Clashes erupt as Aleppo evacuation delayed

Fri Dec 16, 2016 | 7:03 AM EST Aleppo evacuation suspended amid dispute over villages Empty buses are seen leaving after the evacuation of people from eastern Aleppo was suspended, Syria December 16, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki Empty buses are seen leaving after the evacuation of people from eastern Aleppo was suspended, Syria December 16, 2016. Reuters/Omar Sanadiki Aleppo evacuation suspended amid dispute over...X By Laila Bassam, Suleiman Al-Khalidi and John Davison | ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT The evacuation of people from the last opposition-held areas of the Syrian city of Aleppo was suspended on Friday after pro-government militias demanded that the wounded should also be brought out of two Shi'ite villages being besieged by rebel fighters. The second day of the operation to evacuate Aleppo's rebel enclave ground to a halt amid recriminations from all sides after a morning that had seen the pace of the operation pick up. Rebel sources accused pro-government Shi'ite militias of opening fire on bus convoys taking evacuees out of the city. A Syrian official source said the evacuation was halted because rebels had sought to take out people they had abducted with them, and they had also tried to take weapons hidden in bags. This was denied by Aleppo-based rebel groups. But a media outlet run by the pro-government Hezbollah group said protesters had blocked the road from the city, demanding that wounded people from the villages of Foua and Kefraya in nearby Idlib province should also be evacuated. It also said rebels had bombarded a road due to be used by buses to conduct the evacuation from the Shi'ite villages. Iran, one of Syria's main allies, had demanded that the villages be included in a ceasefire deal under which people are leaving Aleppo, rebel and United Nations officials have said. There has been no sign of any evacuation from the villages, which have long been besieged by insurgents in the mostly rebel-held province. Aid agencies involved in the Aleppo evacuation had been told to leave the area without explanation after the operation was aborted, the World Health Organization said. CARS AND BUSES Earlier, private cars had been allowed to leave Aleppo along with convoys of buses evacuating rebel fighters and civilians. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, said a total of 8,000 people, including some 3,000 fighters and more than 300 wounded, had left the city in convoys of buses and ambulances since the evacuation began on Thursday morning. Photos sent by an activist waiting to leave the rebel-held sector of east Aleppo showed crowds of people in thick coats in a street lined with flattened buildings in the cold winter air. Private cars and minibuses with bundles strapped to their roofs filled the street, as people sat on rubble or stood next to bags of their belongings. In a message sent to journalists, the activist said children were "hungry and crying" and people were "exhausted", not knowing if buses would arrive to take them out. By early Friday morning, nearly 200 evacuated patients had arrived in eight "overwhelmed" hospitals in government-held western Aleppo, Idlib and Turkey, according to the WHO. The United Nations says 50,000 people remain in rebel-held Aleppo, of whom about 10,000 would be taken to Idlib province and the rest would go to government-held city districts. Idlib province, mostly controlled by hardline Islamist groups, is not a popular destination for fighters and civilians from east Aleppo, where nationalist rebel groups predominated. Idlib is already a target for Syrian and Russian air strikes but it is unclear if the government will push for a ground assault or simply seek to contain rebels there for now. Turkey has said Aleppo evacuees could also be housed in a camp to be constructed near the Turkish border to the north. Two potential sites just inside Syria have been identified to set up a camp, which could host up to 80,000 people, Turkish officials said, adding that they expected up to 35,000 people to come. Turkey would continue to accept sick and wounded coming from Aleppo. PUTIN SEEKS CEASEFIRE Aleppo had been divided between government and rebel areas in the nearly six-year civil war, but a lightning advance by the Syrian army and its allies that began in mid-November deprived the insurgents of most of their territory in a matter of weeks. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Syria's most powerful ally, said he was working with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to try to start a new round of Syrian peace talks aimed at securing a nationwide ceasefire. Speaking in Japan, Putin said the new talks, if they happened, could be held in Kazakhstan and would complement U.N.-brokered negotiations that have been taking place intermittently in Geneva. "The next step is to reach an agreement on a total ceasefire across the whole of Syria. We are conducting very active negotiations with representatives of the armed opposition, brokered by Turkey," the Russian leader said. Aleppo, a once-flourishing economic centre with its renowned ancient sites has been pulverised during the war that has killed more than 300,000 people, created the world's worst refugee crisis and allowed for the rise of Islamic State. The United States was forced to watch from the sidelines as the Syrian government and its allies, including Russia, mounted an assault to pin down the rebels in an ever-diminishing pocket of territory, culminating in a ceasefire this week. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday that the Syrian government was carrying out "nothing short of a massacre" in Aleppo. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the U.N. Security Council would meet on Friday to discuss a quick deployment of U.N. observers to east Aleppo to ensure there were no atrocities and that humanitarian aid reached the city. The Syrian White Helmets civil defence group and other rights organizations accused Russia of committing or being complicit in war crimes in Syria, saying Russian air strikes in the Aleppo region had killed 1,207 civilians, including 380 children. A senior Russian general said on Thursday that the Syrian army had almost finished its operations in Aleppo. But the war will still be far from over, with insurgents retaining their rural stronghold of Idlib province, and the jihadist Islamic State group holding swathes of the east and recapturing the ancient city of Palmyra this week. (Reporting by Laila Bassam in Aleppo and Tom Perry, John Davison and Lisa Barrington in Beirut, John Irish in Paris, Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Writing by Giles Elgood, editing by Peter Millership) ==================== By Laila Bassam, Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Tom Perry | ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT An operation to evacuate thousands of civilians and fighters from the last rebel bastion in Aleppo was under way on Thursday despite an earlier attack on a medical convoy by pro-government forces. As buses and ambulances moved into the besieged enclave, the International Committee of the Red Cross said efforts to evacuate around 200 wounded people, part of a wider ceasefire deal, had begun. Russia, a major ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said the evacuation of 5,000 Syrian rebels and their family members from eastern Aleppo had started. Earlier, ambulances trying to evacuate people came under fire from fighters loyal to the Syrian government, who injured three people, a rescue service spokesman said. The evacuation of Aleppo's last rebel enclave would end years of fighting for the city and mark a major victory for Assad. "Thousands of people are in need of evacuation, but the first and most urgent thing is wounded, sick and children, including orphans," said Jan Egeland, the U.N. humanitarian adviser for Syria. A Reuters witness in the government-controlled part of the city said columns of black smoke could be seen rising from the rebel-held area. Residents hoping to be taken out have been burning personal belongings they cannot take with them and do not want to leave for government forces to loot. "Outside every building you see a small fire, papers, women's clothes," one resident told Reuters. RUSSIAN DRONES Russian soldiers were preparing to lead rebels out of Aleppo, the defence ministry in Moscow said. Syria had guaranteed the safety of rebels and their families, who would be taken towards Idlib, a city in northwestern Syria which is outside government control. Russia would use drones to monitor rebels and their families being transported in buses and ambulances along a humanitarian corridor, the ministry said. The evacuation agreement would include the safe passage of wounded from the Shi'ite villages of Foua and Kefraya near Idlib that are besieged by rebels, according to a military media unit run by Hezbollah, a group allied to Assad. A convoy set off to evacuate the villages on Thursday, Syrian state media said. On Wednesday, rebels attributed the hold up of the ceasefire and evacuation of the insurgent area of Aleppo to demands by Iranian-backed militias that the wounded in Foua and Kefraya should be taken to government areas. Efforts to evacuate eastern Aleppo began earlier in the week with a truce brokered by Russia, Assad's most powerful ally, and Turkey, which has backed the opposition. That agreement broke down following renewed fighting on Wednesday and the evacuation did not take place then as planned. An official from the Jabha Shamiya rebel group said a new truce came into effect at 2.30am (0030GMT) on Thursday. Shortly before the new deal was announced, clashes raged in Aleppo. Government forces made a new advance in Sukkari - one of a handful of districts still held by rebels - and brought half of the neighborhood under their control, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group. The Russian defense ministry said - before the report of the government forces' advance in Sukkari - that the rebels controlled an enclave of only 2.5 square km (1 square mile). RAPID ADVANCES The evacuation plan was the culmination of two weeks of rapid advances by the Syrian army and its allies that drove insurgents back into an ever-smaller pocket of the city under intense air strikes and artillery fire. By taking control of Aleppo, Assad has proved the power of his military coalition, aided by Russia's air force and an array of Shi'ite militias from across the region. Rebels have been backed by the United States, Turkey and Gulf monarchies, but that support has fallen far short of the direct military assistance given to Assad by Russia and Iran. Russia's decision to deploy its air force to Syria more than a year ago turned the war in Assad's favor after rebel advances across western Syria. In addition to Aleppo, he has won back insurgent strongholds near Damascus this year. The government and its allies have focused the bulk of their firepower on fighting rebels in western Syria rather than Islamic State, which this week managed to take back the ancient city of Palmyra, once again illustrating the challenge Assad faces reestablishing control over all Syria. Carla del Ponte, a U.N. investigator and former U.N. war crimes prosecutor, told German newspaper Die Zeit that Russian and Syrian bombing of homes, hospitals and schools amounted to war crimes, as did the starving of parts of Aleppo for months by militias loyal to the government. (Reporting by Laila Bassam in Aleppo and Tom Perry, John Davison and Lisa Barrington in Beirut, Michelle Martin in Berlin; Writing by Angus McDowall in Beirut and Giles Elgood in London, editing by Peter Millership) =============================== Wed Dec 14, 2016 | 6:27 AM EST 22h ago | 00:46 Syrian army, Iraqi militia reportedly killing Aleppo civilians - U.N. Clashes erupt as Aleppo evacuation delayed By Laila Bassam, Tom Perry and Lisa Barrington | ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT The planned evacuation of rebel districts of Aleppo stalled on Wednesday as air strikes and heavy shelling hit the city and Iran was said to have imposed new conditions on the deal. Iran, one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's main backers in the battle for Aleppo, wanted a simultaneous evacuation of wounded from the villages of Foua and Kefraya that are besieged by rebels, according to rebel and U.N. sources. Rebel groups said that was just an excuse to hold up the evacuation, which a pro-opposition TV station said could now be delayed until Thursday. A ceasefire brokered on Tuesday by Russia, Assad's most powerful ally, and Turkey was intended to end years of fighting in the city, giving the Syrian leader his biggest victory in more than five years of war. But air strikes, shelling and gunfire erupted on Wednesday morning and a monitoring group said the truce appeared to have collapsed. Syrian state television said rebel shelling of the Bustan al-Qasr district, recently recaptured by the army, had killed six people. Russia said government forces were responding to rebel attacks. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said rebel resistance was likely to end in the next two or three days. Officials in the military alliance fighting in support of Assad could not be reached immediately for comment on why the evacuation, expected to start in the early hours of Wednesday, had been delayed. Nobody had left by dawn, according to a Reuters witness waiting at the agreed departure point. Twenty buses waited with engines running but showed no sign of moving into rebel districts. People in eastern Aleppo packed their bags and burned personal belongings, fearing looting by the Syrian army and its Iranian-backed militia allies. In what appeared to be a separate development from the planned evacuation, the Russian defence ministry said 6,000 civilians and 366 fighters had left rebel-held districts over the past 24 hours. RAPID ADVANCES The evacuation plan was the culmination of two weeks of rapid advances by the Syrian army and its allies that drove insurgents back into an ever-smaller pocket of the city under intense air strikes and artillery fire. By taking full control of Aleppo, Assad has proved the power of his military coalition, aided by Russia's air force and an array of Shi'ite militias from across the region. Rebels groups have been supported by the United States, Turkey and Gulf monarchies, but the support they have enjoyed has fallen far short of the direct military backing given to Assad by Russia and Iran. Russia's decision to deploy its air force to Syria 18 months ago turned the war in Assad's favor after rebel advances across western Syria. In addition to Aleppo, he has won back insurgent strongholds near Damascus this year. The government and its allies have focused the bulk of their firepower on fighting rebels in western Syria rather than Islamic State, which this week managed to take back the ancient city of Palmyra, once again illustrating the challenge Assad faces reestablishing control over all Syria. Russia regards the fall of Aleppo as a major victory against terrorists, as it and Assad characterize all the rebel groups, both Islamist and nationalist, fighting to oust him. A member of Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad walks past a damaged building in the government held Sheikh Saeed district of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 12, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki 6/6 A member of Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad walks past a damaged building in the government held Sheikh Saeed district of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 12, 2016. Reuters/Omar Sanadiki People walk as they flee deeper into the remaining rebel-held areas of Aleppo, Syria December 13, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail 1/6 People walk as they flee deeper into the remaining rebel-held areas of Aleppo, Syria December 13, 2016. Reuters/Abdalrhman Ismail A man pushes a woman on a cart as they flee deeper with others into the remaining rebel-held areas of Aleppo, Syria. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail 2/6 A man pushes a woman on a cart as they flee deeper with others into the remaining rebel-held areas of Aleppo, Syria. Reuters/Abdalrhman Ismail A general view shows the damage in the government-held al-Shaar neighborhood of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 13, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki 3/6 A general view shows the damage in the government-held al-Shaar neighborhood of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 13, 2016. Reuters/Omar Sanadiki Smoke and flames rise after air strikes on rebel-controlled besieged area of Aleppo, as seen from a government-held side, in Syria December 11, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki 4/6 Smoke and flames rise after air strikes on rebel-controlled besieged area of Aleppo, as seen from a government-held side, in Syria December 11, 2016. Reuters/Omar Sanadiki Boys stand amid the damage in the government-held al-Shaar neighborhood of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 13, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki 5/6 Boys stand amid the damage in the government-held al-Shaar neighborhood of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 13, 2016. Reuters/Omar Sanadiki A member of Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad walks past a damaged building in the government held Sheikh Saeed district of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 12, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki 6/6 A member of Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad walks past a damaged building in the government held Sheikh Saeed district of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 12, 2016. Reuters/Omar Sanadiki People walk as they flee deeper into the remaining rebel-held areas of Aleppo, Syria December 13, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail 1/6 People walk as they flee deeper into the remaining rebel-held areas of Aleppo, Syria December 13, 2016. Reuters/Abdalrhman Ismail › But at the United Nations, the United States said the violence in the city, besieged and bombarded for months, represented "modern evil". The once-flourishing economic center with its renowned ancient sites has been pulverized during the war, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people, created the world's worst refugee crisis and allowed the rise of Islamic State. As the battle for Aleppo unfolded, global concern has risen over the plight of the 250,000 civilians who were thought to remain in its rebel-held eastern sector before the sudden army advance began at the end of November. Tens of thousands of them fled to parts of the city held by the government or by a Kurdish militia, and tens of thousands more retreated further into the rebel enclave as it rapidly shrank under the army's lightning advance. The rout of rebels in Aleppo sparked a mass flight of terrified civilians and insurgents in bitter weather, a crisis the United Nations said was a "complete meltdown of humanity". There were food and water shortages in rebel areas, with all hospitals closed. "SHOT IN THEIR HOMES" On Tuesday, the United Nations voiced deep concern about reports it had received of Syrian soldiers and allied Iraqi fighters summarily shooting dead 82 people in recaptured east Aleppo districts. It accused them of "slaughter". "The reports we had are of people being shot in the street trying to flee and shot in their homes," said Rupert Colville, a U.N. spokesman. "There could be many more." The Syrian army has denied carrying out killings or torture among those captured, and Russia said on Tuesday rebels had "kept over 100,000 people in east Aleppo as human shields". Fear stalked the city's streets. Some survivors trudged in the rain past dead bodies to the government-held west or the few districts still in rebel hands. Others stayed in their homes and awaited the Syrian army's arrival. For all of them, fear of arrest, conscription or summary execution added to the daily terror of bombardment. "People are saying the troops have lists of families of fighters and are asking them if they had sons with the terrorists. (They are) then either left or shot and left to die," said Abu Malek al-Shamali in Seif al-Dawla, one of the last rebel-held districts. Terrible conditions were described by city residents. Abu Malek al-Shamali, a resident in the rebel area, said dead bodies lay in the streets. "There are many corpses in Fardous and Bustan al-Qasr with no one to bury them,” he said. (Reporting by Laila Bassam in Aleppo and Tom Perry, John Davison and Lisa Barrington in Beirut; Writing by Angus McDowall in Beirut; Editing by Peter Millership, Paul Tait and Giles Elgood)

Fight for Syria's Aleppo exposes limits of Russian air power

Men inspect a damaged site after double airstrikes on the rebel held Bab al-Nairab neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, August 27, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail Men inspect a damaged site after double airstrikes on the rebel held Bab al-Nairab neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, August 27, 2016. Reuters/Abdalrhman Ismail Fight for Syria's Aleppo exposes limits of Russian...X By Maria Tsvetkova and Christian Lowe | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's politically-sensitive and ultimately fruitless decision to launch bombing missions on Syria from Iranian soil has exposed the limits to its air power, leaving Moscow in need of a new strategy to advance its aims. People familiar with Russia's military said Moscow opted for the sorties from Iran - and Tehran agreed to allow them - because they were struggling to achieve their aim of crushing rebels in the city of Aleppo. The gamble failed and rebels fighting their ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Aasad, remain ensconced in parts of Aleppo. Russia began air strikes on Syria in support of Assad on Sept. 30 last year, launched from bases in government-held territory and from warships. Then this month, facing logistical problems in mounting an expensive campaign at a time of tight state finances, it intensified the bombing of Aleppo in what turned out to be a brief series of raids from Iran. The strikes on the Aleppo rebels seem to have achieved little beyond stirring a political row in Iran, whose constitution forbids the establishment of any kind of foreign military base. The fact that Russia went to such lengths to achieve its aims in Aleppo and still failed could strengthen the hand of those in Moscow who believe the operation in Syria has reached a watershed, and that it is time to seek a negotiated solution. "I get the feeling we're like a horse at the circus, running around in a circle since Sept. 30 when we first deployed our aircraft there," said a person close to the Russian defense ministry who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Our forces are insufficient, our coordination with the Iranians is not at the required level. We need to change something. What, I don't know." IRANIAN SENSITIVITIES Russia's defense ministry announced on Aug. 16 that it had for the first time used an air base in Iran from which to launch air attacks on Syria. On subsequent days, long-range Russian Tupolev 22M3 bombers, escorted by Sukhoi fighters, took off on sorties from the Nojeh air base, near the Iranian city of Hamadan. Letting Russia base aircraft there was politically sensitive for Iran: the last time a foreign power had used an Iranian air base was in World War Two. Some Iranian lawmakers called it a breach of the constitution while Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan said that, by publicly revealing the arrangement, Moscow had committed a "betrayal of trust". By Aug. 22, Iran's foreign ministry announced that Russia's use of the base had ended. In Moscow, the defense ministry said aircraft operating from the bases had completed their tasks. ADVERTISEMENT A spokesmen for Russia's defense ministry and spokeswoman for the foreign ministry did not respond to Reuters questions about its objectives in Aleppo and its use of the Iranian base. But Andrei Klimov, a pro-Kremlin member of the foreign affairs committee in the upper house of Russia's parliament, said the cost of the Syrian operation may have been a factor. "We are trying to conduct the operation in Syria within certain sums," he told Reuters. "The defense ministry has other expenditures. Therefore to optimize costs, more economical routes are sought. Any sensible country does the same thing." ALEPPO ESCALATION Russia's desire to use the base was "linked to the increase in intensity of military activity in the Aleppo area", said Vasily Kashin, an analyst with the Center for Analysis and Technologies in Moscow, which advises Russia's defense sector. "It seemed that, in the opinion of the Syrian, Russian and Iranian commands, a watershed moment is coming." That chimed in with other evidence that Russia and its allies were ramping up their efforts to take control of Aleppo over the last two months. The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah, which is allied to Iran, said on June 24 that the movement would send more fighters to the Aleppo area. The battle for the city was of strategic importance, he said. Since then, residents and opposition activists have reported an increase in the intensity of raids on Aleppo, including the high-altitude operations which distinguish Russian bombing from that by low-flying Syrian aircraft. That was matched on the ground by an offensive from Syrian government forces which left rebel-held areas besieged. Aid organizations reported a jump in civilian casualties and warned of a humanitarian disaster because of a shortage of supplies. The Iranian base was a crucial logistical cog in this escalation in Aleppo because without it, Russia's Tupolev jets have to fly the greater distance to Syria from Russia, and back. That means carrying more fuel, which reduces the bomb payload they can carry, and also - because of the longer flight time - cuts into the number of sorties they can fly. Air bases inside government-controlled parts of Syria were not suitable for the Tupolev aircraft, and adapting them would be expensive, according to Kashin. The person close to the defense ministry said of the logistical challenges facing Russia's air operation: "We don't have all that many planes." PEACE OVERTURES During the intensified bombing, the rebel forces in Aleppo even counter-attacked in the middle of this month, breaking the siege and restoring access to supply routes. According to defense experts, Russia does have the military capacity to intensify its bombing in Syria further, whether or not it has access to the Iranian base. But that would mean more expense for Russia, which is struggling to fill gaps in its budget, faces a parliamentary election next month, and has seen the Syrian operation drag on far past the Kremlin's original timetable. In May, President Vladimir Putin announced that "the main part" of Russian armed forces in Syria would start to withdraw, saying that their work had "on the whole, been fulfilled". But still the bombing went on. The difficulty of making progress militarily will make a negotiated solution more attractive to the Kremlin. Russia agreed on Thursday to a 48-hour humanitarian ceasefire in Aleppo to allow aid deliveries to get through, U.N. officials said. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met in Geneva on Friday to talk about a possible truce in Syria. Huge differences though remain between Moscow and its allies on one hand, and the United States and its allies on the other, not least over the future of Assad. Previous openings for peace talks have dissolved into renewed fighting. (Additional reporting by Tom Perry in BEIRUT; editing by David Stamp)

Russian cruise missiles target Syria

Fri Aug 19, 2016 | 7:00 PM EDT Russian cruise missiles target Syria 3h ago | 01:07 Syrian rebels welcome idea of 'weekly' truce Russian cruise missiles target Syria (Reuters) - Russian warships in the Mediterranean Sea fired cruise missiles at targets near Aleppo on Friday, a further sign of Moscow's broadening military effort in Syria days after it began to fly bombing missions from an airbase in Iran. Russian air power had helped Syrian President Bashar al-Assad make steady advances against rebels seeking to oust him since Moscow's intervention a year ago, but a recent insurgent advance in Aleppo has checked that momentum. In northeastern Syria, warplanes from a U.S.-led coalition flew patrols on Thursday to protect local ground forces they back against Syrian government airstrikes that are targeting the Kurdish city of Hasaka, the Pentagon said. "The Syrian regime would be well advised not to interfere with coalition forces or our partners," Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said. Russia's three cruise missile launches were its first against targets in Syria from the Mediterranean, with previous ones made from its Caspian Sea fleet. On Tuesday Russian bombers began flying missions in Syria from Hamedan air base in Iran. Russia's Defense Ministry said the strikes targeted the Islamist militant group Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, known as the Nusra Front until it broke formal ties with al Qaeda last month before playing a big role in the sudden rebel advances in Aleppo. The upsurge in fighting and airstrikes in and around the city, split between government-held west and rebel-held eastern sectors, has prompted growing international concern, galvanized by pictures on Thursday of a dazed, bloodied child. The plight of civilians in Aleppo has been aggravated in besieged areas by dire shortages of basic goods, leading the World Food Programme to warn of a "nightmarish" situation. In Daraya, a suburb of Damascus, rebels and a war monitor said the Syrian army's helicopters had dropped incendiary barrel bombs early on Friday, putting the opposition-held town's only hospital out of action. On Thursday Russia, Assad's most powerful military ally, said it supported a proposal for a weekly 48-hour pause in fighting in Aleppo to allow aid to reach the besieged areas and that it was ready to start the first one next week. On Friday, the main umbrella group for the Syrian opposition also cautiously welcomed the idea provided the U.N. monitored the truce and enforced compliance. During a previous humanitarian pause this year, both sides complained the other had broken the truce as fighting escalated again. DOZENS KILLED IN HASAKA On Friday Syrian Kurdish authorities evacuated thousands of civilians from Kurdish areas of Hasaka following government air strikes, a spokesman for the Kurdish YPG militia, an integral part of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said. The SDF is at the heart of Washington's military campaign against Islamic State group and last week seized the town of Manbij from the militant organization, part of a growing swathe of northern Syria it controls. The U.S.-led coalition aircraft arrived at Hasaka as two Syrian SU-24s, which had carried out the strikes, were leaving. "This is very unusual, we have not seen the regime take this kind of action against YPG before," the Pentagon's Davis said. Hasaka is divided into zones of Kurdish and Syrian government control and fighting between them has killed dozens of civilians in the past 48 hours, YPG spokesman Redur Xelil said. The YPG and the government have mostly avoided confrontation during the multi-sided war that has turned Syria into a patchwork of areas held by the state and an array of armed factions. The Syrian army said on Friday that this week's fighting was caused by Kurdish security forces attempting to take over Hasaka, prompting it to return fire on armed groups. A civilian removes the rubble in front of a damaged shop after an airstrike in the rebel held al-Saleheen neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria August 18, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail A civilian removes the rubble in front of a damaged shop after an airstrike in the rebel held al-Saleheen neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria August 18, 2016. Reuters/Abdalrhman Ismail A still image, taken from video footage and released by Russia's Defence Ministry on August 19, 2016, shows a rocket being launched from a Russian corvette in the Mediterranean Sea at Jabhat Fateh al-Sham militant targets in Syria, according to the ministry. Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation/Handout via Reuters A still image, taken from video footage and released by Russia's Defence Ministry on August 19, 2016, shows a rocket being launched from a Russian corvette in the Mediterranean Sea at Jabhat Fateh al-Sham militant targets in Syria, according to the ministry. Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation/Handout via Reuters A still image, taken from video footage and released by Russia's Defence Ministry on August 19, 2016, shows a rocket being launched from a Russian corvette in the Mediterranean Sea at Jabhat Fateh al-Sham militant targets in Syria, according to the ministry. Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation/Handout via Reuters A still image, taken from video footage and released by Russia's Defence Ministry on August 19, 2016, shows a rocket being launched from a Russian corvette in the Mediterranean Sea at Jabhat Fateh al-Sham militant targets in Syria, according to the ministry. Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation/Handout via Reuters A civilian removes the rubble in front of a damaged shop after an airstrike in the rebel held al-Saleheen neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria August 18, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail A civilian removes the rubble in front of a damaged shop after an airstrike in the rebel held al-Saleheen neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria August 18, 2016. Reuters/Abdalrhman Ismail A still image, taken from video footage and released by Russia's Defence Ministry on August 19, 2016, shows a rocket being launched from a Russian corvette in the Mediterranean Sea at Jabhat Fateh al-Sham militant targets in Syria, according to the ministry. Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation/Handout via Reuters A still image, taken from video footage and released by Russia's Defence Ministry on August 19, 2016, shows a rocket being launched from a Russian corvette in the Mediterranean Sea at Jabhat Fateh al-Sham militant targets in Syria, according to the ministry. Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation/Handout via Reuters › Assad, backed by Russia and Iran, has focused mostly on fighting Sunni Arab rebels who have been battling to oust him in western Syria with support from countries including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United States. The YPG, or People's Protection Units, has meanwhile prioritized carving out and safeguarding predominantly Kurdish regions of northern Syria. The group has ties to Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels in Turkey. While the YPG controls most of the northeast, the Syrian government has maintained footholds in the cities of Hasaka and Qamishli at the border with Turkey. The SDF seizure of Manbij from Islamic State last week raised the prospect of possible advances towards al-Bab, near Aleppo. Families of Islamic State fighters in al-Bab and another nearby town, Jarablus, were evacuated to the militant group's stronghold of Raqqa, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitoring group, said. ALEPPO TRUCE Related Coverage Syria army says Hasaka clashes result of Kurdish take-over effort Coalition jets scrambled to defend U.S. forces from Syrian bombing SlideshowStill image shows Russian warship firing cruise missiles at Syrian targets Rebel groups, including Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, stormed a Syrian army complex in southwest Aleppo two weeks ago, breaking a siege on opposition-held parts of Aleppo and prompting fierce counter-attacks. A senior rebel commander said there was a "positive atmosphere" surrounding talk of a ceasefire. "But so far there are no details." Syrian warplanes had carried out 46 sorties in the last 24 hours, including strikes in Aleppo that destroyed a tank, a vehicle loaded with ammunition and three mortar emplacements, and killed dozens of rebel fighters, a military source said. Continuing clashes between rebels and the Syrian army and allied militias were fiercest in the southwest of city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based monitor of the five-year-old civil war, said on Friday. It added that air strikes and shelling in and around Aleppo had killed 422 civilians, including 142 children, this month. "We need a 48-hour pause, we need it now," WFP spokeswoman Bettina Luescher told a briefing in Geneva on Friday. While the rebel advance this month opened a narrow corridor into opposition-held areas of Aleppo, access remains very limited and dangerous, meaning aid supplies are scarce. "It's crucially important that we go in there because people are absolutely desperate," Luescher added. "From both sides, these sieges have to stop - it's inhumane, awful, disgusting, nightmarish. Not necessarily U.N. words, but that's what it is." (Reporting by Angus McDowall and Tom Perry in Beirut, Polina Devitt in Moscow, Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; editing by Ralph Boulton and Richard Balmforth)

INSIGHT-By relying on Iran, Syria's Assad risks irrelevance

Source: Reuters - Mon, 22 Jul 2013 06:00 AM Author: Reuters * Support for Assad from Iran and Hezbollah * Syrian leader risks losing autonomy to Tehran * Hezbollah fighters used in place of elite troops By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN, July 21 (Reuters) - Military support from Iran and its Shi'ite ally Hezbollah has given Syrian President Bashar al-Assad new impetus in his fight against the insurgents intent on ousting him, but at a price. Assad now risks losing much of his autonomy to Tehran and becoming a pawn in a wider sectarian war between Sunni Muslims and Shi'ites that may not end even if he is forced to step down, military experts and diplomats in the region say. Having lost thousands of troops and militiamen from his Alawite sect as the war grinds through its third year, and anxious to preserve his elite loyalist units, Assad is now relying on Hezbollah from Lebanon and other Shi'ite militias allied with Iran to turn the tide of battle. Alawite army units with their vast arsenal of artillery and missiles have been taking a back seat in combat, using these weapons supported by the air force to obliterate rebellious neighbourhoods and blow holes in rebel lines for Iranian-and Hezbollah-trained local militias. In some cases men from Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed group that is one of Lebanon's most powerful military and political forces, have been doing the street fighting, according to rebel commanders and other opposition sources. Under this new arrangement, Hezbollah and Iran have become directly involved in the command structures of Assad's forces, eroding his authority and the Alawite power base that has underpinned four decades of family rule by him and his father. The Alawites, to which Assad belongs, are an offshoot of Islam that has controlled Syria since the 1960s. Unlike the Shi'ites in Iraq, Iran and Lebanon, Syria's Alawites tend to be secular and lack the religious zeal that has helped motivate thousands of Shi'ite militia to come to Syria. Security sources in the region estimate there are about 15,000 Shi'ite fighters from Lebanon and Iraq in Syria, and they have helped produce success on the battlefield, reversing gains made by rebels in two years of fighting. When rebel fighters have held confined areas, such as the border town of Qusair, which was overrun by Hezbollah and Assad loyalists two months ago, they have put themselves at a serious disadvantage, the sources said. Rebellious Sunni districts in Homs to the south are being hit hard and Damascus suburbs, a main concentration of the Arab- and Western-backed Free Syrian Army, are under siege as the war's death toll climbs above 90,000. But Assad's newfound military advantage may prove short lived, despite the increasing pressure on the rebels, military experts and diplomats believe. The fall of Qusair, and Hezbollah's triumphant rhetoric, spurred regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia into action. The kingdom, diplomats say, has assumed the main role in backing the opposition in coordination with the United States. TRAINED MILITIAS Signs of renewed support for the opposition are showing in the northern city of Aleppo, where a government counterattack backed by Hezbollah, which trained Shi'ite militia in the area, has stalled, according to the opposition. Even if Assad can capture Homs, hold Damascus and overrun neighbourhoods that had fallen to rebels, such as Jobar, Barzeh and Qaboun, he would preside over a much reduced country. Kurdish fighters are consolidating their hold on a de facto autonomous region in the grain- and oil-producing northeastern province of Hasakah that came to being after Assad's forces withdrew to concentrate on defending areas in the interior. Hardline Islamist brigades are ruling much of two provinces east of Hasakah and they are strongly present in Aleppo. Assad is mainly left with Damascus and a corridor running through Homs to his Alawite heartland and army bases on the coast and to Hezbollah's strongholds in Lebanon. Andrew Terrill, research professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Army War college, said the rebels will "hang on" because Assad has lost too much of the country.

"Winning battles is very different than winning wars because people who are under assault are going to recoup at some point. The rebels remain armed and remain able to strike at him," Terrill told Reuters. "Assad may be able to win in the sense that he may stay in power and he is not overthrown directly, but I cannot imagine him pacifying the country because I just think there are too many rebels and too much resistance," he said.

Terrill said new weapons expected from Saudi Arabia are bound to redress the balance of power as well as promised U.S. arms. Salim Idriss, head of the Free Syrian Army's command, is due to visit the United States this week to press for speedy U.S. arms shipments. Iran meanwhile, continues to supply Assad with military assistance and financing estimated at $500 million a month, according to opposition sources. "The Iranians and Hezbollah go in and train people and if they can whip these militias into shape then Assad could increasingly rely on them and spare his crack troops," Terrill said. Hezbollah has openly acknowledged its involvement in Syria, but Assad and Iran have not commented. PRAETORIAN GUARD Faced with losing large areas of Syria to mainly Sunni rebel fighters, Assad has adjusted tactics in the last few months to preserve his mostly Alawite Praetorian guard units -- the Republican Guards, the Fourth Division and the Special Forces -- and started relying on Hezbollah, especially to capture the central region of Homs, the sources said Mohammad Mroueh, a member of the Syrian National Council, said Hezbollah and Iran have been training the militias Assad is using for street fighting in Homs and have established, together with Iranian officials, operations rooms in the city. "When there is an area where the army and the militia encounter stiff resistance, they're calling Hezbollah to do the fighting," said Mroueh. Abu Imad Abdallah, a rebel commander in southern Damascus, said Hezbollah fighters and Iraqi Shi'ite militia were key to capturing two areas on the south-eastern approaches to the capital -- Bahdaliyeh and Hay al Shamalneh -- in recent weeks. "They went in after saturation bombing by the regime. They are disciplined and well trained and are fighting as religious zealots believing in a cause. If it was the army we would not be worried," he said. But veteran opposition activist Fawaz Tello said that using Hezbollah was a sign of Assad's weakness, pointing to his inability to rely on Sunnis who form the bulk of the army. "Remember that Assad started this conflict with about a million men under arms between conscripts and the army and the security apparatus. Now more and more he is relying on foreign troops and without them he will lose, especially if the rebels begin to receive advanced weapons," Tello said. Assad was now becoming an Iranian proxy, Tello said, while Mamoun Abu Nawar, a Jordanian military analyst, said the Syrian leader was forced to bow to the will of Tehran. "He can no longer call a division head and tell him to bomb the hell out of this neighbourhood or that. His command has been eroded and the command structure is now multinational," Abu Nawar said. A diplomat in the region put it more bluntly: "Whether Assad stays or goes is becoming irrelevant. The conflict is now bigger than him, and it will continue without him. Iran is calling the shots." =================== Syria war widens rift between Shi'ite clergy in Iraq, Iran Suadad al-Salhy July 20, 2013 Politics & GovernmentSyriaIranIraq .View gallery A Free Syrian Army fighter (R) carries his weapon as he stands inside a room in Deir al-Zor July 18, ….By Suadad al-Salhy NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - The civil war in Syria is widening a rift between top Shi'ite Muslim clergy in Iraq and Iran who have taken opposing stands on whether or not to send followers into combat on President Bashar al-Assad's side. Competition for leadership of the Shi'ite community has intensified since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003 toppled Saddam Hussein, empowering majority Shi'ites through the ballot box and restoring the Iraqi holy city of Najaf to prominence. In Iran's holy city of Qom, senior Shi'ite clerics, or Marjiiya, have issued fatwas (edicts) enjoining their followers to fight in Syria, where mainly Sunni rebels are fighting to overthrow Assad, whose Alawite sect derives from Shi'ite Islam. Shi'ite militant leaders fighting in Syria and those in charge of recruitment in Iraq say the number of volunteers has increased significantly since the fatwas were pronounced. Tehran, Assad's staunchest defender in the region, has drawn on other Shi'ite allies, including Lebanese militia Hezbollah. Hezbollah's open intervention earlier this year hardened the sectarian tone of a conflict that grew out of a peaceful street uprising against four decades of Assad family rule, and shifted the battlefield tide in the Syrian government's favor. The Syrian war has polarized Sunnis and Shi'ites across the Middle East - but has also spotlighted divisions within each of Islam's two main denominations, putting Qom and Najaf at odds and complicating intra-Shi'ite relations in Iraq. In Najaf, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who commands unswerving loyalty from most Iraqi Shi'ites and many more worldwide, has refused to sanction fighting in a war he views as political rather than religious. Despite Sistani's stance, some of Iraq's most influential Shi'ite political parties and militia, who swear allegiance to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have answered his call to arms and sent their disciples into battle in Syria. "Those who went to fight in Syria are disobedient," said a senior Shi'ite cleric who runs the office of one of the top four Marjiya in Najaf. "SHI'ITE CRESCENT" The split is rooted in a fundamental difference of opinion over the nature and scope of clerical authority. Najaf Marjiiya see the role of the cleric in public affairs as limited, whereas in Iran, the cleric is the Supreme Leader and holds ultimate spiritual and political authority in the "Velayet e-Faqih" system ("guardianship of the jurist"). "The tension between the two Marjiiya already existed a long time ago, but now it has an impact on the Iraqi position towards the Syria crisis," a senior Shi'ite cleric with links to Marjiiya in Najaf said on condition of anonymity. "If both Marjiiya had a unified position (toward Syria), we would witness a position of (Iraqi) government support for the Syrian regime". The Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad says it takes no sides in the civil war, but the flow of Iraqi militiamen across the border into Syria has compromised that official position. Khamenei and his faithful in Iraq and Iran regard Syria as a important link in a "Shi'ite Crescent" stretching from Tehran to Beirut through Baghdad and Damascus, according to senior clerics and politicians. Answering a question posted on his website by one of his followers regarding the legitimacy of fighting in Syria, senior Iraq Shi'ite cleric Kadhim al-Haeari, who is based in Iran, described fighting in Syria as a "duty" to defend Islam. Militants say that around 50 Iraqi Shi'ites fly to Damascus every week to fight, often alongside Assad's troops, or to protect the Sayyida Zeinab shrine on the outskirts of the capital, an especially sacred place for Shi'ites. "I am following my Marjiiya. My spiritual leader has said fighting in Syria is a legitimate duty. I do not pay attention to what others say," said Ali, a former Mehdi army militant who was packing his bag to travel from Iraq to Syria. "No one has the right to stop me. I am defending my religion, my Imam's daughter Sayyida Zeinab's shrine." A high-ranking Shi'ite cleric who runs the office of one of the four top Marjiiya in Najaf said the protection of Shi'ite shrines in Syria was used as a pretext by Iran to galvanize Shi'ites into action. "SHI'ITE PROJECT" In the 10 years since Saddam's fall, Iran's influence in Iraq has grown and it has sought to gain a foothold in Najaf in particular. Senior Iranian clerics have opened offices in Najaf, as well as non-governmental organizations, charities and cultural institutions, most of which are funded directly by Marjiiya in Iran, or the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad, local officials said. The Iranian flag flies over a two-storey building in an upscale neighborhood of Najaf, which houses the "Imam Khomeini Institution", named after the Islamic Republic's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The Imam Khomeini Institution is one of many Iranian entities that have engaged in social activities in Iraq, focusing on young men, helping them get married, and paying regular stipends to widows, orphans and students of religion. Some institutions also support young clerics and fund free trips for university students to visit Shi'ite shrines in Iran, including a formal visit to Khamenei's office in Tehran, Shi'ite politicians with knowledge of the activities say. "We have a big project in Iraq aimed at spreading the principles of Velayet e-Faqih and the young are our target," a high-ranking Shi'ite leader who works under Khamenei's auspices said on condition of anonymity. "We are not looking to establish an Islamic State in Iraq, but at least we want to create revolutionary entities that would be ready to fight to save the Shi'ite project". (Editing by Isabel Coles and Mark Heinrich) . ================================= MWM Pakistan (وحدت فارن افئیرز)دمشق سیدہ زینب ع :دمشق میں القاعدہ نواز دہشتگردوں کیخلاف کل سے جاری آپریشن میں روضہ حضرت زینب ع کے اطراف میں موجود بہت سے علاقوں کی ناقہ بندی کرکے بائیس سے زائد دہشتگرد مارے دئے ہیں جبکہ بتیس کے قریب دہشتگردوں کو گرفتار کیا ہے اس آپریشن میں روضہ مبارک کے قریب علاقوں سے اسلحے کے ذخائر کے علاوہ راکٹ فائر کرنے کے چھ پلیٹ فارم اور ٹھکانوں کو بھی تباہ کردیا ہے ادھر دوسری جانب آج روضہ مطہر کے منتظم انس رومانی کی تشیع جنازے میں لوگوں کی ایک بڑی تعداد نے شرکت کی شہید کے جنازے کو زیارت کے لئے بی بی پاک کے روضہ مطہر لایا تو ہرآنکھ اشک بار تھی انس رومانی کا تعلق دمشق کے حی الامین نامی علاقے سے تھا آپ ایک انتہائی شریف اور دینی گھرانے میں پروان چڑھے تھے ۔ دوسری جانب شام کی آرمی اور رضاکار فورسز کی جانب سے آپریشن جاری ہے جبکہ راکٹ کے سبب روضہ مطہر کے شہید ہونے والے صحن کے حصے کی مرمت کا کام بھی شروع کیا گیا ۔ ادھر روضے میں راکٹ کے گرنے کی خبر کے بعد انتہائی بدامنی کے باوجود ہزاروں عقیدتمندوں اور عاشقان محمد و آل محمد ص نے روضہ مطہر کا رخ کیا اور صحن مطہر میں لبیک یا زینب ع کے فلگ شگاف نعرے لگائے اور عزاداری کی جبکہ عالم اسلام میں اس خبر کے بعد شدید غم وغصے کا اظہار کیا جارہا ہے مصر کی دینی درسگاہ الازہر نے اس واقعے کی شدید مذمت کرتے ہوئے اسے زمانے کے خوارج کا فعل قراردیا العالم نیوز سے مصری عالم دین کاگفتگو کرتے ہوئے کہنا تھا کہ رسول ص کی نواسی کا روضہ مبارک اس سے پہلے کہ اہل تشیع اس کی حفاظت کرتے صدیوں تک سنیوں نے اس کی حفاظت اور مجاورت کے فرائض انجام دئے ہیں ۔ لبنان میں مقیم فلسطینی عالم دین کا کہنا تھا سامراج اپنے مخصوص افراد کے توسط سے اسلامی مقدسات کی توہین کا پلان بنا چکا ہے آج اگر ایک مقدس مقام پر حملہ ہوا ہے تو کل کسی پر کرے امت مسلمہ کو ید واحدہ کی طرح اس کا مقابلہ کرنا چاہیے ۔ دوسری جانب ایران کی وزارت خارجہ نے اس واقعے کی شدید مذمت کرتے ہوئے کہاہے کہ اس کی تمام تر ذمہ داری دہشتگردوں کے حامی افراد پر عائد ہوتی ہے ۔ لبنان میں حزب اللہ کی جانب سے مذمتی بیان میں کہا گیا ہے کہ اس عمل کے مرتکبین اپنے انجام کو پہنچ کے رہے گے ،واضح رہے کہ روضہ مطہر کی حفاظت پر تعینات رضاکاروں میں ایک بڑی تعداد لبنان سے ہے عراق میں متعدد شخصیات اور علمائے کرام نے واقعے کی شدید مذمت کی ہے جبکہ صدر سٹی میں سید مقتدی الصدر کی جماعت کی طرف سے احتجاج ریلی بھی نکالی گئی ۔روضہ مطہر کی حفاظت پر عراق سے بھی ایک بڑی تعداد میں رضاکار تعینات ہیں ۔ واضح رہے کہ روضہ مطہر میں حفاظت اور خدمات کے فرائض انجام دینے والے رضاکاروں میں شیعہ اور سنی دونوں مسلمان بھائیوں کی جانب سے رضاکار موجود ہیں جو مشترکہ طور پر فاتح کربلا ثانی زہرا نواسی پیامبر گرامی اسلام کے اس نورانی روضہ شریف پراپنی جاں نچھاور کرنے کے لئے تیار ہیں اور اب تک اپنے اس الھی فریضے کی ادائیگی میں سوسے زائد افراد نے جام شہادت نوش کیا ہے ۔ Like · Comment 51 Like · Comment 1 Like · Comment Like · Comment 2 Like · Comment Like · Comment Like · Comment Like · Comment 2Like · · Share Kalb E Jawad, Yazdaan Zaidi and 20 others like this. 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Other Albums Videos 172 videos شام میں حضرت سیدہ زینب (س) کے روضہ اقدس پر تکفیری دہشت گردوں کے حملوں کے خلاف بلتستان کی مختلف تنظیموں کی جانب سے معروف عالم دین علامہ آغا علی رضوی کی قیادت میں ایک احتجاجی ریلی نکالی گئی۔ احتجاجی ریلی کا انعقاد کلفٹن پل اسکردو سے یادگار شہداء اسکردو تک کیا گیا۔ ریلی میں تحریک بیداری امت مصطفی کے جوانوں کے علاوہ مجلس وحدت مسلمین پاکستان بلتستان ڈویژن، امامیہ اسٹوڈنٹس آرگنائزیشن پاکستان بلتستان بلتستان ڈویژن اور انجمن تحفظ حقوق بلتستان کے رہنماوں اور کارکنوں نے شرکت کی۔ مظاہرین نے ہاتھوں میں پلے کارڈز اٹھا رکھے تھے جس پر آل سعود اور تکفیریوں کے خلاف نعرے درج تھے۔ مظاہرین سے راجہ ذکریہ حسین کے علاوہ فدا حسین اور سیکرٹری جنرل ایم ڈبلیو ایم بلتستان آغا علی رضوی نے خطاب کیا۔ شام میں حضرت سیدہ زینب (س) کے روضہ اقدس پر تکفیری دہشت گردوں کے حملوں کے خلاف بلتستان کی مختلف تنظیموں کی جانب سے معروف عالم دین علامہ آغا علی رضوی کی قیادت میں ایک احتجاجی ریلی نکالی گئی۔ احتجاجی ریلی کا انعقاد کلفٹن پل اسکردو سے یادگار شہداء اسکردو تک کیا گیا۔ ریلی میں تحریک بیداری امت مصطفی کے جوانوں کے علاوہ مجلس وحدت مسلمین پاکستان بلتستان ڈویژن، امامیہ اسٹوڈنٹس آرگنائزیشن پاکستان بلتستان بلتستان ڈویژن اور انجمن تحفظ حقوق بلتستان کے رہنماوں اور کارکنوں نے شرکت کی۔ مظاہرین نے ہاتھوں میں پلے کارڈز اٹھا رکھے تھے جس پر آل سعود اور تکفیریوں کے خلاف نعرے درج تھے۔ مظاہرین سے راجہ ذکریہ حسین کے علاوہ فدا حسین اور سیکرٹری جنرل ایم ڈبلیو ایم بلتستان آغا علی رضوی نے خطاب کیا۔ شام میں حضرت سیدہ زینب (س) کے روضہ اقدس پر تکفیری دہشت گردوں کے حملوں کے خلاف بلتستان کی مختلف تنظیموں کی جانب سے معروف عالم دین علامہ آغا علی رضوی کی قیادت میں ایک احتجاجی ریلی نکالی گئی۔ احتجاجی ریلی کا انعقاد کلفٹن پل اسکردو سے یادگار شہداء اسکردو تک کیا گیا۔ ریلی میں تحریک بیداری امت مصطفی کے جوانوں کے علاوہ مجلس وحدت مسلمین پاکستان بلتستان ڈویژن، امامیہ اسٹوڈنٹس آرگنائزیشن پاکستان بلتستان بلتستان ڈویژن اور انجمن تحفظ حقوق بلتستان کے رہنماوں اور کارکنوں نے شرکت کی۔ مظاہرین نے ہاتھوں میں پلے کارڈز اٹھا رکھے تھے جس پر آل سعود اور تکفیریوں کے خلاف نعرے درج تھے۔ مظاہرین سے راجہ ذکریہ حسین کے علاوہ فدا حسین اور سیکرٹری جنرل ایم ڈبلیو ایم بلتستان آغا علی رضوی نے خطاب کیا۔ شام میں حضرت سیدہ زینب (س) کے روضہ اقدس پر تکفیری دہشت گردوں کے حملوں کے خلاف بلتستان کی مختلف تنظیموں کی جانب سے معروف عالم دین علامہ آغا علی رضوی کی قیادت میں ایک احتجاجی ریلی نکالی گئی۔ احتجاجی ریلی کا انعقاد کلفٹن پل اسکردو سے یادگار شہداء اسکردو تک کیا گیا۔ ریلی میں تحریک بیداری امت مصطفی کے جوانوں کے علاوہ مجلس وحدت مسلمین پاکستان بلتستان ڈویژن، امامیہ اسٹوڈنٹس آرگنائزیشن پاکستان بلتستان بلتستان ڈویژن اور انجمن تحفظ حقوق بلتستان کے رہنماوں اور کارکنوں نے شرکت کی۔ مظاہرین نے ہاتھوں میں پلے کارڈز اٹھا رکھے تھے جس پر آل سعود اور تکفیریوں کے خلاف نعرے درج تھے۔ مظاہرین سے راجہ ذکریہ حسین کے علاوہ فدا حسین اور سیکرٹری جنرل ایم ڈبلیو ایم بلتستان آغا علی رضوی نے خطاب کیا۔ شام میں حضرت سیدہ زینب (س) کے روضہ اقدس پر تکفیری دہشت گردوں کے حملوں کے خلاف بلتستان کی مختلف تنظیموں کی جانب سے معروف عالم دین علامہ آغا علی رضوی کی قیادت میں ایک احتجاجی ریلی نکالی گئی۔ احتجاجی ریلی کا انعقاد کلفٹن پل اسکردو سے یادگار شہداء اسکردو تک کیا گیا۔ ریلی میں تحریک بیداری امت مصطفی کے جوانوں کے علاوہ مجلس وحدت مسلمین پاکستان بلتستان ڈویژن، امامیہ اسٹوڈنٹس آرگنائزیشن پاکستان بلتستان بلتستان ڈویژن اور انجمن تحفظ حقوق بلتستان کے رہنماوں اور کارکنوں نے شرکت کی۔ مظاہرین نے ہاتھوں میں پلے کارڈز اٹھا رکھے تھے جس پر آل سعود اور تکفیریوں کے خلاف نعرے درج تھے۔ مظاہرین سے راجہ ذکریہ حسین کے علاوہ فدا حسین اور سیکرٹری جنرل ایم ڈبلیو ایم بلتستان آغا علی رضوی نے خطاب کیا۔ حضرت زینب (س) کے روضہ پر حملہ، اسکردو میں احتجاج 19 photos مجلس وحدت مسلمین پاکستان کے مرکزی سیکریٹری جنرل علامہ راجہ ناصر عباس جعفری کی اپیل پر ایم ڈبلیو ایم کراچی ڈویژن ضلع ملیر کے زیر اہتمام پریس کلب پر بی بی زینب سلام اللہ علیہا کی روضے کی بے حرمتی کیخلاف مرکزی امام بارگاہ سے ناد علی چوک تک ایک احتجاجی ریلی کا انعقاد کیا گیا۔ ریلی میں مجلس وحدت مسلمین پاکستان ضلع ملیر کے رہنما پروفیسر حسن جعفر رضوی سمیت شرکاء کی بڑی تعداد موجود تھی۔ مجلس وحدت مسلمین پاکستان کے مرکزی سیکریٹری جنرل علامہ راجہ ناصر عباس جعفری کی اپیل پر ایم ڈبلیو ایم کراچی ڈویژن ضلع ملیر کے زیر اہتمام پریس کلب پر بی بی زینب سلام اللہ علیہا کی روضے کی بے حرمتی کیخلاف مرکزی امام بارگاہ سے ناد علی چوک تک ایک احتجاجی ریلی کا انعقاد کیا گیا۔ ریلی میں مجلس وحدت مسلمین پاکستان ضلع ملیر کے رہنما پروفیسر حسن جعفر رضوی سمیت شرکاء کی بڑی تعداد موجود تھی۔ مجلس وحدت مسلمین پاکستان کے مرکزی سیکریٹری جنرل علامہ راجہ ناصر عباس جعفری کی اپیل پر ایم ڈبلیو ایم کراچی ڈویژن ضلع ملیر کے زیر اہتمام پریس کلب پر بی بی زینب سلام اللہ علیہا کی روضے کی بے حرمتی کیخلاف مرکزی امام بارگاہ سے ناد علی چوک تک ایک احتجاجی ریلی کا انعقاد کیا گیا۔ ریلی میں مجلس وحدت مسلمین پاکستان ضلع ملیر کے رہنما پروفیسر حسن جعفر رضوی سمیت شرکاء کی بڑی تعداد موجود تھی۔ مجلس وحدت مسلمین پاکستان کے مرکزی سیکریٹری جنرل علامہ راجہ ناصر عباس جعفری کی اپیل پر ایم ڈبلیو ایم کراچی ڈویژن ضلع ملیر کے زیر اہتمام پریس کلب پر بی بی زینب سلام اللہ علیہا کی روضے کی بے حرمتی کیخلاف مرکزی امام بارگاہ سے ناد علی چوک تک ایک احتجاجی ریلی کا انعقاد کیا گیا۔ ریلی میں مجلس وحدت مسلمین پاکستان ضلع ملیر کے رہنما پروفیسر حسن جعفر رضوی سمیت شرکاء کی بڑی تعداد موجود تھی۔ مجلس وحدت مسلمین پاکستان کے مرکزی سیکریٹری جنرل علامہ راجہ ناصر عباس جعفری کی اپیل پر ایم ڈبلیو ایم کراچی ڈویژن ضلع ملیر کے زیر اہتمام پریس کلب پر بی بی زینب سلام اللہ علیہا کی روضے کی بے حرمتی کیخلاف مرکزی امام بارگاہ سے ناد علی چوک تک ایک احتجاجی ریلی کا انعقاد کیا گیا۔ ریلی میں مجلس وحدت مسلمین پاکستان ضلع ملیر کے رہنما پروفیسر حسن جعفر رضوی سمیت شرکاء کی بڑی تعداد موجود تھی۔ بی بی زینب (س) کے روضہ پر حملے کے خلاف جعفر طیار کراچی میں ریلی 21 photos شام ميں بی بی سيده زينب (سلام الله علیہا) کی روضہ پر حملہ کی خلاف نصیرآباد ميں مجلس وحدت مسلمین اور ديگر شیعہ تنظيموں کا ماتمی جلوس اور احتجاجی ریلی نکالی گئی۔ ریلی سے خطاب مولانا حافظ سہراب علی انقلابی، سيد اختر عباس نقوی سيکریٹری جنرل ضلع قمبر شہداد کوٹ و دیگر نے کیا۔ شام ميں بی بی سيده زينب (سلام الله علیہا) کی روضہ پر حملہ کی خلاف نصیرآباد ميں مجلس وحدت مسلمین اور ديگر شیعہ تنظيموں کا ماتمی جلوس اور احتجاجی ریلی نکالی گئی۔ ریلی سے خطاب مولانا حافظ سہراب علی انقلابی، سيد اختر عباس نقوی سيکریٹری جنرل ضلع قمبر شہداد کوٹ و دیگر نے کیا۔ شام ميں بی بی سيده زينب (سلام الله علیہا) کی روضہ پر حملہ کی خلاف نصیرآباد ميں مجلس وحدت مسلمین اور ديگر شیعہ تنظيموں کا ماتمی جلوس اور احتجاجی ریلی نکالی گئی۔ ریلی سے خطاب مولانا حافظ سہراب علی انقلابی، سيد اختر عباس نقوی سيکریٹری جنرل ضلع قمبر شہداد کوٹ و دیگر نے کیا۔ شام ميں بی بی سيده زينب (سلام الله علیہا) کی روضہ پر حملہ کی خلاف نصیرآباد ميں مجلس وحدت مسلمین اور ديگر شیعہ تنظيموں کا ماتمی جلوس اور احتجاجی ریلی نکالی گئی۔ ریلی سے خطاب مولانا حافظ سہراب علی انقلابی، سيد اختر عباس نقوی سيکریٹری جنرل ضلع قمبر شہداد کوٹ و دیگر نے کیا۔ شام ميں بی بی سيده زينب (سلام الله علیہا) کی روضہ پر حملہ کی خلاف نصیرآباد ميں مجلس وحدت مسلمین اور ديگر شیعہ تنظيموں کا ماتمی جلوس اور احتجاجی ریلی نکالی گئی۔ ریلی سے خطاب مولانا حافظ سہراب علی انقلابی، سيد اختر عباس نقوی سيکریٹری جنرل ضلع قمبر شہداد کوٹ و دیگر نے کیا۔ روضہ حضرت زینب (س) پر حملہ کے خلاف نصیرآباد ميں احتجاجی ریلی 11 photos Majlis e Wahdat e Muslimeen Pakistan (Official)'s photo. Majlis e Wahdat e Muslimeen Pakistan (Official)'s photo. Majlis e Wahdat e Muslimeen Pakistan (Official)'s photo. Majlis e Wahdat e Muslimeen Pakistan (Official)'s photo. روضے کے اطراف میں آپریشن کے دوران شہید ہونے والے رضاکار 4 photos مجلس وحدت مسلمین کے زیر اہتمام علمدار روڑ پر بی بی زینب سلام اللہ علیہا کی روضے کی بے حرمتی کیخلاف ایک احتجاجی ریلی کا انعقاد ہوا ۔ریلی کے شرکاء سے اس بے حرمتی پر شدید غم و غصے کا اظہار کیا ۔ریلی کے شرکاء سے مجلس وحدت مسلمین پاکستان کے رہنما علامہ سید ہاشم موسوی ،رکن ضلعی شوریٰ علامہ ولایت حسین جعفری نے خطاب کیا جبکہ اس موقع پر ایم ڈبلیو ایم کے رکن بلوچستان اسمبلی آغا سید محمد رضا بھی موجود تھے۔ مقررین نے خطاب کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ ہمیں حیرت ہیں اس عالم اسلام کی خاموشی پر کہ آل ِ رسول (ص) کے روضہ مبارک پر حملہ کرنے والے نام نہاد مسلمان ہیں جنکا اسلام اور اسلام کے تعلیمات سے دور دور تک کا بھی کوئی واسطہ نہیں ہے اسلام تو عام قبور کے احترام کا درس دیتا ہے اور عالم اسلام کیلئے بی بی زینب سلام اللہ علیہا کا روضہ ایک قیمتی اثاثہ ہے اور عالم اسلام کے حقیقی پیروکار روضہ مقد س اور دیگر مذہبی مقامات کی حفاظت کرنا جانتے ہیں اور اس کیلئے کسی قسم کی بھی قربانی دینے سے گریز نہیں کرینگے ۔عالم اسلام اپنا مذہبی فریضہ سمجھتے ہوئے نام نہاد مسلمانوں کیخلاف آواز حق بلند کر ے اور اس سلسلہ میں کسی بھی مصلحت سے کام نہ لے ورنہ بروز قیامت رسول اللہ (ص)کا کس منہ سے سامنا کرینگے ۔اُمت کے اتفاق و بیداری ہی سے امریکہ و اسرائیل و نام نہاد مسلم ایجنٹوں کی موت ہے واقعہ کربلا نے یہ ثابت کر دیا ہے کہ حسینیت ہمیشہ زندہ آبادہے اور یزیدیت ہمیشہ کیلئے مردہ آباد ہے ۔آواز حق بلند کرنا درس قرآن کا ہے۔ مجلس وحدت مسلمین کے زیر اہتمام علمدار روڑ پر بی بی زینب سلام اللہ علیہا کی روضے کی بے حرمتی کیخلاف ایک احتجاجی ریلی کا انعقاد ہوا ۔ریلی کے شرکاء سے اس بے حرمتی پر شدید غم و غصے کا اظہار کیا ۔ریلی کے شرکاء سے مجلس وحدت مسلمین پاکستان کے رہنما علامہ سید ہاشم موسوی ،رکن ضلعی شوریٰ علامہ ولایت حسین جعفری نے خطاب کیا جبکہ اس موقع پر ایم ڈبلیو ایم کے رکن بلوچستان اسمبلی آغا سید محمد رضا بھی موجود تھے۔ مقررین نے خطاب کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ ہمیں حیرت ہیں اس عالم اسلام کی خاموشی پر کہ آل ِ رسول (ص) کے روضہ مبارک پر حملہ کرنے والے نام نہاد مسلمان ہیں جنکا اسلام اور اسلام کے تعلیمات سے دور دور تک کا بھی کوئی واسطہ نہیں ہے اسلام تو عام قبور کے احترام کا درس دیتا ہے اور عالم اسلام کیلئے بی بی زینب سلام اللہ علیہا کا روضہ ایک قیمتی اثاثہ ہے اور عالم اسلام کے حقیقی پیروکار روضہ مقد س اور دیگر مذہبی مقامات کی حفاظت کرنا جانتے ہیں اور اس کیلئے کسی قسم کی بھی قربانی دینے سے گریز نہیں کرینگے ۔عالم اسلام اپنا مذہبی فریضہ سمجھتے ہوئے نام نہاد مسلمانوں کیخلاف آواز حق بلند کر ے اور اس سلسلہ میں کسی بھی مصلحت سے کام نہ لے ورنہ بروز قیامت رسول اللہ (ص)کا کس منہ سے سامنا کرینگے ۔اُمت کے اتفاق و بیداری ہی سے امریکہ و اسرائیل و نام نہاد مسلم ایجنٹوں کی موت ہے واقعہ کربلا نے یہ ثابت کر دیا ہے کہ حسینیت ہمیشہ زندہ آبادہے اور یزیدیت ہمیشہ کیلئے مردہ آباد ہے ۔آواز حق بلند کرنا درس قرآن کا ہے۔ مجلس وحدت مسلمین کے زیر اہتمام علمدار روڑ پر بی بی زینب سلام اللہ علیہا کی روضے کی بے حرمتی کیخلاف ایک احتجاجی ریلی کا انعقاد ہوا ۔ریلی کے شرکاء سے اس بے حرمتی پر شدید غم و غصے کا اظہار کیا ۔ریلی کے شرکاء سے مجلس وحدت مسلمین پاکستان کے رہنما علامہ سید ہاشم موسوی ،رکن ضلعی شوریٰ علامہ ولایت حسین جعفری نے خطاب کیا جبکہ اس موقع پر ایم ڈبلیو ایم کے رکن بلوچستان اسمبلی آغا سید محمد رضا بھی موجود تھے۔ مقررین نے خطاب کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ ہمیں حیرت ہیں اس عالم اسلام کی خاموشی پر کہ آل ِ رسول (ص) کے روضہ مبارک پر حملہ کرنے والے نام نہاد مسلمان ہیں جنکا اسلام اور اسلام کے تعلیمات سے دور دور تک کا بھی کوئی واسطہ نہیں ہے اسلام تو عام قبور کے احترام کا درس دیتا ہے اور عالم اسلام کیلئے بی بی زینب سلام اللہ علیہا کا روضہ ایک قیمتی اثاثہ ہے اور عالم اسلام کے حقیقی پیروکار روضہ مقد س اور دیگر مذہبی مقامات کی حفاظت کرنا جانتے ہیں اور اس کیلئے کسی قسم کی بھی قربانی دینے سے گریز نہیں کرینگے ۔عالم اسلام اپنا مذہبی فریضہ سمجھتے ہوئے نام نہاد مسلمانوں کیخلاف آواز حق بلند کر ے اور اس سلسلہ میں کسی بھی مصلحت سے کام نہ لے ورنہ بروز قیامت رسول اللہ (ص)کا کس منہ سے سامنا کرینگے ۔اُمت کے اتفاق و بیداری ہی سے امریکہ و اسرائیل و نام نہاد مسلم ایجنٹوں کی موت ہے واقعہ کربلا نے یہ ثابت کر دیا ہے کہ حسینیت ہمیشہ زندہ آبادہے اور یزیدیت ہمیشہ کیلئے مردہ آباد ہے ۔آواز حق بلند کرنا درس قرآن کا ہے۔ مجلس وحدت مسلمین کے زیر اہتمام علمدار روڑ پر بی بی زینب سلام اللہ علیہا کی روضے کی بے حرمتی کیخلاف ایک احتجاجی ریلی کا انعقاد ہوا ۔ریلی کے شرکاء سے اس بے حرمتی پر شدید غم و غصے کا اظہار کیا ۔ریلی کے شرکاء سے مجلس وحدت مسلمین پاکستان کے رہنما علامہ سید ہاشم موسوی ،رکن ضلعی شوریٰ علامہ ولایت حسین جعفری نے خطاب کیا جبکہ اس موقع پر ایم ڈبلیو ایم کے رکن بلوچستان اسمبلی آغا سید محمد رضا بھی موجود تھے۔ مقررین نے خطاب کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ ہمیں حیرت ہیں اس عالم اسلام کی خاموشی پر کہ آل ِ رسول (ص) کے روضہ مبارک پر حملہ کرنے والے نام نہاد مسلمان ہیں جنکا اسلام اور اسلام کے تعلیمات سے دور دور تک کا بھی کوئی واسطہ نہیں ہے اسلام تو عام قبور کے احترام کا درس دیتا ہے اور عالم اسلام کیلئے بی بی زینب سلام اللہ علیہا کا روضہ ایک قیمتی اثاثہ ہے اور عالم اسلام کے حقیقی پیروکار روضہ مقد س اور دیگر مذہبی مقامات کی حفاظت کرنا جانتے ہیں اور اس کیلئے کسی قسم کی بھی قربانی دینے سے گریز نہیں کرینگے ۔عالم اسلام اپنا مذہبی فریضہ سمجھتے ہوئے نام نہاد مسلمانوں کیخلاف آواز حق بلند کر ے اور اس سلسلہ میں کسی بھی مصلحت سے کام نہ لے ورنہ بروز قیامت رسول اللہ (ص)کا کس منہ سے سامنا کرینگے ۔اُمت کے اتفاق و بیداری ہی سے امریکہ و اسرائیل و نام نہاد مسلم ایجنٹوں کی موت ہے واقعہ کربلا نے یہ ثابت کر دیا ہے کہ حسینیت ہمیشہ زندہ آبادہے اور یزیدیت ہمیشہ کیلئے مردہ آباد ہے ۔آواز حق بلند کرنا درس قرآن کا ہے۔ مجلس وحدت مسلمین کے زیر اہتمام علمدار روڑ پر بی بی زینب سلام اللہ علیہا کی روضے کی بے حرمتی کیخلاف ایک احتجاجی ریلی کا انعقاد ہوا ۔ریلی کے شرکاء سے اس بے حرمتی پر شدید غم و غصے کا اظہار کیا ۔ریلی کے شرکاء سے مجلس وحدت مسلمین پاکستان کے رہنما علامہ سید ہاشم موسوی ،رکن ضلعی شوریٰ علامہ ولایت حسین جعفری نے خطاب کیا جبکہ اس موقع پر ایم ڈبلیو ایم کے رکن بلوچستان اسمبلی آغا سید محمد رضا بھی موجود تھے۔ مقررین نے خطاب کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ ہمیں حیرت ہیں اس عالم اسلام کی خاموشی پر کہ آل ِ رسول (ص) کے روضہ مبارک پر حملہ کرنے والے نام نہاد مسلمان ہیں جنکا اسلام اور اسلام کے تعلیمات سے دور دور تک کا بھی کوئی واسطہ نہیں ہے اسلام تو عام قبور کے احترام کا درس دیتا ہے اور عالم اسلام کیلئے بی بی زینب سلام اللہ علیہا کا روضہ ایک قیمتی اثاثہ ہے اور عالم اسلام کے حقیقی پیروکار روضہ مقد س اور دیگر مذہبی مقامات کی حفاظت کرنا جانتے ہیں اور اس کیلئے کسی قسم کی بھی قربانی دینے سے گریز نہیں کرینگے ۔عالم اسلام اپنا مذہبی فریضہ سمجھتے ہوئے نام نہاد مسلمانوں کیخلاف آواز حق بلند کر ے اور اس سلسلہ میں کسی بھی مصلحت سے کام نہ لے ورنہ بروز قیامت رسول اللہ (ص)کا کس منہ سے سامنا کرینگے ۔اُمت کے اتفاق و بیداری ہی سے امریکہ و اسرائیل و نام نہاد مسلم ایجنٹوں کی موت ہے واقعہ کربلا نے یہ ثابت کر دیا ہے کہ حسینیت ہمیشہ زندہ آبادہے اور یزیدیت ہمیشہ کیلئے مردہ آباد ہے ۔آواز حق بلند کرنا درس قرآن کا ہے۔ کوئٹہ، بی بی زینب (س) کی روضے پر حملے کیخلاف احتجاجی ریلی 35 photos See More — in Damascus, Syria. ========================== Terrorism: Hezbollah: White House applauds EU decision EU bent to the will of Israel, Hezbollah TV says 22 July, 20:15 Back Back Send Scrivi alla redazione Suggest prevnext (ANSAmed) - NEW YORK, JULY 22 - The EU's decision to blacklist the armed wing of Hezbollah sends a strong message that terrorist actions by the Lebanese Shiite movement will not go unpunished, White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Monday. Also on Monday, Hezbollah's Al Manar TV said ''Israel has bent the EU to its will'' and accused London of ''leading the campaign'' against Hezbollah. (ANSAmed). =============== EU adds Hezbollah's military wing to terrorism list Mon, Jul 22 17:25 PM EDT By Justyna Pawlak and Adrian Croft BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union agreed on Monday to put the armed wing of Hezbollah on its terrorism blacklist, a move driven by concerns over the Lebanese militant group's involvement in a deadly bus bombing in Bulgaria and the Syrian war. The powerful Lebanese Shi'ite movement, an ally of Iran, has attracted concern in Europe and around the world in recent months for its role in sending thousands of fighters to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces, helping turn the tide of Syria's two-year-old civil war. Britain and the Netherlands have long pressed their EU peers to impose sanctions on the Shi'ite Muslim group, citing evidence it was behind an attack in the coastal Bulgarian city of Burgas a year ago that killed five Israelis and their driver. Until now, many EU capitals had resisted lobbying from Washington and Israel to blacklist the group, warning such a move could fuel instability in Lebanon and in the Middle East. Hezbollah, which functions as a political party that is part of the Lebanese government and as a militia with thousands of guerrillas under arms, rejected the EU's "aggressive and unjust decision which is not based on any proof or evidence". EU states had taken a dangerous step at the behest of the United States and Israel, Hezbollah's staunchest foes, it said in a statement which described the declaration as "written by American hands, in Zionist ink". Lebanese caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour said the decision was "hasty" and could lead to further sanctions against the movement that would complicate Lebanese politics. "This will hinder Lebanese political life in the future, especially considering our sensitivities in Lebanon," he told Reuters. "We need to tighten bonds among Lebanese parties, rather than create additional problems." The blacklisting opens the way for EU governments to freeze any assets Hezbollah's military wing may have in Europe. "There's no question of accepting terrorist organizations in Europe," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters. Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans said in a statement that the EU had taken an important step by "dealing with the military wing of Hezbollah, freezing its assets, hindering its fundraising and thereby limiting its capacity to act". In the United States, Secretary of State John Kerry said Syria was an important factor behind the EU vote. "A growing number of governments are recognizing Hezbollah as the dangerous and destabilizing terrorist organization that it is," he said. QUESTIONING EFFECTIVENESS By limiting the listing to the armed wing, the EU was trying to avoid damaging its relations with Lebanon's government, but the split may complicate its ability to enforce the decision in practical terms. Hezbollah does not formally divide itself into armed and political wings, and Amal Saad Ghorayeb, who wrote a book on the group, said identifying who the ban would apply to will be difficult. "It is a political, more than a judicial decision. It can't have any real, meaningful judicial implications," she said, adding it appeared to be a "a PR move" to hurt Hezbollah's international standing, more connected with events in Syria than with the case in Bulgaria. Israel's deputy foreign minister Zeev Elkin welcomed the step, but said the entire group should have been targeted. "We (Israel) worked hard, along with a number of countries in Europe, in order to bring the necessary materials and prove there was a basis for a legal decision," he told Israel Radio. British Foreign Secretary William Hague sought to allay concerns about the practical impact of the decision, saying it would allow for better cooperation among European law enforcement officials in countering Hezbollah activities. Hezbollah parliamentary member al-Walid Soukariah said the decision puts Europe "in confrontation with this segment of people in our region". "This step won't affect Hezbollah or the resistance. The resistance is present on Lebanese territory and not in Europe. It is not a terrorist group to carry out terrorist attacks in Europe, which is forbidden by religion." TRICKY RELATIONS The Iran-backed movement, set up with the aim of fighting Israel after its invasion of Lebanon three decades ago, has dominated politics in Beirut in recent years. In debating the blacklisting, many EU governments expressed concerns over maintaining Europe's relations with Lebanon. To soothe such worries, the ministers agreed to make a statement pledging to continue dialogue with all political groups. "We also agreed that the delivery of legitimate financial transfers to Lebanon and delivery of assistance from the European Union and its member states will not be affected," the EU's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said. Already on the EU blacklist are groups such as Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that rules the Gaza Strip, and Turkey's Kurdish militant group PKK. Their assets in Europe are frozen and they have no access to cash there, meaning they cannot raise money for their activities. Sanctions on Hezbollah go into effect this week. Hezbollah denies any involvement in last July's attack in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian interior minister said last week Sofia had no doubt the group was behind it. In support of its bid to impose sanctions, Britain has also cited a four-year jail sentence handed down by a Cypriot court in March to a Hezbollah member accused of plotting to attack Israeli interests on the island. The decision also comes at a time of strained relations between the EU and Israel after Brussels pushed ahead with plans to bar EU financial aid to Israeli organizations operating in the occupied Palestinian territories. EU foreign ministers held a video conference with Kerry who announced on Friday that Israel and the Palestinians had tentatively agreed to resume peace talks after three years. (Additional reporting by Beirut bureau and Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Editing by Michael Roddy) ============================

Syrian rebels threaten to target Shi'ite villages in Aleppo

Syrian rebels threaten to target Shi'ite villages in Aleppo Mon, Jul 01 14:04 PM EDT 6 of 9 BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels in the northern province of Aleppo on Monday threatened to seize two Shi'ite Muslim villages that back President Bashar al-Assad unless they surrendered to the opposition. Activists say both Nubl and Zahra villages had been reinforced by Assad's allies in the increasingly sectarian war, among them fighters from Iran and Lebanon's powerful Shi'ite guerrilla group, Hezbollah. "We announce our intention to liberate Nubl and Zahra from the regime and its shabbiha (pro-Assad militia), and from the Hezbollah and Iranian elements," the rebels said in an Internet video. The 27-month-old conflict, which pits mostly Sunni insurgents against Assad, from an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, has already killed more than 100,000 people and driven 1.7 million Syrians to seek refuge in neighboring countries. Assad's forces, spearheaded by Hezbollah, have made a number of gains since they seized the border town of Qusair last month. There have also been heavy clashes in Aleppo and surrounding districts, fuelling expectations that Assad aims to re-establish control of Syria's largest city. On Sunday rebels shot down a helicopter close to Nubl, which activists said had been carrying supplies to the villages. Authorities in Damascus said they were taking Education Ministry employees to supervise school exams. Seven employees and the helicopter crew were killed, they said. A video released by activists a few weeks earlier showed an army officer apparently recruiting Shi'ite villagers in Zahra and Nubl to form fighting units to support the army against the rebels. "PREVENT A SINGLE DROP OF BLOOD" "In order to prevent a single drop of blood from being spilled and to find a peaceful solution, we have set the following conditions," the video statement by the rebels said. Among the demands were the surrender of Assad's forces and their weapons, followed by a power sharing deal between the locals and the rebels. "If there is no response (to rebel demands for surrender) there will be a major military operation on those two villages," the statement said. The sectarian nature of the conflict has set regional Sunni Muslim powers - notably Gulf Arab states and Turkey - against Assad's Shi'ite Iranian and Hezbollah allies in a deepening proxy war on Syrian soil. Deputy U.S. Secretary of State William Burns, speaking at the end of a visit to neighboring Lebanon, condemned Hezbollah's military intervention in Syria. "Despite its membership in the Lebanese government, Hezbollah has decided to put its own interests and those of its foreign backers above those of the Lebanese people," Burns said. "We condemn in the strongest terms Hezbollah's actions in Syria. They ... stand in direct violation of Lebanon's disassociation policy (from Syria) and place the future of Lebanon at risk." Hezbollah's role in Syria, along with Sunni Islamist fighters smuggled over the border to fight for the Syrian rebels, has exacerbated sectarian tensions in Lebanon which is still scarred by its own 1975-1990 civil war. Fighting has broken out in the Mediterranean cities of Tripoli and Sidon, while rockets have been fired at a Hezbollah district of southern Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley. Saudi Arabia, which has accelerated armed support for the rebels according to Gulf sources, urged the European Union on Monday to arm Syrian rebels without delay. Riyadh and its partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council also called on the United Nations Security Council to meet to prevent a massacre in the central city of Homs, where Assad's forces have been waging an assault on rebel-held districts. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported heavy army bombardment and clashes with rebel fighters for a third day in the contested city, which sits on an axis connecting Damascus to the heartland of Assad's minority Alawite sect in the hills overlooking the Mediterranean. It said neither side appeared to be gaining any ground. (Editing by Andrew Heavens) ================================= Fatwa for make-up: Islamists target women in rebel-controlled Syrian territories Get short URL Published time: July 02, 2013 10:39 AFP Photo / Karim Sahib Share on tumblr Trends Syria unrest Tags Human rights, Law, Opposition, Politics, Protest, Religion, Syria Syrian rebels have issued a ban on women using make up or wearing “immodest dress” in a neighborhood in the city of Aleppo. Critics have blasted the move as another attempt by Islamists to impose Sharia in rebel-controlled territory. The fatwa (an order based on Sharia law) was issued by the Islamic law council in Aleppo's Fardous neighborhood. "Muslim women are banned from leaving the house in immodest dress, in tight clothing that shows off their bodies or wearing makeup on their face. It is incumbent on all our sisters to obey God and commit to Islamic etiquette," the statement on the Fardous council's Facebook page says as cited by Reuters, which reports that Aleppo residents have confirmed the news. Some of the comments showed support for the ruling, arguing there was nothing wrong in requiring that people follow “certain etiquette in public". Critics lashed out at the Islamist-led rebels for abusing their power. The women’s clothing fatwa has been viewed as the latest example of Islamic radicalism growing within rebel-controlled Syrian areas. A video released a few days ago features public beheadings of alleged Assad loyalists. The executed men were Christians according to some media reports, with one of the dead being a priest. Various local sources have accused Jabhat al Nusra – the Al Qaeda-affiliated radical Islamist group opposed to Syrian President Bashar Assad– of carrying out the killings. At the beginning of June a teenage boy in the northern city of Aleppo was allegedly executed for blasphemy in front of his family by an al-Qaeda-affiliated opposition group. But European MP Nick Griffin, who was in Damascus with a fact-finding delegation in June, argues Syrians are not going to accept the implementation of harsh Sharia laws. “We’ve been able to talk with ordinary Syrians at all sorts of different levels. Something that comes out from all those people who we speak to is that Syria wasn’t perfect, but it was a secular and tolerant state where no one even cared if someone was Sunni or Shia or Christian or Jewish,” Griffin told RT after his visit. Imposing Sharia could backfire against the anti-Assad forces as the most recent events in Egypt suggest. The 2011 revolt saw Islamists come to power in the North African state and attempt to push through a Sharia constitution. The move eventually sparked an even greater uprising, with millions now in the streets protesting the “islamization” of their country. “All [Morsi] has done is introduce or he tried to introduce that fundamental constitution that would turn Egypt into a Sharia state. Most Egyptians don’t want that. They want to have their religion in private, but not to have the state dictate to them exactly what it is going to look like,” political analyst and author William Engdahl told RT. ======================

U.S. to increase military support to Syria rebels

حزب اللہ کے سیکریٹری جنرل نے کہا کہ شام میں تکفیری گروہ قتل، ذبح اور چھری پھیرنے کی باتیں کر رہے ہیں اور ایسے اقدامات بھی کررہے ہیں، ان کی کوشش ہے کہ اب مذہبی منافرت اور فرقہ واریت کا کارڈ استعمال کریں، جن کے پاس منطق اور عقل نہ ہو وہ ایسا ہی کرتا ہے۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ کچھ معروف عربی ٹی وی چینلز اسی طرح انٹرنیٹ اخبارات سب میں یہی صورت حال ہے البتہ ہمارے حوالے سے یہ کوئی نئی بات نہیں لیکن مذہبی منافرت اور فرقہ واریت کی یہ کوششیں بزدلانہ عمل ہے۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ شام کے مسئلے میں ہم دو سال سے کہتے آئے ہیں اور کوشش کی ہے کہ مذاکرات سے حل ہو اور ہم اب بھی یہی چاہتے ہیں۔ انہوں نے شام میں اسلامی تحریک مزاحمت کی موجودگی کے بارے میں کہا کہ اس بحران میں ہم آخری تھے جو عملی طور پر اور انتہائی محدود پیمانے پر وارد ہوئے ہیں کیونکہ ہم دیکھ رہے ہیں کہ شام میں امریکہ اور اسرائیل ایک ایسے وسیع ایجنڈے کو نافذ کرنا چاہتے ہیں جس سے نہ صرف وہ شام بلکہ خطے میں فلسطین قبل اول سمیت متعدد اہم مسائل کو اپنے حق میں کرنا چاہتے ہیں، ہمیں اس ایجنڈے کا مکمل ادراک ہے اور یہ ایجنڈا پورے خطے کو تباہ و برباد کرے گا۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ آپ مجھے بتائیں کہ جسے یہ شامی اپوزیشن کہہ رہے ہیں وہ کون ہے؟ کیا شام کی عوام ہے؟ شامی اپوزیشن کی چھتری تلے دسیوں ہزار غیر ملکی مسلح افراد جو پوری دنیا سے اکھٹے ہوئے ہیں کو جمع کیا گیا اور عرب ممالک ان کی پشت پر بیٹھے ہیں اور جمہوریت اور تبدیلی کی بات کر رہے ہیں جن کے اپنے ملک میں انتخابات تک نہیں ہوتے۔ United States to meet Taliban to seek Afghan peace عراقی معروف شیعہ انقلابی رہنما سید مقتدیٰ الصدر نے شام میں دہشت گردوں کی ہرزہ سرائیوں پر شدید تشویش کا اظہار کرتے ہوئے القاعدہ کے ناصبی تکفیری دہشت گردوں کے سرغنہ کو خبر دار کرتے ہوئے نتیجہ خیز وارننگ دی ہے اور کہا ہے کہ القاعدہ دہشت گرد شا م میں دہشت گردانہ کاروائیوں کا سلسلہ فی الفور بند کر دے۔ Sayyed Nasrallah said that since the start of the crisis in Syria Hezbollah had a clear view that there was a scheme that has repercussions on Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, the region, the Muslims, the Christians, the Sunnites and the Shiites. His eminence pointed out that the resistance through its decisions is defending Lebanon, its land and its state. The resistance leader stressed that what’s coming on in Syria is not between a regime and people, saying: “This issue is over. There are sides who don’t care for the people killed, they just want for the regime to fall. They imagine that the alternative for this regime is another one. However the alternative is the chaos.” His eminence noted that the Syrian people are parted, some is with the regime and the other is against it, adding: “And we are with the regime. We are also with reforms.” “We are with people who call for reforms, whether they are with the regime or against it. However we are against those who are destroying Syria,” Sayyed Nasrallah told crowds. Sayyed Nasrallah: Mistaken Who Thinks That Takfiris Can Change Our Position inShare.0diggSaturday, 15 June 2013 08:46Written by Shiitenews Reporter Hits: 34 Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah stressed that the resistance will be where it should, assuring that the struggle in Syria is between two projects and not between two sects. During a ceremony held by Hezbollah for the occasion of the Injured Fighter Day, Sayyed Nasrallah said that post-Qusayr stage is the same of pre-Qusayr since no change in developments taking place in Syria. In this context, he stressed that the accusations of unbelief launched by Takfiris will not change the position of the resistance, and “who thinks that he can force us to change our stance through killing and terrifying is mistaken.” As he said that the resistance is not interested in the battle taking place in Syria, Sayyed Nasrallah said that Hezbollah should be engaged in this battle since it is aimed at destroying the whole region, not only Syria. His eminence pointed out that Hezbollah is the last side to take part in the Syrian fight, since there are many Lebanese parties, including al-Mustaqbal party, who were engaged in the struggle before. Clear View for the Crisis in Syria Sayyed Nasrallah said that since the start of the crisis in Syria Hezbollah had a clear view that there was a scheme that has repercussions on Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, the region, the Muslims, the Christians, the Sunnites and the Shiites. His eminence pointed out that the resistance through its decisions is defending Lebanon, its land and its state. The resistance leader stressed that what’s coming on in Syria is not between a regime and people, saying: “This issue is over. There are sides who don’t care for the people killed, they just want for the regime to fall. They imagine that the alternative for this regime is another one. However the alternative is the chaos.” His eminence noted that the Syrian people are parted, some is with the regime and the other is against it, adding: “And we are with the regime. We are also with reforms.” “We are with people who call for reforms, whether they are with the regime or against it. However we are against those who are destroying Syria,” Sayyed Nasrallah told crowds. On the other hand, he said that talks about starting to arm the Syrian opposition is false since providing arms to the foreign-backed militants who are fighting the Syrian government is taking place since long ago. Hezbollah The Latest Side to Take Part in Syria Fight Meanwhile, Sayyed Nasrallah said that Hezbollah was the latest Lebanese side to take part in the Syrian fight, noting that many other parties have been engaged in the Syrian crisis even before Hezbollah was. “We didn’t keep our participation in the Syrian fight a secret. We didn’t say that we are offering milk and blankets,” Sayyed Nasrallah said, referring to al-Mustaqbal party MP Oqab Saqr who denied that his party is engaged in the Syrian crisis. “… And if our fighters are killed in the battle in Syria we don’t burry them there and silence their families in Lebanon,” Sayyed Nasrallah added. Sayyed Nasrallah also assured that the struggle in Syria is not sectarian, noting that those who are presenting it as a sectarian struggle are weak. He called for exerting efforts in a bid to face some Arab channels which are inciting for sedition and giving the struggle sectarian explanations through fabrications. “We won’t change our position through fabrications, killing and terrifying,” his eminence said, noting that post-Qusayr is the same stage as pre-Qusayr. He said that the other side of the struggle is determined to go ahead with it, stressing that the resistance is to be where it should be as it will hold the responsibility it had held from the beginning of the crisis. Sayyed Nasrallah also pointed out that Hezbollah is ready to debate over Syria, noting in this context that some sides are offering initiatives that need to be discussed. Call for Self Restraint Talking about the Local issues, the resistance leader said that there nothing new concerning the issue of the elections, noting that the Lebanese are awaiting the decision of the constitutional council to know if the elections are to take place or not. His eminence urged the utmost degrees of self restraint and the avoidance of any form of fight and tension. “We urge the Lebanese, Palestinians and Syrians who are in the Lebanese territories to practice the utmost degrees of self restraint, especially the crowds of the resistance.” He also slammed what some Lebanese people are doing of shooting bullets in the air, saying that this action is being a noticeably increasing in Lebanon. His eminence called for the halt of this phenomenon, saying it’s rejected since it harm and bother others. “The phenomenon of shooting in the air has noticeably increased nowadays and during every occasion,” Sayyed Nasrallah said, adding: “we asked clerics across Iran and Iraq about the issue of shooting in the air. The only answer was that it is forbidden to do so.” Concerning the rockets fired on some Bekaa towns, Sayyed Nasrallah said that some media outlets are circulating rumors that these rockets are fired from the town of Ersal, in a bid to explain the issue by sectarian means. Hi eminence stressed that rockets fired on Sareen, Baalbeck and Hernel were not from Ersal, saying that armed groups in Syria are who are firing them and promising that this issue will be over soon. He warned in this context that media outlets along with intelligence services are working hard to incite sedition between Sunnites and Shiites. Resistance Saved Lebanon Talking about the occasion, Sayyed Nasrallah saluted the injured fighters along with their families who sacrificed for the sake of their country, stressing that Lebanon was liberated thanks to resistance and its fighters. “The resistance, with this sacrifice, liberated Lebanon from the Israeli occupation. It saved Lebanon and its history should not be forgotten.” In this context his eminence warned that “there is a huge media campaign which is working to defame the image and the history of the resistance.” The resistance leader dismissed talks about uprooting Hezbollah of the Lebanese structure as saying: “We were born here, we were grown up here, we lived here and we will be buried here… No one can root us up.” “One of the most powerful armies in the world was crushed by our fighters in Bint Jbeil, Maroun Ras… Who are these stupid people who are talking about rooting us up?” Iranian Elections: Festival of Democracy Meanwhile, Sayyed Nasrallah congratulated the Iranian leadership and the nation for the high public turnout in the Islamic Republic 11th presidential elections. "I want to congratulate Imam Khamenei and the Iranian nation for this festival of democracy, because this democracy strengthens the right positions in the region," he said. "Through this democracy, the Leader with all his powers has only one vote and the other Iranian citizens of different ethnicities are also at the same level. They participate in the election for the future of their country." His eminence hoped that some Arab countries witness similar democracy فَإِنَّ حِزْبَ اللَّـهِ هُمُ الْغَالِبُونَ ۔۔ (اللہ کی ہی جماعت غالب آنے والی ہے۔) سورة المائدة۔ قائد حزب اللہ سید حسن نصر اللہ کا لبنان سے کیا جانے والا شام اور مشرق وسطی میں مجاہدین اسلام کی القصیر میں ناصبی سعودیوں کو شکست دینے کے بعد پیدا ہونے والی صورتحال پر خطاب پاکستان میں امریکی اور اسرائیلی سازش کا شکار ہو گیا۔ تقریر جو کہ المنار ٹی وی کی ویب سائٹ سے براہ راست نشر ہونے والی تھی،،، المنار کی ویب ساٹ اور آی پی کو بلاک کر دیا گیا۔ لیکن جیسے ہی سید حسن نصر اللہ کا خطاب ختم ہوا امریکی ایما پر بلاک کی گئی ویب سائٹ کو کھول دیا گیا۔ یہ اس بات کا ثبوٹ ہے کہ دشمن ہماری طاقت سے خوف زدہ ہے۔ اور ڈرتا ہے کہ اُسکی خقیقت کا پول دنیا کے سامنے نہ کھل جائے اور وہ طرح طرح کی مکروہ چالیں چلتا ہے۔۔ ... مگر خدا کا وعدہ ہے ۔۔۔۔ وَمَكَرُوا وَمَكَرَ اللَّـهُ ۖ وَاللَّـهُ خَيْرُ الْمَاكِرِينَ ۔۔ سورة آل عمران اور یہودیوں نے عیسٰی علیھ السّلام سے مکاری کی تو اللہ نے بھی جوابی تدبیر کی اور خدا بہترین تدبیر کرنے والا ہے۔ ____________________________________________________See More سید المقاومہ قائد حزب اللہ سید حسن نصر اللہ شام اور مشرق وسطی میں مجاہدین اسلام کی القصیر میں ناصبی سعودیوں کو شکست دینے کے بعد پیدا ہونے والی صورتحال پر آج شام پاکستانی وقت کے مطابق شام 7 اہم خطاب کریں گے جو شیعت نیوز کے قارئین شیعت نیوز پر براہ راست ملاحظہ کر سکتے ہیں شامي فوج نےشمالي شہر حلب ميں اپني پيشقدمي جاري رکھتے ہوئے نبتل اور الزہرا کے علاقوں ميں دہشتگردوں کے محاصر کو توڑنے کي کوشش کي ہے تاکہ ان علاقوں کے باشندوں کو مدد پہنچائي جاسکے – شامي فوج نے اسي طرح کفر حمرا اور کفرداعل علاقوں ميں بھي پيشقدمي کي ہے - حلب کے مضافتي علاقوں ميں شامي فوج کي پيشقدمي ميں سيکڑوں دہشتگرد مارے گئے ہيں اور ان کے قبضے سے بھاري مقدار ميں اسلحہ و گولہ بارود بھي برآمد ہوا ہے - تکفیریوں نے اس علاقے کے رہنے والے ایک شیعہ عالم دین حجۃ الاسلام و المسلمین سید ابراہیم السید کے کمسن بیٹے کو اس کی ماں کے سمیت تمام اہل خانہ کے سامنے ذبح کردیا۔ نضال الشعب السوری ضد بشار الأسد جائز ومشروع وتاریخی، لکن امریکا، ایران، حزب اللہ، السعودیة، قطر اختطفوا ھذا النضال وحولوہ صراعا طائفیا U.S. to increase military support to Syria rebels Fri, Jun 14 06:10 AM EDT 1 of 7 By Matt Spetalnick and Erika Solomon WASHINGTON/BEIRUT (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has authorized sending U.S. weapons to Syrian rebels for the first time, a U.S. official said on Thursday after the White House said it has proof the Syrian government had used chemical weapons against opposition forces fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. The U.S. decision came as Assad's surging forces and their Lebanese Hezbollah allies turned their guns on the north, fighting near the northern city of Aleppo and bombarding the central city of Homs after having seized the initiative by winning the open backing of Hezbollah last month and capturing the strategic town of Qusair last week. The White House said Washington would provide "direct military support" to the opposition but did not specify whether it would include lethal aid, which would mark a reversal of Obama's resistance to arming the rebels. But the U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the package would include weapons. Syrian rebel and political opposition leaders immediately called for anti-aircraft and other sophisticated weaponry. The arrival of thousands of seasoned, Iran-backed Hezbollah Shi'ite fighters to help Assad combat the mainly Sunni rebellion has shifted momentum in the two-year-old war, which the United Nations said on Thursday had killed at least 93,000 people. U.S. and European officials anxious about the rapid change are meeting the commander of the main rebel fighting force, the Free Syrian Army, on Friday in Turkey. FSA chief Salim Idriss is expected to plead urgently for more help. Obama has been more cautious than Britain and France, which forced the European Union this month to lift an embargo that had blocked weapons for the rebels. After months of investigation, the White House on Thursday laid out its conclusions that chemical weapons were used by Assad's forces, but it stopped short of threatening specific actions in response to what Obama said would be a "game changer" for Washington's handling of the conflict. "The president ... has made it clear that the use of chemical weapons or transfer of chemical weapons to terrorist groups is a red line," said Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser. "He has said that the use of chemical weapons would change his calculus, and it has." 'CHEMICAL WEAPONS ... ON A SMALL SCALE' "Our intelligence community assesses that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons, including the nerve agent sarin, on a small scale against the opposition multiple times in the last year," Rhodes told reporters. He said the U.S. intelligence community had high confidence in the assessment and estimated that 100 to 150 people had died from detected chemical weapons attacks in Syria to date. The U.S. announcement followed deliberations between Obama and his national security aides as pressure mounted at home and abroad for more forceful action on the Syria conflict, including a sharp critique from former President Bill Clinton. Rhodes said the U.S. military assistance to the rebels would be different in "both scope and scale" from what had been authorized before, which included non-lethal equipment such as night-vision goggles and body armor. "We want anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons," George Sabra, acting leader of the National Coalition political opposition bloc, told Al-Arabiya television. "We expect to see positive results and genuine military support." U.S. Senator John McCain, who said he had been told by a reliable source that Washington would provide arms to the rebels, called for the establishment of a no-fly zone and said the United States needed to neutralize Assad's air power. "They (rebels) have enough light weapons. They've got enough AK-47s. AK-47s don't do very well against tanks," McCain told CNN. "They need anti-tank weapons and they need anti-air weapons." The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials, reported that the administration's proposal included a no-fly zone stretching up to 25 miles inside Syria. Western governments that predicted months ago that Assad would soon fall now believe that support from Tehran and Hezbollah are giving him the upper hand. But they also worry that sending arms to rebel fighters could empower Sunni Islamist insurgents who have pledged their loyalty to al Qaeda. While Britain and France have yet to announce their own decisions to start arming the rebels, their diplomats have been making the case that the best way to counter both threats is to beef up support for Idriss' mainstream rebel force. Strengthening the FSA with money, weapons and ammunition, they argue, would help combat Assad and also provide a counterweight among the rebels to al Qaeda-linked groups. France in particular has developed good relations with Idriss while providing funds and non-lethal support, and seems eager to send him military aid. FIGHT FOR ALEPPO Assad's government says its next move will be to recapture Aleppo in the north, Syria's biggest city and commercial hub, which has been divided since last year when advancing rebels seized most of the countryside around it. Syrian state media have been touting plans for "Northern Storm," a looming campaign to recapture the rebel-held north. The United Nations, which raised its death toll for the war to 93,000 on Thursday, said it was concerned about the fate of residents if a new offensive is launched. "All of the reports I'm receiving are of augmentation of resources and forces (for an Aleppo offensive) on the part of the government," U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay told Reuters Television. Assad's army appears to be massing some troops in its footholds in Aleppo province, particularly in Shi'ite areas such as the enclaves of Nubel and Zahra, although some opposition activists say the government may be exaggerating the extent of its offensive to intimidate rebel supporters. Activists reported fighting in the area around Aleppo on Thursday, especially near an airport that rebels have been trying to capture. The government has also launched an offensive in Homs, the closest big city to its last victory in Qusair and one of the last major rebel strongholds in the country's centre. "There was a fourth day of escalations today on the besieged neighborhoods of Homs' old city. Early in the morning, there were two air strikes ... followed by artillery and mortar shelling," said Jad, an activist from Homs speaking via Skype. Ahmed al-Ahmed, an activist in Aleppo, said the government's reinforcements in the north were just a distraction from Homs. "They've turned the world's attention to watching northern Aleppo and fearing an attack and massacres as happened to our people in Qusair, to get us to forget Homs, which is the decisive battle." Hezbollah's participation has deepened the sectarian character of the war, with Assad, a member of the Alawite offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, backed by Shi'ite Iran and Hezbollah, while Sunni-ruled Arab states and Turkey back the rebels. The 7th century rift between Sunni and Shi'ite Islam has fueled violence across the Middle East in recent decades, including the sectarian bloodletting unleashed in Iraq since the 2003 U.S. invasion and the Lebanese civil war of 1975 to 1990. Leading Sunni Muslim clerics met in Cairo on Thursday and issued a call to jihad against Assad and his allies on Thursday, condemning the conflict as a "war on Islam. (Additional reporting by Mariam Karouny in Beirut; Stephanie Nebehay and Tom Miles in Geneva; John Irish in Paris; Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman; Omar Fahmy and Asma Alsharif in Egypt; Roberta Rampton, Mark Felsenthal, Jeff Mason and Susan Heavey in Washington; Writing by Peter Graff and Jim Loney; Editing by Mike Collett-White and Peter Cooney)