Bashar al-Assad, Syria and the Armenian people

[Haykakan]

Re: Bashar al-Assad, Syria and the Armenian people

I do have some time now Sarkis so i will chek out your forum. Here some more good news.
SYRIAN ARMY MAKES MAJOR ADVANCES IN ALEPPO

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13920411000603

Tue Jul 02, 2013 2:12

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Syrian army made major advances in Reef (outskirts
of) Aleppo in Northern Syria near the Turkish borders and pushed back
the armed rebels from the occupied areas.

The army's infantry supported by artillery and air defense units
advanced in al-Zobdieh and Seif al-Doleh in Reef Aleppo in a move to
take full control of the two regions.

The Syrian army can protect Aleppo's residential areas only after
taking control of al-Zobdieh and Seif al-Doleh. Clashes continue in
both regions.

Last week, the Syrian army made major advances in Reef Homs in Western
Syria, foiling the attempts made by the armed rebel groups in nearby
areas to help besieged militants in the Homs region.

The army's infantry units entered al-Khalediya region in Reef Homs,
an informed Syrian military source told FNA.

The source noted that despite heavy clashes between the Syrian army and
the armed rebels in al-Khalediya, the army could make major advances
and destroyed tens of rebel bastions in the region.

"As the army suddenly entered al-Khalediya, terrorist groups and
armed rebels in adjacent areas tried hard to help the rebels besieged
in the region, but the Syrian army confronted them," the military
source added.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized
attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border
guards being reported across the country.

Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have
been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes.

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups
for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated
from abroad.

In October 2011, calm was almost restored in the Arab state after
President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel,
the US and its Arab allies sought hard to bring the country into chaos
through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals
have been staging various plots to topple President Bashar al-Assad,
who is well known in the world for his anti-Israeli stances.

[Mher]

Re: Bashar al-Assad, Syria and the Armenian people

Congress derails Obama plans to arm Syrian rebels


Though the Obama administration has authorized military aid to the rebel opposition currently engaged in a civil war with the government of Bashar Assad, it now appears that the US Congress has essentially blocked that move over terrorism fears.

Members of both the House and Senate intelligence committees have moved to enact stringent restrictions on funding the Syrian rebels, a move sufficient to prevent the White House from delivering on arms shipments according to sources who spoke with The Hill.

In mid-June, following allegations from the White House that the Assad government had used chemical weapons against opposition forces moving to depose him, the Obama administration authorized arms shipments in a marked escalation of US involvement in the region.

"This is going to be different in both scope and scale in terms of what we are providing," said Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser at the time.

Now, according to sources familiar with committee activity, restrictions on that increased aid to Syria’s opposition may have essentially stopped the administration in its tracks.

According to The Hill, lawmakers moved to block the military aid out of fears that weapons would fall into the hands of terrorist groups. US analysts are in particular concerned over the strengthening of the Syrian al-Qaeda-affiliated group Jabhat al-Nusra, also known as the al-Nusra Front.

Though the Obama administration had long stated that the use of chemical weapons by Assad’s government constituted a “red line,” it seems that lawmakers on the intelligence committees are more worried about the regional threat posed by Islamist elements now engaged against Syrian government forces.

Jabhat al-Nusra is thought to control as many as 10,000 supporters within Syria. Meanwhile, it is also believed that Iran is currently training Hezbollah fighters within Syria, in growing tension against the Sunni-backed al-Qaeda affiliates of the Syrian opposition forces.

“Whatever we do, we have to make sure we do it right,” said Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, Tuesday.

“If we are going to arm, we have to make sure we have control of what arms are out there and how people are trained to use those arms so they don’t fall into the hands of our enemy al-Qaeda,” added Ruppersberger.

Since the mid-June announcement that the Obama administration would seek to funnel military aid to Syria’s insurgency, it had set out to sell that plan to members of Congress. Both Secretary of State John Kerry and Vice President Joe Biden briefed the intelligence panels in June.

Despite efforts by the White House to increase momentum for its new Syria policy, support appeared to be splintered on Tuesday, even amongst members of Congress who were in favor of arming the opposition.

“It’s not clear to me that the administration has a workable policy,” said Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), a member of the Intelligence Committee.

Beyond the key House and Senate intelligence committees, which hold funding oversight, Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), a ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, accused the Obama administration of covertly pushing military aid behind the closed doors of the Intelligence Committee.

“They should come and talk about this openly,” Corker told reporters Tuesday.

“It puts the Intelligence Committee in a very awkward place. All of a sudden, they own it,” he added.

According to The Hill, though Obama administration officials stopped just shy of saying efforts to arm the Syrian opposition had been thwarted, congressional opposition was not likely to make it any easier.

The Associated Press had first reported last month that the congressional intelligence panels had rejected the administration’s initial plans to arm Syria’s rebels.

http://rt.com/usa/congress-derails-arming-syrian-rebels-865/

[UrMistake]

Re: Bashar al-Assad, Syria and the Armenian people

Armenian woman killed in Aleppo
Armenian woman killed in Aleppo
12 July, 19:11 AMT

ALEPPO. – An Armenian woman was killed in a blast in Aleppo the other day, a representative of the Armenian diocese told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

According to reports, the funeral of Cilva Chapurian Taglian, born in 1965, was held on Friday.

The government forces continue huge operation called “Northern Storm” to liberate Aleppo, Syria’s economic capital. They have managed to cut the rebels from the main bases of weapon and food supplies.



:-( damn them all , syrian people are friends of armenia we should support them to stop this madness

[UrMistake]

Re: Bashar al-Assad, Syria and the Armenian people

Holy Etchmiadzin sends $200,000 to Syrian Armenians
Holy Etchmiadzin sends $200,000 to Syrian Armenians
11 July, 15:39 AMT

ETCHMIADZIN. – The dire situation of the Armenians living in Syria continues to be at the focus of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II.

In this respect, Father Vahram Melikyan, Head of the Information System of the Mother See, informed that the Catholicos had called upon all Armenians, ever since the first days of the conflict in Syria, to provide support—by way of the Armenian Church dioceses worldwide—to the Armenians that are suffering in Syria.

Father Melikyan added that the Mother See regularly sends the amounts received from the dioceses to the Armenian Church diocese in Damascus, to support the Syrian-Armenian community.

He noted that the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin this time sent $200,000, which was collected by the dioceses days ago, to take care of the needs of the Armenians living in Syria.

Is this true? are they actually doing something for our people :O , thats good shoking news for me !

http://m.news.am/eng/news/162048.html

[Mher]

Re: Bashar al-Assad, Syria and the Armenian people

RT source: Israeli strike on Syria was carried out from Turkish base

http://rt.com/news/israel-strike-syria-turkey-089/

[Mher]

Re: Bashar al-Assad, Syria and the Armenian people

Azeris Fighting With Syrian Rebels-Asbarez

Thursday, August 15th, 2013

http://asbarez.com/112918/azeris-fighting-with-syrian-rebels/

BAKU—The number of Azeris known to be fighting in the armed opposition against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was revealed on August 1.

Azeri news sources, citing Syrian opposition Web sites, report that there are 60 Azerbaijanis among the ranks of the many different armed rebel groups battling the Syrian government army.

The sources also reported that some 30 Azeris have been killed during clashes.

Furthermore, fighters have come not only from Azerbaijan, but also from Afghanistan (from among the fighting ranks of the Taliban), Russia (from the Northern Caucasus), and other countries.

According to the same source, the great majority of the Azerbaijani fighters are members of a sabotage unit called Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar, whose leader is probably an Azerbaijani, Abu Yahan.

All the same, conflict analyst Arif Yunus revealed back on July 11 that there are more than 300 Azerbaijani fighters in Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan, from which 100 are in Syria. News sources in Azerbaijan with an oppositionist slant wrote in the middle of July, “There are 400 Azerbaijanis fighting among the terrorist groups in Syria, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, of which 3 are women.”

[londontsi]

Re: Bashar al-Assad, Syria and the Armenian people

Exclusive: Turkish NGO Recruiting Muslim Albanians for War in Syria

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13920523000421

TEHRAN (FNA)- Turkish charity organization, IHH, has recruited hundreds of Muslim Albanians and sent them to Syria after military trainings in Turkey to take part in the armed struggle against the Damascus government, informed sources said.

"The IHH, which operates under the cover of relief and charity activities and acts in full coordination with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and extremist Saudi Wahhabi groups, has so far recruited and transferred a number of 769 Albanians to Syria to join the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA)," an informed source who asked to remain anonymous for fear of his life, told FNA on Wednesday.

The source, who has defected the program after two weeks of war in Syria, added that those recruited by the IHH "have been transfered to Turkey via Tirana and undergone military trainings by retired US officers stationed in Reyhanli military base in the Southern Turkish province of Hatay".

"The last one of these recruited groups comprised 90 Albanian nationals who were flown to Istanbul from Tirana on Turkish Air flight no. 1078 on June 30, 2013," he continued.

Asked about the cause of his defection, the source said, "Despite IHH’s efforts to recruit the said people for the FSA, around 450 of these Muslim Albanians have defected the FSA after a few weeks of war and joined al-Qaeda-linked groups, specially the al-Nusra Front" as al-Qaeda groups enjoy better supplies, backup and organization and lead the war of insurgency in Syria.

The source said he returned to Albania after he had seen the war crimes committed by the terrorist groups against civilians in Syria.

He said he did not meet his family after returning to Albania as he was deeply fearful of the reaction of the Turkish intelligence officers and their mercenaries in Albania, adding that his family joined him only after escaping Tirana.

In June, tens of retired US Army officers accompanied by a military cargo infiltrated into Syria through Turkey's Hatay province.

“An American C-130 plane carrying a cargo of hi-tech telecommunications equipment and devices and 57 retired US officers landed in Turkey’s Hatay province this morning,” an informed source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told FNA on June 23.

“The US officers crossed the border with Syria via Reyhanli (in Hatay province) and their goal is to take charge of the central command of all military activities of armed rebels in Syria,” added the source.

He mentioned that the military cargo, containing the telecommunications equipment, left Reyhanli for the border crossing after the US officers arrived at their destination in Northern Syria.

Also in June, a report said that the US spy agency was gearing up to send weapons to insurgent groups in Syria through secret bases in Turkey and Jordan.

“The bases are expected to begin conveying shipments of weapons and ammunition within weeks,” the US daily, The Washington Post, reported in June, quoting unnamed American officials as saying.

The IHH was established in Istanbul in 1991 by advocates of Turkey's Welfare Party founded by former Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan. It played a positive role in supporting Bosnian Muslims during the Bosnia War (1992-1995).

Throughout the coming years, IHH distanced itself from Turkey's Welfare and Felicity Parties. After the outbreak of unrests in Syria in March 2011 it actively took part in helping the Syrian opposition groups.

IHH was supposed to provide humanitarian relief in case of outbreak of war, earthquake, hunger or conflict. Current president of the IHH is Fehmi Bulent Yildirim, but his deputy Osman Atalay is practically in charge of IHH's affairs.

Atalay acts in full coordination with Davutoglu, Salafis and Wahhabis, and is engaged in humanitarian relief operations on the surface.

According to the Foundation of Islamic Brotherhood, there is corroborative evidence that IHH (under the cover of humanitarian aid) is providing the terrorists in Syria with heavy weaponry, including anti-aircraft missiles and Turkish newspapers and western officials in Syria have mentioned this help to the Syrian rebels.

In October, IHH sent heavy weaponry to Syrian rebels under the guise of humanitarian relief aid.

“We have relationships today in Syria that we didn’t have six months ago,” US President Barack Obama's deputy national security adviser Benjamin J. Rhodes said during a White House briefing.

US officials announced in June that Obama had authorized sending weapons to the militants in Syria 'for the first time.'

In mid-June 2012, American newspaper USA Today quoted Christopher Harmer, an analyst with the Institute for the Study of War, as saying that the US is vetting to use Turkey's Incirlik Air Base, which is technically a NATO air base, as a hub for supplying militants in Syria with weapons.
Reports had also earlier revealed that Turkish Air has been transiting Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants from North Waziristan in Pakistan to the Turkish borders with Syria.

"The Turkish intelligence agency sent 93 Al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorists from Waziristan to Hatay province near the border with Syria on a Turkish Air Airbus flight No. 709 on September 10, 2012 and via the Karachi-Istanbul flight route," the source told FNA in September, adding that the flight had a short stop in Istanbul.

The 93 terrorists transited to the Turkish border with Syria included Al-Qaeda militants from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan and a group of Arabs residing in Waziristan, he added.

FNA dispatches from Pakistan said new al-Qaeda members were trained in North Waziristan until a few days ago and then sent to Syria, but now they are transferring their command center to the borders between Turkey and Syria as a first step to be followed by a last move directly into the restive parts of Syria on the other side of the border.

The al-Qaeda, backed by Turkey, the US and its regional Arab allies, had set up a new camp in Northern Waziristan in Pakistan to train Salafi and Jihadi terrorists and dispatched them to Syria via Turkish borders.

"A new Al-Qaeda has been created in the region through the financial and logistical backup of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and a number of western states, specially the US," a source told FNA in September.

Ali Mahdian told FNA that the US and the British governments have been playing with the al-Qaeda through their Arab proxy regimes in the region in a bid to materialize their goals, specially in Syria.

He said the Saudi and Qatari regimes serve as interlocutors to facilitate the CIA and MI6 plans in Syria through instigating terrorist operations by Salafi and Arab Jihadi groups, adding that the terrorists do not know that they actually exercise the US plans.

"Turkey has also been misusing extremist Salafis and Al-Qaeda terrorists to intensify the crisis in Syria and it has recently augmented its efforts in this regard by helping the new Al-Qaeda branch set up a camp in Northern Waziristan in Pakistan to train Al-Qaeda and Taliban members as well as Turkish Salafis and Arab Jihadis who are later sent to Syria for terrorist operations," said the source.

He said the camp in Waziristan is not just a training center, but a command center for terrorist operations against Syria.

Yet, the source said the US and Britain are looking at the new Al-Qaeda force as an instrument to attain their goals and do not intend to support them to ascend to power, "because if Salafi elements in Syria ascend to power, they will create many problems for the US, the Western states and Turkey in future".

"Thus, the US, Britain and Turkey are looking at the Al-Qaeda as a tactical instrument," he said, and warned of the regional and global repercussions of the US and Turkish aid to the Al-Qaeda and Salafi groups.

"Unfortunately, these group of countries have just focused on the short-term benefits that the Salafis and the Al-Qaeda can provide for them and ignore the perils of this support in the long run," he said.

"At present, the western countries, specially Britain which hosts and controls the Jihadi Salafi groups throughout the world are paving the ground for these extremists to leave their homes - mostly in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as those who live in Europe and the US - for Waziristan," the source added.

[Haykakan]

Re: Bashar al-Assad, Syria and the Armenian people

"Unfortunately, these group of countries have just focused on the short-term benefits that the Salafis and the Al-Qaeda can provide for them and ignore the perils of this support in the long run," he said.
O i disagree with this statement. Their whole plan is the longrun which insures that the region stays a backwards hellhole so that the crapolla called Israel can shine as an example of hope when in reality it is the evil state holding back the entire region. This is inline with USA goals as well. It is sad to see what the USA, Britain and Israel have done to the middle east and for as bad as Armenians are at uniting to do anything well we are head and shoulders above the Arab tribalists who will sell their own mother for a hand of poker at the casino.

[Federate]

Re: Bashar al-Assad, Syria and the Armenian people

Syrian-Armenian soldier Vrej Keshishian (b. 1991) martyred in Idlib, Syria. He had served in the Syrian Army since the start of the war 2 and a half years ago. RIP

[Haykakan]

Re: Bashar al-Assad, Syria and the Armenian people

RIP pisses me off watching our young men die - time for me to practice my shooting again.