did not mention any use of chlorine gas.
The pro-opposition monitoring group said that at least 18 rebels were killed in the fighting, along with ten civilians, three of them children.
Idlib and towns around it are held by government forces, but the surrounding province is mostly controlled by rebels, with al-Nusra Front by far the most powerful force in the area.
The formation of the joint command, named the Army of Conquest, has provided further evidence of al-Nusra's key role in rebel military operations in Syria.
Source : Sapa-dpa /aw
Date : 25 Mar 2015 12:40
LazyLion
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Syria civil war: Russians filmed fighting alongside President Assad's forces
Full Article Here....
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...ongside-president-assads-forces-10483842.html
Full Article Here....
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...ongside-president-assads-forces-10483842.html
Grant
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FNfal
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"He said: "We're analysing where the strikes are going every morning. The vast majority are not against IS at all.
"Our evidence indicates they are dropping unguided munitions in civilian areas, killing civilians, and they are dropping them against the Free Syrian forces fighting Assad. He's shoring up Assad and perpetuating the suffering."
Mr Fallon said Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to become involved "has complicated the situation" but it would be "morally wrong" for the UK not to target IS in Syria, as well as Iraq.
"We can't leave it to French and Australian, American aircraft to keep our own British streets safe," he said."
The solution is simple just supply stinger missiles to the Free Syrian forces , after a few jets are knocked out they will soon stop targeting Free Syrian forces .
"Our evidence indicates they are dropping unguided munitions in civilian areas, killing civilians, and they are dropping them against the Free Syrian forces fighting Assad. He's shoring up Assad and perpetuating the suffering."
Mr Fallon said Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to become involved "has complicated the situation" but it would be "morally wrong" for the UK not to target IS in Syria, as well as Iraq.
"We can't leave it to French and Australian, American aircraft to keep our own British streets safe," he said."
The solution is simple just supply stinger missiles to the Free Syrian forces , after a few jets are knocked out they will soon stop targeting Free Syrian forces .
snoopdoggydog
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http://www.rt.com/news/317482-afghanistan-kunduz-msf-hospital/
‘Collateral damage’: At least 3 MSF staff killed in suspected US airstrike in Kunduz, Afghanistan
‘Collateral damage’: At least 3 MSF staff killed in suspected US airstrike in Kunduz, Afghanistan
Free Syrian Army = Al Qaeda (Army of the conquet, Anhar al Sham... all want Sharia law for everyone)
.