The Syrian Conflict Thread

Syrian Forces Poised to Retake Aleppo From Terrorists in 'Decisive Battle'

Syrian ambassador to Russia, Riyad Haddad, said there was “heavy fighting” ahead, as Syrian troops braced for a “decisive battle” to retake the country’s second largest city of Aleppo from jihadist terrorists.

“Half of the city remains in the hands of the terrorists, while the other half is under our control… Our troops, backed by Russian aviation, are encircling the city and preparing for a ground offensive. This is going to be a heavy fight because the terrorists are getting a lot of support from [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan,” Haddad said in an interview with Gazeta.Ru.

The ambassador also said that Russian airstrikes had brought immediate results destroying many enemy strongholds and arms depots, and cutting off the terrorists’ supply routes.

“Another major result [of the Russian airstrikes] is that many terrorists have laid down their arms and surrendered to the Syrian army, while many others retreated towards the Turkish border,” the Syrian envoy added.

Riyad Haddad emphasized that the Syrian authorities were closely coordinating their actions with Russia, but maintained no contact with the command of the US-led coalition.

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20151020/1028789301/syria-aleppo-battle-envoy.html
 
[video=youtube;EfWqM1hMTho]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfWqM1hMTho[/video]
 
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/09/18/isis-s18.html

A recent opinion poll commissioned by the BBC and performed by the market research firm ORB across all 14 governates of Syria found that 82 percent of those surveyed believe that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), with which the government of President Barack Obama is ostensibly at war, is itself a creation of Washington.

The poll interviewed 1,365 Syrians across the country between June 10 and July 2, and had a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points. Johnny Heald, ORB International managing director, said that the poll “includes those people living under the control of the regime, under the control of the so-called Islamic State [ISIS], [Al-Qaeda affiliate] al-Nusrah, the wider opposition and the YPG [Kurdish fighters].”

Also included in the poll’s findings was that roughly half of those surveyed opposed US-led airstrikes on Syria and, not surprisingly, only 21 percent believe that their lives are better now than when the government of President Bashar al-Assad controlled the entire country.
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http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jan/17/syrians-support-assad-western-propaganda

Suppose a respectable opinion poll found that most Syrians are in favour of Bashar al-Assad remaining as president, would that not be major news? Especially as the finding would go against the dominant narrative about the Syrian crisis, and the media considers the unexpected more newsworthy than the obvious.

Alas, not in every case. When coverage of an unfolding drama ceases to be fair and turns into a propaganda weapon, inconvenient facts get suppressed. So it is with the results of a recent YouGov Siraj poll on Syria commissioned by The Doha Debates, funded by the Qatar Foundation. Qatar's royal family has taken one of the most hawkish lines against Assad – the emir has just called for Arab troops to intervene – so it was good that The Doha Debates published the poll on its website. The pity is that it was ignored by almost all media outlets in every western country whose government has called for Assad to go.

The key finding was that while most Arabs outside Syria feel the president should resign, attitudes in the country are different. Some 55% of Syrians want Assad to stay, motivated by fear of civil war – a spectre that is not theoretical as it is for those who live outside Syria's borders.
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Looks interesting

[video=youtube;Y4pooNbB4W8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4pooNbB4W8[/video]
 
snoopdoggydog said:
How many millions fled Syria for Turkey and Europe because of Isis?
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According to a small poll done in Germany (by a biased organisation, mind you), about a third.
Two thirds of refugees apparently blamed Assad more than they blamed the islamists. If that is even half true, that actually bodes very badly for Europe, because it *suggests* that a lot of these new arrivals may sympathize with islamists.

I already predicted that Russia will intentionally flood Europe with more refugees, and it looks like the EU has finally come to that conclusion too. They are a bit late, and they are not willing to do what needs to be done to scupper that strategy anyway.

The deal they are trying to make with Turkey to try to stem the flow is laughably bad. "Out of the frying pan and into the fire" bad.
 
TriGuN said:
According to a small poll done in Germany (by a biased organisation, mind you), about a third.
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How small is "small"?

Two thirds of refugees apparently blamed Assad more than they blamed the islamists. If that is even half true, that actually bodes very badly for Europe, because it *suggests* that a lot of these new arrivals may sympathize with islamists.

I already predicted that Russia will intentionally flood Europe with more refugees, and it looks like the EU has finally come to that conclusion too. They are a bit late, and they are not willing to do what needs to be done to scupper that strategy anyway.

The deal they are trying to make with Turkey to try to stem the flow is laughably bad. "Out of the frying pan and into the fire" bad.
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Yeah, I think if what you say is true then we have a new picture to put in the dictionary under "irony", cuz it means the Assad loyalists are remaining in Syria.
 
Three Russians killed in Syria: pro-government source

At least three Russians fighting alongside Syrian government forces were killed and several more wounded when a shell hit their position in the coastal province of Latakia, a senior pro-government military source said on Tuesday.

If confirmed, the deaths which occurred on Monday night would be the first known incident of Russians killed in Syria since Moscow began air strikes in support of President Bashar al-Assad on September 30.

Syrian officials could not be reached for comment. Russia's defense ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/20/us-mideast-crisis-syria-russia-idUSKCN0SE1YO20151020
 
Russian jet coming into contact with American drone

[video=youtube;T_tSlQUe7oQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_tSlQUe7oQ[/video]
 
Canada withdrawing fighter jets from Iraq, Syria, Trudeau tells Obama

Ottawa (AFP) - Canada's prime minister-elect Justin Trudeau said Tuesday he told US President Barack Obama that Canadian fighter jets would withdraw from fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

But he gave no timeline.

"About an hour ago I spoke with President Obama," Trudeau told a press conference.

While Canada remains "a strong member of the coalition against ISIL," Trudeau said he made clear to the US leader "the commitments I have made around ending the combat mission."
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https://news.yahoo.com/canada-withdrawing-fighter-jets-iraq-syria-trudeau-tells-220007010.html
 
ISIS negotiating with Al-Nusra Front to form coalition against Assad forces – Russian military

“Communications eavesdropping has intercepted information about the beginning of the talks between commanders of large battalions of Al-Nusra Front and warlords of Islamic State to form an allied force to counter offensive conducted by the Syrian government forces,” Konashenkov said
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https://www.rt.com/news/319275-russia-syria-nusra-front/
 
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