Syria updates - June 28th !

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/06/201262817158947278.html

Syrian opposition sceptical of new Annan plan

Several groups say they will not accept envoy's plan for "unity government" if it includes President Bashar al-Assad. Last Modified: 28 Jun 2012 18:41 inShare4 Email Print Share Feedback

Kofi Annan, the joint UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, has proposed setting up a "unity government" to end the violence in the country, but several of Syria's main opposition groups have already rejected the plan. Annan will discuss the plan in Geneva on Saturday with officials from nearly a dozen countries. The proposal will call for multi-party elections, and an offer for "significant" international funding to rebuild war-torn Syria, according to a blueprint obtained by the AFP news agency. "It is essential that any settlement provides for clear and irreversible steps in the transition according to a fixed time frame," the plan states. Opposition groups have rejected the plan, saying they want Syrian President Bashar al-Assad banned from participating in any transitional government. Annan's plan is vague on which Syrian officials would be excluded, saying only that it "could include members of the present government and the opposition and other groups, but would exclude from government those whose continued presence and participation would undermine the credibility of the transition and jeopardise stability and reconciliation". "The proposal is still murky to us, but I can tell you that if it does not clearly state that Assad must step down, it will be unacceptable to us," said Samir Nashar, an executive member of the oppositon Syrian National Council. The Syrian Muslim Brotherhood also rejected the plan, saying in an email statement that it was premature to negotiate a transitional government while violence was still ongoing. "This is an attempt to circumvent the revolution of the Syrian people," the statement said. 'Decided by the Syrians' The proposal is generally supported by the major powers - the US, Britain, France, China and Russia - who will attend Saturday's meeting, though Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, warned that it should not "predetermine" Assad's fate. "We do not support, and cannot support, any kind of meddling from outside, the imposition of recipes," he said at a news conference in Moscow. "This applies to the fate of Bashar al-Assad. It, this fate, must be decided by the Syrians, the Syrian people themselves." Assad himself delivered a similar message on Thursday night in an interview on Iranian state television. "No non-Syrian model is acceptable because no one but us knows how to solve the problem," he said. Foreign ministers from Turkey, Kuwait, Qatar and Iraq will also attend the meeting. Iran, Assad's other close ally, was excluded - a condition set down by the US - as was Saudi Arabia, which has supported the Syrian opposition. Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, said on Wednesday that she had been in regular contact with Annan over his plan, and said it "embodies the principles needed for any political transition in Syria". The latest diplomatic push comes amid worsening violence in Syria, including several recent attacks in and around the capital. Two car bombs exploded on Thursday near the Palace of Justice in Damascus, Syria's highest court, though there were no immediate reports of any casualties. and.......

http://www.debka.com/article/22137/Assad-is-confined-to-palace-by-his-Republican-Guard

Assad is confined to palace by his Republican Guard

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 28, 2012, 11:13 AM (GMT+02:00)

Tags:  Bashar Assad   Qaisoun Palace   Syrian rebels 

A virtual prisoner in his own palace

DEBKAfile, citing Western intelligence sources, reports Thursday, June 28, that the Republican Guard battalion commander charged with the Syrian president’s security is keeping Bashar Assad shut away in his “Unity” palace. Assad and his family may not leave the building without the commander’s permission under an order current since the second half of last week. It is not clear to whom the commander defers in this case and who in fact actually determines whether Assad can come or go.

Asked by DEBKAfile if an element in the Republican Guard ordered the palace placed under siege to prevent the president and his family fleeing, those Western sources replied that the situation could be described as a “partial siege” which is constantly expanding. They added, in response to another question about the Syrian ruler’s freedom of movement, that neither Assad nor members of his family are able to leave the palace to go anywhere and they are aware of the restrictions placed on their movements.

"Because of the partial siege and these restrictions," said those intelligence sources, "Assad and his wife are both in very low spirits and the atmosphere inside the palace is very bleak."
The video clips showing the Syrian president and his wife Asma happily playing badminton in the palace grounds were released this week by the regime’s propaganda arm – apparently to belie the rumors spreading in Damascus about the first family’s virtual imprisonment in their own palace.In fact, say the sources, “"Inside the palace, Assad and his family are so mistrustful of their immediate circle that food tasters are on hand in to partake in advance of all the food and drink served them.” The tasters belong to the elite unit of Syrian military intelligence. They were brought in after at least two attempts by Syrian rebel associates to sneak poisoned food into the palace. It was discovered before causing harm or even death.

"Bashar Assad won’t even drink a glass of water unless his personal food taster first swallows at least a quarter of its contents."
It is important to note, said the Western sources, that access to the Assad palace on Mt. Qaisoun on the outskirts of Damascus is gained only through two underground roads which are fortified against aerial bombardment and invisible to spies in the sky. The two roads serve the separate entrance and exit from the palace.
All vehicles using the roads, including supply trucks, belong to Syrian intelligence services. The drivers and porters unloading the vehicles – although intelligence personnel - are all closely watched at all times, starting with detailed inspections when they arrive at the entrance to one of the roads.

The rebels’ success in planting poison in one of those closely vetted supply trucks attests to their success in penetrating some of the layers of security protecting the persons of the president and his family.

and......

CIA, Mossad Backed Rebels Attack Syrian Television Station, Kill 7

Oliver Holmes
Reuters
June 27, 2012

Gunmen stormed a pro-government Syrian TV channel headquarters on Wednesday, bombing buildings and shooting dead three employees, state media said, in one of the boldest attacks yet on a symbol of the authoritarian state.

President Bashar al-Assad declared late on Tuesday that his country was “at war”. U.S. intelligence officials said the Syrian government was “holding fairly firm” and digging in for a long struggle against rebel forces who are getting stronger.

The dawn attack on Ikhbariya television’s offices, located 20 km (15 miles) south of the capital, as well as overnight fighting on the outskirts of Damascus showed 16 months of violence now rapidly encroaching on the capital.

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http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/06/2012628102015965692.html

Explosion rocks Syrian capital

Two bombs explode outside the Palace of Justice in central Damascus, Syrian TV reports. Last Modified: 28 Jun 2012 11:44 inShare7 Email Print Share Feedback

State TV said the explosion was in the parking lot of the Palace of Justice, a compound that houses several courts.

Two bombs exploded outside the Palace of Justice in central Damascus, state television reported, without giving any immediate word on any casualties. "Two bombs exploded in the car park of the Palace of Justice in the  Al-Marjeh district of Damascus. A third did not explode," the television said on Thursday, describing the bombings as "terrorist" attacks. A police source told AFP news agency that two magnetic bombs exploded in two judges' cars in the open-air car park, while a third was in the process of being defused. State television showed footage of heavy smoke rising from the car park, as  firefighters attempted to put out the flames. A reporter with Associated Press news agency at the scene said some cars were charred and many had their windshields blown out. Fawaz Mishhim, a witness who was in a nearby market when he heard the explosion, said: "I did not see any wounded people, but cars and nearby shops were damaged." The blast happened at around 1pm local time (10GMT) near al-Hamidiyeh Market, a busy commerical area in the heart of Damascus. Syria has been hit by a wave of massive explosions in recent months, killing dozens of people. Most of the explosions targeted the security agencies of President Bashar Assad, who is fighting to end a 15-month-old uprising against his rule. Last month, an explosion targeted a military intelligence compound south of Damascus killing 55 people. It was Syria's deadliest blast. Much of the violence that has gripped Syria since the uprising began has been sanctioned by the government to crush dissent. But rebel fighters are launching increasingly deadly attacks on government targets, and several massive suicide attacks this year suggest al-Qaida or other extremists are joining the fray. On Wednesday, at least seven people have killed been killed after gunmen raided the offices of a pro-government television station near Damascus. and..... http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/06/2012628423300508.html Kofi Annan proposes Syria 'unity government' Diplomats say call for interim government that includes Assad followers and opposition members gains traction. Last Modified: 28 Jun 2012 10:03 inShare13 Email Print Share Feedback An attack on the headquarters of a TV station outside Damascus on Wednesday left seven killed, officials said [AFP] International envoy Kofi Annan has proposed setting up a Syrian transitional government that could include followers of President Bashar al-Assad and opposition members in a bid to end the country's war, diplomats said. The major powers - the US, Britain, France, China and Russia, a key Assad ally - generally back the plan that will be discussed at a meeting of foreign ministers Annan has convened in Geneva on Saturday, they said. Annan's blueprint says the interim government could include members of Assad's government and opposition groups, but not officials "whose presence could harm the transition and jeopardize the credibility of the government or undermine efforts to bring reconciliation," according to a summary given by one UN diplomat on Wednesday. "The language of Annan's plan suggests that Assad could be excluded but also that certain opposition figures could be ruled out," said a second UN diplomat. The diplomat stressed, however, that there was nothing in Annan's document which automatically excluded Assad, who has been battling a 15-month-old uprising that activists say has left more than 15,000 dead. The plan is contained in a set of "Guidelines and Principles of a Syrian-led Transition" that Annan sent out to ministers who will be at Saturday's meeting, diplomats said. The Geneva meeting will be attended by foreign ministers from the major powers -- all permanent members of the UN Security Council -- along with Turkey, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq. National dialogue Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said on Thursday that the fate of Assad should be decided through a national dialogue, rejecting any solution imposed from abroad to end the violence in the country. "The meeting in Geneva was intended to support Kofi Annan's plan and it must set the conditions for the end of violence and the start of an all-Syrian national dialogue, and not predetermine the contents of this dialogue," Lavrov told a briefing. Lavrov also said it was a mistake not to include Iran at the Syria talks. Speaking in the Finnish capital Helsinki on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she had been in regular contact with Annan over his transition plan. She did not make public details of his proposal, but noted: "I've been in close consultation with special envoy Kofi Annan about the prospects for a meeting that would focus on a roadmap for political transition in Syria." Annan "has developed his own very concrete roadmap for political transition, he has been circulating it for comments and when I spoke to him yesterday I conveyed our support for the plan that he has put forward," said Clinton. "We think it embodies the principles needed for any political transition in Syria that could lead to a peaceful, democratic and representative outcome reflecting the will of the Syrian people," she added. Syrian opposition groups said on Thursday they would not accept a political transition plan unless it explicitly required Assad to step down "The proposal is still murky to us but I can tell you that if it does not clearly state that Assad must step down, it will be unacceptable to us," said Samir Nashar, an executive member of the opposition bloc the Syrian National Council. On Wednesday, UN observers deployed to monitor Annan’s peace plan visited the headquarters of a pro-government Syrian TV station raided by gunmen earlier in the day. Seven employees were killed, others kidnapped and buildings were demolished, according to officials. The government-controlled Syrian TV aired footage of the monitors inspecting the site and talking to the director of the Al-Ikhbariya TV station. The government blamed "terrorists" and described the killings as a massacre.