The Syrian Crisis
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Syria hesitant about India’s role in reconstruction after Modi’s Israel visit
The Syrian government is hesitant about inviting India to participate in the war-torn country’s reconstruction because of public disappointment over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel, a top aide to President Bashar al-Assad has said.
The views expressed by Bouthaina Shaaban, one of the closest aides of Assad, could be perceived as a snub by Indian policy-makers, especially since New Delhi has tacitly backed the Syrian regime since the country’s conflict began in 2011.
Sipping a glass of wine at a hotel in the “green zone” of Damascus, Shaaban speaks of the bitter taste left by the Indian premier’s visit to Israel.
“Allow me to say that the Syrian people are very disappointed with the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Israel, because Israel is an occupying and a colonial force which has deprived Palestinians of their indigenous rights. We never expected India will move from its righteous and moral stand and pay that huge courtesy to Israel,” Shabaan, a frequent visitor to India, told Hindustan Times.
“I can say that while we call for a role for China and a role for Russia, we are very hesitant to call for a role for India (in rebuilding Syria),” she added.
Perhaps indicative of Syria’s anger, Shaaban volunteered the response when she was asked about the sort the Assad regime envisages for India in post-war efforts.
“Regardless of the economic and military relations, because we know there are relations between India and Israel, the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Israel was really shocking,” she said.
It wasn’t India’s working relationship with Israel but the prime ministerial visit and the optics it entailed that had baffled Syria, she added.
In 2016, India abstained from a UN resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire following the siege of Aleppo imposed by the Syrian government and backed with Russian military might. Despite the war, high-level visits between India and Syria continued, including one by minister of state for external affairs MJ Akbar in 2016.
The World Bank estimates that the cost of rebuilding Syria’s bombed-out cities will be $200 billion. Hindustan Times has learnt India has the capacity to take on projects worth $20 billion, a tenth of the total estimate.
India’s involvement in projects in Syria ranges from a $25 million line of credit for modernising the Hama Iron and Steel Plant (Apollo International won the contract and completed the project) to a contract signed by BHEL in 2009 to part finance the Tishreen power plant through another line of credit of $100 million (the work was suspended due to the ongoing crisis and has not resumed).
New Delhi has also pledged $4 million in humanitarian aid to the Syrian regime, while ONGC Videsh Limited won the bid to look for oil and natural gas in Block 24 in Syria’s Deir Ezzor province.
A team from OVL visited Syria two to three weeks ago and, according to sources, was assured by the Syrian regime of preferential treatment. But Deir Ezzor continues to be an active battleground and fierce fighting between the Syrian regime and the Islamic State and other groups is taking place in the country’s eastern front on the border with Iraq.
After a gap of six years, Damascus is ready to host its international trade fair. The capital and even the destroyed cities of Homs and Aleppo are flaunting huge signboards for the fair to be held on August 17 that promises to rebuild Syria.
Assad is relying heavily on the financial muscle of BRICS nations, but is mostly dependent on the Chinese. China has announced it will invest $2 billion in an industrial park that is expected to bring 150 Chinese companies to Syria.
While the number of Chinese firms attending the fair isn’t known as yet, seven Indian companies are expected to visit Damascus on August 17, with a few more sending representatives. Indian firms are believed to be concerned about security even though the areas controlled by the regime are now relatively safer.
In the reconstruction rush, Indian diplomats are hoping Indian companies will not be left behind and lose the first-mover advantage. In an attempt to assuage Syrian concerns, sources in the Indian government said that India’s Israel policy is not at the expense of Syria.
The page on “foreign relations with Syria” on the website of the external affairs ministry still reads “India’s traditional support for just Arab causes , notably the Palestinian cause and for the return of the occupied Golan Heights to Syria, is appreciated by Syrians”.
Shabaan blamed the West for supporting anti-regime groups and said this is because of the Syrian government’s opposition to Israel’s occupation of Palestine. She thinks the Israeli-Arab conflict is the main reason behind the war in Syria.
As she left for another meeting, she said that while Syria was saddened by Modi’s visit to Israel, it is willing to look at a “pragmatic relationship” with India.
The Syrian government is hesitant about inviting India to participate in the war-torn country’s reconstruction because of public disappointment over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel, a top aide to President Bashar al-Assad has said.
The views expressed by Bouthaina Shaaban, one of the closest aides of Assad, could be perceived as a snub by Indian policy-makers, especially since New Delhi has tacitly backed the Syrian regime since the country’s conflict began in 2011.
Sipping a glass of wine at a hotel in the “green zone” of Damascus, Shaaban speaks of the bitter taste left by the Indian premier’s visit to Israel.
“Allow me to say that the Syrian people are very disappointed with the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Israel, because Israel is an occupying and a colonial force which has deprived Palestinians of their indigenous rights. We never expected India will move from its righteous and moral stand and pay that huge courtesy to Israel,” Shabaan, a frequent visitor to India, told Hindustan Times.
“I can say that while we call for a role for China and a role for Russia, we are very hesitant to call for a role for India (in rebuilding Syria),” she added.
Perhaps indicative of Syria’s anger, Shaaban volunteered the response when she was asked about the sort the Assad regime envisages for India in post-war efforts.
“Regardless of the economic and military relations, because we know there are relations between India and Israel, the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Israel was really shocking,” she said.
It wasn’t India’s working relationship with Israel but the prime ministerial visit and the optics it entailed that had baffled Syria, she added.
In 2016, India abstained from a UN resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire following the siege of Aleppo imposed by the Syrian government and backed with Russian military might. Despite the war, high-level visits between India and Syria continued, including one by minister of state for external affairs MJ Akbar in 2016.
The World Bank estimates that the cost of rebuilding Syria’s bombed-out cities will be $200 billion. Hindustan Times has learnt India has the capacity to take on projects worth $20 billion, a tenth of the total estimate.
India’s involvement in projects in Syria ranges from a $25 million line of credit for modernising the Hama Iron and Steel Plant (Apollo International won the contract and completed the project) to a contract signed by BHEL in 2009 to part finance the Tishreen power plant through another line of credit of $100 million (the work was suspended due to the ongoing crisis and has not resumed).
New Delhi has also pledged $4 million in humanitarian aid to the Syrian regime, while ONGC Videsh Limited won the bid to look for oil and natural gas in Block 24 in Syria’s Deir Ezzor province.
A team from OVL visited Syria two to three weeks ago and, according to sources, was assured by the Syrian regime of preferential treatment. But Deir Ezzor continues to be an active battleground and fierce fighting between the Syrian regime and the Islamic State and other groups is taking place in the country’s eastern front on the border with Iraq.
After a gap of six years, Damascus is ready to host its international trade fair. The capital and even the destroyed cities of Homs and Aleppo are flaunting huge signboards for the fair to be held on August 17 that promises to rebuild Syria.
Assad is relying heavily on the financial muscle of BRICS nations, but is mostly dependent on the Chinese. China has announced it will invest $2 billion in an industrial park that is expected to bring 150 Chinese companies to Syria.
While the number of Chinese firms attending the fair isn’t known as yet, seven Indian companies are expected to visit Damascus on August 17, with a few more sending representatives. Indian firms are believed to be concerned about security even though the areas controlled by the regime are now relatively safer.
In the reconstruction rush, Indian diplomats are hoping Indian companies will not be left behind and lose the first-mover advantage. In an attempt to assuage Syrian concerns, sources in the Indian government said that India’s Israel policy is not at the expense of Syria.
The page on “foreign relations with Syria” on the website of the external affairs ministry still reads “India’s traditional support for just Arab causes , notably the Palestinian cause and for the return of the occupied Golan Heights to Syria, is appreciated by Syrians”.
Shabaan blamed the West for supporting anti-regime groups and said this is because of the Syrian government’s opposition to Israel’s occupation of Palestine. She thinks the Israeli-Arab conflict is the main reason behind the war in Syria.
As she left for another meeting, she said that while Syria was saddened by Modi’s visit to Israel, it is willing to look at a “pragmatic relationship” with India.
bhramos
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bhramos
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Loss of the Air Force of Syria 2017:
05.02.17. Su-22M3 tech. Breakdown. The pilot was killed.
04.03.17. MiG-21 fell on the territory of Turkey, due to the failure of navigation equipment.
04/07/17. 5 Su 22M3, 1 Su 22M4, 3 MiG 23ML The missile strike of the US Armed Forces at the airfield of Shayrat destroyed 9 aircraft.
05.06.17. MiG-23ML tech. Breakdown. The pilot was killed.
06/18/17. Su-22M4 shot down by F / A-18E US Navy in the area of Tabka.
20.06.17. Mi-17 helicopter was damaged due to firing of land during take-off, it is not subject to repair.
02.07.17. MI-8 shot down from the ground. 5 people were killed.
08/15/17. The MiG-21 was shot down by militants in the Badia region. The pilot was taken prisoner.
05.02.17. Su-22M3 tech. Breakdown. The pilot was killed.
04.03.17. MiG-21 fell on the territory of Turkey, due to the failure of navigation equipment.
04/07/17. 5 Su 22M3, 1 Su 22M4, 3 MiG 23ML The missile strike of the US Armed Forces at the airfield of Shayrat destroyed 9 aircraft.
05.06.17. MiG-23ML tech. Breakdown. The pilot was killed.
06/18/17. Su-22M4 shot down by F / A-18E US Navy in the area of Tabka.
20.06.17. Mi-17 helicopter was damaged due to firing of land during take-off, it is not subject to repair.
02.07.17. MI-8 shot down from the ground. 5 people were killed.
08/15/17. The MiG-21 was shot down by militants in the Badia region. The pilot was taken prisoner.
bhramos
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Fighting in the "Akerbat pocket"
Last night, the Syrian army and its allied formations continued their offensive, this time operating in the area of the "Akerbat pocket" and around As-Sukhn. According to sources from the field, Syrian troops and tribal militia attacked the second part of the "Akerbat Boiler", advancing from the Al-Kavn Oasis and taking control of several large heights, as well as a number of oil and gas fields such as Hussein, Gavar- 2 "," Gadir-1 "," Twinnai "and" Akram ", thereby significantly reducing the territory of the second part of the first" Akerbatsky pocket. "
A little later, by night, reports began to be received about the advance of the Syrian army units near the town of As-Sukhn. As a result of the fighting in the area, Al-Najib gas station was taken 8 kilometers from the city. In the morning, detachments of the Syrian army and the Syrian People's Militia attacked and took the heights of Talil Garbi and Sharqiyya in the vicinity of the mountains of Sumeriya.
More and more reports come from the massive withdrawal of militants of the "Islamic State" organization banned in Russia from central Syria, nevertheless, some of the militants still remain on the defensive lines, using mountain ranges as base points.
Some sources all claim that there is no complete control over the ways of reporting the IG militants between the two parts of the "Akerbat pocket", and between the two groups of about 10-5 kilometers, but they are still under the fire control of the Syrian army and are completely shot through. In other words, the "pocket" has not yet completely turned into a "boiler", however, as a result of successful military actions by the Syrian army, it was possible to significantly reduce the territories previously controlled by the militants of the "Islamic State"
Last night, the Syrian army and its allied formations continued their offensive, this time operating in the area of the "Akerbat pocket" and around As-Sukhn. According to sources from the field, Syrian troops and tribal militia attacked the second part of the "Akerbat Boiler", advancing from the Al-Kavn Oasis and taking control of several large heights, as well as a number of oil and gas fields such as Hussein, Gavar- 2 "," Gadir-1 "," Twinnai "and" Akram ", thereby significantly reducing the territory of the second part of the first" Akerbatsky pocket. "
A little later, by night, reports began to be received about the advance of the Syrian army units near the town of As-Sukhn. As a result of the fighting in the area, Al-Najib gas station was taken 8 kilometers from the city. In the morning, detachments of the Syrian army and the Syrian People's Militia attacked and took the heights of Talil Garbi and Sharqiyya in the vicinity of the mountains of Sumeriya.
More and more reports come from the massive withdrawal of militants of the "Islamic State" organization banned in Russia from central Syria, nevertheless, some of the militants still remain on the defensive lines, using mountain ranges as base points.
Some sources all claim that there is no complete control over the ways of reporting the IG militants between the two parts of the "Akerbat pocket", and between the two groups of about 10-5 kilometers, but they are still under the fire control of the Syrian army and are completely shot through. In other words, the "pocket" has not yet completely turned into a "boiler", however, as a result of successful military actions by the Syrian army, it was possible to significantly reduce the territories previously controlled by the militants of the "Islamic State"
bhramos
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bhramos
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The division of the "Akerbat pocket" and the advance towards Deir-ez-Zor
Syrian army and its allied formations continued to advance from different sides of the "Akerbat pocket" and in the vicinity of the city of As-Sukhn . It is reported that the detachments of the Syrian army and the unit "Tiger" managed to divide the second part of the "Akerbat pocket" from the oasis of Al-Kavn towards the heights of Jabal Al-Shaer, the place where the Syrian army detachments closed the first ring around Akerbat. There is also information about the destruction of one of the executioners of the militants of the "Islamic State" who participated in the massacre of Syrian soldiers at the Tabka airbase, as well as attempts to contact several IG militia leaders in the area with the command of the Syrian army to surrender.
Meanwhile, progress continued along the As-Sukhn-Deir-ez-Zor route, where detachments of the 800 regiment of the Republican Guard managed to take the Al-Nujib oil and gas field and the Sarouk roadblocks. It was also possible to advance in the most unadapted part of the "Akerbatsky cauldron" - near the town of Akerbat. It is reported that the height of Tal Abu Fakh was taken in this area, thus several villages were taken under fire control.
It is worth noting that today, apparently, the first of the "Akerbat pocket" boilers was closed, but now it is finally. The second part of the "pocket" is actually empty due to the lack of any large settlements on its territory. Let's hope that during the existence of the free path, a large part of the militants also left the area of the city of Akerbat itself and subsequently formed around it a cauldron.
Syrian army and its allied formations continued to advance from different sides of the "Akerbat pocket" and in the vicinity of the city of As-Sukhn . It is reported that the detachments of the Syrian army and the unit "Tiger" managed to divide the second part of the "Akerbat pocket" from the oasis of Al-Kavn towards the heights of Jabal Al-Shaer, the place where the Syrian army detachments closed the first ring around Akerbat. There is also information about the destruction of one of the executioners of the militants of the "Islamic State" who participated in the massacre of Syrian soldiers at the Tabka airbase, as well as attempts to contact several IG militia leaders in the area with the command of the Syrian army to surrender.
Meanwhile, progress continued along the As-Sukhn-Deir-ez-Zor route, where detachments of the 800 regiment of the Republican Guard managed to take the Al-Nujib oil and gas field and the Sarouk roadblocks. It was also possible to advance in the most unadapted part of the "Akerbatsky cauldron" - near the town of Akerbat. It is reported that the height of Tal Abu Fakh was taken in this area, thus several villages were taken under fire control.
It is worth noting that today, apparently, the first of the "Akerbat pocket" boilers was closed, but now it is finally. The second part of the "pocket" is actually empty due to the lack of any large settlements on its territory. Let's hope that during the existence of the free path, a large part of the militants also left the area of the city of Akerbat itself and subsequently formed around it a cauldron.
bhramos
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Attacks by militant groups of pro-Turkish moderate opposition on the position of Kurdish formations in the north of the province of Aleppo.
A few days ago, at night, militants of pro-Turkish moderate opposition groups once again attacked one of the fortified roadblocks of Kurdish formations in the Tel Rifat area, which is in the canton of Afrin, in the north of the province of Aleppo. As a result of the night attack, with the massive use of artillery, the militants managed to completely destroy the fortifications themselves, but whether the Kurds were knocked out from there - the data is different.
It is worth recalling that this is not the first militant grouping of pro-Turkish moderate opposition on the position of Kurdish formations in the north of the province of Aleppo. Thus, the past attacks that took place on August 11 and July 18 ended in complete defeat of the attackers, or their retreat.
A few days ago, at night, militants of pro-Turkish moderate opposition groups once again attacked one of the fortified roadblocks of Kurdish formations in the Tel Rifat area, which is in the canton of Afrin, in the north of the province of Aleppo. As a result of the night attack, with the massive use of artillery, the militants managed to completely destroy the fortifications themselves, but whether the Kurds were knocked out from there - the data is different.
It is worth recalling that this is not the first militant grouping of pro-Turkish moderate opposition on the position of Kurdish formations in the north of the province of Aleppo. Thus, the past attacks that took place on August 11 and July 18 ended in complete defeat of the attackers, or their retreat.
