Regional geopolitics

[Vrej1915]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Yemen crisis: UAE launches fresh Yemen attacks
5 September 2015
BBC


Warplanes from the United Arab Emirates have launched air strikes on several targets across Yemen.
The strikes came a day after 45 Emirati soldiers died in Yemen in a missile strike claimed by Houthi rebels.
Ten Saudi troops fighting the rebels were also killed in the Houthi attack, Saudi officials said on Saturday.
A Saudi-led coalition is trying to restore the exiled president, who left as the Houthis gained control over much of the country.
The UAE also announced on Saturday three days of mourning for its troops, who died in a rebel missile strike on an ammunition depot in Marib province.
Bahrain also said that five of its troops were killed on Friday, reportedly in the same blast.


Coalition airstrikes continued on Saturday, including in the capital Sanaa
The Houthi rebels described the attack as revenge for "crimes" committed by the Saudi-led coalition, which has carried out months of air strikes in Yemen.
According to Emirati state media, Emirati air strikes hit Houthi rebel targets in a number of places inside Yemen.
The UN says some 4,500 people - including at least 2,110 civilians - have been killed in fighting on the ground and by coalition air strikes since late March.
Coalition countries are thought to have sent several thousand troops to Yemen in an effort to restore President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi to power.
They helped southern militiamen opposed to the Houthis retake the southern port city of Aden in July and have since advanced northwards.

Leading tribes in Yemen's Marib province are backing the Saudi-led coalition military campaign

Why is there fighting in Yemen?

Northern Shia Muslim rebels known as Houthis, backed by forces loyal to Yemen's ex-president, took over parts of Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, and forced the government into exile in March

The rebels accused the government of corruption and of planning to marginalise their heartland within a proposed federal system
Forces loyal to the government and southern militias are fighting back, aided by air strikes led by neighbouring Saudi Arabia

[Vrej1915]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Syria crisis: US concern over Russia 'military build-up'
5 September 2015
BBC

US Secretary of State John Kerry has expressed concern to Moscow over reports of Russian military build-up in Syria, the state department says.
US media reports said Russia has sent advisers and hardware to Syria, in what Washington fears is an expansion of its support for President Bashar al-Assad.
Any such development would "escalate the conflict", Mr Kerry told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
Russia has been a key ally of Syria throughout its four-year civil war.

How far is Russia bolstering Assad?

The New York Times cited US officials as saying Russia had despatched an advance military team to Syria, as well as housing units and an air traffic control centre to an airfield.
The officials quoted admitted they were unsure of Moscow's intentions, but said the deployments could enable Russia to use the airbase to facilitate supply of military gear or to launch air strikes against Mr Assad's enemies.


Mr Kerry made his concerns over the reports known to the Russian Foreign Minister in a phone call.
"If such reports were accurate, these actions could further escalate the conflict, lead to greater loss of innocent life, increase refugee flows and risk confrontation with the anti-Isil coalition operating in Syria," the state department said, using an alternative acronym for Islamic State (IS).
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday it was "premature" to talk about Moscow getting involved in direct fighting.
Russia and the US disagree sharply on Syria. While Russia has backed the Syrian government, and provided it with arms, the US wants to see the removal of President Assad.
In the latest fighting on the ground, at least 47 people died in fierce clashes between IS militants and other rebels in the northern town of Marea.
At least six members of Syria's security forces were shot dead in the south-western city of Sweida, after a prominent cleric in the minority Druze community died in a car bomb blast.

[Vrej1915]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Fighting around key Syria town 'leaves 47 dead' - activists
5 September 2015
BBC


Fighting between rebels and Islamic State (IS) militants around the strategic Syrian town of Marea has left 47 dead, according to activists.
The UK-based Syria Observatory for Human Rights said that 27 IS fighters were killed, with the rest being from other anti-government groups.
Marea lies in an area that Turkey and the US have reportedly wanted to turn into an IS-free "safe zone".
Last month it was alleged IS had used chemical weapons in an attack on Marea.
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said that on 21 August it had treated four members of a family who suffered from breathing difficulties and developed blisters after a mortar hit their home in Marea.
The Syrian American Medical Society has also reported receiving 50 patients showing symptoms of chemical exposure.
Local rebels say the shells were fired from an IS-held village to the east.
Last month the US said it suspected IS of having used chemical agents in another attack on Kurdish forces in northern Syria. Reports of a sulphur mustard attack on Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in Iraq are also being investigated.
Also on Saturday, US Secretary of State John Kerry expressed concern to his Russian counterpart over reports of "an imminent enhanced Russian military build-up" in Syria.
On Friday the New York Times reported that US officials believed Russia had sent a military advance team to Syria and was "taking other steps the United States fears may signal that President... Putin is planning to vastly expand his military support for [Syrian] President Bashar al-Assad".
Mr Kerry "made clear that if such reports were accurate, these actions could further escalate the conflict, lead to greater loss of innocent life, increase refugee flows and risk confrontation with the anti-ISIL coalition operating in Syria," the state department said.

[Haykakan]

Re: Regional geopolitics

What an ahole this Kerry. Yeh USA does nothing but arm mass murderers like ISIS and when Russia does something to stop them he is "concerned". Go F yourself!

[londontsi]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Greece confirms US asked to close airspace to Syria-bound Russian aid flights

http://www.rt.com/news/314616-greece-request-airspace-russia/

The Greek Foreign Ministry has confirmed receipt of a request from Washington, asking that Russia be denied use of Greek airspace for aid flights to Syria, Reuters reported.

The announcement came from the Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman, who added the US request was being considered.

On Sunday, a diplomatic source in Athens told RIA Novosti that Greece had refused to close its airspace to Russian planes carrying humanitarian aid to Syria.

On Saturday, the US embassy asked the interim Greek government to prohibit flights of Russian aircraft in the Athens FIR, the country's airspace. The Greeks refused, so as not to worsen relations with Russia, the source said.

The RIA source added that Russia had requested to use Greek airspace for humanitarian flights to Syria, September 1-24. Athens reportedly agreed.

[Vrej1915]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Greece confirms US asked to close airspace to Syria-bound Russian aid flights

http://www.rt.com/news/314616-greece-request-airspace-russia/

The Greek Foreign Ministry has confirmed receipt of a request from Washington, asking that Russia be denied use of Greek airspace for aid flights to Syria, Reuters reported.

The announcement came from the Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman, who added the US request was being considered.

On Sunday, a diplomatic source in Athens told RIA Novosti that Greece had refused to close its airspace to Russian planes carrying humanitarian aid to Syria.

On Saturday, the US embassy asked the interim Greek government to prohibit flights of Russian aircraft in the Athens FIR, the country's airspace. The Greeks refused, so as not to worsen relations with Russia, the source said.

The RIA source added that Russia had requested to use Greek airspace for humanitarian flights to Syria, September 1-24. Athens reportedly agreed.

Suppose the Greek airspace is closed. That implies turkish one is closed too.
What would that change??
Iran is sending daily flights over Irak.
Russia will use same lifeline.
Kerozen is free...

What will that change apart an hour or two of delay??

[Vrej1915]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Russian submarine with 20 ICBMs and 200 nuclear warheads is sailing to Syria
07/09/2015
DEBKA

The world’s largest submarine, the Dmitri Donskoy (TK-208), Nato-coded Typhoon, has set sail for the Mediterranean and is destined for the Syrian coast, DEBKAfilereports exclusively from its military and intelligence sources. Aboard the sub are 20 Bulava (NATO-code SS-N-30) intercontinental ballistic missiles with an estimated up to 200 nuclear warheads. Each missile, with a reported range of 10,000km, carries 6-10 MIRV nuclear warheads.
The Russian sub set sail from its North Sea base on Sept. 4, escorted by two anti-sub warfare ships. Their arrival at destination in 10 days time will top up the new Russian military deployment in Syria.
President Vladimir Putin’s introduction of a nuclear force opposite Syrian shores builds up what first looked like an operation to fortify Assad’s regime in Damascus into a military expedition capable of an air and sea confrontation with US forces in the Middle East.
US Secretary of State John Kerry suggested as much Saturday, Sept. 5, when he expressed concern over reports of Russia’s “increasing military build-up in Syria” in a phone call to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The State Department reported: “The Secretary made clear that if such reports were accurate, these actions could further escalate the conflict, lead to greater loss of innocent life, increase refugee flows and risk confrontation with the anti-ISIL coalition operation in Syria.”
Kerry was referring to potential Russian interference with US-led coalition air strikes against the Islamic State in Syria.
DEBKAfile’s sources in Washington and Moscow report that the dispatch of a nuclear sub to Syrian waters is taken as a strong message that the Kremlin will not let the US impede its military intervention in the Syrian conflict and will go to extreme lengths to keep the way open for the flow of Russian troops to the war-torn country.
This situation has gone a long way beyond Obama administration intentions when US-Russian talks were initially held for US forces posted in Turkey and Iraq, together with the Russian troops arriving in Syria, to launch a combined effort against the Islamic State. Those talks came to naught.
In its coming issue out Friday, Sept. 11, DEBKA Weekly 678 will reveal for the first time how Putin intends to array the Russian forces he is consigning to Syria, their operational planning, their military coordination with Iran and, above all, how the new Russian intervention in Syria may impact US Middle East policy and Israel.

[Haykakan]

Re: Regional geopolitics

I hope all this is true and Russia is making a strong presence in that region. If USA is asking Greece to stop Russian transports then it is quite obvious that it is behind DASH to begin with. This will bring some balance in the region and secure the Armenian communities there.

[Vrej1915]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Քրդերը Իգդիրում ոստիկանական ավտոբուս են պայթեցրել

http://www.azatutyun.am/archive/news/20150908/2031/2031.html?id=27232831

08.09.2015

Քուրդ զինյալները Իգդիրում ոստիկանական ավտոբուս են պայթեցրել։ Թուրքական Anadolu լրատվական գործակալության փոխանցմամբ, դեպքը տեղի է ունեցել այսօր առավոտյան՝ Նախիջևանի հետ Թուրքիայի սահմանի անցակետի մերձակայքում։ Նախնական տվյալներով՝ պայթյունի հետևանքով 12 ոստիկան է զոհվել։

Ադրբեջանական APA լրատվական գործակալությունը հաղորդում է 10 զոհվածների ու 3 վիրավորների մասին՝ նշելով, որ կողմերի միջև փոխհրաձգությունը դեռ շարունակվում է։

Քրդստանի բանվորական կուսակցության (PKK) զինյալների հետ բախումներում հուլիսից մինչ օրս թուրք 90 ուժային է սպանվել, փոխանցում է Anadolu-ն:

Թուրքիայում այսօր տեղի ունեցած պայթյունի մասին հաղորդագրություն է տարածել նաև Հայաստանի տարածքային կառավարման և արտակարգ իրավիճակների նախարարությունը։ «Սեպտեմբերի 8-ին, ժամը 09.46-ին ահազանգ է ստացվել, որ Արարատի մարզի Ռանչպար գյուղում պայթյունի ձայն է լսվել: Պարզվել է, որ պայթյունը տեղի է ունեցել Արարատի մարզի Նորամարգ գյուղից 5 կիլոմետր հեռավորության վրա` Թուրքիայի տարածքում», - ասված է հաղորդագրությունում:

[Haykakan]

Re: Regional geopolitics

12 TURKISH SOLDIERS KILLED BY BOMB NEAR BORDER WITH ARMENIA

12:44, 08 Sep 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Turkey's state-run television says 12 police officers were killed in
a roadside bomb attack in eastern Turkey, the Associated Press reports.

TRT television says three other policemen were injured today in the
attack in the province of Igdir, near Turkey's border with Armenia.

The attack comes amid a sharp escalation of violence between Turkey's
security forces and Kurdish rebels. Sixteen soldiers were killed in
a similar attack by the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, on Sunday.

http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/09/08/12-turkish-soldiers-killed-by-bomb-near-border-with-armenia/