http://rt.com/news/syria-sarin-qusayr-siege-124/
http://www.juancole.com/2013/06/batteries-general-denounces.html
Syria claims sarin seizure at rebel hideout as Russia ‘blocks’ UN's Qusair resolution
Published time: June 02, 2013 10:00
Forces of Syrian President Bashar al Assad are seen on a tank in Arjoun village near Qusair town May 30, 2013. (Reuters)
The Syrian Army has seized two containers with poisonous sarin agent in a rebel hideout, SANA said citing sources. Meanwhile, Russia reportedly blocked the UNSC resolution set to slam Damascus’ offensive on the town of Qusair held by opposition forces.
Syrian Arab News Agency reports that sarin, together with automatic rifles, pistols and homemade bombs (IEDs) was seized in the Faraieh neighborhood of the city of Hama.
Sarin (or GB) is an extremely toxic, though colorless and odorless, substance that disrupts the nervous system, over-stimulating muscles and vital organs, if it comes into contact with skin. This potentially extremely harmful nerve agent was originally invented and manufactured to be used as a chemical weapon. According to UN Resolution 687, Sarin is classified as a weapon of mass destruction.
The threat of chemical weapons deployment in Syria has become a major international concern, with American President Barack Obama even saying previously that the use of chemical arsenal by the Syrian government would be a “red line” and might precipitate a foreign military intervention.
However, in early May an independent UN commission came to the conclusion that Syrian rebels had used sarin nerve gas, while allegations of its use by the government have not yet received any official confirmation.
Russia 'blocks' another UNSC resolution on Syria
On Saturday a UN Security Council (UNSC) assembly failed to adopt a British-drafted resolution on the situation in Qusair, which the Syrian Army has blockaded and is said to be eliminating a large group of opposition forces that occupied the town several weeks ago.
A handout picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on May 30, 2013, shows Syrian army soldiers walking nearby facilities of Dabaa military airfield during an operation that led to the control of the airport, north of the Syrian city of Qusayr. (AFP Photo / SANA)
Rebels besieged in Qusair are pleading for military help. They claim that many civilians have been wounded in the assault of the government forces and that these people are in desperate need of medical attention.
The UK-drafted UN statement obtained by Reuters claims that Assad's government must “allow immediate, full and unimpeded access to impartial humanitarian actors, including UN agencies, to reach civilians trapped in Qusair.”
According to Reuters’ sources in the Security Council, Russia blocked the resolution during private discussions on Saturday, explaining that the UNSC had made no statement when the rebels came to Qusair in force and seized the town.
It is “not advisable to speak out as the UN Security Council didn't when Qusair was taken by the opposition,” a Russia diplomat reportedly said in the UNSC.
So far Russia has officially vetoed three resolutions on Syria in the UNSC saying they were "unbalanced" targeting Assad's government while sending weak to no message to the opposition fighters.
An empty ammunition casing and a fire are seen in a field after heavy fighting between Free Syrian Army fighters, and the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Lebanon's Hezbollah at the al Barak area near Qusair town May 31, 2013. (Reuters)
Earlier this week the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution on the worsening human rights situation in Syria and in particular in connection with battle for Qusair.
The document puts the blame for Qusair violence solely on Damascus troops and condemns the involvement of “foreign combatants” fighting on the side of the Syrian government.
The Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out that the resolution deliberately ignore numerous human rights violations and abuses of Qusair civilians committed by armed foreign jihadists, some of whom have links to Al-Qaeda.
The “foreign combatants” mentioned in the resolution are fighters of the previously neutral Hezbollah group which have joined Syrian military in the offensive on Qusair, overturning the balance in the stand-off to the opposition’s disadvantage.
The Syrian opposition has even threatened not to attend the peace conference in Geneva that is being prepared by Russia and the US for July because of Hezbollah’s involvement.
The ongoing siege of Qusair has raged for two weeks now. On Saturday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated that he is “following with the gravest concern” the situation in Qusair. He reminded the government of Bashar Assad of its responsibility to protect civilians on the Syrian territory, including those threatened by militants, and urged to allow thousands of Qusair residents to flee the town.
A partial view of the city of Qusayr, in Syria's central Homs province, as the Syrian army forces battle opposition fighters, on May 25, 2013. (AFP Photo)
In another statement issued on Saturday the UN Humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos and the UN Human Rights Head Navi Pillay maintained that there are as many as 1,500 injured people in Qusair who need immediate evacuation for emergency medical treatment.
UN officials said that if the information they are receiving is correct, “the general situation in Qusair is desperate.”
“We urge the parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire to allow humanitarian agencies to evacuate the wounded and provide life-saving treatment and supplies,” Amos and Pillay said in their statement.
Qusair, with an original population of 30,000, is less than 10 km from the Lebanese border and some 25 km from the city of Homs.
In the meantime there have been reports of intensifying clashes between the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) and Assad’s forces near Aleppo. Allegedly, the troops have captured Mount Shuwaihinah, a dominating point in the area.
FSA brigades are reportedly calling for reinforcements to be sent in from other areas.
Syria needs a dozen S-300 batteries to protect itself – Russian general; Kerry Denounces Plan
Posted on 06/01/2013 by Juan Cole
Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday deplored the Russian plan to ship S-300 anti-aircraft systems to Syria, saying that it will not lead to peace. The batteries would constrain Israel from bombarding targets in Syria and so would be a game-changer for Israeli security, and they would likely put paid to any talk of a NATO no-fly zone over Syria a la Libya. Russia seems determined to follow through, however (see below).
There is a controversy about whether any of the systems has already been delivered; Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview that one had, but many observers discount this claim.
And here is a video showing S-300s in action:
The USG Open Source Center translates an article from a Russian military source. The article has some interesting details on the S-300′s capabilities and asserts that Syrian crews could be trained within a month.
“Syria to need up to a dozen S-300 batteries to protect itself – Russian general
Interfax-AVN Online
Friday, May 31, 2013
Document Type: OSC Summary . . .Syria needs at least 10 battalions of Russian S-300 air defence missile systems in order to be able fully to protect its territory from possible air attack, former Russian Air Force C-in-C Army General Anatoliy Kornukov told the Russian military news agency Interfax-AVN on 31 May.“Based on the size of Syria’s territory, they will need 10-12 S-300 battalions (Russian: “divizion”; strictly, the next force level up from a battery, i.e. battalion), which would see to it that the country is protected,” Kornukov said.“According to him, that kind of potential will make it all but impossible to set up a no-fly zone over Syria,” the report said.“Each S-300 surface-to-air missile (SAM) system consists of a command post equipped with radar for detection and up to six 5Zh15 SAMs linked up with it,” the report added.A month to train Syrian crewsIt will take up to a month to train Syrian crews to operate the S-300, Kornukov told Interfax-AVN. “Certainly, our specialists will have to train Syrian colleagues if they get these systems. Everything here will depend on the diligence of those to be trained. It will, however, take between two weeks and a month,” Kornukov said.Asked how long it would take to deploy the S-300 once in Syria, Kornukov said that “everything depends on the site where these systems are to be positioned”. “It will take some time to reach the site, although to deploy them proper will take no more than a couple of hours,” he said. It is, he noted, a conservative estimate to take account of the need for “additional adjustments after transit”. “Ordinarily, however, our systems can be deployed within five minutes,” Kornukov added.Almost impossible to jamNo electronic warfare system in the world can suppress the S-300 completely, Kornukov also told Interfax-AVN.“As far as protection from electronic countermeasures is concerned, we have not yet tested the S-300 in a combat environment,” Kornukov admitted. He went on to recall an occasion when countermeasures were deployed by “our Bering Strait neighbours”, which, however, did not prevent the success of that particular combat training mission.It would, however, be wrong to say that the S-300 is totally immune to electronic countermeasures, Kornukov also said. “There are electronic warfare systems, including ours, that can affect its combat operation,” he said. A “smart commander”, however, can find a way round and still hit his target.“Kornukov, however, declined to explain exactly how the S-300 could resist suppression by electronic countermeasures,” the Interfax-AVN report added.(Description of Source: Moscow Interfax-AVN Online in Russian — Website of news service devoted to military news and owned by the independent Interfax news agency; URL: http://www.militarynews.ru)”
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/06/20136283357876775.html
Safe passage sought for Qusayr civilians | ||||
International bodies voice alarm over plight of trapped Syrians, as regime forces launch fresh assault on city.
Last Modified: 02 Jun 2013 12:23
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The regime's military campaign on the city of Qusayr started two weeks ago [Reuters]
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| International aid organisations have stepped up calls for civilians trapped in the flashpoint Syrian city of Qusayr to be evacuated, as rebel fighters faced a fresh assault from government forces. UN agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) appealed to both sides in the fighting to let the civilians, including an estimated 1,500 wounded, leave the embattled town. Qusayr is normally home to about 30,000 people.  Russia, however, blocked the draft because the UN had failed to speak out when Qusayr was seized by rebels more than a year ago. The regime’s military campaign on Qusayr started two weeks ago, in an attempt to regain control of the strategic city bordering Lebanon. It is believed that Hezbollah has sent an estimated 1,700 fighters to support the regime's assault. On Sunday, government fighter jets launched 10 airstrikes on the rebel-held areas of the city, activists there told Al Jazeera. Regime forces have recently captured the northern district of Arjun in Qusayr, leaving rebels little chance to escape. While around 300 rebels managed on Friday to break through army lines near the village of Shamsinn, northeast of Qusayr - after losing 11 fighters - it was unclear if they could quell the advances of regime forces. Activists said that escape routes for civilians have become unsafe. They reported this week that a a convoy of civilians seeking to flee Qusayr was attacked by Syrian forces. UN emergency relief coordinator Valerie Amos and High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said there was "an urgent need of immediate evacuation for emergency medical treatment". But a humanitarian corridor could only be created if both sides agreed, Rupert Colville, a spokesperson Pillay , told Al Jazeera. "Some of those wounded will clearly die if they don't get medical treatment," Colville said. "There should be a ceasefire at least and they let the civilians and the wounded get out and also let some aid in as well. Civilians who stay behind will need food and water." In Geneva, the ICRC called for restraint on all sides. "Civilians and the wounded are at risk of paying an even heavier price as the fighting continues," Robert Mardini, the head of Middle East operations, said, adding that ICRC had already requested access to the town. The control of Qusayr is essential for the rebels as it is their principal transit point for weapons and fighters from across the border in Lebanon. It is also strategic for the regime because it is located on the road linking Damascus with the Mediterranean coast, its rear base. Lebanon and Turkey being drawn further in....
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