Fighting erupts in central Syria amid Russian airstrikes

Oct. 7, 2015 3:44 AM EDT Mideast Syria New Reality In this Monday, Oct. 5, 2015 photo released by the Rased News Network, a Facebook account... Read more BEIRUT (AP) — Activists say Syrian troops backed by Russian airstrikes are battling insurgents in central Syria. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says a government offensive began on four fronts Wednesday in the northwestern provinces of Idlib and neighboring Hama. Observatory director Rami Abdurrahman says it is "the most intense fighting in months." Activist Ahmad al-Ahmad, who is currently in Idlib, says government troops are "heavily" shelling central areas after rebels attacked an army post and destroyed a tank. The latest developments come exactly a week after Russia began launching airstrikes in Syria. Moscow says it is targeting the Islamic State group and al-Qaida's Syrian affiliate, but at least some of the strikes appear to have hit Western-backed rebel factions

Russia begins Syria air strikes as war enters volatile new phase

Wed Sep 30, 2015 | 4:00 PM EDT 2:26 PM EDT | 00:46 Russia releases video of air strikes in Syria Russia begins Syria air strikes as war enters...X By Andrew Osborn and Phil Stewart MOSCOW/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russia launched air strikes in Syria on Wednesday in the Kremlin's biggest Middle East intervention in decades, but Moscow's assertion that it had hit Islamic State was immediately disputed by the United States and rebels on the ground. The air strikes plunged the four-year-old civil war in Syria into a volatile new phase as President Vladimir Putin moved forcefully to assert Russian influence in the unstable region. The attacks also raised the dangerous specter of Washington and Moscow running air strikes concurrently and in the same region, but without coordination. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said he had directed U.S. military officials to meet with their Russian counterparts "as soon as possible" to discuss ways to make sure they do not come into conflict. The United States said a Russian official in Baghdad warned it to keep American aircraft that have been pressing a daily bombing campaign against Islamic State positions to stay out of Syrian airspace during Moscow's air strikes. But the United States continued its air operations, saying it targeted Islamic State near the Syrian city of Aleppo. Putin said he was striking against Islamic State and helping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, long Russia's closest ally in the region, in this aim. But Washington is concerned that Moscow is more interested in propping up Assad, who the United States has long held should leave office, than in beating Islamic State. Assad's opponents in the brutal civil war include rebel groups that oppose both him and Islamic State and that are supported by the United States and other Western countries. The Russian defense ministry said it carried out about 20 flights over Syria, hitting eight Islamic State targets and destroying an Islamic State command post and an operations center in a mountainous area, Russian agencies reported. Syrians living in rebel-held areas of Homs province said the violence unleashed by the Russian air force unleashed a whole new level of devastation on their towns. Jets flying at higher altitudes than the Syrian air force emitted no noise to alert the people below to raids reported to have killed at least 33 civilians, including children. Moscow's intervention means the conflict in Syria has been transformed in a few months from a proxy war, in which outside powers were arming and training mostly Syrians to fight each other, to an international conflict in which the world’s main military powers except China are directly involved in fighting. Russia joined the United States and its Arab allies, Turkey, France, Iran and Israel in direct intervention, with Britain expected to join soon, if it gets parliamentary approval. Carter said of the strikes, "It does appear that they were in areas where there probably were not ISIL forces, and that is precisely one of the problems with this whole approach." ISIL is one of the acronyms for Islamic State, which has seized control of large areas of Syria and Iraq over the past year. Notice of the attack came from a Russian official in Baghdad who asked the United States to avoid Syrian airspace during the mission, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said. DANGER IN THE SKIES Russia, U.S. face off at U.N. over parallel Syria air campaigns Russian air strikes unleash new devastation in Syrian region, say residents Moscow's move meant that warplanes from both the United States and Russia will be sharing the skies above Syria. "In this heated situation there is a great danger of further misunderstandings," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said at the United Nations. Reflecting growing tension between the big powers, U.S. Secretary John Kerry phoned his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov early on Wednesday to tell him the United States regarded the strikes as dangerous, a U.S. official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Russia was moving to "ramp up" support for Assad, adding, "They've made a significant military investment now in further popping him up." Earnest called it "an indication of how concerned they are about losing influence in the one client state that they have in the Middle East." At least 200,000 people have been killed and millions driven from their homes since the civil war began in 2011 when Assad's forces moved to crush peaceful protests against his family's four-decade rule. ==================== Thu Oct 1, 2015 | 9:23 AM EDT Assad allies, including Iranians, prepare ground attack in Syria: sources Syria's President Bashar al-Assad answers questions during an interview with al-Manar's journalist Amro Nassef, in Damascus, Syria, in this handout photograph released by Syria's national news agency SANA on August 25, 2015. REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters Syria's President Bashar al-Assad answers questions during an interview with al-Manar's journalist Amro Nassef, in Damascus, Syria, in this handout photograph released by Syria's national news agency SANA on August 25, 2015. Reuters/SANA/Handout via Reuters Assad allies, including Iranians, prepare ground. By Laila Bassam BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hundreds of Iranian troops have arrived in Syria in the last 10 days and will soon join government forces and their Lebanese Hezbollah allies in a major ground offensive backed by Russian air strikes, two Lebanese sources told Reuters. "The (Russian) air strikes will in the near future be accompanied by ground advances by the Syrian army and its allies," said one of the sources familiar with political and military developments in the conflict. "It is possible that the coming land operations will be focused in the Idlib and Hama countryside," the source added. The two sources said the operation would be aimed at recapturing territory lost by President Bashar al-Assad's government to rebels. It points to an emerging military alliance between Russia and Assad's other main allies - Iran and Hezbollah - focused on recapturing areas of northwestern Syria that were seized by insurgents in rapid advances earlier this year. "The vanguard of Iranian ground forces began arriving in Syria: soldiers and officers specifically to participate in this battle. They are not advisors ... we mean hundreds with equipment and weapons. They will be followed by more," the second source said. Iraqis would also take part in the operation, the source said. Thus far, direct Iranian military support for Assad has come mostly in the form of military advisors. Iran has also mobilized Shi'ite militia fighters, including Iraqis and some Afghans, to fight alongside Syrian government forces. Lebanon's Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, has been fighting alongside the Syrian army since early in the conflict. The Russian air force began air strikes in Syria on Wednesday, targeting areas near the cities of Homs and Hama in the west of the country, where Assad's forces are fighting an array of insurgent groups, though not Islamic State, which is based mostly in the north and east. An alliance of insurgent groups including the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and powerful Ahrar al-Sham made rapid gains in Idlib province earlier this year, completely expelling the government from the area bordering Turkey. (Reporting by Laila Bassam; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Samia Nakhoul and Peter Graff) ============================================

Hezbollah parliamentarian: We will defend Lebanon from IS

Hezbollah parliamentarian: We will defend Lebanon from IS BEIRUT — Hezbollah is ready to confront jihadist groups in defending Lebanon, according to Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayyad. In an exclusive interview, Fayyad told Al-Monitor, “Hezbollah is determined to fight takfiri groups.” He said, “If the situation were to worsen, Hezbollah is ready to defend Lebanon.” Fayyad described Lebanon as being “under direct threat” from the Islamic State (IS). Summary⎙ Print In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayyad said Lebanon was under direct threat from the Islamic State and that Hezbollah stood ready to confront it. Author Ali Rizk Posted September 10, 2014 Translator(s)Steffi Chakti The northeastern Lebanese village of Arsal, adjacent to the Syrian border, has been the scene of violent clashes between the Lebanese army and jihadist militants from IS and Jabhat al-Nusra. A number of Lebanese army soldiers and security personnel were taken captive by the jihadists during these clashes, and two of them were executed by IS. Fayyad said Hezbollah was working with border villages to improve their security, but that it was ultimately the role of the Lebanese state to develop a security strategy for the border areas threatened by terrorist groups. “Hezbollah is not training groups. Many Christian border villages asked for our help to protect these towns and for military cooperation,” he said. “We have a principle: This task is that of the Lebanese state and the Lebanese army. Hezbollah is ready to cooperate as part of the Lebanese social fabric.” While acknowledging that the presence of Syrian refugees is having “negative effects” on the country, Fayyad holds that civilian Syrian refugees should not be blamed for terrorist activity. “We cannot hold civilians responsible for what terrorist groups, which have taken refuge in camps, are doing,” he said. Fayyad welcomed any military aid provided to the Lebanese army, but said the aid provided by Western countries, like the United States, was insufficient to defeat the militant groups. “The [current] aid doesn’t allow the Lebanese army to be in a position where it can decide this battle in its favor,” Fayyad said. “Lebanon is in need of helicopters and missiles, which would help in changing the course of the battle, in addition to drones to track terrorist groups that are on the move in the mountains.” The Hezbollah parliament member also welcomed any military action against IS inside Syria on the condition that it would be in coordination with the Syrian government. In response to a question regarding possible US military action against IS in Syria, Fayyad said, “There now exists broad common ground in the Middle East in the name of confronting takfiri terrorism. And all efforts to confront this phenomenon are welcome but must take into consideration the sovereignty of states and not be an aggression against the sovereignty of this or that country.” Fayyad denied any direct or indirect communication between the United States and Hezbollah regarding IS and said that there were no official meetings taking place between Hezbollah and Saudi Arabia, although he welcomed the thaw in relations between Tehran and Riyadh. “We hope it will develop into a fruitful dialogue and will usher in results that are not limited to Iraq but extend to the whole region,” he said. The Hezbollah lawmaker categorically denied any military role for Hezbollah in Iraq, stating, “We have no military battlefield role in Iraq.” Hezbollah is, however, working on repairing relations between Hamas and the Syrian government, Fayyad acknowledged. “We do not spare any effort to repair the dysfunction that befell relations between resistance powers,” he said. The text of the interview follows. Al-Monitor: Al-Monitor recently reported, citing Hezbollah sources, that Hezbollah was training protection committees in the Bekaa Valley in anticipation of a potential offensive by IS and its jihadist allies. What is Hezbollah’s assessment of the jihadist threat to Lebanon, and is Lebanon ready to handle IS? Fayyad: The IS threat is serious on the level of the whole region, and this issue does not need affirmation. What is happening in Iraq and Syria is stark. Lebanon is also in the eye of the storm, and in previous times, it dealt with security incidents that targeted various residential areas in Bekaa and the southern suburbs of Beirut, leaving scores of dead and wounded. IS and Jabhat al-Nusra are explicitly saying that they want to move forward with policies of security aggression. Additionally, there is a serious threat along the eastern border with Syria in the Qalamoun mountain range, which is home to thousands of militants. On Aug. 2, they attacked the town of Arsal and took members of the army and police hostage, beheading [two of them] and threatening to behead more. IS constitutes a threat to Lebanon for different reasons. The first is tactical and related to the need of these militants to settle in a town before winter sets in. The second is strategic, as these militants need to have a route to the coast and to a maritime port in the Akkar Valley. This is why Akkar and the north are among their targets. The third is dogmatic, wherein Lebanon is a part of the geography of the caliphate that they proclaimed. For all these reasons, Lebanon is under direct threat. Hezbollah is not training groups. Many Christian border villages asked for our help to protect these towns and for military cooperation. We have a principle: This task is that of the Lebanese state and the Lebanese army. Hezbollah is ready to cooperate as part of the Lebanese social fabric. Yet, this is the task of the Lebanese army and security apparatuses. We have a role in Qalamoun on the Lebanese-Syrian borders, and we understand that our role is related to protecting the Lebanese borders, the Lebanese entity and the political-social formula in Lebanon. Al-Monitor: What form does this “supportive role” you mentioned take? Fayyad: This role is inside Lebanon as well, because the border villages are witnessing a popular movement [aimed at] providing protection. We are part of this movement. However, we are not playing an organized military or security role to protect these villages, especially in regard to Christian- and Druze-dominated towns. This is the role of the Lebanese state, and we are ready to be part of a comprehensive national cooperation process. Certainly, there is currently a general feeling — in particular on the part of minorities and especially Christians — that Hezbollah is a protection army for the Christians and minorities in Lebanon, given our work in the Qalamoun mountain range. This, however, does not in any case cancel the role of the state, which is to protect citizens. Al-Monitor: How do you view the military assistance provided to the Lebanese army by the United States, France and Saudi Arabia? Do you believe it will make a difference in the fight against IS? Fayyad: The arms that Lebanon is receiving in the form of aid from Western countries are not qualitative. Lebanon is in need of helicopters and missiles, which would help in changing the course of the battle, in addition to drones to track terrorist groups that are on the move in the mountains. Until this moment, we cannot deny the Western aid to the Lebanese army, and we welcome all aid. However, and honestly, this aid does not allow Lebanon to be in a position where it can decide this battle to its favor. Al-Monitor: If that is the situation, could Hezbollah intervene out of the necessity to decide the course of this battle? Fayyad: It is no secret that we are playing an effective role in the Qalamoun mountain range on the Lebanese-Syrian border. We are determined to fight extremist groups similar to al-Qaeda, mainly IS, Jabhat al-Nusra and other extremist groups. In fact, we do not differentiate between these groups, as they share a similar ideology and goals. Only the details differ. At the end of the day, they all have the same extremist vision and aim of uprooting minorities. This is why we are determined to fight these groups. If the situation were to worsen, Hezbollah is ready to defend Lebanon. Al-Monitor: Inside Lebanon? Fayyad: Let us wait and see how things play out. Al-Monitor: [Future Movement leader] Saad Hariri’s return to Lebanon was seen as the result of an understanding between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Is there an understanding between the two regional powers to prevent jihadists from reaching Lebanon? Has Hezbollah been in direct contact with Saudi Arabia in this regard? Fayyad: There is no official communication between Hezbollah and Saudi Arabia. Some normal meetings with the Saudi ambassador to Beirut take place on different occasions, but we cannot say that there is a dialogue between Hezbollah and Saudi Arabia. Al-Monitor: Are these periodic meetings? Fayyad: No, they take place on different occasions. In the past and before the relations became tense, we held periodic meetings. Openness and dialogue between Iran and Saudi Arabia are certainly starting to take shape, given the visit of Iranian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Hussein Amir Abdel Lahyan and the positive statements of Iran’s ambassador to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, who considered the results of the visit to be positive and constructive, hoping it will carry positive repercussions for the situation in the region. Moreover, the statements of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif about his readiness to visit Saudi Arabia and receive his Saudi counterpart constitute a good start. We hope it will develop into a fruitful dialogue and will usher in results that are not limited to Iraq but extend to the whole region. In fact, we do not believe that the conflicts and confrontations between Islamic states and Sunnis and Shiites in the region have a future. It is a mill of blood with no future or sense. We call for an alternative strategy, which is a strategy of communication, dialogue and attempts toward reaching an understanding over different issues. Al-Monitor: There is debate in the United States on whether it should seek cooperation with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the fight against IS. Do you welcome US military support in Syria against IS, and has Hezbollah been approached by Western states? Fayyad: We are currently facing a problem. There is a regional threat that is prone to becoming international at any moment, represented by IS. This is why IS should be dealt with as a problem threatening international security and peace. In this context, every country should play a serious and effective role in fighting this phenomenon. There now exists broad common ground in the Middle East in the name of confronting takfiri terrorism. And all efforts to confront this phenomenon are welcome but must take into consideration the sovereignty of states and not be an aggression against the sovereignty of this country or that country. Al-Monitor: Have certain messages been conveyed to you, as Hezbollah? Fayyad: No messages were conveyed to us, and we are not in any contact with the Americans. Al-Monitor: What about a third party? Are there any signals that point to US willingness to engage Hezbollah, given Hezbollah’s experience in fighting these groups? Fayyad: There is nothing new on the level of relations between the Americans and Hezbollah. Al-Monitor: There are some in the United States calling for intervening in Syria, while at the same time moving against Assad and enhancing the arming of what is called the “moderate opposition.” If this were to happen, what will be Hezbollah’s response? Fayyad: This game will not yield positive results in terms of reaching a political solution to the Syrian crisis. We call on all powers for an open confrontation, each [standing] their position, against extremist terrorism. We call on joining efforts to reach a political solution for the crisis in Syria, which does not exclude or impose prior conditions and that overcomes the impossible condition that requires Assad to exit the political process. Assad is the legitimate president of Syria, and regardless of this, he enjoys a broad base of representation. Any proposal for Assad stepping down constitutes an impossible condition that impedes a political solution. We want to reach a political solution that fosters a real democracy, and the people are the ones who determine the future of Syria and choose the leadership. We do not mind transparency and [the provision of] guarantees under international supervision on all levels. Al-Monitor: State and economic neglect of Tripoli and Lebanon’s northern areas has been cited as [producing] a potential breeding ground for jihadists. Is there a broader plan to deal with the roots of terrorism in Lebanon, by lifting many of these regions out of poverty and desperation? Fayyad: The phenomenon of extremist terrorism is not only a reaction to oppression and poverty. It is a phenomenon that has roots in Islamic history. However, at some points in time, social, economic and cultural factors were added, reinforcing this phenomenon and pushing it to the surface. It would be wrong to only tackle this issue at the military and security levels. A comprehensive social, cultural and jurisprudential strategy is required, in addition to broad cooperation on different levels between relevant countries, actors, religious guides and cultural and media centers, to fight this phenomenon. Even if IS as a political entity and state were exterminated, there would still be a need to eliminate its security group and cultural and ideological hotbeds, which are spread in various areas. This is a thorny process that I believe will take years. Al-Monitor: Who do you think is responsible for the jurisprudential issue, the jurisprudential atmosphere if we might say, that leads the growth of this ideology? Fayyad: All religious institutions — at Al-Azhar, in Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and every Sunni country in the world — should clearly and explicitly fight [this phenomenon]. The thing about IS is that all parties announce that they oppose [its ideology] and refuse its practices, but there are many unannounced stances and subtle practices that may intersect with, and use this organization, bet on its success or even secretly support it. These powers are regional as well as international. Al-Monitor: Lebanon is still without a president, governance is suffering and there are talks about extending the parliament’s term. What is Hezbollah’s plan to revive Lebanon’s political system, which appears to be crumbling? What threat does the political paralysis pose to Lebanon’s stability? Fayyad: The presidential vacuum and legislative paralysis of the parliament, resulting from the March 14 camp’s boycott, have serious negative effects on Lebanon’s stability and security and the interests of its citizens. The legislative role of the parliament is in desperate need of revival, until a new president is elected. These issues are self-evident and in line with the requirements of the Lebanese national interest. Al-Monitor: Syrian refugee numbers, currently more than 1.2 million, continue to rise in Lebanon, and are putting social and economic strains on the country, in addition to the potential security threat. Has Hezbollah approached the Syrian government about the refugee issue, and is there any plan to help the country deal with the refugee crisis? Fayyad: There is no doubt that the refugee crisis carries serious negative effects for the Lebanese economy and security and constitutes one of the reasons behind the exacerbation of the economic situation and the worsening of the electricity sector. In addition, some refugee camps are located in the vicinity of Arsal and in the north, constituting a safe haven and providing infrastructure to terrorist groups. This issue is delicate and should be dealt with cautiously. We cannot hold civilians responsible for what terrorist groups, which have taken refuge in camps, are doing. It is not the responsibility of Hezbollah to discuss the issue of camps and their future with the Syrian government, but that of the Lebanese government. The latter formed a special committee including a number of ministers to deal with the situation, but as far as I know, it has yet to yield results. Al-Monitor: Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah publicly supported Hamas in its recent Gaza war with Israel, despite previous tensions over Hamas’ alleged involvement in the Syrian civil war. Al-Monitor has reported on efforts, involving Hezbollah, to repair relations between Hamas and the Syrian government. Have these efforts had any success? Fayyad: We always seek to improve relations with resistance powers and put disputes aside to unify efforts toward helping the Palestinian people, even though we had disputes with Hamas over its role in the Syrian crisis. We do not hesitate in standing by the side of the Palestinian people when they are subject to Israeli aggression. It is an ethical stance before being political, and we are keen on resolving the points of contention with Hamas and any other resistance powers. Al-Monitor: Is it true that Hezbollah is mediating between Hamas and the Syrian government to repair relations? Fayyad: We do not spare any effort to repair the dysfunction that befell relations between resistance powers. Al-Monitor: Are these efforts starting to bear fruit? Are we beginning to see a breakthrough? Fayyad: The situation is a lot better than before. Al-Monitor: It is now being said, today specifically, that Hezbollah has also a presence in Iraq to confront IS. Is Hezbollah playing any kind of role at any level against IS inside Iraqi territory? Fayyad: We have no military battlefield role in Iraq. Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/09/hezbollah-fayyad-interview-lebanon-islamic-state.html##ixzz3HibehJiw =========== جمال معروف في الصفوف الاولى اثناء عتداء جبهة النصرة بعد خرقهم للهندة وتوجيه كلمة لاميرهم الجولاني #SRF Jamal Maarouf Is in this video sending a direct message to Joulani #JAN #SRF #Idlib. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_hWxOnMeK0&feature=youtu.be … … In Syria, hezbollah uses tanks provided by SAA Why would Hezbollah needs 1-100 tanks in Lebanon to be bombarded in minutes by over 700 jets owned by Israeli Air force? ================= Australian commandos unable to enter Iraq due to lack of visas The 200 special forces troops are unable to reach Iraq due to Baghdad’s ‘excruciating inefficiency,’ an Australian daily said. (Photo courtesy of Australian Army) Staff writer, Al Arabiya News Thursday, 30 October 2014 Australian commandos set to join the fight in Iraq against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants have hit an unexpected snag – Baghdad has not yet issued them visas, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Thursday. Although 200 special forces troops are in in the Gulf awaiting their deployment, the Iraqi government’s “excruciating inefficiency” has made them unable to reach their assignment, according to the daily, citing an unidentified source. While Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop declined to comment on whether the troops were in Iraq, Australian officials have been told by Baghdad that it would take another week or two for the commando’s visas to be granted. Baghdad’s slowness in processing the soldier’s travel documents can be explained it being politically cautious in allowing foreign troops in its territory, the daily reported. First to commit Australian PM Tony Abbott in September announced a positioning of forces in the region – making Australia the first country to commit troops in the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition. But around the same time, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari was quoted by RT news channel as saying: “We are absolutely against foreign military bases and the presence of foreign military forces. Yes, we did ask for help, but it concerned air cover.” “The question of sending troops in was discussed several times and we were very frank and stated clearly that we are completely against the deployment of foreign troops on our territory, as it can cause justifiable fears and concerns among the Iraqi population,” he added. The Australian troops are expected to be partnered with an elite brigade of Iraqi special operations forces to offer both advice and assistance, Defence Force Chief Mark Binskin said earlier this month, according to the daily. Last Update: Thursday, 30 October 2014 KSA 18:48 - GMT 15:48 =============================== In a separate case, witnesses said they found 70 corpses from the same Albu Nimr tribe near the town of Heet in the Anbar province #Iraq. #IS executed 64 members of Albunemer Sunni tribe in Anbar. Promise of "revenge against #IS who y part of Hit tribes" http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/isis-executes-220-tribesmen-iraq ISIS executes 220 tribesmen in Iraq Members of the Iraqi security forces carry the coffins of their comrades during a procession to their burial site in Iraq's shrine city of Karbala on October 27, 2014 after an ISIS suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged Humvee armored vehicle. (Photo: AFP - Mohammed Sawaf) Published Thursday, October 30, 2014 The bodies of 150 members of an Iraqi tribe which fought Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have been found in a mass grave, security officials said on Thursday. ISIS militants took the men from their villages to the city of Ramadi and killed them on Wednesday night and buried them, an official in a police operations center and another security official told Reuters. In a separate case, witnesses said they found 70 corpses from the same Albu Nimr tribe near the town of Heet in the Anbar province, west of Iraq. Most of the victims found near Heet were members of the police or an anti-ISIS force called Sahwa (Awakening). "Early this morning we found those corpses and we have been told by some Islamic State militants that 'those people are from Sahwa, who fought your brothers the Islamic State, and this is the punishment of anybody fighting Islamic State'," an eyewitness said, using an alternative name for ISIS. Tribal sheikhs from Albu Nimr say both sets of victims were among more than 300 men aged between 18 and 55 who were seized by ISIS this week. Iraq's government has been encouraging tribes to rise up against the extremist group that met little resistance when it swept through the country's heartland in June. ISIS, which declared a "caliphate" over territory it seized in Iraq and Syria, is being described as the world's wealthiest "terror" group, earning $1 million a day from black market oil sales alone, in addition to $429 million it has looted from Mosul’s central bank. ISIS has so far executed thousands in Iraq and Syria, targeting, in particular, ethnic and religious minorities. On June 12, 2014, ISIS killed at least 1,700 Iraqi Air Force soldiers in an attack on Camp Speicher in Tikrit, northwest of the Iraqi capital. At the time of the attack there were between 4,000 and 11,000 unarmed cadets in the camp. The Iraqi government blamed the massacre on both ISIS and members from the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region. This month only, ISIS executed at least four women, including two doctors and a politician, in their northern Iraq strongholds. On September 22, ISIS executed a women's rights activist, Samira Saleh al-Nuaimi, reportedly because she had condemned the demolition of heritage sites by ISIS on social media. (Reuters, Al-Akhbar) ======================= ISIS threatens the Ismaili capital of Syria The Syrian village of al-Silmiya. (Photo: Al-Akhbar) By: Marah Mashi Published Thursday, October 30, 2014 The military operation in the northern and western countryside of Hama has almost achieved its goal, with the Syrian army recapturing most of the towns in the region. However, the war is still raging near al-Silmiya front in the eastern countryside, where the threat of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) continues to terrorize local residents. People in Silmiya believe that the Syrian regime “which is taking upon itself to protect minorities” will not forget their city, the capital of the Ismaili minority in the region. The people of al-Silmiya live in constant fear; “ISIS is at our doorstep,” they say. Located at one of the most critical roads for both the army and the militants, al-Silmiya is part of Hama’s eastern countryside, halfway between Hama’s western countryside and Idlib. More importantly, the town lies halfway between Hama’s military airport and Khanasser in Aleppo’s countryside, which leads to the city of Aleppo. The towns of Saan, Saboura, and Akareb located to the northeast of al-Silmiya constitute its defense line against smaller nomadic towns under ISIS control. Although an army unit led by Colonel Shouheil al-Hassan was dispatched from Aleppo to the western countryside to recapture Rahba Khitab and the surroundings of Mahrada, locals here are still worried that the regime would balk at defending their town if it is invaded by ISIS. Nevertheless, the army’s control of the western countryside and the town of Mork in the north of Hama restored some hope to the people of Silmiya. A local high ranking figure described al-Silmiya as a dual site for intellectuals and infidels in the midst of a conservative Islamic population “that shares the same affiliation.” But locals reject the use of the term “infidel” to describe the town known as “the birthplace of Cairo and the Fatimid dynasty” [the first Fatimid caliph, Ubaidullah al-Mahdi, was a al-Silmiya native]. They instead substitute “infidel” with poverty, hence intellect in this town is coupled with the poverty of its rebels who advocate the same ideas as those of late Syrian poet Mohammed al-Maghout, a town native. At the onset of the “Syrian revolution,” al-Silmiya witnessed some unique demonstrations with protesters proudly drinking and raising a glass to the civil revolution. The number of demonstrators reached 4,000 at one point, but it all ended with the first bullet that transformed the protests into a conflict between Islamist fighters and the authorities, while opponents in al-Silmiya tried to distance themselves [from the conflict]. People here are proud that their protesters were the only ones who did not emerge from mosques. However, most residents acknowledge that they were not able to positively influence their surroundings for reasons related to intellectual and sectarian differences. Bahaa, an opposition member in Silmiya, said “Silmiya was the third town to revolt after Daraa and Banyas; protesters at the beginning raised slogans calling for reform and for solidarity with Daraa and other slogans celebrating Syrian pride.” ISIS at the doorstep The specter of war is looming over the far eastern part of the town. In fact, al-Silmiya is separated from al-Shaer Mountain in the north of Homs by the villages of Berri, Okayrbat, and al-Soha, with the last two being important ISIS strongholds located to the east of Silmiya in Hama’s eastern countryside. The demarcation line also surrounds the town from the east to the north, including the villages of al-Mabouja and al-Saan – the last village of Silmiya before the Syrian Desert. People of Saan engaged in direct battles against ISIS militants who control neighboring Okayrbat. They had to leave their town in a sad exodus which was not covered by the media. Marwan, a town native who fought alongside the National Defense Forces, said local young men fought to recapture their village and transformed into a confrontation point against ISIS-controlled areas. He said that the village of Berri is witnessing similar battles against local militants because it overlooks the farms of some villages under militants’ control such as Edima and Um Mil. About a year ago, ISIS captured the village of Abu Hubaylat, located to the north east of Silmiya, a town that did not have a large population. Meanwhile, local militants control Taksis village in the south west of Silmiya, barricading themselves in the town’s rugged terrain linked to the Assi river basin. Not far from the threat of militants in Homs’ northern countryside, al-Silmiya is only a few kilometers away from al-Zaafarana and Ezzeddin road which leads to Talbissa and Rastan, where the ISIS threat reemerges from the south. Hence, al-Silmiya residents will find themselves surrounded from all sides in any upcoming war that would threaten the particularity of this town located in the heart of Syria. Awaiting the imam In this poverty stricken town, neglected by the government, people have resorted to the “Imam” Agha Khan. Here, it is normal to hear sentences such as “the Imam ordered us to distance ourselves from the conflict between the regime and Islamists,” or “the Imam will not leave us and he is working to fix our problems.” Hani, another opposition member in the town, believes that Agha Khan, the leader of an Ismaili sect, has a certain influence on believers but civil and secular individuals do not care about “the orders of the Imam,” and these were the ones who led the protests in the town. He explained that locals who do not advocate sectarianism are fearful following the fall of many villages in the town’s countryside, in addition to the threat of ISIS that worries everyone. “The people of Silmiya were never sectarian fanatics, and the supporters of Agha Khan were never his spokespersons like they are today,” Hani said, adding “they interpret every sign of danger with great fear and they await some sort of a savior.” The role of local associations Like many other Syrian towns, al-Silmiya is coping with the loss of dozens of its young men who were martyred while fighting with the army or the National Defense Forces in battles at its eastern border. The town has a population of about 150,000 residents, and in the summer it suffered a severe water crisis, after the water pipe running through the lawless al-Waer neighborhood in Homs was cut off. The problem was temporarily solved in cooperation with Agha Khan association that provided interim alternatives which brought water back to households in Silmiya and parts of Hama. However, visitors will be shocked to see widespread poverty and chaos in the town despite all the talk about development projects launched by Agha Khan association. Today, the association is focusing on relief efforts in cooperation with al-Birr charity organization and the Higher Shia Ismaili Council. Ghaleb al-Mir Ghaleb, head of al-Adiyat Charity Organization, said the stature of Agha Khan is deeply rooted in the sect as a spiritual leader. During the crisis, he called upon his followers not to raise arms against the state. Al-Mir said local associations are working together to help refugees and the poor in the town, and today they are seeking to give out $100 (16,000 Syrian Lira) cash aid to about 20,000 people in Silmiya. In addition, relief organizations are aiding refugees from Talbissa and Rastan who fled to the town since the beginning of the war, without showing off their assistance. Today, peaceful protests are long gone, and people are left with distant memories of early protesters, some of whom met suspicious destinies. One protester from Akareb village was killed by Harasta rebels who wrote “traitor dog” on his body, accusing him of being an agent of the regime. Of course, the name of this brave man who touched the hearts of Silmiya’s protesters was listed among the victims killed by the regime which was published by the Center of Documentation of Violations in Syria in 2012, without investigating the details surrounding his death. This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition. ================ Damascus criticised Turkish decision 2allow Iraqi Peshmerga 2enter #Syria describing it as 'an interference in sovereignty ". Non Agression Pact Signed Oct 28 By US-backed Harakat Hazm, Jahbat al Nusra, Islamic Front and Jaysh al-Mujahidin "More than 1,000 foreign fighters are streaming into Syria each month." http://t.co/TNrNrSkSXm =============== Suicide bomber kills Iraqi commander,top cleric raps army corruption Source: Reuters - Fri, 7 Nov 2014 07:56 PM Author: Reuters By Raheem Salman BAGHDAD, Nov 7 (Reuters) - A suicide bomber in a truck packed with explosives killed a senior police commander involved in an operation against Islamic State militants who have been surrounding Iraq's biggest oil refinery for months, security sources said. Friday's attack killed General Faisal Malik, one of the supervisors of a campaign designed to break the Sunni insurgents' grip on the facility and to rescue security forces trapped inside it just outside the town of Baiji. Two policemen were also killed, the security sources said. "The general was in his Humvee with two of his men. A suicide bomber in a truck targeted him directly," said an officer under his command. Iraqi security forces have repeatedly tried to push Islamic State fighters out of the refinery compound, where security forces have been surviving on airdrops. The death of Malik came after Iraqi security tried a new strategy to break the Islamic State siege of the refinery near Baiji, which lies 200 km (130 miles) north of Baghdad. Backed by Shi'ite militias and army helicopters, government forces have swept through a desert area west of Baiji, hoping to recapture the town and to cut off Islamic State supply lines. Security forces were also hoping to gain control of a road leading to Mosul, the biggest city in the north which is held by Islamic State, according to an army colonel. Islamic State fighters seized the city of Baiji and surrounded the sprawling refinery in June during a lightning campaign through northern Iraq. The group also controls a swathe of territory in neighbouring Syria and has proclaimed a caliphate straddling both countries. The police general's death was a psychological blow for the government after it had capitalised on U.S. air strikes against Islamic State and regained some territory. CORRUPTION The prime minister's office said on Friday that security forces had hoisted the Iraqi flag on a bridge that connects to the town of Amriyat al-Falluja, 40 km (25 miles) from Baghdad. It was not immediately possible to get independent confirmation that government forces had advanced. Islamic State fighters have been surrounding the area, located near the militants' stronghold of Falluja, for weeks. Western officials say Islamic State can only be defeated if the Iraqi army dramatically improves its performance. Reflecting such concerns, U.S. officials told Reuters on Friday the U.S. military had drawn up plans to significantly increase the number of American forces in Iraq beyond the current total of around 1,400 as part of a drive to help the Iraqi army defeat Islamic State. Iraq's most influential Shi'ite cleric blamed corruption in the armed forces for Islamic State's advances, criticism that will add to pressure for reforms in the face of the insurgency. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has been sharply critical of Iraqi leaders during what has become Iraq's worst crisis since a U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003, urging them to set aside sectarian differences to save the nation. Iraq's army, recipient of $25 billion in U.S. training and funding, collapsed in the face of the rebels' summer onslaught. Speaking on Friday on live television through an aide in the holy southern Iraqi city of Kerbala, Sistani, 84, asked rhetorically what would happen if the military were corrupt. "We think the security deterioration that happened some months ago can answer that," Sistani said. "Objectivity demands that the different military positions should be occupied by those who are professional, patriotic, faithful, courageous and not affected in doing their duties by personal and financial influences." Sistani, whose word is law for millions of followers, went on to say that "even the smallest corruption is big". The reclusive cleric always delivers public messages via a proxy. U.S. air strikes have prevented Islamic State making further large-scale advances since August, when the al Qaeda offshoot beat back Kurdish peshmerga forces in the north and triggered a massive exodus of minority communities. Lacking a strong army, Iraq's government turned to Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias. But their alleged violations of human rights have exacerbated sectarian tensions, with the Sunni minority complaining of kidnappings, torture and executions. Militia leaders deny those accusations. Even if more Western countries step up support for Iraq's military, the overriding question will be whether the Shi'ite-led government can revive an alliance with Sunni tribesmen who helped defeat al Qaeda during the U.S. occupation. (Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Gareth Jones) http://www.trust.org/item/20141107195557-u6ezi/ =================

Special Report: How Mosul fell - An Iraqi general disputes Baghdad's story

Special Report: How Mosul fell - An Iraqi general disputes Baghdad's story Tue, Oct 14 06:35 AM EDT image 1 of 4 By Ned Parker, Isabel Coles and Raheem Salman BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Lieutenant General Mahdi Gharawi knew an attack was coming. In late May, Iraqi security forces arrested seven members of militant group Islamic State in Mosul and learned the group planned an offensive on the city in early June. Gharawi, the operational commander of Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital, asked Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's most trusted commanders for reinforcements. With Iraq's military overstretched, the senior officers scoffed at the request. Diplomats in Baghdad also passed along intelligence of an attack, only to be told that Iraqi Special Forces were in Mosul and could handle any scenario. On June 4, federal police in Mosul under Gharawi's command cornered Islamic State's military leader in Iraq, who blew himself up rather than surrendering. Gharawi hoped the death might avert an attack. He was wrong. At 2:30 a.m. on June 6, Gharawi and his men returned to their operations room after an inspection of checkpoints in the city of two million. At that moment, convoys of pickup trucks were advancing from the west, driving across the desert that straddles Iraq's border with Syria. Each vehicle held up to four IS fighters. The convoys shot their way through the two-man checkpoints into the city. By 3:30 a.m., the militants were fighting inside Mosul. Within three days the Iraqi army would abandon the country's second-biggest city to its attackers. The loss triggered a series of events that continues to reshape Iraq months later. It unleashed a two-day charge by IS to within 95 miles (153 km) of Baghdad that caused the collapse of four Iraqi divisions and the capture or deaths of thousands of soldiers. It helped drive Maliki from office. And it pushed Western powers and Gulf Arab nations into launching air strikes on the Islamist militants in both Iraq and Syria. But how Mosul was lost, and who gave the order to abandon the fight, have, until now, been unclear. There has been no official version: only soldiers' stories of mass desertions and claims by infantry troops that they followed orders to flee. In June, Maliki accused unnamed regional countries, commanders and rival politicians of plotting the fall of Mosul, but has since remained quiet. Nevertheless, Baghdad has pinned the blame on Gharawi. In late August, he was charged by the defense ministry with dereliction of duty. He is now awaiting the findings of an investigative panel and then a military trial. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to death. (Four federal police officers who served under Gharawi are also in custody awaiting trial, and could not be reached.) Parliament also plans to hold hearings into the loss of Mosul. An investigation by Reuters shows that higher-level military officials and Maliki himself share at least some of the blame. Several of Iraq's senior-most commanders and officials have detailed for the first time how troop shortages and infighting among top officers and Iraqi political leaders played into Islamic State's hands and fueled panic that led to the city's abandonment. Maliki and his defense minister made an early critical mistake, they say, by turning down repeated offers of help from the Kurdish fighting force known as the peshmerga. Gharawi's role in the debacle is a matter of debate. A member of the country's dominant Shi'ite sect, he alienated Mosul's Sunni majority before the battle, according to the provincial governor and many citizens. That helped give rise to IS sleeper cells inside Mosul. One Iraqi officer under his command faulted Gharawi for not rallying the troops for a final stand. For his part, Gharawi says he stood firm, and did not give the final order to abandon the city. Others involved in the battle endorse that claim and say Gharawi fought until the city was overrun. It was only then that he fled. Gharawi says three people could have given the final order: Aboud Qanbar, at the time the defense ministry's deputy chief of staff; Ali Ghaidan, then commander of the ground forces; or Maliki himself, who personally directed his most senior officers from Baghdad. The secret of who decided to abandon Mosul, Gharawi says, lies with these three men. Gharawi says a decision by Ghaidan and Qanbar to leave Mosul's western bank sparked mass desertions as soldiers assumed their commanders had fled. A senior Iraqi military official backs that assertion. None of the three men have commented publicly on their decisions in Mosul. Maliki has declined Reuters requests for an interview for this article. Qanbar has not responded, while Ghaidan could not be reached. Lieutenant General Qassim Atta, a military spokesman with close ties to Maliki, told Reuters last week that Gharawi "above all others ... failed in his role as commander." The rest, he said, "will be revealed before the judiciary." In many ways, Gharawi's story is a window into Iraq. The Shi'ite general has been a key figure since 2003, when the Shi'ites began gaining power after the United States toppled Saddam Hussein and his Sunni-dominated Baath Party. Shi'ite leaders once saluted Gharawi as a hero, while Sunnis see him as a murderer who used Iraq's war on extremism as a cover for extorting money from businesses and menacing innocent people with arrests and killings. Gharawi rose through a military riven by sectarian splits, corruption and politics. He is now trapped by those same forces. The decision to punish him and ignore the role of higher-level figures shows not just that rebuilding the military will be difficult, but also why the country risks breakup. As Mosul proved, the Iraqi army is a failed institution at the heart of a failing state. Gharawi, in his own telling, has become a scapegoat, a victim of the deal-making and alliances that keep Iraq's political and military elite in place. Ghaidan and Qanbar, longtime confidantes of Maliki, have been dispatched to a pensioned retirement. Gharawi, who is living in his home town in the south of Iraq, says his bosses are pinning the faults of a broken system on him. "They want just to save themselves from these accusations," he told Reuters during a visit to Baghdad two weeks ago. "The investigation should include the highest commanders and leadership ... Everyone should say what they have, so the people know." ROAD TO MOSUL Gharawi expected Mosul to be hell. In the years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the city had become an epicenter for the al Qaeda and Sunni insurgency. Former Baathists and military commanders lived in the province of Nineveh. The Kurds also had a foothold in the city; after Saddam's fall they came to dominate the security forces and local government. In 2008, two years after he became prime minister, Maliki began to assert his power there. Seeing the Kurds as potentially disloyal, he began to purge Kurdish officers from Mosul's two army divisions and insert his own men to protect Baghdad's interests. He appointed a string of commanders who antagonised local Kurds and Sunnis. In 2011, he tapped Gharawi. The general was already a survivor of Iraq's political system. Despite the fact he was a Shi'ite, he had been a member of Saddam's Republican Guard. In 2004, after Saddam's fall, Washington had backed Gharawi to lead one of Iraq's new National Police Divisions. It was a brutal period. The Shi'ite-dominated security forces – including the police – were connected to a spate of extrajudicial killings. The Americans accused Gharawi of running his police brigades as a front for Shi'ite militias blamed for the murder of hundreds of people, mostly Sunnis. U.S. and Iraqi officials investigated Gharawi for his command of Site Four, a notorious Baghdad jail where prisoners were allegedly tortured or sold to one of the biggest and most brutal Shi'ite militias. In late 2006, U.S. officials moved to stop the killings, pressuring Maliki to dismiss Gharawi and try him for torture. Maliki reassigned Gharawi but would not try him. U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker recalled a near shouting match with Maliki over the general. "One of my many disappointments was not getting that sorry-assed failure," Crocker said in 2010. Gharawi says he did nothing wrong during that period and has nothing to apologize for. It was civil war, he said. The Sunni insurgency was bent on demolishing the Shi'ite-led government. Gharawi's brother was killed by Sunni militants. "We worked under special circumstances. We prevented civil war. We actually stopped it. Where are our mistakes?" LEOPARD SKIN AND A WARNING After his demotion, Gharawi bided his time, a gloomy figure in his dim-lit Green Zone villa, decorated with old photos, including a few of him with U.S. senators and Donald Rumsfeld. He was given a series of minor jobs. Maliki's office regularly proposed him for higher positions only to be blocked by U.S. officials. As the U.S. military prepared to leave Iraq, Maliki appointed Gharawi the top federal police commander in Mosul. There, Gharawi recaptured his glory. State television showed him standing on Nineveh's sweeping plains in blue camouflage as he announced a successful operation against a terror plot. Maliki rewarded him with property in an affluent Baghdad neighborhood. In his house in the capital on a short leave from Mosul last December, Gharawi sat proudly on a leafy green couch, surrounded by cream-coloured walls, a faux leopard skin rug, and shiny tiled floors. An oil portrait of himself hung on the wall. He bragged about arrests and flipped through pictures of jihadists his men had captured. Despite his triumphs, he was frank about the insurgency that re-emerged last year as Sunnis grew frustrated with Maliki's sectarian rule. The war was at best a stalemate, Gharawi said. Al Qaeda – the Islamic State's parent organization at the time, before it split this year – was gaining ground. "I have to confess, al Qaeda is stronger than they have ever been. Qaeda needs Mosul. They think of Mosul as their emirate," he said. Gharawi said he lacked the troops to secure the province. He also faced growing opposition from Sunnis in Mosul, who accused him and his men of extra-judicial killings, allegations Gharawi rejected. In March, Maliki appointed him Nineveh's operational commander. Security in Iraq was deteriorating. In Anbar province, to Nineveh's southwest, violence had drawn in three military divisions against IS militants and angry Sunni tribes. The government had lost control of the highways from Baghdad to the north. IS militants regularly set up fake checkpoints and ambushed vehicles. THE FALL As IS fighters raced towards Mosul before dawn on June 6, the jihadists hoped only to take a neighborhood for several hours, one of them later told a friend in Baghdad. They did not expect state control to crumble. They hurtled into five districts in their hundreds, and would, over the next few days, reach over 2,000 fighters, welcomed by the city's angry Sunni residents. The first line of Mosul's defense was the sixth brigade of the Third Iraqi army division. On paper, the brigade had 2,500 men. The reality was closer to 500. The brigade was also short of weapons and ammunition, according to one non-commissioned officer. Infantry, armor and tanks had been shifted to Anbar, where more than 6,000 soldiers had been killed and another 12,000 had deserted. It left Mosul with virtually no tanks and a shortage of artillery, according to Gharawi. There was also a problem with ghost soldiers – men on the books who paid their officers half their salaries and in return did not show up for duty. Investigators from the defense ministry had sent a report on the phenomenon to superiors in 2013. Nothing was heard back, a sergeant who was based in Mosul told Reuters. In all, there were supposed to be close to 25,000 soldiers and police in the city; the reality, several local officials and security officers say, was at best 10,000. In the district of Musherfa, one of the city's main entry points, there were just 40 soldiers on duty the night of June 6. As the militants infiltrated the city, they seized military vehicles and weapons. The sergeant based there said they also hanged soldiers and lit them ablaze, crucified them, and torched them on the hoods of Humvees. On the western edge of Tamoz 17 neighborhood, police from the fourth battalion saw two Humvees and 15 pickup trucks approach, spraying machine gun fire. "In my entire battalion we have one machine gun. In each pickup they had one," said head of the battalion, Colonel Dhiyab Ahmed al-Assi al-Obeidi. Gharawi ordered his forces to form a defensive line to cordon off the besieged western Mosul neighbourhoods from the Tigris River. Gharawi said he received a call from Maliki to hold things until the arrival of Qanbar, the deputy chief of staff at the defense ministry, and Ghaidan, who commanded Iraqi ground forces. Qanbar is a member of Maliki's tribe, while Ghaidan had long assisted Maliki in security operations, according to senior officers and Iraqi officials. The two men outranked Gharawi and automatically took formal charge of the Mosul command on June 7. On the morning of June 8, Gharawi met Nineveh governor Atheel Nujaifi. The governor was no friend – he had previously accused Gharawi of corruption, an allegation the general rejected. Now the city's fate hinged on Gharawi. One of Nujaifi's advisers asked the general why he had not counter-attacked. "There are not enough forces," Gharawi told them. General Babakir Zebari was Gharawi's superior and chief of staff for Iraq's armed forces back in Baghdad. He agrees there were not enough men to defeat the jihadists. And Maliki had already rejected a chance to change that. On June 7, Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani had offered to send Kurdish peshmerga fighters to help. The offer went all the way up to Maliki, who rejected it twice through his defense minister, according to Zebari. United Nations and U.S. diplomats also attempted to broker an arrangement acceptable to Maliki, who remained suspicious of the Kurds' intent. Maliki insisted there were more than enough Iraqi forces. Barzani's office confirmed Kurdish offers of help were rejected. On the afternoon of June 8, the Islamic State surged. More than 100 vehicles, carrying at least 400 men, had crossed to Mosul from Syria since the start of the battle. Sleeper cells hiding in the city had been activated and neighbourhoods rallied to them, according to police and military. The insurgents bombed a police station in the al-Uraybi neighborhood and charged into the area around the Mosul Hotel, an abandoned building on the western bank of the Tigris transformed into a battle post for 30 men from SWAT, an emergency police unit. Gharawi and his federal police pounded Islamic State-controlled areas with artillery. For a moment, "the morale of Mosul got higher," Gharawi said. Within hours, though, Gharawi's command was thrown into disarray. Multiple military sources say Ghaidan and Qanbar sacked a divisional commander after he refused to send men to defend the Mosul Hotel. The sacked general, who reported to Gharawi, theoretically commanded 6,000 men, though many were AWOL. General Zebari calls the order another huge mistake: "In crisis, you can't replace the commander." TURNING POINT By June 9, the fourth battalion's Colonel Obeidi and 40 of his men were among the very last local police fighting to hold back the jihadists in western Mosul. The rest had either joined the jihadists or run away. Just before 4:30 p.m., a military water tanker raced towards the Mosul Hotel where Obeidi and his men were stationed. The police fired at the tanker, which detonated, setting off a massive fireball and hurtling shrapnel. "I didn't feel anything," said Obeidi, whose leg was ripped open by the blast. "The sound shook the whole of Mosul but I didn't hear a thing." Clutching his handgun, Obeidi vowed to fight on. Police carried him to a boat to cross the Tigris to safety. Military officers, local officials, and even U.S. officials later testifying to Congress said the hotel attack was what broke the army and police in Mosul. After that, the defensive line in the west of the city melted away. Barely three hours later, as reports spread of federal police burning their camps and discarding their uniforms, the Nineveh governor and his adviser met with Qanbar and Ghaidan in the Operation Command near the airport. The adviser, Khaled al-Obeidi, was himself a retired general and a newly elected lawmaker. (He is unrelated to police Colonel Obeidi). He urged the commanders to go on the offensive with the Second Division, which sat relatively untouched across the river in eastern Mosul. Qanbar said that they had a plan. Nujaifi's adviser then urged Gharawi to attack. Gharawi said he could not risk moving the soldiers and federal police he had left. "We can get you the force," the adviser said. Qanbar interrupted. The governor and adviser should do their work, he said. "We will do ours." The governor and his adviser left the base at 8:25 p.m., unsure of what the military's plan was. Shortly before 9:30 p.m., Qanbar and Ghaidan told Gharawi they were withdrawing across the river. "They said goodbye and that's it. They didn't give me any information or any reason," Gharawi said. They stripped Gharawi of 46 men and 14 pickup trucks and Humvees – the bulk of his security detail – say Gharawi and other officers. The two senior generals moved the city's command to a base on the city's eastern edge, according to multiple accounts. Ghaidan and Qanbar's retreating convoy created the impression that Iraq's security forces were deserting, Gharawi said. "This is the straw that broke the camel's back. This was the biggest mistake." Soldiers assumed their leaders had fled and within a couple of hours most of the Second Division had deserted the city's east, Nujaifi, the governor, told Reuters. Gharawi and 26 of his men stayed hidden in their operations base in the west, which swarmed with insurgents. That night, Gharawi said, Ghaidan phoned him and assured him the army was holding eastern Mosul. Ghaidan and Qanbar both left Mosul overnight, arriving in Kurdistan on June 10, according to Zebari, the chief of staff back in Baghdad. "Of course once the commander leaves the soldier behind, why would you want to fight?" asked Zebari. "The senior commander is the brains of operation. Once he runs, the whole body is paralysed." Zebari says he doesn't know who gave the order to leave. Qanbar and Ghaidan were bypassing the defense ministry and reporting directly to Maliki, Zebari told Reuters. Early the next morning, Zebari rang Gharawi and urged him to leave the operation command center. "You are going to get killed. Please withdraw," both men remember Zebari saying. Gharawi refused and insisted he needed approval from Maliki's military office to leave. Soon after, Gharawi decided to fight his way across a bridge to eastern Mosul. He rang Ghaidan to tell him. "I am going to be killed. I am surrounded by all directions. Send the prime minister my greetings. Tell the prime minister I have done everything possible that I can do." He and his men crammed into five vehicles and headed across the river. On the east bank, their five vehicles were set ablaze. They dodged bullets and stones. Three of the men were shot dead. It was every man for himself, Gharawi said. In the east, Gharawi and three of his men commandeered an armoured vehicle with flat tires and headed north to safety. AFTERMATH By August, Gharawi was back in his ancestral home in southern Iraq, looking after his children, unsure what to do next. One day he received a call from a friend in the defense ministry: He was under investigation for dereliction of duty in Mosul. At the same time, Maliki promoted Qanbar and moved to protect Ghaidan. After the prime minister resigned on Aug. 15, though, the two men were also forced into retirement. It marked an effort by Haider al-Abadi, the new prime minister, to start to clean and rebuild the Iraqi forces. Abadi has closed the office Maliki used to direct commanders and has quietly retired officers seen as loyal to his predecessor. Purging the security institutions of their sectarianism, money-making schemes and political manoeuvrings will take years. And for now, Gharawi must take the blame for Mosul. Zebari believes that's unfair. "Gharawi was an officer doing a job, but his luck ran out just like many other officers," he said. "All of us have to shoulder some of the responsibility. Every one of us." Two weeks ago in Baghdad, face unshaven, voice hoarse, Gharawi indicated a begrudging acceptance of his fate, whatever it might be. "Maybe I'll be pardoned, maybe I'll be imprisoned, maybe I'll be hanged," he said. (Parker reported from Baghdad and Arbil, Salman from Baghdad, and Coles from Arbil; With additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed and Saif Hameed in Baghdad; Edited by Simon ============== Islamic State forces 180,000 to flee in Iraq Mon, Oct 13 16:51 PM EDT image By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Fighting in Iraq's western Anbar province has forced up to 180,000 people to flee since the city of Hit fell to Islamic State earlier this month, the United Nations said on Monday. Islamic State fighters extended that advance by overrunning a military base that the Iraqi army had abandoned 8 km (5 miles) west of Hit earlier on Monday, according to an army officer and members of a government-backed Sunni militia. Islamic State has been on the offensive in the desert province of Anbar, bordering Syria, in recent weeks, taking the town of Hit on Oct. 2 and nearby Kubaisa on Oct. 4. That has raised concerns in the West because it is close to Baghdad and demonstrates the group's reach; while operating successfully in Anbar, it is also on the verge of taking the strategic town of Kobani hundreds of miles away in northern Syria on the border with Turkey. In Baghdad, three bombs exploded in Shi'ite parts of the capital on Monday, killing 30 people, police and medical officials said, continuing a wave of attacks targeting Iraq's majority religious group. There was no claim of responsibility for the bombings, but Islamic State claimed a string of attacks in Baghdad on Sunday that left 45 dead. As a result of the fighting and air strikes in Anbar, carried out by the Iraqi government and a U.S.-led military coalition, up to 30,000 families or 180,000 individuals have fled Hit, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. The war in Anbar and its conquest of Mosul have allowed Islamic State to hold territory from eastern Syria across Sunni parts of Iraq with the goal of establishing a caliphate. SUICIDE BOMBERS In northern Syria, three Islamic State fighters blew themselves up on Monday in Kobani, a monitoring group said, with the hardline militants making slight advances inside the besieged Kurdish town. In one of the attacks, an Islamic State fighter detonated a truck laden with explosives in a northern district of Kobani, which has been the scene of heavy clashes between Kurdish forces and Islamic State fighters, Kurdish sources said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported more heavy fighting on Monday inside the city, where U.S.-led air strikes have so far failed to halt the militants' advance. Rami Abderahman of the Observatory said one of the suicide attacks targeted a bus station in the northwest of Kobani and that the group had taken around 50 percent of the town. "They now control the cultural center, which means they have advanced further inside the town," he said. The Observatory said there had been at least five U.S.-led strikes early on Monday, mainly targeting southern districts of Kobani, which is known as Ayn al-Arab in Arabic. Clashes also continued to the east, killing a dozen Islamic State fighters. The militant group wants to seize the town to consolidate a dramatic sweep across northern Iraq and Syria. The United States and Saudi Arabia launched eight air strikes on Sunday and Monday against Islamic State targets in Syria, including seven near Kobani, the U.S. military said. Four strikes southwest of Kobani hit Islamic State units and destroyed a machine gun firing position, while three strikes northeast of Kobani struck a militant unit and damaged a staging location and several buildings. Another strike hit an Islamic State garrison northwest of Raqqa, the military said. DENIAL In a blow to U.S. hopes, Turkey denied it had agreed to let the United States use its Incirlik air base in the fight against Islamic State, and sources at the Turkish prime minister's office said talks were continuing on the subject. Turkey had however reached an agreement with Washington on training Syrian rebels, the sources told reporters, without saying who would train the insurgents or where. The comments come after U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice said Turkey had agreed to let forces from a U.S.-led military coalition use its bases for activities inside Iraq and Syria and to train moderate Syrian rebels. Syria's air force meanwhile carried out strikes against rebels at more than double its usual rate on Monday, according to the Observatory. The intensified air strikes by President Bashar al-Assad's government will add to the fear among Assad's opponents that he is taking advantage of the U.S. strikes to crush other foes, including the "moderate opposition" that Washington backs. The United States says it does not want to help Assad's government despite bombing Islamic State, the most powerful group fighting against Damascus in a three-year-old civil war. Washington aims to help arm moderates to fight against both Assad and Islamic State. But within days of the start of U.S. air strikes in Syria last month, Assad's government stepped up the tempo of its own air campaign against rebels closer to the capital Damascus. The Observatory said the Syrian air force had struck 40 times on Monday in areas in Idlib and Hama provinces, including dropping oil drums packed with explosives and shrapnel. Typically Damascus has carried out no more than 12-20 raids a day. (Additional reporting by Ned Parker, a correspondent in Anbar, Tom Miles, Suleiman Al-Khalidi, Mariam Karouny, Jim Loney, Ozge Ozbilgin, Sylvia Westall; writing by Giles Elgood; editing by Philippa Fletcher) ============================================== Turkey Was an Unlikely Victim of an Equally Unlikely Coup The Interpreter By MAX FISHER and AMANDA TAUB JULY 16, 2016 Continue reading the main story Share This Page Photo People stand on a damaged military tank in Ankara on Saturday. Credit Emin Ozmen for The New York Times If the attempted coup in Turkey came as a surprise, there was good reason: The event went against decades of research on how, when and why coups happen. Friday night’s uprising appeared to diverge wildly from the usual patterns. And political scientists who study coups say Turkey should have been at little risk. Secretary of State John Kerry, reiterating support for Turkey’s government, expressed the bafflement felt by many observers. “It surprised everybody, including the people in Turkey,” Mr. Kerry said, adding, “I must say it does not appear to be a very brilliantly planned or executed event.” The gap between Turkey’s insurrection and other coups helps explain why the attempt failed. But it also underscores how many basic questions remain unanswered. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Not the kind of country at risk Coups are usually driven not solely by individual plotters, but also by structural factors. Political scientists, by tracking factors like economic trends, political freedoms and public health, have identified several predictive patterns. Jay Ulfelder, who works in the area of political forecasting, has developed a mathematical model that synthesizes this data to predict a country’s level of risk. Continue reading the main story Advertisement Continue reading the main story Turkey, said Mr. Ulfelder’s research, done in conjunction with the Early Warning Project, was a “very unlikely” candidate for a coup, he said in an email. It had only a 2.5 percent probability of an attempted coup, based on 2016 data. That placed it 56th out of 160 countries, between Laos and Iran, and was within a range considered stable. At-risk countries tend to have high rates of infant mortality, a common measurement of poverty, and poorly performing economies. Turkey’s economy has been growing, and infant mortality has been rapidly declining. Mr. Ulfelder has also found that a country is less likely to face a coup when there is armed conflict in nearby states, perhaps because of a rally-around-the-flag effect. Photo Turkish lawmakers at Parliament on Saturday. Poor planning was one reason the coup attempt in Turkey failed, experts said. Credit European Pressphoto Agency While Turkey has a history of coups, the country has changed considerably since its last, in 1997, and Mr. Ulfelder stressed that what mattered more was its nearly 20 years without one. Another crucial factor is what experts call elite fragmentation. If divisions open up among powerful elites — elected officials, business leaders, generals, judges and so on — their competition for resources and control can culminate in a coup. There is, as yet, no sign of such a split in Turkey. The growing economy gives elites reason to maintain the status quo. And while state institutions are imperfect and rates of corruption could be better — both factors that can lead elites to compete for resources — neither is bad enough to cause a crisis. Turkey also does not have the kind of social polarization that disaffected elites often exploit to push forward a coup. While the country’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, can be a polarizing figure in electoral politics, we do not see the kind of deeper divisions, with civil society groups rallying against the state, we might expect in advance of a coup. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Not what a coup looks like Research suggests that carrying out a successful coup is a bit like baking a cake: There is a recipe, and if you skip steps or leave out ingredients, you’ll almost certainly fail. Turkey’s plotters didn’t follow the recipe. Successful coups tend to be waged as “coordination games,” Naunihal Singh, a professor at the Air War College, wrote in the book “Seizing Power,” which examines why coups succeed or fail. Coups work, according to this theory, when leaders convince other officers and soldiers that their success is already assured. That makes joining an act of perceived self-interest. Plotters usually accomplish this with a predictable set of steps. A huge show of force demonstrates that the weight of the military is behind the coup. A public statement by one or more high-level public officials shows that there is elite support. And the plotters usually establish tight control over the media and the flow of public information, quashing any broadcasts that would undermine the sense of inevitable and unchallenged success. Successful coups in countries like Turkey, which have strong military and political institutions, typically follow an “institutional coup” model, according to Brian Klaas, a fellow at the London School of Economics. In an institutional coup, the military is unified behind the takeover and uses its full power to force top-down control over the government — as senior Turkish military leaders did in 1980. In that scenario, the coordination game is fairly simple. All of the coordination by the military elite happens before the coup even begins — and then other elites have little choice but to fall in line. Video Turkey Wakes Up to Aftermath of a Coup A failed coup attempt on Friday night has gripped Turkey. By Saturday morning, thousands of soldiers had been detained, accused of trying to overthrow the government, and civilians were left in a state of unease. By TURNER COWLES and MEGAN SPECIA on Publish Date July 16, 2016. Photo by Gokhan Tan/Getty Images. Watch in Times Video » embed When the uprising represents only a faction of officers, Mr. Klaas said, the confidence game can also require quickly seizing top leaders and persuading or forcing a senior officer to publicly declare the coup’s victory, creating an appearance of success before anyone figures out what happened. This time, Turkey’s dissident officers tried to take only some of these steps, and succeeded in none of them. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Rebels deployed tanks and air power in a show of force in Istanbul and Ankara, but this was not enough to intimidate the rest of the military, which eventually overcame them. Most notably, there was no public face of the coup to demonstrate elite support or issue a clear plan. The insurrectionists also tried but failed to control communication with the public. President Erdogan was able to use the FaceTime smartphone app to call a TV station, a bizarre scenario that risked the appearance of weakness but also sapped plotters’ momentum and allowed him to call for the public to flood the streets in opposition. Turkish internet and cellphone service remained in operation. This allowed the government to communicate on social media and helped news of pro-government protests spread, undermining the coup’s sense of inevitability. Unanswered questions Those protests — and the absence of visible pro-coup crowds — may have also been key to thwarting the plot. Successful coups will often exploit or even coordinate with pre-existing movements, using this show of popular support to rally elites. Turkey’s 1997 coup leaders, for example, worked with civil society groups and others who opposed the government. Egypt’s 2013 military takeover came amid mass protests against the government. This weekend’s coup leaders appeared to lack any allies. No civil society groups or political parties issued statements in support of the insurrection, and no elites appeared to take action on its behalf. That hindsight makes the coup seem so doomed only underscores some questions. It is still unclear what prompted the attempt, who led it, and why they believed they had enough chance at success to risk their lives. If history is any guide, the most straightforward explanation is simply poor planning and ineptitude.

Syria's Assad vows "iron fist", mocks Arab League

10 Jan 2012 15:55Source: Reuters // ReutersDemonstrators protest against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad after Friday prayers in Amude, January 6, 2012. The banner reads, "New Syria for all Syrians". REUTERS/Handout* Assad speech again mixes tough talk, promises of reform* Syrian leader denies orders to shoot people, 11 more killed* Opposition: speech undercuts chances of peaceful solution* Arab League condemns attack in which 11 monitors hurtBy Dominic EvansBEIRUT, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad vowed on Tuesday to strike "terrorists" with an iron fist and derided Arab League efforts to halt violence in a 10-month-old revolt against his rule.The president's 100-minute speech, his first public address since June, contained some promises of reform, but no sweeping concessions that might placate an opposition now determined to end more than four decades of domination by the Assad family.Assad, 46, offered a referendum on a new constitution in March before a multi-party parliamentary election that has been much postponed. Under the present constitution, Assad's Baath party is designated as "the leader of the state and society".But the Syrian leader gave no sign that he was willing to relinquish the power he inherited on his father's death in 2000."I am not someone who abandons responsibility," he declared.In the latest bloodshed, Syrian forces shot dead 10 people, most of them anti-Assad protesters, in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor, the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Gunfire from a checkpoint also killed a man in Homs, it added.Authorities have barred most independent media from Syria, making it hard to verify accounts by activists or officials.Assad made scathing remarks about the Arab League, which has sent monitors to check Syria's compliance with an Arab peace plan after suspending it from the 22-member body in November."The Arab League has failed for six decades to take a position in the Arab interest," he taunted.MONITORS ASSAULTEDThe League condemned an attack on Monday in which 11 of its monitors were hurt by demonstrators in the port city of Latakia, saying Syria had breached its obligation to protect them.Internet footage appeared to show a pro-Assad crowd in Latakia surging around the white vehicles used by monitors."Unfortunately there have been attacks on monitors, especially those from (Gulf) countries, attacks from non-opposition elements," said the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan."The task of the monitors is getting more difficult every day because we do not see a decline in ... killings," he said.Syria said it was continuing to provide security for the observers and condemned any act that obstructs their work.While opting to keep the mission going at least until Jan. 19, the League said on Sunday Syria had not fully implemented an agreement to stop violence, withdraw troops from cities, free prisoners, provide media access and open a political dialogue.Opposition figures say the monitors have failed to stem the bloodshed, but Russia, an old ally of Assad's government, said on Tuesday the mission had a stabilising role.Assad complained that Syria was the target of a relentless foreign media campaign. Blaming unrest on "outside planning", he said: "The outside now regrettably includes Arabs."His approach to unrest, casting it as a foreign conspiracy and countering it with violent repression and hazy promises of reform, resembled that of other Arab leaders confronted by mass protests in the past year. Three autocrats have been toppled.ARMY TO MAINTAIN COHERENCEDespite the persistent upheaval in Syria, where an insurgency is growing alongside civilian demonstrations, Assad's security forces seem to retain the upper hand for now."The Syrian regime is likely to retain power throughout most of 2012 ... Although military defections will increase, the army is likely to maintain its coherence," said Ayham Kamel, of the Eurasia Group political risk consultancy.The Syrian opposition, riven by factional tensions, has yet to form a widely accepted representative council.The United Nations says Syria's crackdown on unrest has killed more than 5,000 people. Syrian authorities blame armed Islamists they say have killed 2,000 security force members.Despite the high casualty toll, Assad denied any policy to shoot demonstrators. "There is no cover for anyone. There are no orders for anyone to open fire on any citizen," he said.Nevertheless, his priority was to restore order, which could only be achieved by "hitting terrorists with an iron fist".Burhan Ghalioun, head of the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC), called Assad's speech dangerous because he had "insisted on using violence against our people, considered the revolution a terrorist conspiracy and thus undercut any Arab or non-Arab initiative to find a political solution to the crisis".The struggle in Syria, Iran's only Arab ally, has alarmed its neighbours. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, a former friend-turned-critic of Assad, warned on Monday that Syria was "heading towards a religious, sectarian, racial war."Israel said it was preparing to take in refugees from Assad's minority Alawite sect should his government fall.Ghalioun, the SNC leader, urged the Arab League to refer Syria to the United Nations Security Council to halt Assad's efforts to stamp out protests and to protect civilians.The League seems divided over such a step, which in the case of Libya led to a U.N. resolution that NATO used as the basis for an air campaign that helped rebels oust Muammar Gaddafi.Russia and China have opposed any Security Council move on Syria, while Western powers have not advocated military action in a country located in the volatile heart of the Middle East.The West is wary also because of Syrian opposition splits over the role of armed resistance, the weight Islamist groups should have in any joint opposition body, and the scope for Arab, U.N. or other external action to drive Assad from power.Jeremy Binnie, a senior analyst at IHS Jane's, questioned whether the outcome in Libya could be replicated in Syria."The Syrian regime would be a significantly harder to topple and the fallout potentially far more serious, especially given the country's arsenal of chemical weapons. Libya's air defences were a pushover by comparison. Syria would be a challenge of biblical proportions compared with Libya," he said. (Additional reporting by Mariam Karouny and Laila Bassam in Beirut and Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman; Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by Mark Heinrich)===========================EXCLUSIVE-US, allies exploring prospects for Assad exile02 Feb 2012 04:19Source: Reuters // Reuters* US talking to Europeans, Arabs about Assad's fate* Three countries willing to take him if no other option-sources* Trial balloon or Yemen-style solution?By Arshad Mohammed and Matt SpetalnickWASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The United States, European governments and Arab states have begun discussing the possibility of exile for Bashar al-Assad despite skepticism the defiant Syrian president is ready to consider such an offer, Western officials said on Wednesday.While talks have not progressed far and there is no real sense that Assad's fall is imminent, one official said as many as three countries were willing to take him as a way to bring an end to Syria's bloody 10-month-old crisis.Two sources said no European states were prepared to give Assad sanctuary, but one official said the United Arab Emirates might be among those open to the idea.Talk of exile has surfaced amid mounting international pressure on Assad and a diplomatic showdown over a proposed Arab League resolution at the United Nations aimed at getting him to transfer power. He has responded by stepping up assaults on opposition strongholds.With the White House insisting for weeks that Assad's days in power are numbered, it was unclear whether this marks an attempt to persuade the Syrian leader and his family to grasp the chance of a safe exit instead of risking the fate of Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, who was hunted and killed by rebels last year.But with Assad showing he remains in charge of a powerful security apparatus and the Syrian opposition fragmented militarily, it could also be an effort to step up psychological pressure and open new cracks in his inner circle.The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said neither the United States nor the European Union had taken the lead on the idea, which has been advocated by Arab nations as a way to try to end the violence in Syria."We understand that some countries have offered to host him should he choose to leave Syria," a senior Obama administration official said, without naming any of the countries.Before that could happen, however, the question of whether Assad would be granted some kind of immunity would have to be tackled --- something the Syrian opposition as well as international human rights groups would likely oppose."There are significant questions of accountability for the horrible abuses that have been committed against the Syrian people," the senior U.S. official said."Ultimately these issues will be deliberated by the Syrian people in concert with regional and international partners," the official said. "This is about what Syrians need to end this crisis and begin the process of rebuilding their country."While U.S. officials maintained that exile was worth exploring among other options, one European official voiced doubt it would work, saying Assad had given no indication that he might accept a graceful exit.YEMEN-STYLE SOLUTION?Bruce Reidel, a former CIA analyst who has advised President Barack Obama, said Arab countries appeared to be trying to craft a political solution in Syria modeled after Yemen.Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh arrived in the United States on Saturday for treatment of wounds suffered in an assassination attempt in June. Under a power transfer plan drawn up by Gulf Arab countries for Saleh to step down to end a year of protests against his rule, a vice president is presiding over a unity government with presidential elections set for Feb. 21."Assad and his wife get safe exile," said Reidel, now at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington. "But who will take him? Iran? Russia? UK? And does he get immunity like Saleh?"Officials stressed the discussions of the exile option for Assad were at an early stage and there was no agreed plan on how such an exit might be orchestrated.A European official said EU members were willing to consider the idea of Assad going into exile but that there was "no way we'd have him in our countries.""Our priority remains ending the slaughter that Assad and his regime are perpetrating against Syrian civilians, and facilitating a peaceful and orderly transition to democracy," the senior U.S. administration official said.Administration officials were hesitant to predict how much time Assad might be able to stay in power in the face of international isolation and sanctions. But the consensus was it would be months, not weeks, before Assad came to crunch time.U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said on Tuesday that it was just a matter of time before Assad falls, but acknowledged "it could be a long time."Much could depend on the fate of a European-Arab-drafted resolution in the U.N. Security Council that would call for Assad to hand powers to his deputy to defuse the uprising against his family's dynastic rule.Russia said on Wednesday it would veto any resolution on Syria that it finds unacceptable, after demanding any measure rule out military intervention to halt the bloodshed touched off by protests against Assad.The political violence in Syria has killed at least 5,000 people in the past 10 months and activists say Assad's forces have stepped up operations this week on opposition strongholds, from Damascus suburbs to the cities of Hama, Homs and the border provinces of Deraa and Idlib.(Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball; Writing by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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Syrian forces raid Damascus, opposition cities despite outcry
Wed, Feb 15 08:04 AM EST
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By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian government forces attacked the opposition strongholds of Homs and Hama on Wednesday and also raided a district of Damascus in the closest military operation to the capital's centre since an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad broke out 11 months ago.

Elite forces backed by armored personnel carriers erected roadblocks in main streets of Damascus' residential Barzeh neighborhood, searched houses and made arrests, witnesses said.

Residents said they were looking for opposition activists and members of the rebel Free Syrian Army, which has provided armed protection for protests against Assad in the district.

Government forces also mounted an offensive in Hama, a city with a bloody history of resistance to the 42-year Assad dynasty, firing on residential neighborhoods from armored vehicles and anti-aircraft guns, opposition activists said.

Artillery also shelled Sunni Muslim neighborhoods in Homs, the 13th day of their bombardment of a city that has been at the forefront of the uprising.

The attacks indicated Assad's determination to crush the revolt despite international efforts, spearheaded by Arab nations, to make him cease the bloodshed.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said France had started negotiating a new U.N. Security Council resolution on Syria with Russia and wanted to discuss creating humanitarian corridors to ease the plight of civilians caught up in the violence.

"The idea of humanitarian corridors that I previously proposed to allow NGOs to reach the zones where there are scandalous massacres should be discussed at the Security Council," Juppe told France Info radio.

The U.N. General Assembly would vote on a "symbolic" resolution on Thursday that would add to pressure on the Assad government, he said.

Russia, Syria's longtime ally and main arms supplier, and China vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution on February4 that would have called on Assad to step down.

Since then Arab nations led by Gulf state rivals to Assad have been working to put a new resolution before the General Assembly. Unlike a Security Council resolution, it cannot be vetoed but would not be binding.

The Arab League has also called for a joint U.N.-Arab peacekeeping force to be deployed in Syria and indicated members would be willing to arm the opposition -- moves that have caused concern among Western powers eager to see the end of Assad's 11-year-rule but wary of a foreign military intervention which could spark a wider regional war.

Adding to the regional pressure on Assad, the head of Egypt's influential seat of Sunni Islamic learning, al-Azhar, called for bold Arab action against the Syrian government.

In Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama told Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping at a meeting at the White House on Tuesday that the United States was disappointed with China's veto of the Security Council resolution, a U.S. official said.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai said after the talks that China still supported the role of the Arab League and wanted a dialogue to end the violence. But the Security Council needed to take a "very careful and very responsible attitude" to Syria, he said.

"If the U.N. Security Council takes the wrong steps, that could lead to even worse bloodshed," Cui said.

ON HIS OWN TERMS

Assad dismisses his opponents as terrorists backed by enemy nations in a regional power-play and says he will introduce political reforms on his own terms.

Syrian state television reported on Wednesday he had ordered a referendum on a new constitution on February 26.

That move is unlikely to appease the movement against him, which began with street demonstrations by civilians but now includes armed insurrection by the Free Syrian Army made up mainly of army defectors.

The government says at least 2,000 members of its military and security forces have died and the United Nations says government forces have killed several thousand civilians.

On the conflict front, tanks deployed near the citadel of Hama were shelling the neighborhoods of Faraya, Olailat, Bashoura and al-Hamidiya, and troops were advancing from the airport, opposition sources said.

An activist called Amer, speaking briefly by satellite phone, said landlines and mobile phone networks have been cut in all of Hama, a Sunni city notorious for the massacre of about 10,000 people when the present president's father Hafez sent in troops to crush an uprising there in 1982.

Activists said no casualty reports were available from Hama, Syria's fourth largest city, because of communications problems.

Foreign media must rely largely on often-unverified activist accounts because the Syrian government restricts access.

In the Damascus operation, witnesses said at least 1,000 soldiers had swamped Barzeh district after sealing off roads.

"They have destroyed the facades of shops and turned back students heading to school," Mazen, a university student, said by telephone from Barzeh.

The largely Sunni Muslim district has been among the most active in the capital in the protest movement against Assad, whose family are from the minority Alawite sect.

In Homs, an explosion hit an oil pipeline feeding a refinery, sending a large plume of smoke rising into the sky, witnesses said. The blast hit the pipeline near a district being shelled by government troops, witnesses said.

Government forces have bombarded pro-opposition areas of Homs for 13 days, killing hundreds and drawing international condemnation.

Activists and aid groups report a growing humanitarian crisis there, with food running short and wounded people unable to receive proper treatment.

France said it had created a one million euro emergency fund for aid agencies looking to help the Syrian people and would propose a similar one at an international level next week at a meeting in Tunisia to discuss the crisis.

It also renewed the idea of creating humanitarian corridors, first suggested in November, with Syrian approval or with an international mandate for shipping food and medicine to alleviate civilian suffering.

Under that plan, the corridors would link Syrian population centers to the frontiers of Turkey and Lebanon, to the Mediterranean coast or to an airport.

(Additional reporting by Dominic Evans and Erika Solomon in Beirut, and John Irish in Paris, Writing by Angus MacSwan; Editing by Peter Millership) Assassination of Free Syrian Army Commander By Militants Creates Rift in Syrian Rebel Alliance July 12, 2013 New Front Opens In Syria As Rebels Say Al Qaeda Attack Means War Reuters July 12, 2013 BEIRUT — The assassination of a top Free Syrian Army commander by militants linked to al Qaeda is tantamount to a declaration of war, FSA rebels on Friday, opening a new front between Western-backed forces and Islamists in Syria’s civil war. The announcement is the latest sign of disarray in the armed opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has regained the upper hand more than two years into an insurgency that grew out of Arab Spring-inspired pro-democracy protests. It follows growing rivalries between the FSA and the Islamists, who have sometimes joined forces on the battlefield, and coincides with attempts by the Western and Arab-backed FSA to allay fears any U.S.-supplied arms might reach al Qaeda. Members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, a hardline Islamist group, killed Kamal Hamami of the FSA Supreme Military Council on Thursday. Also known by his nom de guerre, Abu Bassir al-Ladkani, he is one of its top 30 figures. Rebel commanders pledged to retaliate. "We are going to wipe the floor with them. We will not let them get away with it because they want to target us," a senior rebel commander said on condition of anonymity. He said the al Qaeda-linked militants had warned FSA rebels that there was “no place" for them where Hamami was killed in Latakia province, a northern rural region of Syria bordering Turkey where Islamist groups are powerful. Other opposition sources said the killing followed a dispute between Hamami’s forces and the Islamic State over control of a strategic checkpoint in Latakia and would lead to fighting. The FSA has been trying to build a logistics network and reinforce its presence across Syria as the U.S. administration considers sending weapons to the group after concluding that Assad’s forces had used chemical weapons against rebel fighters. The anti-Assad Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict, said the FSA and the Islamic State have had violent exchanges in several areas of Syria over the past few weeks, showing growing antagonism between Assad’s foes. "Last Friday, the Islamic State killed an FSA rebel in Idlib province and cut his head off. There have been attacks in many provinces," the Observatory’s leader Rami Abdelrahman said. Two of Hamami’s men were wounded in Thursday’s attack, he said by telephone. Syria’s conflict turned violent in the face of a crackdown on protests. Civil war ensued with disparate rebel groups taking up arms and the Observatory says more than 100,000 people have been killed. U.S. congressional committees are holding up plans to arm the rebels because of fears that such deliveries will not be decisive and the arms might end up in the hands of Islamist militants. Syria’s opposition bemoans the delay, and repeated on Thursday assurances that the arms will not go to Islamist militants.
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