Yahoo: Assad predicts disaster if West meddles in Syria

[visionary]

http://shadow.foreignpolicy.com/post...s_Syria_policy

Kofi Annan's bitter resignation and the collapse of Obama's Syria policy

Kofi Annan's bitter resignation yesterday from his hopeless assignment as the UN's Special Envoy for Syria merely confirms what has long been apparent: the Obama administration's Syria policy has failed. The policy seems to have thus far consisted of a combination of sternly-worded denunciations, persistent outsourcing of international legitimacy to Russia and China, and belated, unenthusiastic, and possibly ineffective provisions of non-lethal aid to some Syria rebels for communications and logistics.

As Peter Feaver has observed, this is not just "leading from behind" but rather "following from behind." Meanwhile, the fact that Syria represents a confluence of strategic interests and moral imperatives has not prompted a proportionate response from a White House wary of action in an election year.

Into this void comes a compelling op-ed by Anne-Marie Slaughter in the Financial Times. Slaughter, an eminent Princeton professor who served as Obama's director of the Policy Planning Staff at the State Department during the first two years of the administration, makes an impassioned call for meaningful action.

Specifically she urges that the United States lead a coalition of nations in providing "heavy weapons (and possibly air cover)" to all Syrian opposition leaders who show their commitment to democratic principles.

http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn....inst-al-assad/

Why the Palestinians are turning against al-Assad

Even if Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad somehow survives the current uprising aimed at toppling his regime, the beleaguered dictator will have a lingering identity problem. Indeed, a long-standing pillar of Syria’s foreign policy has been support to the Palestinian “resistance” against Israel. But in the wake of the Syrian onslaught, the country’s estimated 500,000 Palestinians are abandoning – even challenging – their long-time champion. With this dramatic shift, al-Assad is left more isolated in the Middle East than ever before.

Reports from the region continue to confirm what would have been deemed impossible just two short years ago: Palestinians are turning against the regime. Human Rights Watch notes that, “Palestinians have joined anti-government protests.” One FSA commander, meanwhile, has boasted, “Palestinians are fighting alongside us, and they are well trained.”

It doesn’t help that the regime is murdering Palestinians. On Thursday, the regime reportedly killed 20 when it shelled a refugee camp. Reports before that indicated that al-Assad’s campaign had already claimed the lives of some 300 Palestinians. It’s still unclear just how many Palestinians have responded by taking up arms to challenge the regime, but a clearer picture is emerging of who is abandoning al-Assad in his hour of need

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19106250

Syria crisis: UN Assembly condemns Security Council

The UN General Assembly has voted by a big majority to condemn its own Security Council for failing to end the unrest in Syria as fighting rages.

It passed a non-binding resolution, which also condemns the Syrian government's use of heavy weapons, by 133 votes to 12 with 31 abstentions

The move came after the resignation of UN envoy Kofi Annan and failure of his six-point peace plan.

https://twitter.com/MaryFitzgerldIT

rebel pick-up truck fitted with 'Dushka' anti-aircraft guns. 'Dushka' loosely means 'little darling' in Russian pic.twitter.com/H30GP1rx
7:30 AM

Difficult to find anyone in northern Syria who cared much about Kofi Annan resignation. Sense of abandonment already deeply entrenched
6:16 AM

Rebel fighters in Salahuddin area of Aleppo pic.twitter.com/DKsF0Z7r
10:24 AM

https://twitter.com/MuhandisMundas

BRK ; FSA takes control of 2 police stations. One in Zibdiyeh and one in Sukkari neighborhoods. Aleppo.
11:15 AM

Not certain this is new.
Could these be the ones taken earlier in the week?


https://twitter.com/NuffSilence

FSA on the advance! Now they're in control of Saif Al Dawleh post office shabbiha point in Aleppo http://fb.me/1UQDRGg9g
12:50 PM

https://twitter.com/GRAFIXEL

Reuters pulled 4+ hacked fake blogs, all about Syria
1:53 PM

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...8J37CR20120803

Reuters blogging platform hacked, false Syia blog posted

Thomson Reuters said the blogging platform of the Reuters News website was compromised on Friday and a false posting purporting to carry an interview with a Syrian rebel leader was illegally posted on a Reuters' journalist's blog.

https://twitter.com/CFKlebergTT

France says UN observer mission to Syria probably will end, Reuters reports. I think that's quite likely.
1:57 PM

https://twitter.com/jenanmoussa

I get a feeling Syria refugees are sick & tired of world. They have no trust in SNC, arabs, interntnl communty. Only tust God &FSA.
2:09 PM

At UN Gen Assembly today, India & Pakistan joined hands--not in peace, but to "abstain," cowardly not taking a stand on Syria slaughter.
2:33 PM

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...8J37CR20120803

The dirty dozen voting w/ Assad at UN: Belarus, Bolivia, Burma, China, Cuba, N Korea, Iran, Nicaragua, Russia, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, + Syria.
2:30 PM

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?p...17848338242310

Local Coordination Committees in Syria

The number of martyrs in Syria thus far today has risen to 120, 72 martyrs in Hama most of them were killed in the Arbaeen Neighborhood massacre,19 martyrs in Damascus and its suburbs 13 martyrs in Idlib, 7 martyrs in Deir Ezzor, 6 martyr in Aleppo, 2 martyrs in Homs and 1 martyr in Daraa
1:33 PM

[China]

Reuters Hacked With False Reports From Syria

One story claimed that the rebel Free Syrian Army was withdrawing after 1,000 of its soldiers were killed and 1,500 were arrested. No word yet on who's behind the hack.

On Friday, Reuters issued a series of tweets informing readers that the site had been compromised with multiple false reports, published with the bylines of real Reuters journalists.

Click on the link for more including an example of one of the false posts.

[visionary]

https://twitter.com/WashingtonPoint

Syria. This time in Aleppo.. From Turkish border all the way to Aleppo is under FSA control.. Seems there is a stalemate in the center
8:52 AM

Even though FSA is fighting for Aleppo, I havent seen any advanced weaponary here.Not sure what all those promised gunfire if not here.
8:58 AM

I am indeed in Aleppo.. about 100km from Turkish border we just drove.. felt safe.. FSA controls the whole passage
9:05 AM

https://twitter.com/Turk4Syria

Syrian officials are in Moscow to discuss membership of the customs union that exists between Russia, Belarus & Kazakhstan.
2:12 PM

https://twitter.com/alihashem_tv

It seems a new battle is erupting between Darayya and Kfarsousa on the outskirts of Damascus
2:16 PM

https://twitter.com/NMSyria

church in Yabroud, Damascus held an Iftar dinner for their Muslim brothers, fasting with them throughout the day. pic.twitter.com/8m59Jhjm
2:49 PM

Keep calling Syria a sectarian conflict, and we'll keep proving that you're a complete and utter idiot. Yabroud, Damascus.
2:58 PM

Syrian army withdrawing from Tadamun, Damascus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAhj...layer_embedded …
3:02 PM

https://twitter.com/AnonymousSyria

FSA is 1 km away from my home, the upcoming fights (Officers club, Passports department & Military court) will be the most intense.
2:59 PM

FSA is advancing from peripheral neighborhoods to the center of Aleppo. I'm really surprised. But more furious battles are still to come.
3:02 PM

https://twitter.com/AmbassadorRice

The U.S. will continue to work with our partners, including the 130 countries who supported the resolution, to advance Syria's transition.
3:41 PM

https://twitter.com/javierespinosa2

last night moments of confusion in Shaar,1 mortar destroyed several apartments,meanwhile FSA firing all around Aleppo
3:40 PM

there is a demonstration every night in Shaar pic.twitter.com/fUaqLHsK
3:44 PM

Bashar, the duck, a character that is especially popular in these days in Syria, today in Aleppo pic.twitter.com/Z2x9Jtot
3:48 PM

Aleppo faces a huge problem: mountains of trash in corners and streets,people try to burn them creating clouds of smoke unbreathable
4:28 PM

https://twitter.com/AlexanderPageSY

Lebanese politician Michelle Oan says: it's impossible for Assad to fall and before that happens Russia & China will start a war.
4:25 PM

https://twitter.com/oh_bergine

When I tried to show the pro-Assad I mentioned earlier today vids about peaceful demonstrations faced with tanks and bullets, reaction was I don't care about those people, what I care about r the results.When I hear them shouting "Allahu akbar" I wish them death.
5:06 PM

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?p...17848338242310

Local Coordination Committees in Syria

The number of martyrs in Syria thus far today has risen to 137, 73 martyrs in Hama most of them were killed in the Arbaeen Neighborhood massacre,21 martyrs in Damascus and its suburbs,18 martyr in Aleppo, 13 martyrs in Idlib, 7 martyrs in Deir Ezzor, 3 martyrs in Daraa and 2 martyrs in Homs
5:06 PM

[visionary]

http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/syr...new-syria-plan

Qatar says Annan successor needs new Syria plan

August 4, 2012 - 04:15

Qatar said on Saturday that any successor to Kofi Annan as international envoy for Syria must pursue a new strategy because of what it said was the failure of Annan's six-point peace plan.

"There must be a clear modification to this plan now because the issue of the six points is finished," Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani said. "None of them has been implemented." [Reuters]

http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/0...8J401A20120804

Qatar says Annan successor needs new Syria plan

Sheikh Hamad blamed the failure of the plan on "Syrian procrastination" and the increased bloodshed.

"We, as Arab countries will not accept another envoy representing the Arabs and the Security Council because the circumstances have completely changed," Sheikh Hamad told Al Jazeera television.

"We believe that the task of any new envoy - if they want participation from Arab states - much be changed so that the mission is the peaceful transfer of power in Syria

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/201...orts-on-syria/

Reading the Fake Reuters Reports on Syria

As my colleague Christine Haughney reports on Media Decoder, Reuters temporarily suspended the operation of its blogging platform on Friday after the news agency said its Web site was hacked and false reports of setbacks for Syrian rebels were posted online.

In a statement, Reuters said, “Our blogging platform was compromised and fabricated blog posts were falsely attributed to several Reuters journalists.” The company said it had no idea who was behind the hacking, but archived copies of two items posted on the news site suggest that they were not written by native English speakers.

One of the fake reports, posted on a blog written by Jeffrey Goldfarb, a commentator on investment banking, appeared under the headline “Riad Al-Asaad: Syrian Free Army Pulls Back Tactically From Aleppo.” According to a copy of the post found in Google’s cache by The Atlantic Wire, the report claimed that the commander of the rebel Free Syrian Army had “confirmed on a phone call to Reuters that the regular army killed 1000 soldiers of Free Syrian Army and arrest around 1500.”

https://twitter.com/AnonymousSyria

Assad's forces in Aleppo are trying to hold on or even retake areas. But they are still not able to.
5:14 PM

We heard that elite 104th brigade from 4th division is heading to Aleppo, that would be a real challenge for FSA.
5:17 PM

Whatever the result of Aleppo battle is, it won't be the first, nor the last. Assad has many tricks, more than FSA.
5:34 PM

25 victims have fallen martyrs in Aleppo province today.
5:44 PM

FSA has asked, using speakers, employees in the State TV branch in Aleppo to leave the building. A friend witness.
6:51 PM

https://twitter.com/AlaaSarraj

Reports of a humanitarian crisis in progress as food is running out of besieged Aleppo. No UN org has been able 2 get in & help.
7:49 PM

FSA soldiers in streets of SeifAlDolah Halab http://youtu.be/Oi1bjI_yIIg Aleppo
7:53 PM

https://twitter.com/edwardedark

i can clearly hear the sounds of a helicopter flying and firing, outside my window right now - Aleppo
7:31 PM

https://twitter.com/alepsyria

The diesel station in Ramouseh has been hit. This is an important stop for the military in Aleppo city. The FSA is indeed advancing
7:54 PM

https://twitter.com/Cyrenaican

So pathetic how some people have been more vocal in their condemnation of the Berri execution than the Assad regime...
8:48 PM

https://twitter.com/DamascusSYR

FSA in Aleppo controls 3 buildings of Syria'n tv and raises the revolution flag over them.
9:12 PM

https://twitter.com/KareemLailah

The regime has shut down the TV broadcast in Aleppo, so it can’t be used by FSA there after entering the media building.
9:13 PM

Since pro-regime hackers stopped hacking @AlArabiya_Brk to spread rumors, it became a rumor account itself.
9:29 PM

https://twitter.com/edwardedark

The FSA in NOT universally liked in Aleppo, in fact a significant percentage of the population do not want them in their areas, note that
9:44 PM

if FSA fails to fix its infighting & become more disciplined & organized, u can be very sure the people of Aleppo will reject them outright
9:46 PM

FSA have done some bad things in Aleppo & pissed off a lot of residents. more to do with a lack of discipline & organization than malicious
10:06 PM

@dimam78 thanks. my point is, FSA may be shooting themselves in the foot. they're taking a huge gamble when they may not be ready for it
10:08 PM

there'a fighter jet now swooping and attacking parts of Aleppo city, we can see it flying right now and firing its guns
10:29 PM

https://twitter.com/Turk4Syria

Assad's air force is shelling the radio & TV building. I hope the FSA was smart enough to predict this & didn't have a party inside!
10:22 PM

https://www.facebook.com/monasiqoon/...98441330205133

Aleppo ::the Free Syrian Army had to withdraw from the State TV building in Aleppo because the regime jet fighters are bombarding it heavily.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?p...17848338242310

Aleppo: Fierce shelling with warplanes on Al-Ithaa'a neighborhood and Bustan Al-Qasr
10:58 PM

[visionary]

One of the crawling headlnes on Al Jazeera English
http://www.aljazeera.com/

RUSSIA, SYRIA REACH SANCTION-BUSTING AGREEMENT ON OIL IN WHICH DAMASCUS WILL SEND CRUDE OIL TO MOSCOW IN EXCHANGE FOR REFINED PRODUCTS

https://twitter.com/LeShaque

Confirmed: At least four jets have carried out break-of-dawn bombing raids across Aleppo city.
11:25 PM

https://twitter.com/AlaaSarraj

NBC'S Richard Engel inside Syria http://youtu.be/FK9v5Xso3E0 via @youtube
11:53 PM

Head of Assad's political intelligence division in DeirEzZor has been captured by FSA http://youtu.be/8T2jpVK7H_U
1:20 AM

Deputy of political security in Damascus has been captured by FSA http://youtu.be/giuuz8PQvkg
1:29 AM

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?p...17848338242310

Damascus: Tadamon: The team of the Tadamon Committee was wounded due to the heavy shelling
1:47 AM

http://www.extremeskins.com/showthre...75#post9046975
21,964 people killed so far in Syria

[Koala]

There was a wild rumor that the Saudi General Intelligence HQs had been bombed in Riyadh, and its target was Prince Bandar, but the Saudis have refused comment on this story. Of course the source of the story was PressTV, an Iranian mouthpiece, but then some french outlet, Voltaire, picked it up and said Bandar was actually killed, by either Syrian or Iranian intelligence as retaliation for the killing of Assad's 4 aids in Damascus. I wouldnt normally give this sorta rumor the time of day, the Middle East is where crack-pot theories are conceived, BUT, As of now neither PressTV nor Voltaire have retracted their stories, the Saudis have made no comment. Thats a little odd, no? You would think the Saudis would jump at the chance to destroy what little credibility PressTV has.

[Renegade7]

Is it really our responsibility to get involved militarily everytime something like this happens? What ever happened to "US meddles too much in foreign affairs?" Damned if you do, damned if you don't all over again, but at this rate, Assad is going down anyway no matter what we do...

[visionary]

There was a wild rumor that the Saudi General Intelligence HQs had been bombed in Riyadh, and its target was Prince Bandar, but the Saudis have refused comment on this story. Of course the source of the story was PressTV, an Iranian mouthpiece, but then some french outlet, Voltaire, picked it up and said Bandar was actually killed, by either Syrian or Iranian intelligence as retaliation for the killing of Assad's 4 aids in Damascus. I wouldnt normally give this sorta rumor the time of day, the Middle East is where crack-pot theories are conceived, BUT, As of now neither PressTV nor Voltaire have retracted their stories, the Saudis have made no comment. Thats a little odd, no? You would think the Saudis would jump at the chance to destroy what little credibility PressTV has.

I don't think it's true. Press TV in Iran and Sana in Syria have been making up stories about Saudi Arabia and Qatar for ages now.
(including the deaths of their leaders)
Most likely it's no more true than rumors of Khamenei's death that pop up every so often.
If it were true, there would be major waves of rumors coming from Saudi Arabia right now.

[twa]

BUT, As of now neither PressTV nor Voltaire have retracted their stories, the Saudis have made no comment. Thats a little odd, no? You would think the Saudis would jump at the chance to destroy what little credibility PressTV has.

they could have bigger fish to fry than iranian press

interesting times

[visionary]

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2...y-trouble?lite

Syria rebels renew assault on Damascus as Assad hits money trouble

Heavy explosions shook the Syrian capital Saturday and helicopters circled overhead as rebels appeared to be renewing their offensive in the city, witnesses and activists said.

The fresh battles show that President Bashar Assad's victories could be fleeting as armed opposition groups regroup and resurge, possibly forcing the regime to shuffle military units to react to attacks across the country.

The country's civil war has intensified in recent weeks as rebels focused on the country's two biggest cities, Damascus and Aleppo.

"We heard heavy bombing since dawn," a witness in Damascus told The Associated Press, asking that his name not be used out of fear for his personal safety. "Helicopters are in the sky."

The fighting in Damascus appeared likely to drain the army's resources as fighting stretches into its second week in Aleppo, 215 miles to the north.

As the fighting grinds on, Syria reached out to its powerful ally Russia on Friday. Senior Syrian officials pleaded with Moscow for financial loans and supplies of oil products — an indication that international sanctions are squeezing Assad's regime.

Syria is thought to be burning quickly through the $17 billion in foreign reserves that the government was believed to have at the start of Assad's crackdown.

Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil, who has led a delegation of several Cabinet ministers to Moscow over the past few days, told reporters Friday that they requested a Russian loan to replenish Syria's hard currency reserves, which have been depleted by a U.S. and European Union embargo on Syrian exports.

Which led Russia to work out a deal to help them to continue beating the sanctions.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...8610SH20120804

Syrian forces pound rebel frontline in Aleppo

Earlier in the day, Syrian forces clashed with rebels around Aleppo's television and radio station, activists said, and a local rebel commander said his fighters were preparing for a "strong offensive" by government forces on the city.

Syrian troops backed by armor stormed the last opposition bastion in Damascus on Friday in a drive to crush a rebel offensive that coincided with a bomb attack that killed four of President Bashar al-Assad's senior security officials.

The onslaught continued on Saturday as jets bombarded the capital in a bid to snuff out resistance, a resident said.

"The Free Syrian Army pushed from Salaheddine to al-Adhamiya where they clashed this morning with Syrian troops. But they had to retreat," the activist who identified himself as Barraa al-Halabi told Reuters.

A 19-year-old fighter called Mu'awiya al-Halabi, who was at the scene, said Syrian snipers surrounded the station and targeted the rebels.

"We were inside it for a few hours after clashes with the Syrian army but the Syrian army sent snipers and surrounded the TV station and as soon as morning came, the army started shooting. One of our fighters was martyred and four were wounded," he said.

A Reuters journalist who witnessed the clashes said a helicopter strafed rebel positions with machinegun fire near a police station which anti-Assad fighters took on Friday.

"Wake up, wake up. The army's coming," local rebel commander Abu Ali told fighters sleeping in the Zibdeyyeh police station.

"We have information that the Syrian army is planning a strong offensive against Aleppo. We know they are planning to attack the city using tanks and aircraft, shooting at us for three to four days and they plan to take the city," Colonel Abdel-Jabbar al-Oqaidi said in Aleppo.

Faced with the Syrian army's superior firepower, Oqaidi said the rebels were counting on mass defections by government soldiers once the offensive started.

"At the moment the soldiers cannot leave their bases and they are too afraid to defect. Once they are inside our city they will take off their uniforms and join us," he said.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...rebellion.html

Syrian forces assaulted rebel strongholds in Aleppo with tanks and artillery Saturday afternoon, and it seemed a massive confrontation in the country’s largest city was almost at hand. As the shelling raged, Capt. Ammar al-Wawi, the rebel commander and spin doctor, was holding court in a Turkish luxury hotel. Sharply dressed in a pin-stripe suit, he sat in the vast lobby of the Ottoman Palace, a short drive from the border with Syria. The hotel is on the outskirts of town—and to facilitate the meeting, al-Wawi had grandly sent a car. He was flanked by aides, and four cell phones were spread out on a coffee table before him, ringing often with requests for news of the war. "There are more phones in the car," al-Wawi said.

As the regime marshaled its forces around Aleppo and the lightly armed rebels braced for the fight, international officials were sounding the alarm. The top human rights official at the United Nations warned of “atrocities” and “imminent confrontation,” as the U.N. reported some 200,000 people had fled the city. A spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department worried that a “massacre” might be at hand. Al-Wawi, though, was keeping his cool. “We are in control,” he said.

http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/syr...ck-syrian-army

August 4, 2012 - 16:55
Families fled the Syrian city of Aleppo on Saturday after an alleged attack by the Syrian army which killed two children and injured two others.

The Syrian Army is said to have fired several rounds at buildings in the Shaar neighbourhood of Aleppo on Friday night.

http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/topic/syria-153

about 2 hours ago
About 650 Syrians, including a defecting brigadier general, have fled to Turkey in the past 24 hours amid the escalating violence in Syria, a Turkish official said on Saturday.

The latest group brought the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey to 46,000, said the official, who requested anonymity.

The official declined to give the exact number of defected generals currently in Turkey, saying that some had been going back across the border to join in the fight against Bashar al Assad's regime.

They are estimated to be more than 20.

Senior Syrian officers have been crossing into Turkey to link up with the rebel Free Syrian Army on a near daily basis in recent months, often accompanied by rank-and-file troops.

In addition to taking in refugees, Turkey is also sheltering Syrian military defectors in a separate camp near the border where security is tighter.
- Agence France Presse

https://twitter.com/WashingtonPoint

1) it seem like Aleppo might have a crucial weekend.. or start of a mother of all battles.. there are two scenarios for the fate of Aleppo
6:06 PM

2) since the big regime reinforcement on its way to Aleppo from Latakia as we speak, a lot of FSA battalions also moving into city tonight
6:08 PM

3) but the question is whether the regime reinforcement will indeed able to make into Aleppo passing many of the FSA strongholds on the way
6:10 PM

lets see if the enforcement of the regime will be able to pass all those opposition strongholds. opposition are very determined
6:20 PM

In that vid from Jabal Zawiya Idlib with the international reporters, the reporters said the FSA was chipping away at the governent convoys.
Not certain if that was now or a week ago though.


https://twitter.com/javierespinosa2

media in Beirut say that some of the Lebanese hostages captured North of Aleppo have fled in the midst of bombing
6:33 AM

lebanese hostages were held near Azaaz,there are heavy clashes there since 2 days ago,rebels trying to take over a airport
6:54 AM

FSA not only fight,they organize distribution of bread,drive ambulances and even firefighters trucks Aleppo pic.twitter.com/WQLT3IPn
7:25 AM

FSA has not even allowed the few bread factories that continue to work to rise prices,but you can only buy 3 bags per person
7:25 AM

Queues in front of one of the few bread factories of Aleppo, people wait for hours pic.twitter.com/RcWLMXzW
9:07 AM

https://twitter.com/LeShaque

Assad-created opposition member Qadri Jamil in Russia begging for money to wipe out real opposition http://bit.ly/QB9VKB
6:33 AM

While I abhor and condemn kidnappings, I feel compelled to ask: Who does pilgrimage in a country in the middle of a war?
9:00 AM

In reference to the supposed kidnapping of 48 Iranian Pilgrims in in Damascus.
Not to mention than Syrians are not fond of Iran right now to put it mildly.



https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss

Just back from an extraordinary trip to al-Bab and liberated Bab al-Hadid in Aleppo City.Tons of video and photos.
3:19 PM

Pretty much the main roadways from Tlail al Sham (right across from border at Kilis) to Bab al-Hadid. No regime.
3:30 PM

See the sign. pic.twitter.com/TNqqRnPI
4:16 PM

You'll also be in regime territory. [If you go 200 meters down the street]
You know the alleyway beyond the iron gate? Don't walk there.
4:32 PM

We used side roads. Bridge was blocked.
4:44 PM

https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss

First video. Bab al-Hadid, Aleppo city, as of 6 a.m. or so Friday (Aug 3). Notice Independence flag: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeUE2...ature=youtu.be
5:39 PM

Stomping on a Bashar al-Assad floor mat just inside the Iron Gate: pic.twitter.com/iP0Um7bm
6:07 PM

I was. Left this afternoon.
6:31 PM

Another video I took yesterday in Bab al-Hadid, Aleppo. FSA convoy arrives: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbGGF...ature=youtu.be …
9:17 AM

We followed this FSA convoy from al-Bab (completely liberated) to Aleppo. About 5.30 a.m. yesterday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiznlM8zKYs&feature=plcp
10:07 AM

[visionary]

http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/syr...army-control-0

Syrian general: All of Damascus now under army control

The Syrian army now has the whole of the capital under its control, a brigadier-general on Saturday told journalists visiting the neighbourhood of Tadamun, the scene of heavy fighting earlier.

"We have cleansed all the districts of Damascus, from Al-Midan to Mazzeh, from Al-Hajar Al-Aswad to Qadam... to Tadamun," said the general who led the military operation in Tadamun, refusing to give his name.

The officer said regime forces retook the southern district at 2:00 pm (1100 GMT) on Saturday, and that it was the last rebel bastion in the city to revert to army hands.

Fighting erupted in Damascus on July 15 and raged for several days as rebels seized several districts, forcing thousands of residents to flee for safety from what had for many months been the country's safest city.

"The situation in Damascus is excellent and stable," the general said.

"There is no more presence of armed groups apart for some individuals who are moving from one place to another, just to prove that they exist."

When clashes erupted earlier on Saturday in Tadamun, the scene of heavy fighting a fortnight ago, Syrian state television said: "The special forces were cleansing the district of Tadamun from terrorists."[AFP]

Oh really?


https://twitter.com/AlaaSarraj

Zero hour was called in countryside of DeirEzZor. FSA units will converge on besieged city http://youtu.be/_mQ07Tn-GLM
11:00 AM

Assad militia are running away as their supply & reinforcement lines R taken over by FSA. Aleppo http://youtu.be/nDKQNwYD96o
11:05 AM

https://twitter.com/MajdArar

Regime army entered Tadamon while FSA moved out to HajarAswad, Sbenah & Isale. Damascus
11:03 AM

Saqba & Zamalka were raided with hundreds of soldiers & many tanks today. Damascus
11:04 AM

https://twitter.com/AlexanderPageSY

Toppling the Assad regime is partly what we aspire to. keeping Syria a country rich in its diversity is our ultimate goal.
11:13 AM

BREAKING: Large explosion just now in Muhajrin of Central Damascus in the Harash area by cemetery followed by heavy gunfire.
11:48 AM

BREAKING: Presidential guard have just been deployed to Mujarin Central Damascus and have joined clashes against FSA Elements.
11:51 AM

BREAKING: Clashes right now in the JisrAlAbyad area of Central Damascus. residents now fleeing the area. CONFIRMED: 10s of buses speeding through Muhajrin headed to JisrAlAbyad Central Damascus + Presidential guard headed to Harash
11:53 AM

https://twitter.com/AlexanderPageSY

BREAKING: regime forces have just stormed the ZainAlAbdeen area of Muhajrin including large numbers of Presidential Guard. Escalation of events in Qasyoon mountain of Central Damascus and its circles as clashes move closer to Presidential residence
12:08 PM

BREAKING: FSA elements have spread out in the Rukneldin area of Central Damascus as clashes intensify
12:13 PM

CONFIRMED: FSA have managed to take control of a number of vehicles with machine guns as a result of clashes with regime forces Rukneldin
12:14 PM

BREAKING: FSA elements clashing with Presidential Guard in Bashkatib area of Muhajrin just 100 meters form Presidents Office (Shora)
12:18 PM

BREAKING: Clashes in Shamdeen Sq. after FSA take control of armed vehicles stationed there. 2 member of FSA killed in addition to 6 wounded. BREAKING: clashes in numerous areas in Central Damascus Muhajrin, Rukneldin Bashkatib JisrAlAbyad. Security... http://fb.me/1AQK9rkki
12:25 PM

https://twitter.com/MajdArar

@AlexanderPageSY ZainAlAbdeen is loyal to Assad, Hursh near to it is not.
12:36 PM

Unprecedented gun fire in Muhajeren the closest point to Assad house & office, the area controlled by Republican Guards. Damascus
12:39 PM

https://twitter.com/Avend93

Brutal attacks by Shabiha in the Kurdish Rukn El-Din- Damascus, 3 martyrs so far. -UPDATE.
12:59 PM

Assad bombarding on the Kurdish mountains- Latakia continues, Fatima -33 years old- killed earlier afternoon.
1:03 PM

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?p...17848338242310

Aleppo: Zeitan: Heavy shelling from automatic weapons was reported at the outskirts of the city
12:41 PM

https://twitter.com/LccSy

Aleppo: The Free Syrian Army Controls the Rotco Building... ‎http://fb.me/1n7JIvmCT‏
12:59 PM

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?p...17848338242310

Damascus: Rukneddine: Fierce clashes were reported between the Free Syrian Army and the regime's army
1:15 PM

Destruction in Salaheddine District, Aleppo

[visionary]

https://twitter.com/AlexanderPageSY

Situation now calm in Bashkatib near presidents office, witnesses say sounds of heavy gunfire still in Qasyoon Muhajrin section Damascus
1:13 PM

BREAKING: very intense clashes and numerous explosions, a real battle taking place right now in Rukneldin central Damascus
1:29 PM

BREAKING: heavy shelling on mountainous area just by shamdin and presidential guard now battling with FSA central Damascus.
1:45 PM

BREAKING: Military helicopter as just began shelling in Kurds area of Rulneldin central Damascus
1:49 PM

CONFIRMED: a real war now in Rukneldin central Damascus: presidential guard, helicopters shelling, 30 explosions a minute. Nonstop Battle for the past 2 hours and intensifying by the minute in Rukneldin of central Damascus more forces deployed
2:00 PM

https://twitter.com/THE_47th

FSA seizes a tank from Assad's army earlier today https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIB-...layer_embedded
3:19 PM

This is Alsalheyye, about an hour ago. It is the commercial district, in the heart of Damascus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARes...layer_embedded
3:20 PM

https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf

Very intense shelling on Maarat Al-Nouman and its suburbs right now. Idlib
3:25 PM

Very intense shelling on RuknAldeen in Damascus. More than 1500 of the soldiers and shabiha surround the neighborhood.
3:56 PM

Seriously what is wrong with Assad?! I mean he has to know that its over for him! Even an idiot on a sinking ship would get on a life boat..
4:14 PM

Shelling on Maarat Al-Nouman has calmed down. The result was a single light injury.
4:27 PM

https://twitter.com/AlexanderPageSY

to the ignorant: here is vehicle w machine gun attached earlier reported to now be in the hands of the FSA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY8RjmOH6g0
4:35 PM

The situation is now calmer however, bursts of gunfire are pelleting every few minutes in numerous areas of central Damascus
4:46 PM

3 large explosions heard in the past 15 minutes in central Damascus a number of areas claiming it was so loud that it must be near them
4:47 PM

https://twitter.com/jfoleyjourno

FSA pushing hard from free area Saif al Daiwla to Izaa, fighting started last night contiues heavy today
5:03 PM

https://twitter.com/Avend93

9+ martyrs tonight in the Kurdish Rukn El-Din, including @Sai3enDai3en's friend & a member of @HalaWanly's family.
5:35 PM

https://twitter.com/MuhandisMundas

Not much changed in Homs, same routine everyday. The only difference is buildings that were standing yestrdy are on the ground today.
5:45 PM

https://twitter.com/NMSyria

We need more people like Father Paolo Dall'Oglio, someone who can really lead and has no personal agenda.
5:45 PM

For years he has been helping bring different religions in Syria closer together through interfaith events and talks.
5:45 PM

A post-revolution Syria will need someone who can reconcile the differences that emerged between different sects and groups of people.
5:45 PM

Even when asked about his opinion on foreign intervention, his answer was one that protected ALL Syrians.
5:49 PM

30K UN Peacekeeping troops, 3000 of whom are armed. They would protect villages from massacres by thugs, etc before the fall of regime. These same troops would protect minorities like Alawites, etc. from retribution and revenge post-fall of regime.
5:50 PM

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?p...17848338242310

Local Coordination Committees in Syria

The number of martyrs in Syria has risen to 112 so far today, distributed as follows: 35 martyrs in Damascus and Damascus Suburbs of whom 12 were field-executed in the neighborhood of Tadamun, 20 martyrs fell in Deir Ezzor, 18 in Aleppo, 14 in Hama, 11 in Idlib, 8 in Homs, 3 in Daraa, 2 in Lattakia and one martyr in Hasakeh
2:53 PM

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?p...17848338242310

Local Coordination Committees in Syria

Numbers of martyrs in Syria thus far was increased to 145, 53 in Damascus and suburbs including 12 in field excution in Tadamon neighborhood and 4 also excuted in field in Qazzaz neighborhood, and including 12 in Jobar and the leader of Rahman battallion in Tadamon neighborhood, 21 martyrs in Dier Ezzor, 21 in Aleppo, 15 in Hama, 13 in Idlib, 11 in Homs, 5 in Daraa, 2 in Latakia and a martyr in Hassaka
5:43 PM

[visionary]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/04/world/...ger/index.html

Syrian blogger: 'I live or die here'

In a concrete block apartment building in a working-class Syrian suburb, a young man who calls himself "Big Al" spends his days listening to Nine Inch Nails on his smartphone. He watches back-to-back episodes of "The Simpsons" on his laptop while he shovels a pan of brownies into his mouth.

He loves to cook. It's the only thing keeping him going.

"I'm a big guy, and I like to cook and bake," he says. "Since I've been jobless for more than a year, and there are no activities to do, I get busy baking. In fact, I made more pizzas and cookies this year than I did in the past three years."

When the electricity is on, there he'll be, in a tiny kitchen in his parents' apartment, stirring and sifting and tasting. He'll hear gunfire popping in the distance; sometimes the boom of a shell landing shakes the apartment. He is scared. Of course he is scared. Fear settles on everything. His eyelids are heavy. But what else can he do but keep on living?

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/08/0...#disqus_thread

Accounts of Syria rebels executing prisoners raise new human rights concerns

Syrian insurgents fighting to unseat President Bashar Assad face a growing list of accusations that they’ve carried out executions and torture, muddying the Western narrative of a heroic resistance force struggling against a vicious regime.

The issue of rebel conduct has come to the forefront this month largely because of a video posted online showing the aftermath of apparent executions of pro-Assad militiamen during the rebels’ capture of an intelligence center in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.

A reporter for the Turkish newspaper Milliyet witnessed the incident Tuesday and confirmed in a first-person account the circumstances of the killings: More than a dozen men were captured alive and then summarily executed in what advocacy group Human Rights Watch called an apparent “war crime.”

The men “were forced into a building, then brought before a court of the Free Syrian Army on the back of a pickup truck, after which they were lined up and shot at lightning speed,” the Milliyet reporter wrote.

The incident doesn’t appear to be isolated, either. A McClatchy reporter traveling with a unit of the Free Syrian Army was told that rebels had captured about 45 Assad loyalists in fighting in Al Tal, north of Damascus. Asked later what had become of the prisoners, a rebel said eight had been executed, 25 had been released and the rest were being held in hopes of a future prisoner exchange.

This week, a rebel commander in Damascus said that over the months his unit had executed perhaps 150 people it had detained on suspicion of being pro-Assad informants.

http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/topic/syria-153

about 6 hours ago
Al Jazeera's Ahmed Zeidan, reporting from Aleppo, said: "There has been heavy bombardment in different neighbourhoods in Aleppo: in Shaar, in Bab al-Nayrab and al-Sakhour. We have no information on casualties."

"We have witnessed fighter [jets] bombing heavily in these neighbourhoods," he said.

"The violence comes against the backdrop of the Free Syrian Army’s capturing of different sections in Old Aleppo today."

https://twitter.com/jfoleyjourno

FSA controlled fuel point outside Bustan al Caser, 100s people line up w/ buckets for gas, siphoning of tanks will empty in 1 day
5:45 PM

quote of day: I've seen civilians fleeing in Homs and Idlib, only in Aleppo do they flee with their refrigerators- FSA commander
7:27 PM

https://twitter.com/edwardedark

the disgusting hypocrisy of the west, what wasnt allowed to Happen in Libya is happening now in Syria, oil is more important than our blood
7:00 PM

Nonsense, the vetoes at the UN are a pathetic excuse for non action in Syria. the west could act via r2p or other mandates
7:08 PM

can anyone answer, why in the 21st century, a regime is being allowed to commit war crimes and bomb cities with tanks and planes?
8:19 PM

https://twitter.com/Austin_Tice

[why he went to Syria] It seemed important. Was irked at reading how 'journos could not confirm,' figured I'd try to prove that wrong.
5:14 PM

I'd done some hmwrk prior to arrival, but was mstly unprepared. @michaeldweiss, @edwardedark put me n touch w/ 1st contact.
6:35 PM

Stayed at a hotel in Turkey for first couple nights, since then been living w/ activists, FSA, or sympathetic civilians.
6:43 PM

[experiance in war reporting] No, unless you count Facebook ranting about my time in Iraq/Afghanistan. I'm a total rookie; a law student on summer vacay.
7:01 PM

[How long he's been in Syria] Just shy of 10 weeks now. Could kind of use a vacation.
8:35 PM

https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf

47 yo Hassan Alabdi of Maarat Al-Nouman was martyred today. They tried to save him with surgery in the clinics but were out of supplies.
8:35 PM

Shelling on Maarat Al-Nouman has increased again. Several maryrs havebeen reported and many more injured. Idlib
8:36 PM

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?p...17848338242310

Idlib: Kafar Sahna: Several people were injured due to shelling by tanks from Salam checkpoint towards parts of the city. More than 5 shells landed on the residential areas

Clashes in Raqqa


Fighter Jet attacking Aleppo today

[visionary]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/04/wo...?smid=tw-share

For Rebel Fight in Syrian City, Baking Bread Is Urgent Task

ALEPPO, Syria — Just before sunrise, a select group of Syrian rebel fighters steps away from the front lines here for a task their commanders now consider a vital and urgent part of the war effort: baking bread.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...87401T20120805

Under army fire, Syrian family prays soldier son will defect

When Syrian forces fired machineguns and rockets on her neighborhood, Um Mohammed prayed for her son - a soldier in the army she fears may kill her.

It was a shock to see the Syrian revolt turn her city of Aleppo into a war zone, she says, but the psychological torment is worse. Every day she faces the reality that her 20-year-old son is part of the army she hopes the rebels will defeat.

"When he calls I tell him: 'I love you. Please run away. Let yourself be shot before you shoot your own people'," she says.

Um Mohamed declines to give her son's name or her family's last name, fearing for her son's safety.

The dark rinks under her green eyes reveal sleepless nights. She strokes her 6-year-old daughter's curls and contemplates her son's motives for staying. "He says he is at a base in another province and cannot leave. We haven't seen him for a year."

Um Mohammed doesn't want to leave either. She says maybe, with the fighting now in his own city, her son will come home.

"I keep hoping that one day, he will flee," she said. "It has been a year and he hasn't come back. I'm afraid I won't remember his face."

http://www.galesburg.com/opinions/x2...ria-not-enough

Sue Hulett: Hoping for the best in Syria not enough

For 41 years many Syrians have urged reform in the Alawite (off-shoot of Islam) regime of the House of Assad. The House of Assad has ruled as a minority-run dynasty with brutal repression and civilian slaughter as its hallmarks. It was a Soviet client state during the Soviet-U.S. Cold War.

More recently it is a primary funder and supporter, along with Iran, of the Hezbollah terrorist group that calls for the extinction of Israel. It intervened in neighboring Lebanon for years, several times with occupation troops, to help keep Lebanon in turmoil as Lebanon struggled to maintain independence and stability among its many ethnic factions. The 1998 Syrian occupation of Lebanon was run by Bashar al-Assad, who replaced his father, Hafez al-Assad, as dictator for life (i.e., president of Syria) upon his death in 2000.

Some in the West hoped for the best, since Bashar undertook graduate studies in London. Perhaps he would abandon his father’s brutal style. Hafez al-Assad, who continually had to destroy opposition to his minority regime, crushed a Sunni Muslim uprising in the city of Hama in 1982. The estimates on fatalities in the Hama massacre range from 10,000-40,000. The Muslim Brotherhood was also targeted in this massacre.

In 1980, Hafez al-Assad, ordered troops to wipe out Sunni and Muslim Brotherhood resistance in Aleppo, the largest city in Syria. Thousands were killed. I mention these two cities — there were tragically many other massacres of Syrian civilians — because the names might be familiar to those who have followed the story of new slaughter in Hama, Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria.

This time Bashar al-Assad is the killer. Whatever hope there had been that the son might be prone to human rights reform was crushed 17 months ago when the son, like his father, resorted to terror to quell restive Sunni Muslims, Kurds, Muslim Brotherhood and other oppressed groups who rose up demanding reform.

https://twitter.com/jenanmoussa

Today we sneaked towards rebel surrounded, Assad controlled airbase. Here a pic. Helicopters clearly visible: http://twitpic.com/afi0np
4:13 PM

I can still hear explosions by the way. One after the other. I will not go out to check. Too dangerous.
5:23 PM

Explosions getting closer to us. Mortars falling in same village where we are.
6:58 PM

In the last 5 minutes, I heard at least 6 explosions falling in/ close to town where we are. Crazy.
7:17 PM

https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf

Yesterday, 03.08.2012, 2 young men from Taftanaz were arrested, Nizar Shaaban and Khalid Ghoneim along with one 3rd man from the town of Katyan. They were arrested at the Kimari Alzirbeh checkpoint on the Aleppo-Damascus highway and given to the Airforce Intelligence forces in Aleppo.

There they were interrogated along with many others. Today, on 04.08.2012, they were taken to the Jamiat Alzahra neighborhood and fired upon with machine guns, then stabbed with knives. The 3rd man that was arrested with them, however, did not die despite the 2 gunshot wounds and knife wounds. He crawled on his abdomen until he was found by a man driving his car, who carried him and drove him to his family, as he told him his story.

The rest of the bodies are still there. No one has been able to retrieve them due to the snipers in the area.

New Massacre in Ariha, dlib. 8 martyrs until now and 10s of injured.
10:55 PM

Ariha is not controlled by the regime, however it is surrounded by many checkpoints that shell on the city non stop.
10:59 PM

https://twitter.com/Turk4Syria

Russia has left no doubt it will support Assad till end. West + Arab countries have decided it's not worth it to take a stance against this.
11:13 PM

Turkey & Qatar support the opposition. However, they feel lonely & vulnerable without backing of others and won't go further.
11:17 PM

https://twitter.com/javierespinosa2

Sorry for having to leave Aleppo and Syria, journalists have the privilege to decide when we want to leave a war, civilians stay behind
1:18 AM

http://www.lccsyria.org/9701

Local Coordination Committees in Syria

Numbers of martyrs in Syria thus far was increased to 145, 53 in Damascus and suburbs including 12 in field excution in Tadamon neighborhood and 4 also excuted in field in Qazzaz neighborhood, and including 12 in Jobar and the leader of Rahman battallion in Tadamon neighborhood, 21 martyrs in Dier Ezzor, 21 in Aleppo, 15 in Hama, 13 in Idlib, 11 in Homs, 5 in Daraa, 2 in Latakia and a martyr in Hassaka

[visionary]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/05/wo...sad-syria.html

State Department and Pentagon Plan for Post-Assad Syria

Even with fighting raging in Syria and President Bashar al-Assad digging in, the State Department and Pentagon are quietly sharpening plans to cope with a flood of refugees, help maintain basic health and municipal services, restart a shattered economy and avoid a security vacuum in the wake of Mr. Assad’s fall, administration officials say.

Mindful of American mistakes following the invasion of Iraq in 2003, both agencies have created a number of cells to draft plans for what many officials expect to be a chaotic, violent aftermath that could spread instability over Syria’s borders, even though no official could predict whether Mr. Assad’s demise was weeks or months away.

The State Department is considering positioning additional food and medical supplies in the region and is studying how to dismantle the raft of American and European sanctions against Syria quickly to allow investment to flow in and business to resume, avoiding further deterioration of life for ordinary people.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012...yria-civil-war

War for Aleppo: battle rages in city that will determine fate of Syria

However, as rebel reinforcements continued to pour in from elsewhere in the country ahead of an expected push early this week, regime troops were also bolstering defences in areas they continue to hold, primarily in the west and centre of the city.

The rebel force of about 6,000 fighters is being countered by a regime force thought to comprise at least double that number as well as large numbers of the loyalist Shabiha militia, many of whom come from Aleppo and have sworn to defend the city.

Rebel forces have advanced from the north-east and were on Saturday trying to dislodge loyalists who were fighting them on the approaches to the Maysaloon district. Capturing this would open access roads to the city centre, where the fighting flared on Saturday.

It would also, potentially, open a way for rebels, who maintain a foothold in the south-west of the city, to link up with the new arrivals.

Rebel groups say they plan to target the air force intelligence headquarters, among the most feared authorities in Syria's extensive security apparatus. Many of the Aleppo-based rebels claim to have spent time in the building's solitary cells and torture rooms.

"We are saving the tank shells we have for when we get access to the Air Force intelligence headquarters," said Mohammed Karim, from the rebel-held town of Azaz. "We will free the prisoners first, then destroy the building."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...or-Aleppo.html

Syria: Rebels upbeat in battle for Aleppo

Grinning like eager rug merchants, the fighters who had seized the east gate to Aleppo's old souk pointed proudly to the carpet at their feet.

It was not, in their view, a particularly pretty pattern, but it certainly had novelty value - a woven tapestry of President Bashar al-Assad, the man whose forces they have battled for control of the city with for the past week.

Designed to be hung by his adoring followers on their lounge walls, the tapestry now served as a doormat for anyone entering the souk to wipe their feet on - a traditional Arab insult that would have earned them jail, or worse, until just a few weeks ago.

"In a few days we will control of the whole souk," said fighter Abu Rasheed, 50, a rebel soldier sporting an improvised kit of army fatigues, Kalashnikov and slippers.

"Soon Syria will be rebuilt for our children, who will have the freedom we never had."

Yet while the outside world seems powerless to help, a ground tour of Aleppo last week suggested it may not become quite the one-sided Arab Srebrenica that many now predict. Television footage of the conflict showing close quarters battle for a few blocks of streets does not properly convey how a vast swathe of the east of city now lies under rebel control, while parts of the surrounding countryside have been so for nearly a year.

During the hour-long drive into the city from an outlying town on Thursday, the only reminder of the government presence was an edgy drive past a military barracks near Aleppo's outskirts, where a gaudy golden bust of Assad's father, Hafez, still stares out from the gatepost.

The fact that one can even consider driving past it, though, tells its own story: the soldiers within are now effectively prisoners in their own quarters, cut off from other forces and unable to man a checkpoint or even a watchtower for fear of rebel ambush.

Entering the city, rebel checkpoints made up of wrecked buses and captured regime tanks now stretch across an area the size of half a dozen municipal boroughs, most of it drab, working-class housing blocks punctured by tank and heavy-machine gun fire.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/poli...umented-w.html

Turkey Takes Bold Step Amid Escalating Border Disputes

Turkey has made the unprecedented move of crossing its border with Syria. In fact, the governor of Kilis province illegally crossed the border [into Syria] and shook hands with the Free Syrian Army (FSA).

The Turkish move conveyed more than a single message, especially after it was insisted that a private TV channel and other media outlets take pictures of the governor inside Syrian territory.

The first message is that Turkey is ready for military intervention in Syria, especially in the light of Turkey’s threats to Kurdish areas in Syria’s north — under the pretext that members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) are present there — and its continued military maneuvers conducted along the border.

The second message is that the political dispute between Syria and Turkey has reached a point of no return. These two Turkish senior officials didn’t realize the seriousness of their actions, whatever the justifications may be, although they have not yet offered any justification. This move is certainly provocative and lacks a minimum level of ethics and responsibility in international relations.

http://www.extremeskins.com/showthre...75#post9046975
22,109 people killed so far in Syria