http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/01/201312322462753542.html
Syria rebels 'attacked' religious sites | |
Rights group says fighters have burned and looted Christian and Shia places of worship, increasing sectarian fears.
Last Modified: 24 Jan 2013 00:57
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Human Rights Watch urged armed groups to respect places of worship [EPA]
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| Rebels in Syria have burned and looted the religious sites of minorities, Human Rights Watch says, warning that the 22-month old conflict could become increasingly sectarian. "The destruction of religious sites is furthering sectarian fears and compounding the tragedies of the country, with tens of thousands killed," Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director of the US-based rights group, said on Wednesday.
"Syria will lose its rich cultural and religious diversity if armed groups do not respect places of worship. Leaders on both sides should send a message that those who attack these sites will be held accountable."
 Its windows were broken, prayer stones littered on the floor, walls charred from flames, and what appeared to be the remnants of a burned prayer rug lay on the floor. Footage posted online showed rebels celebrating their victory in the town as the husseiniya burns in the background. Residents said the army had been using the husseiniya as a barracks. Human Rights Watch condemned the government's use of the husseiniya for military purposes, but said that did not justify intentional damage by the rebels. The rights group said local rebel fighters had blamed Syria's government for the damage but residents said opposition fighters had started the fire when they took control of the village. Residents of Zarzour, a predominantly Sunni village, said their Shia neighbours fled fearing retaliation for supporting the government. Churches looted In the Christian villages of Ghasaniyeh and Jdeideh in Latakia province, residents said that gunmen operating "in the name of the opposition" broke into and stole from churches in November. A resident in Jdeideh cited by the rights group said armed men had broken into the local church, stolen and fired shots inside, after government troops had fled.
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http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-says-the-west-created-terrorist-problem-in-mali-2013-1
RUSSIA TO WEST: We Told You Not To Overthrow Qaddafi!
On Wednesday Russia blamed Western countries for creating the current turmoil in Africa by arming Libyan rebels, Timothy Heritage and Gabriela Baczynska of Reuters report.
"Those whom the French and Africans are fighting now in Mali are the [same] people who ... our Western partners armed so that they would overthrow the Gaddafi regime," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a news conference.
The toppling of Libyan ruler Muammar Qaddafi led to "perhaps the greatest proliferation of weapons of war from any modern conflict," Emergency Director of Human Rights Watch Peter Bouckaert told The Telegraph.
Those weapons stockpiles were raided by both sides, and both sides had connections with radical militants.
In 2011 Pepe Escobar of the Asia Times noted that the main rebel group, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), had formed a "merger" with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb (AQIM) in 2007.
And the well-armed Tuareg rebels who fought on Qaddafi's side subsequently returned to northern Mali where they, along with jihadist groups including AQIM, declared the Texas-sized area an independent country in April 2012.
Now France has 2,300 troops on the ground in Mali to retake northern Mali, and several Western countries (including the U.S.) are providing logistical and intelligence support for an offensive that looks like it will take a while.
"The situation in Mali feels the consequence of events in Libya," Lavrov said. "The seizure of hostages in Algeria was a wake-up call."
A senior Algerian official told The New York Times that the militants who seized an oil field in Algeria last week bought their weapons in the Libyan capital of Tripoli.
Russia has also accused the West of arming Syrian rebels in an attempt to topple the regime of Bashar al-Assad, and there is evidence that the allegations hold some truth.
Lavrov noted that the unrest across the Middle East could play into the hands of radical militants.
"This will be a time bomb for decades ahead," he said.
and.......
http://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-arabia-sent-inmates-against-assad-2013-1
REPORT: Saudi Arabia Sent 1,200 Death Row Inmates To Fight In Syria
A leaked internal memo shows how Saudi officials commuted 1,200 death row inmates under the condition they go and fight against Assad in Syria, according to the Assyrian International News Agency.
From the memo:
We have reached an agreement with them that they will be exempted from the death sentence and given a monthly salary to their families and loved ones, who will be prevented from traveling outside Saudi Arabia in return for rehabilitation of the accused and their training in order to send them to Jihad in Syria.
Saudi officials apparently gave them a choice: decapitation or jihad? In total, inmates from Yemen, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Jordan, Somalia, Afghanistan, Egypt, Pakistan, Iraq, and Kuwait chose to go and fight in Syria.
The news agency AINA also reported that an unnamed Iraqi official said Russia objected to the Saudi's decision to release the prisoners. Russia has several military contracts with Bashar al Assad and has continuously vetoed U.N. measures aimed at ousting the embattled leader; although their official position is not overt support of Assad, but rather to uphold the sovereignty of a nation.
The Saudis and Americans have collaborated in several different military and paramilitary excursions, including hosting Desert Storm in 1991, and weapons deals with Libya rebels. Often, these collaborations include support for hardened Islamic fighters.
and....
http://www.blacklistednews.com/As_Extremists_Take_Hold%2C_Young_Syrians_Are_Getting_Pretty_Sick_of_This_So-Called_Revolution/23756/0/38/38/Y/M.html
As Extremists Take Hold, Young Syrians Are Getting Pretty Sick of This So-Called Revolution
January 21, 2013
Source: The Atlantic, Adam Clark Estes
The curious part of the situation is that young Syrians aren't necessarily afraid of the violence that's crippled their country. Some are more scared of what's to come if the Syrian rebels win. "Many don't know who they hate most, the opposition or regime, because neither is offering a way forward. As they see it, they are both part of a system producing an absurd level of violence and destruction," Peter Harling, an analyst for the International Crisis Group, explained to The LA Times. "A lot of people have paid a price and are not sure what it is for anymore." Or to put it in the words of a young Syrian who's seen his friends splinter off, some joining the brutal Assad loyalists and others joining the just-as-brutal and increasingly extremist Syrian rebels. "I don't really care if I die or not, but if I live, I will be a stranger," he said. "Maybe I have always been, but I feel we'll never come back to how we were."
The disdain is understandable. The situation in Syria is frustrating for everyone, for reasons beyond the blind violence. Despite calls from even its closest allies to allow for a political transition if not step down entirely, President Bashar al-Assad remains strikingly steadfast in his quest to hold on to power. In his first public speech in over half a year, Assad called the opposition "terrorists" and vowed not to negotiate with them as an audience of government officials and university students chanted, "With our souls, with our blood, we defend you, Assad." Meanwhile, however, a big population of educated, mostly middle class young Syrians still oppose Assad, but they're growing increasingly worried that the rebels might actually be terrorists. After all, the Syrian opposition does count groups like Al Nasra Front, a group with ties to Al Qaeda, amongst its allies.
Read More...
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http://news.antiwar.com/2013/01/21/syrian-rebels-fail-to-agree-on-exile-govt/
Syrian Rebels Fail to Agree on ‘Exile Govt’
Divisions Remain in Islamist-Dominated Umbrella Group
by Jason Ditz, January 21, 2013
The Islamists’ virtual takeover of he Syrian National Coalition (SNC) at its meeting last month was expected to effectively end the divisions in the rebel lobbying group, albeit not in a way many Western nations were comfortable with. The divisions, however, seem to have remained and even grown in the new meeting.
That’s because despite the Islamists holding a large number of seats in the 70-member group they belong to several different factions, and today’s efforts to form a “government-in-exile” to rule rebel-seized lands has failed.
Deals were so remote that the SNC President Moaz Alkhatib left mid-conference to go fundraising in Qatar, and several of the key factions didn’t even nominate anybody for the position of prime minister in exile.
Indeed, the only nominee that was even suggested for the position was Riyad Hijab, who was the actual prime minister of Syria for a little over a month last summer before defecting. Before that he had served as Agriculture Minister.
and....
http://www.debka.com/article/22701/Russia-lifts-nationals-out-of-Syria-Moscow-Iran-arm-Assad-for-major-armored-push
Russia lifts nationals out of Syria. Moscow, Iran arm Assad for major armored push
DEBKAfile Special Report January 21, 2013, 10:19 PM (GMT+02:00)
Russian warships in Tartus
The Russian emergency ministry said Monday, Jan. 21 that it is sending two planes to Beirut to evacuate 100 Russians from Syria - the first such effort since the uprising against Bashar Assad began in March 2011. Moscow also announced contingency plans to lift 30,000 Russian nationals from the embattled country.
This evacuation of Russian nationals starting Tuesday was decided after the Syrian high command received orders from President Assad to organize mobile armored strike groups with massive fire power for a big push to run the rebel forces out of the towns, villages and areas they have captured, mostly in the north and southeast.
DEBKAfile’s military sources report that, because they are in a hurry, the Syrian army chiefs decided to use only seasoned officers and men with experience in active service against the rebels, rather than new recruits who would need weeks of combat training. The divisions or brigades holding the line in such trouble spots as Aleppo, Homs and Deraa, are being depleted, some of their units detached for service in the new armored strike groups.
Our sources report that Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps officers are supervising the effort for what Assad sees as his biggest assault yet to finally crush the revolt against his regime.
Its timing marks two fundamental developments in Syria’s bloody civil war:
Our sources report that Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps officers are supervising the effort for what Assad sees as his biggest assault yet to finally crush the revolt against his regime.
Its timing marks two fundamental developments in Syria’s bloody civil war:
1. The self-confidence of Assad and his top military staff is gaining in direct contrast to the weakening of the insurgency. It was therefore decided in Damascus that the time was ripe for a major offensive to push the rebels out of the strategic areas from which they could threaten central government.
2. Western-Arab arms supplies to the rebels have slowed down steeply because the funding from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAR has dried up. The high-grade weapons still in rebel hands were mostly looted from Syrian army bases and stores.
3. According to DEBKAfile’s military sources, Russian officials up to the level of President Vladimir Putin examined the Iranian-Syrian armored strike group tactics and approved.
These developments, according to Western intelligence sources familiar with the Syrian situation, explain the recently intensified coordination between Moscow, Tehran and Damascus and the resulting accelerated flow of Russian and Iranian weapons to the Syrian army.
2. Western-Arab arms supplies to the rebels have slowed down steeply because the funding from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAR has dried up. The high-grade weapons still in rebel hands were mostly looted from Syrian army bases and stores.
3. According to DEBKAfile’s military sources, Russian officials up to the level of President Vladimir Putin examined the Iranian-Syrian armored strike group tactics and approved.
These developments, according to Western intelligence sources familiar with the Syrian situation, explain the recently intensified coordination between Moscow, Tehran and Damascus and the resulting accelerated flow of Russian and Iranian weapons to the Syrian army.
Russian arms ships are lining up at the Syrian port of Tartus to unload their freights, while Iranian air transports are touching down and taking off at speed from Damascus and Aleppo military airports.Arms deliveries are coming in aboard large Russian naval vessels, including the Azov andAklexander Shabalin landing craft, the amphibious Kaliningrad and others.
To camouflage heir rapid movements in and out of Tartus, the Russian navy Sunday, Jan. 20, announced a large-scale sea maneuver would take place in the Mediterranean up until Jan. 29. None of the ships taking part in the drill were identified except to say that they came from Russia’s Baltic, North and Black Sea fleets.
Our military sources report that the Russian deliveries consist mainly of armored vehicles, self-propelling recoilless guns, all-purpose vehicles for rough terrain and a variety of missiles and rockets for combat in built-up areas – all items clearly designed to outfit Assad’s new armored strike units.
Tehran, for its part, is sending ammo, spare parts for Syrian tanks and artillery and missiles.
According to those sources, the Syrian army plans to kick off its new offensive at Daraya, a small town near Damascus which is held by the Free Syrian Army.
Our military sources report that the Russian deliveries consist mainly of armored vehicles, self-propelling recoilless guns, all-purpose vehicles for rough terrain and a variety of missiles and rockets for combat in built-up areas – all items clearly designed to outfit Assad’s new armored strike units.
Tehran, for its part, is sending ammo, spare parts for Syrian tanks and artillery and missiles.
According to those sources, the Syrian army plans to kick off its new offensive at Daraya, a small town near Damascus which is held by the Free Syrian Army.
and........
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/01/201312120464382917.html
Sucide car bombing hits central Syrian town | |
Activists say 30 people are killed as a building used by pro-regime militiamen is targeted in Salamiyeh.
Last Modified: 21 Jan 2013 23:03
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Syria's defence minister said on Monday the army would keep chasing rebels "until it achieves victory" [Reuters]
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| A deadly suicide car bombing has killed several people in the Syrian town of Salamiyeh, opposition activists and state media say. Monday's bombing targeted a building used by pro-regime militiamen and killed more than 30 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
State news agency SANA also reported the blast, saying that "a terrorist suicide car bomb was detonated in the heart of Salamiyeh, leaving a number of people killed and others wounded".
The town, located in the central Hama province, has so far been relatively spared from the violence that has gripped the country since the uprising began in March, 2011. The UK-based Observatory also reported a deadly powerful explosion in the Damascus neighbourhood of Dummar. 'Thwarts the conspiracy' The blasts came as Syria's defence minister said that the army would keep chasing rebels all over the country "until it achieves victory and thwarts the conspiracy that Syria is being subjected to". Meanwhile, Syrian opposition leaders meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, postponed forming a transitional government. The Syrian National Coalition launched talks on Saturday in a second bid to form a government. The 70-member coalition was formed with Western and Gulf backing in Qatar at the beginning of December. Power struggles among its members have undermined efforts to agree a transitional government. A five-member committee would to put forward proposals on a government to the coalition within 10 days, it said on Monday. The committee would "consult opposition forces and the Free Syrian Army and friendly states to get their opinion about forming the government and the extent to which they can honour the necessary commitments for its financial and political viability," the coalition said in a statement. Sources at the negotiations in Istanbul said on Sunday that Syrian National Coalition President Moaz al-Khatib had flown to Qatar to secure promises of financial aid for a transitional government in rebel-held areas.
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