US supports Al Nusra - rebels kill 84 people in 3 days

[Anthea]

Assad offers amnesty to Aleppo rebels if they lay down arms

Syria’s president has offered rebels in Aleppo amnesty if they put down their weapons. He made his comments while vowing at the same time to regain control of the entire country.

The Syrian regime, backed by Russia, has been carrying out an intense bombardment of rebel-held eastern Aleppo since declaring the end of a brief week-long ceasefire on September 19.

The United Nations’ envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, on Thursday pleaded with fighters of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as the Nusra Front, to leave the city. Moscow and Damascus have carried out their bombardment on Aleppo under the claim of targeting the al-Qaeda-linked militant group.

At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on September 25, de Mistura estimated that more than half of the fighters in rebel-held eastern Aleppo are from the Nusra Front. Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, put the number at 2,000 out of the estimated 3,500 fighters in eastern Aleppo.

On Thursday, de Mistura appealed to the Nusra Front, asking them to leave the city. “If you decide to leave with dignity,” he said, addressing the fighters while speaking to reporters in Geneva, “I am personally ready to physically accompany you.”

The Syrian army said it has reduced shelling of eastern Aleppo in order to allow people to leave, but said on Wednesday, “All those who do not take advantage of the provided opportunity to lay down their arms or to leave will face their inevitable fate.”

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said they had “no other option” but to fight the rebel forces until they left the city, in an interview with Danish television.

De Mistura estimated that eastern Aleppo, where some 275,000 people are living, was just months away from being completely destroyed.

One resident of eastern Aleppo, 7-year old Bana Alabed who with her mother is tweeting about her life under daily bombardments shared on the social media platform on Thursday, “We are very afraid right now for our lives, we are in danger. We don’t know how long we will survive.”

http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/061020161

[Anthea]

At last something positive

[Piling]

HA HA ! What joke ! While in his prisons, thousands of people are dying of torture and starvation.

[Anthea]

HA HA ! What joke ! While in his prisons, thousands of people are dying of torture and starvation.

Sadly it happens in many countries where there is a civil war - only most countries do not have such a high profile

The Kurds are the group with the main complaint against Syria following the earlier removal of all Kurdish rights that came along with the removal of Syrian citizenship - but those rights were reinstated many years ago

The setting up of the Arab belt along the border between Turkey and Syria was aimed at the further Arabisation of Kurds by keeping them separated from Kurds inside the Turkish borders

Yet for a time Ocalan himself, was a guest of the Syrian regime, at the same time as PKK supporters were suffering in the prisons

Thousands of Kurds went over the border into Turkey to join the PKK in it's fight for Kurdish independence

The start of civil unrest stems from those days and the unrest started as a peaceful protest

A student who sung protest songs - probably long since dead

Then armed fighters moved in supposedly to support the peaceful protesters - after all this time it is impossible to find out who was behind the original influx of armed fighters but I have my suspicions

Much as we personally do not like Assad - we have to remain detached

Outside interests/countries are supporting the rebels and very little genuine effort has been taking place to remove the jihadist rebels

Most countries that have a civil war - have an actual civil war involving civilian unrest - Syria has an internal conflict supported, supplied and funded by outside interests and manned by non-Syrian jihadist fighters

We must remember that in areas of conflict the jihadist fighters are never without supplies or weaponry

We have to prioritise and as we are given to believe that the Islamic State are the more deplorable of all jihadist groups within Syria they have to be the primary target - not just because of what is taking place within the middle east but the fact that they are gaining support from fundamentalist Muslims worldwide

As always we know very little of what is actually taking place

The first casualty of war is the truth

[Anthea]

Syrian Jihadists rebuff UN envoy’s proposal to leave Aleppo under escort

Hussam al-Shafi’i, a spokesperson for Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS formerly known as al-Nusra), said that the jihadi group had rejected a proposal to leave Aleppo city. The proposition was put to JFS by the UN’s Syria envoy, Staffan de Mistura, on Thursday.

De Mistura has called on the Russian and Syrian governments to stop bombing Aleppo if JFS jihadists leave the city. He said he would be personally willing to accompany the extremists out of the city.

“Fateh al Sham is a Jihadi force and one of the military pillars of the Syria Revolution. It will not disappoint the Muslim people who have been annihilated, so how can a free fighter surrender his family?” al-Shafi’i said.

“Our strength is in God […] and we are determined to break the siege,” the jihadist spokesman said. “We have pledged to be killed as the noblest fighters rather than surrendering and being humiliated.”

Al-Shaf’i ridiculed the powerlessness of the UN to stop the bombing in Aleppo saying, “Is de Mistura able to accompany the Madaya sick children to the nearest hospital? Or is he able to guarantee the delivering of food baskets to one besieged area?!”

“De Mistura was unable to stop the bombardment for one hour on Aleppo or deliver the international aid convoys to the location under UN control,” the jihadist spokesman added.

JFS views de Mistura’s comments as analogous to those made by Bashar Ja’afari, the current Syrian representative to the UN.

“De Mistura proposals come in line with Bashar Assad’s recent remarks to empty Aleppo of the revolutionaries. De Mistura has successfully offloaded the Sunni areas and played a prominent role in the demographic change, and still plays the international role of Ja’afari! Your statement has no value to us, [like] those by Bashar Ja’afari,” the JFS spokesperson concluded.

In July, Jabhat al-Nusra announced that it had changed its name to Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and cut its ties to al-Qaeda. The new name means Front for the Conquest of Syria in Arabic. Both Russia and America rejected the rebranding and said that they would continue to target the group.

http://aranews.net/2016/10/syrian-jihad ... po-escort/

[Anthea]

Russia rejects French proposal to ground warplanes in Syria

Russia favours a proposal made by the UN’s envoy to Syria to resolve hostilities in Aleppo over a resolution drafted by the French, said its ambassador to the international body on Friday.

“The French proposal is very hastily put together and I frankly believe this is designed not to make progress,” Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin.

France’s draft resolution, if it were approved, would have obligated both Russia and Syria to ground their warplanes in that country as part of a ceasefire to stop fighting in Aleppo.

“It’s unprecedented for the members of the [UN Security] Council to ask a permanent member to limit its own activities,” Churkin said, adding that he was faced with a situation where his country would, as a member of the Security Council, be expected to vote on a resolution which would compel it to curtail its own military’s activities.

Presently the UN’s special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura is trying to arrange a deal whereby opposition forces in east Aleppo, including militants in the group formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, will be permitted safe passage out of the city with their weapons by the Russians and the Syrian regime.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also said he supports the plan “for the sake of saving Aleppo.”

Nusra refuses, saying such a compromise would amount to “surrender” on their part.

http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/071020161

[Anthea]

Every day the situation in Aleppo becomes more confusing

Why did the UN want al Nusra to be allowed to leave Aleppo with it's weaponry?

Perhaps, having already paid for it, America wants al nusra to be able to make use of the weapons elsewhere

Why did al Nusra change it's name?

It is already extremely difficult to keep track of who is fighting whom in Aleppo - the name change just confuses things even more - nobody who does not have a genuine interest in the events taking place within Syria would ever understand any of it

[Anthea]

‘Schizophrenic & incoherent’: US vows to fight Al-Qaeda
but refuses to battle offshoot Al-Nusra

The US has repeatedly vowed to battle Al-Qaeda, but has so far been reluctant to attack the group’s Syrian branch, Al-Nusra Front, instead criticizing the Russian and Syrian Armies for striking it. Everyday Americans and experts have told RT how confusing this attitude looks.

Al-Qaeda, the Sunni Islamist multinational terrorist group founded back in 1988 by Osama Bin Laden, is among the United States’ most-targeted enemies. It was behind the 9/11 attacks that killed 2,996 people and injured over 6,000 others, becoming the deadliest act of terrorism in world history. The US authorities have sworn to go after the group on numerous occasions, even once they had eliminated its leader in 2011.

Yet despite declaring Al-Qaeda’s offshoot in war-torn Syria, Al-Nusra Front – recently renamed Jabhat Fateh al-Sham – a similar threat and terrorist group, the US government has been reluctant to battle it, and even berating those who do.

“We’ve been clear, and so [have] 65 other nations […] that the threat of terrorism in Syria is significant, predominantly from Daesh [Arabic pejorative for Islamic State/IS] and from Al-Nusra, which […] we consider Al-Qaeda in Syria,” US Department of State spokesman John Kirby said at a daily press briefing on Wednesday.

“And that’s why the coalition will continue operations across multiple lines of effort, not just military, to degrade and defeat [terrorists] inside Syria.”

Kirby didn't specify how the US plans to “degrade and defeat” terrorists, but criticized the Russian and Syrian efforts on the matter.

“[Terrorists] are not likely to want to leave while they’re continuing to be bombed. What needs to happen is a cessation of hostility and the bombing needs to stop. And who’s doing the bombing? It’s the regime and it’s Russia,” Kirby said.

And that was not the first time US officials had expressed such contradictory thoughts, claiming they will fight terrorists when they’re separated from the so-called moderate Syrian opposition.

In a Sunday interview, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow has concerns that the US plans to keep Al-Nusra Front around to help overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad.

“I asked [US Secretary of State John] Kerry if [the US] has some hidden plan to save Al-Nusra… so that at some point to make it a main force to overthrow Assad. He swore that this was untrue, and that they are really fighting Al-Nusra,” Lavrov said. He noted, however, that Moscow “doesn’t see any facts that the US is seriously battling Al-Nusra.”

‘Russia is right to fight Al-Qaeda, US should, too’

RT crew in New York asked Americans if they think it’s wrong for the United States – or Russia – to fight Al-Qaeda followers in Syria.

“I think we need to maintain the effort, gather as much intelligence as possible and try to act on any efforts to attack us,” one person said, adding that it’s not wrong for Russia to fight the terrorists either.

“As long as [Al-Qaeda] keep attacking us and bringing terror to the world, I think it’s right for us to fight them,” another New Yorker reasoned.

“It makes no sense, it’s a big mess over there,” another said, commenting on the fact that so-called moderate rebels in Syria are intermingled with Al-Nusra militants. When asked if it's wrong for Russia to fight them, he said, "No."

‘US policy in Syria is schizophrenic’

Brian Becker, a national coordinator for the US-based antiwar and civil rights ANSWER Coalition, formed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, believes Washington has clearly switched from its former policy in pursuing terrorists to a new one – that of ousting the Syrian president.

“I think we can see by the way US has conducted the war against Al-Nusra and Daesh, the so-called Islamic State, and other terrorist groups in Syria, that they have a schizophrenic policy. They admit now, the State Department admits it has been unwilling to bomb Al-Nusra positions for the last year […] because the so-called moderate rebels are intermingled with them.

"We have to place this in context: 15 years ago in one month the US was attacked on 9/11 and during the last 15 years the US says its top priority is to destroy Al-Qaeda, it’s conducted what it’s called the War on Terror – and now we have Al-Qaeda in Syria and the US refuses to bomb those positions. Because its real priority is not defeating Al-Qaeda, its priority is ousting President [Assad],” Becker said.

Last week, Washington declared the joint US-Russian peace efforts on Syria a failure, suspending bilateral contacts with Russia over the crisis “because of Moscow’s intransigence and unwillingness” to restrain the government in Damascus.

’Russia has policy in Syria & sticks to it, US does not’

Political analyst Chris Bambery told RT that, based on its actions, Washington does not have any clear strategy on Syria whatsoever – unlike Russia.

“There’s no coherence to the American policy on Syria. That is the fundamental problem, because John Kerry is completely trapped inside that lack of any coherence.

"At least – and ordinary people see this – the Russians, whether you like it or not, whether you agree with them or not, have a policy in Syria, it is ‘the’ policy, it makes sense and they’re implementing it. You can’t understand what the American policy is. So I do hope that Lavrov and Kerry get the show back down on the road again […], some of the regional players like Saudi Arabia, like Turkey need to be involved in negotiations, because the Americans clearly are not in control of what is going on on the ground,” Bambery said.

Meanwhile, Aleppo is still a battleground, with the authorities in Damascus recently stating “there is no other option” but to continue to fight the rebels until they leave the city. Earlier this week, an RT crew filming next to the frontline captured black flags with Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and Al-Nusra Front symbols flying above the rebel-controlled eastern part of Aleppo.

Within the last 24 hours, the Russian center for reconciliation of opposing sides in Syria registered some 47 shellings “performed by illegal armed formations” in the provinces of Aleppo, Damascus, Latakia, Hama and two others, including the shelling of Russia's embassy in the capital.

https://www.rt.com/news/362640-us-nusra-alqaeda-syria/

[Anthea]

Rebels kill 84 people in 3 days in Aleppo

The Syrian rebels' assault on regime-held parts of Aleppo keeps getting deadlier, with 84 people killed over the past three days, the Syrian military said Monday.

The latest violence also wounded 280 people in western Aleppo, Syria's General Command of the Armed Forces said.

Syrian rebels have intensified attacks on western Aleppo to try to break the regime's siege of opposition-held eastern Aleppo, which has been choked off from food, fuel and other necessities.

The military said rebels fired more than 100 mortar and launched 50 rockets. It also accused rebels of using chlorine gas on civilian areas, saying there were 48 cases of breathing difficulties.

Human rights groups that have long decried the regime's indiscriminate attacks say nothing justifies rebel attacks on civilians.

"The goal of breaking the siege on eastern Aleppo does not give armed opposition groups a license to flout the rules of international humanitarian law by bombarding civilian neighborhoods in government-held areas without distinction," Samah Hadid of Amnesty International said.

"Armed opposition groups have displayed a shocking disregard for civilian lives. Video footage shows they have used imprecise explosive weapons including mortars and Katyusha rockets, whose use in the vicinity of densely populated civilian areas flagrantly violates international humanitarian law."

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 17 children have been killed in government-controlled western Aleppo since the offensive began.

And the UN's special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said he was "appalled" by the number of rockets indiscriminately launched by armed opposition groups on civilian suburbs.

Bunker-buster bombs

The regime, too, has been accused of indiscriminately attacking civilians in Aleppo. Even those hospitalized or living underground aren't safe.

"Bunker-buster" bombs destroyed the M10 hospital in rebel-held eastern Aleppo this month, opposition activists said. Much of the hospital was underground due to the near-constant fear of airstrikes.

Adding to the catastrophe: Bombings have also destroyed water infrastructure, depriving many Syrians of clean water.

CNN's Eyad Kourdi contributed to this report.