The Syrian Crisis

[Armand2REP]

Re: Syria's Assad seeks Phl help

Does Mrs. Assad have lots and lots of shoes?

Maybe one of his Pinoy maids offered him a place to crash?

 

[fzaq]

Re: Syria's Assad seeks Phl help

Palace: No talk of asylum for Assad

ABS-CBNnews.com
Posted at 01/31/2013 4:07 PM | Updated as of 01/31/2013 4:07 PM


MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang denied Thursday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad wants to seek asylum in the Philippines.

"I asked [Foreign Affairs] Secretary [Albert] del Rosario and he said that was never even discussed, so where did the idea of providing political asylum come from?" Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.

A Philippine Star report earlier said Assad has turned to the Philippines for help in finding a "political solution" to the conflict.

"Reliable diplomatic sources told The STAR last night that among the solutions being explored are asylum for Assad in the Philippines or financial help for drained Syrian national coffers," the report said.

Assad's regime is also eyeing Manila as intermediary with the United States, the European Union and the Arab League, according to the sources from several foreign embassies in Manila.

The sources said Assad's trusted political and media adviser Bouthaina Shaaban arrived in Manila last Sunday and was escorted to Malacañang the other day by a ranking official of the Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Several other DFA officials were present at the meeting with President Aquino, the sources said.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario confirmed the meeting and that a political solution to the two-year-old Syrian conflict was discussed. Del Rosario did not elaborate.

Meanwhile, Lacierda said the Syrian government has been "very helpful" in allowing the repatriation of Filipinos back home. He said that the Philippine government's priority now is to ensure the safety of Filipinos in Syria.

"We have not ventured into that primarily for one thing: We have several thousand OFWs there. Our priority right now is to ensure the safety of our Filipino citizens in Syria," Lacierda said when asked about the Philippines' position on the current situation in Syria. With reports from Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News; and The Philippine Star

Palace: No talk of asylum for Assad | ABS-CBN News

 

[SajeevJino]

Re: Israeli jets reportedly attack convoy on Lebanon-Syria border

Self delete

 

[SajeevJino]

Re: Israeli jets reportedly attack convoy on Lebanon-Syria border

Air strike on Damascus military complex shows Syrian Air Defense can do nothing against Israeli Electronic Warfare​

The Israeli air strike on a weapons convoy and military complex near Damascus, on the night between Jan. 29 and 30 has something in common with a similar air strike, the Israeli Air Force launched in 2007: the bombers entered and egressed the Syrian airspace almost completely undetected by the Syrian air defenses


On Sept. 6, 2007, ten F-15I and F-16 jets attacked a nuclear facility being built in Syria. The success of that mission, dubbed "Operation Orchard", was largely attributed to effectiveness of the Israeli Electronic Warfare platforms that supported the air strike and made the Syrian radars blind: some sources believe that Operation Orchard saw the baptism of fire of the Suter airborne network system against Syrian radar systems from some ELINT aircraft.

It is quite likely that Israel's EW capabilities, most probably furtherly improved since 2007 (someone speculated Israel is capable to inject malware from its F-16s), have played a major role in the recent strike that hit a target located only 5 kilometers from Assad's headquarters.

Although the current status of the SAM (Surface to Air Missile) coverage around Damascus is quite difficult to assess, since some of the batteries protecting the capital town may have been sabotaged or hit by the rebels activity, the area is still believed to be heavily defended by several Soviet-made anti-aircraft system (even if most of all not so up to date).

The following image comes from 2010"²s survey of the Syrian SAM deployment, published on the interesting Sean O'Connor's IMINT & Analysis blog.

Although probably outdated, it still gives an idea of how crowded of SAM systems the area surrounding Damascus is.

In June 2012, a Syrian anti-aircraft artillery battery downed a Turkish Air Force RF-4E Phantom that had violated the Syrian airspace at low altitude over the Mediterranean Sea, thus proving that Damascus's air defense are still somehow dreadful for enemy fighter jets.

Even though EW coverage (embedded in the strike package or supporting it from distance) has probably contributed to the successful outcome of the air strike making the bombers somehow "stealthy", another key factor in last night's attack was the relatively short distance of the target area from the border and the local orography, that has helped the Israeli jets flying at low altitude achieving some terrain masking.

The following image, drawn by The Aviationist's contributor Giuliano Ranieri, shows a possible ingress route that exploits the terrain masking provided by the Mt. Heron and overflies a scarcely populated area.

It's just a hypothesis, still, likely, not too far from the route actually flown by the Israeli fighters.

Some videos have been uploaded to Liveleak allegedly showing the Israeli fighter over Damascus at dawn. The one you can watch hereLiveLeak.com - "israeli" planes over Damascus 30.1.2013 has nothing to do with the air strike though: the type of contrails, the type of formation and, above all, the altitude of the planes depicted in the footage are not consistent with the IAF raid.


And thanks for you Aviationist For such a Nice Article
The Aviationist � Air strike on Damascus military complex shows Syrian Air Defense can do nothing against Israeli Electronic Warfare

 

[SajeevJino]

Syria scales back threats against Israel over airstrike, suggests it won't retaliate​

Syria's defense minister signaled Monday that his country won't hit back at Israel over an airstrike inside Syria, claiming the Israeli raid was actually in retaliation for his regime's offensive against rebels he called "tools" of the Jewish state.

The remarks suggest the regime's military options might be severely constrained after 22 months of fighting an uprising that has depleted its weapons and stretched troops thin.

Israel has all but confirmed it was behind Wednesday's airstrike -- a humiliating raid just few miles away from the Syrian capital, Damascus, that added another layer of complication to a chaotic uprising and civil war. U.S. officials said the Israelis struck a military research center and a convoy next to it carrying anti-aircraft weapons destined for the Islamic militant group Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon.

Syria vowed to retaliate, but the threats of retribution were seen by many as exceedingly mild, drawing criticism and mockery from rebels and opposition leaders who called it proof of President Bashar Assad's weakness and acquiescence to Israel.

In a televised interview Monday, Syrian Defense Minister Gen. Fahd Jassem al-Freij indicated that Syria may not be planning to retaliate at all. He said Israel attacked the research center near Damascus because rebels were unable to capture it. He called the rebels Israel's "tools."

He was asked by Syrian state TV why Damascus does not retaliate against Israel.

"The Israeli enemy retaliated. When the Israeli enemy saw that its tools are being chased and did not achieve any (of their) goals, they interfered," he responded. "It was a response to our military acts against the armed gangs," al-Freij added. "The heroic Syrian Arab Army, which proved to the world that it is a strong army and a trained army, will not be defeated."

In surprisingly candid remarks, al-Freij said that rebels have made Syrian air defenses across the country a focus of their attacks over the past months, attacking some with mortars while attempting to seize others in order to incapacitate them.

In response, he said the Syrian leadership decided to station them all in one safe place, leading to "gaps in radar coverage in some areas."

"These gaps became known to the armed gangs and the Israelis who undoubtedly coordinated together to target the research center," he said.

He suggested the army was overstretched and finding difficulty retaining control over several positions across the country, adding they had to abandon some areas to minimize casualties.

Ahmad Ramadan, a member of the opposition Syrian National Council executive bureau, dismissed accusations by Syrian leaders that the Israelis were doing the rebels' bidding.

He also told The Associated Press that the military was using the research center to direct battles against rebels in the suburbs of Damascus. He said the area has witnessed clashes between troops and rebels but that the rebels had not attacked the center itself.

In his first comment on the airstrike, Assad said Sunday that that his country would confront any aggression.

"Syria, with the awareness of its people, the might of its army and its adherence to the path of resistance, is able to face the current challenges and confront any aggression that might target the Syrian people," the president was quoted as saying by the state news agency SANA during a meeting with a top Iranian official.

But analysts say the Syrian military should be cautious about overreaching, noting that morale is sagging among many soldiers.

"It would be illogical for the regime in Damascus to engage in an adventure with the Jewish state which would further weaken it and hasten its collapse," wrote George Semaan, a leading columnist in the pan-Arab Al Hayat daily Monday.

A top Iranian official visiting Damascus said Monday that Israel will regret its "latest aggression" on Syria and urged the entire Muslim world to be ready to defend the Syrian people.

"Just as it regretted its aggressions after the 33-day, 22-day and eight-day wars, today the Zionist entity will regret the aggression it launched against Syria," Saeed Jalili, the head of Iran's National Security Council, told a news conference in Damascus. He was referring to past wars between Israel and Hezbollah or the Palestinian Hamas rulers of Gaza.

Iran is Syria's closest regional ally, and Jalili used his three-day visit to pledge Tehran's continued support for Assad's regime.

"The Islamic world will not allow aggression against Syria," he said. "Syria stands on the front line of the Islamic world against the Zionist regime. ... The Islamic world must react appropriately to the Israeli aggression."

Israel has been growing increasingly concerned that Assad, fighting a civil war with rebels who want to overthrow him, is losing his grip on power and on his country's arsenal including chemical weapons.

The strike was apparently meant to prevent Syrian and Iranian ally Hezbollah from acquiring more sophisticated defenses that could have limited Israel's ability to gather intelligence on its enemies from the air.

For years, Israel has been charging that Assad and Iran have been arming Hezbollah, which fought a monthlong war against Israel in 2006.

Still, the airstrike was criticized by some countries vehemently opposed to the Assad regime.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday that Israel engaged in "state terror."

"Those who have from the very beginning looked in the wrong direction and who have nourished and raised Israel like a spoiled child should always expect such things from Israel," Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News quoted Erdogan as saying.

Saudi Arabia also criticized the strike as a "flagrant violation" against Syria's territory, the kingdom's official SPA news agency reported Monday.


Syria scales back threats against Israel over airstrike, suggests it won't retaliate | Fox News

 

[geoBR]

The audacity of aggression: The asymmetry of the Zionist strike in Syria

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/02/05/287427/audacity-aggression-asymmetry-zionist-attack-syria-military-and-war-terrorism/

This is an ironclad pledge which says that the United States will provide whatever support is necessary for Israel to maintain military superiority over any state or coalition of states, as well as non-state actors. -U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta.


In an air assault staged by Israel and approved in advance by the White House, Zionist warplanes struck the Jamrayah military complex on the outskirts of Damascus on Wednesday 30 January killing two workers and injuring five others. Sources indicated that U.S. President Barack Obama gave the green light on 22 January for the "surgical strike" on a site alleged by Tel Aviv and Washington to be of strategic importance to the so-called Iran-Syria-Hezbollah Axis. In a veiled admission of responsibility, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak conceded that the raid was "another proof that when we say something we mean it."

Israeli Jets bombed a scientific research center claimed to be a chemical weapons plant, a warehouse suspected of containing high-tech weaponry, and trucks supposedly carrying Russian-made SA-17 missiles bound for Hezbollah. These targets were chosen specifically by the Western powers to disrupt what they claim to be regional military cooperation between Iran, Syria and Hezbollah, as well as to pressure Iran into making further concessions concerning its peaceful nuclear program. Both Washington and Tel Aviv frequently have expressed their common belief that Damascus is supplying chemicals and sophisticated weaponry to Hezbollah.

This is not the first time that Tel Aviv has attacked its Syrian neighbor, either. In September 2007, U.S.-supplied Zionist jets bombed a Syrian Gas Company facility alleged to be a nuclear installation at al-Kibar in northern Syria near Deir el-Zor, reportedly killing 10 of the plant's workers. In November 2012, Zionist tanks destroyed a Syrian mobile artillery launcher stationed near the Golan Heights, Syrian territory that has been under occupation since 1967 and was annexed by Tel Aviv in 1981. Fearing retaliation, the Zionists even sought permission from neighboring Jordan before attacking suspected chemical weapons sites in Syria, but Amman declined to give its blessing.

Threatening justifiable retaliation, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad accused Tel Aviv of seeking to subvert Syria and that the raid "unmasked the true role Israel is playing, in collaboration with foreign enemy forces and their agents on Syrian soil, to destabilize and weaken Syria." Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that the Israeli attack "displayed the common goals of the terrorists and the Zionist regime," and warned that it "will have grave consequences for Tel Aviv" Indeed, the stern warning issued by Iran may have motivated the U.S.-vetted Syrian rebel leader Sheikh Ahmad Moaz al-Khatib, who just happens to be a former petroleum geologist for Shell subsidiary Al Furat Petroleum (AFPC), to open a line of communication with Damascus, since he now has declared his willingness to engage in direct talks with the Assad government.

Noteworthy is the conspicuous lack of condemnation of this latest act of Israeli terrorism by the Syrian "opposition" leader, which tends to validate charges that the rebel groups and their [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Arab state backers are accomplices with the Zionists in the Western-led Syrian regime-change scheme. The GCC, which is made up of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait, already declared al-Khatib's National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, also known as the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), to be the "legitimate" representative of the Syrian people at a meeting in Doha, Qatar in November 2012. Also of interest is that the "nuclear" facility at Deir al-Zor bombed by Israel in 2007 was connected to al-Khatib's former employer, Al Furat Petroleum, which incidentally produces some 100,000 barrels per day from its 38 producing oil fields.

Further evidence of al-Khatib's collaboration with the West was exhibited at a recent security conference in Munich, Germany, when he met separately with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who after praising al-Khatib for his personal courage and leadership of the "Syrian Opposition Coalition" (SOC - apparently what the U.S. calls the SNC), referred to the SOC as the "legitimate representative of the Syrian people" and reiterated calls for toppling the Assad government. This is while at the same conference, Biden said, "It will remain America's view that sovereign states have the right to make their own decisions and choose their own alliances. All that remains the U.S. position; it will not change." Obviously, this official view does not apply to Syria, but perhaps when Biden said "sovereign states," his intention was "colonial hegemons," for later in the same speech he affirmed, "President Obama and I and nearly all of our partners and allies are convinced that President Assad"¦must go."

Officially, Washington has denied foreknowledge of the Zionist raid. When asked by a reporter during a press briefing on 30 January about the regime's latest Syrian sortie, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney denied any knowledge and said, "I'd refer you to the government of Israel for questions about deliberations or actions that they may or may not have taken." The next day when questioned about the attack, expectations of Syrian response and concerns over escalation, the Press Secretary reaffirmed, "Again, I would refer you to the Israeli government on matters like that." However, Obama has openly revealed his desire for regime change. "The Assad regime will come to an end," he declared in a recent video message, adding, "The Syrian people will have their chance to forge their own future. And they will continue to find a partner in the United States of America."

To fully expose the asymmetry of U.S.-sanctioned Zionist aggression, let us take a moment to explore a hypothetical scenario. We first note that Iran, like Syria, is on the U.S. hit-list for regime change for its refusal to submit to Washington's demands or to recognize the legitimacy of the Zionist occupation of Palestine. After years of military threats by both the Tel Aviv and Washington regimes, being targeted by Mossad and CIA- sponsored terrorists, being besieged by the Pentagon's cyber weapons, witnessing the assassination of some of her best scientists by Mossad, and mourning the loss of 290 of her sons and daughters when the U.S. Navy shot down an Iran Air passenger jet, let us suppose that Iran justifiably came to the decision that a "preemptive strike" against the dangerous duo was necessary for its own defense.

Let us further speculate that the tactical plan chosen might include a limited number of "surgical strikes" on strategic U.S./Zionist interests in the Middle East. Logical targets would probably be oil pipelines and storage terminals such as the 1760 km. Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, the Dolphin Energy pipeline linking Qatar's North gas field to al-Fujairah, the 1200 km. East West Crude Oil pipeline linking Abqaiq to the Red Sea and supplying 4.5 million barrels per day, the Jebel Ali Liquid Natural Gas terminal in Dubai, the 254 km. Eilat Ashkelon Crude Oil pipeline with Ashdod and Haifa refineries, or the Saudi reserve oil tankers off the coast of Al-Fujairah. Of course prior to these strikes, the Iranian Navy would most likely initiate a closure of the Strait of Hormuz to prevent passage of oil shipments to the West.

Continuing our hypothetical exercise, Iran would most likely execute an "Osirak style" preemptive strike against the nuclear-armed regime's Negev Nuclear Research Center (NNRC) at Dimona, possibly specifically targeting the underground Machon 2 plutonium extraction facility, carefully planned at a time that would minimize "collateral damage" among technical personnel and adjacent facilities. Incidentally, such speculation may not be so far fetched since the Zionist military home guard has itself run a simulation of a missile attack on the Dimona reactor albeit under the pretext of preparedness following Japan's Fukushima nuclear catastrophe and concern due to the similarity of reactor design.

Now, let us ask ourselves if Iran were to take such fully warranted measures in self-defense as hypothesized above what would be the Western reaction? Would not the U.S. and its Anglican ally shriek loudly and sanctimoniously for immediate retaliation by the "international community?" Could we not safely assume that at a minimum, the U.S. would launch cruise missiles at Iranian targets, military bases and nuclear facilities from its strike force in the Persian Gulf? Certainly, if Tehran ever were to take even one of the above defensive military steps, would not the U.S. promptly invoke the "Carter Doctrine" and use all available means to muster support for a NATO invasion of Iran?

We can be certain that if Iran executed a "preemptive strike" as does the Zionist regime regularly, neither would the U.S. president insist that Iran has a "right to defend itself" nor would the White House press secretary tell journalists to contact the government of Iran "for questions about deliberations or actions that they may or may not have taken." Unfortunately for the sovereign nations of the world, the right of aggression with its privilege of audacity still remains the exclusive possession of the U.S., the Zionist regime, and their "allies and partners."

YW/JR

Yuram Abdullah Weiler is a freelance writer and political critic who has written dozens of articles on the Middle East and US policy. A former engineer with a background in mathematics and a convert to Islam, he currently writes perspectives on Islam, social justice, economics and politics from the viewpoint of an American convert to Shia Islam, focusing on the deleterious role played by the US in the Middle East and elsewhere. A dissenting voice from the "Belly of the Beast", he lives with his wife in Denver, Colorado. More articles by Yuram Abdullah Weiler
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[pack leader]

press tv is propaganda trash
and you are a brazilian islamist terorist suporting trash
go back to pakistan defence or some jihadi frum were you belong

 

[SajeevJino]

'No Warplanes' for Syria Says Russia

'No Warplanes' for Syria Says Russian Arms Sales Boss​

Russia's state-run arms dealer Rosoboronexport is supplying air-defense missile systems and maintenance and servicing equipment to Syria but not combat aircraft, the company's director Anatoly Isaikin said on Wednesday.

Russia and Syria have previously signed a contract for delivery to Damascus of Yak-130 Mitten jet trainers, but it has been suspended, he added.

The company still has some other outstanding contracts with Syria, Isaikin said, but did not provide any details, citing commercial confidentiality. Syria is the 13th or 14th largest buyer of Russian arms, he said, without elaborating.

Russia and the United States were involved in a diplomatic war of words last year over Moscow's arms sales to Syria, after Washington accused Russia of supplying attack helicopters to the al-Assad regime. Moscow denied those accusations, claiming it was merely returning equipment overhauled as part of long-standing contracts with Syria, which is locked in a bitter civil war between the government and Islamist rebels.

In July, US lawmakers passed a bill breaking off contracts between the Pentagon and Rosoboronexport, which they claimed was "arming the oppressive Syrian regime," the House of Representatives said on its website. That bill, introduced by Democrat Congressman Jim Moran, was passed by an overwhelming 407-5 vote and was attached to the 2013 US military budget.

according to US lawmakers, Rosoboronexport supplied nearly $1 billion worth of arms to Syria in 2011, including high-explosives, mortars, sniper rifles, ammunition and attack helicopters which could have been used by Assad's forces to kill civilians.

Isaikin said a $4.5 billion arms contract Russia signed with Iraq in 2012 remains intact but has "yet to go into force." Cooperation with Iran continues and Russia has resumed dealings with Libya, Isaikin said, adding it has not lost a single contract with Egypt.

He also claimed a Russian-US follow-on contract for the delivery of 12 Mi-171 helicopters to Afghanistan will be carried out, despite the US Congress' recommendations against cooperation with Rosoboronexport.

The US Senate passed the Cornyn amendment in December, barring the use of American budget funds to purchase goods - including helicopters for Afghanistan - from Rosoboronexport. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned at the time that the measure might affect the Afghan helicopter deal.

Rosoboronexport was subject to US sanctions from 2006 to 2010 for allegedly providing nations including Iran and Syria with equipment that could be used to develop weapons of mass destruction.

Russia signed a total of 1,309 arms contracts with 65 countries worth $17.6 billion in 2012, 150 percent more than in 2011 in terms of monetary value, Isaikin said on Wednesday.

Russia's Federal Military-Technical Cooperation Service (FSMTC) said in January Moscow sold a record $15.16 billion worth of arms in 2012, while expanding its foreign client list.

India is the leading purchaser of Russian arms, with Myanmar, Vietnam, Venezuela and Middle East countries also among the Russian defense industry's main clients. Russia's expanded list of its clients in 2012 included Afghanistan, Ghana, Oman, and Tanzania.

'No Warplanes' for Syria Says Russian Arms Sales Boss | World | RIA Novosti

 

[asianobserve]

Re: 'No Warplanes' for Syria Says Russia

That's it, sit boy! You better behave starting now or your trillions dollar oil and gas industry will be ashes in 5 years...

 

[opesys]

Re: 'No Warplanes' for Syria Says Russia

That's it, sit boy! You better behave starting now or your trillions dollar oil and gas industry will be ashes in 5 years...

What do you think is going to happen in Syria at the end of this conflict? Will it be a good thing or a bad thing ?

 

[asianobserve]

Re: 'No Warplanes' for Syria Says Russia

What do you think is going to happen in Syria at the end of this conflict? Will it be a good thing or a bad thing ?

I don't think anybody can predict what will happen to Syria after Assad is gone. But some things are certain, Assad will go and Syria will be even more chaotic after that for some time...

 

[spikey360]

That's it, sit boy! You better behave starting now or your trillions dollar oil and gas industry will be ashes in 5 years...

Oh my my. Puny Malaysian trying to intimidate the Big Bear. How scary.

 

[Ray]

Re: 'No Warplanes' for Syria Says Russia

All I know is let this unwashed Arab hordes of Bedouins pretending to be Kings and the little Arab dictators alone.

They alone understand the Arab psyche and know how to keep these awful yahoos underfoot and in line.

All this Freedom and Democracy, as if the West were some missionaries on the hop bringing God and Civilisation to the barbarians, is totally misplaced.

Everywhere the West has tried to bring in their ways of life, there has been total chaos and instablility.

Let them kill each other if that is their way of life.

Peace will then prevail around the world.

 

[LETHALFORCE]

Russian arms trader says Syria shipments will continue

Russia will keep supplying weapons to Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime despite the country's escalating civil war, the head of Russia's state arms trader said Wednesday.

Russia on Wednesday also held out the prospect of bringing the two sides in the Syrian conflict together for talks in Moscow.

Mikhail Bogdanov, a deputy foreign minister and special envoy to the Middle East, said Syria's foreign minister and the leader of the Syrian National Coalition are expected in Moscow in two to three weeks. He said no date for either visit has been set.

"We are prepared to provide the venue for Syrian talks if they want to meet in Moscow," Bogdanov was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying.

Anatoly Isaikin, the director of Rosoboronexport, said Russia sees no need to stop its arms trade with Syria as the trade isn't prohibited by the United Nations. He dismissed Western criticism of Russian arms sales to Assad's regime, saying his company has only delivered defensive weapons.

Shipping 'mostly defence systems'
"In the absence of sanctions, we are continuing to fulfill our contract obligations," Isaikin said at a news conference. "But these aren't offensive weapons. We are mostly shipping air defence systems and repair equipment intended for various branches of the military."

Moscow has been the main protector of Assad's beleaguered regime, joining with China at the U.N. Security Council to block attempts to impose sanctions on Assad amid a civil war in which more than 60,000 people have died.

For more than four decades, Syria has been Moscow's top ally in the region and has received billions of dollars' worth of missiles, combat jets, tanks, artillery and other military gear. It's the last Kremlin ally in the Middle East and hosts the only naval base Russia has outside the former Soviet Union.

As the rebel offensive against Assad has intensified, the Kremlin has sought to distance itself from Assad, signaling that it is resigned to him eventually losing power. But Moscow has continued to oppose sanctions against Damascus and warned that the fall of Assad's regime could plunge Syria even deeper into violence and also encourage the rise of extremist groups across the region.

Alexei Pushkov, the Kremlin-connected head of foreign affairs committee in the Russian parliament's lower house, said Wednesday that Assad's downfall would create a "second Afghanistan" and reaffirmed that Russia would continue to reject the calls for the Syrian ruler's resignation as a precondition for peace talks.

Russia has bristled at Western demands to stop providing Assad with arms, arguing that its weapons trade with Damascus doesn't contradict international law. In June, a Russian-operated ship carrying helicopter gunships and air defense missiles was forced to turn back to Russia after its British insurer canceled coverage for the vessel.

Russia said the vessel was carrying three refurbished helicopters belonging to Syria, and criticized Britain for forcing the ship to turn back, saying it wouldn't abide by European sanctions against the Assad regime.

The helicopters were repaired and sent back to Syria by a different Russian firm, and Isaikin insisted that his company hasn't shipped any combat planes or helicopters to Syria.

He said more deliveries will be conducted under existing contracts, but refused to give specifics.

Isaikin said his company has a contract with Syria to deliver Yak-130 combat jets but so far has not shipped any. He didn't explain why no deliveries have been made, but the reason could be the aircraft's long production cycle.

Russian media reported last year that the contract was for 36 Yak-130s worth $550 million. The Yak-130 is a combat training jet that can also carry modern weapons for ground attack missions.

Isaikin didn't mention any other weapons systems which his company has delivered to Syria or is planning to ship in the future.

But the Russian media said they included Pantsyr-S1 and Buk-M2 air defense systems and Bastion anti-ship missile system. The latter is armed with supersonic Yakhont cruise missiles that have a range of up to 300 kilometres and provide a strong deterrent against an attack from the sea.

 

[SajeevJino]

Re: Russian arms trader says Syria shipments will continue

This much aid from Russia ..what is the main source of Syria Right now How they Made money to buy these Hardware

 

[W.G.Ewald]

Re: Russian arms trader says Syria shipments will continue

This will counteract the US supplying arms (from Libya) to FSA.

Arms shipments traveled from Libya to anti-Assad fighters, sources say | Fox News

Arm the Syrian Rebels. Now. - By Michael Doran and Salman Shaikh | Foreign Policy

Syrian Civil War Grounded To A Stalemate | IDN-InDepthNews | Analysis That Matters

The rhetoric of human security and a reality check

 

[SajeevJino]

31 Killed in Missile Strike on Syria's Aleppo, Including 14 Children
Rocket Destroyed 'Entire Neighborhood' in Poor District​

A surface-to-surface missile struck the Jabal Badro neighborhood in the contested north Syrian city of Aleppo Monday, killing at least 31 people including 14 children, according to reports from rebels.

The neighborhood is said to be a particularly poor one, with a lot of ramshackle housing, and the single strike was enough to knock down several buildings in the immediate vicinity.

Though missiles are overwhelmingly in the regime arsenal, it isn't clear who fired this particular one, or what they were actually aiming at. Presumably, the missile was not aimed at the random neighborhood.

Aleppo is Syria's largest city, as well as its industrial and financial capital. The city has been violently contested for months, with rebels and regime each holding numerous neighborhoods and constantly fighting over territory between them. This has ground life in the city to a virtual halt, and while both sides are predicting imminent victory, they have been doing so for month now with no sign of a major shift in power.

31 Killed in Missile Strike on Syria’s Aleppo, Including 14 Children -- News from Antiwar.com

 

[pack leader]

Re: Russian arms trader says Syria shipments will continue

stupid games by america and russia
both sides in the syrian conflict are evil islamist trash
fsa al qaida - sunni murderrs
saa hizbulla - shia murderrs

may death come swift to all of them

 

[SajeevJino]

Syria rebels target Assad as missile toll mounts​

Insurgents fired mortar rounds at one of President Bashar al-Assad's palaces in the Syrian capital on Tuesday, as the death toll mounted from a devastating missile strike on second city Aleppo.

The shelling, which was claimed by the rebel Free Syrian Army, came as dozens of Russians left the war-battered country on a plane sent from Moscow as its navy reportedly dispatched four warships to the Mediterranean for a larger evacuation.

In Damascus, two mortar shells crashed into an area "near the southern wall of Tishreen palace" and two hospitals, causing damage but no casualties, state news agency SANA quoted an unnamed official as saying.

Little is known about Assad's movements, and Tishreen in west Damascus is normally reserved for dignitaries, but it was the first time his regime has reported shells falling near a palace since the 23-month conflict flared.

The rebel Free Syrian Army said its fighters had "fired mortars at the Tishreen presidential palace," one of three in the capital along with palaces at Mount Qassioun and Rawda.

The shelling came a day after an apparent surface-to-surface missile attack flattened a residential area of Aleppo city, killing at least 31 people, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Fourteen children and five women were among the dead, it said, adding the toll was likely to rise as bodies were still under rubble and people were critically injured.

There were no planes overhead when the missile hit, according to residents, and the extent of the destruction indicated a surface-to-surface missile was likely used, the Observatory's Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Abu Hisham, an Aleppo-based citizen journalist, said "housing in the district was informally built. It took one surface-to-surface rocket to destroy an entire neighbourhood."

Video footage and photographs shot by activists in Aleppo, scene of fierce fighting since the army launched an all-out assault to stop a rebel advance on the city on July 20, showed massive destruction in Jabal Badro.

Amateur film posted online by the anti-regime Aleppo Media Centre showed crowds of people gathering around hills of rubble and a bulldozer shovelling the debris as residents searched for loved ones.

"I swear to God! I rescued a baby aged just two months from the rubble!" an unidentified man cried out in the video, whose authenticity AFP could not verify.

In the regime stronghold of Latakia, two Russian government planes carried humanitarian aid from Moscow to the port city, before taking back 99 Russians and other ex-Soviet citizens who wanted to leave on their return trip.

Moscow, which unlike other world powers still keeps close ties with the Assad regime, also announced it would host Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem for talks on the crisis next week.

On February 13, a top Russian official said Syria's opposition chief Moaz al-Khatib was also due in Moscow, though he did not specify when.

Observers are watching for any hints of Russia planning a full-scale evacuation of its citizens, which would be seen as a tacit admission from Moscow that Assad is doomed in his fight against rebels.

Meanwhile, hundreds of troops backed by military vehicles poured into Aleppo province, as rebels clashed with loyalists around Kwayris military airport as they pushed on with an assault to take control of Aleppo international airport.

At least 100 people were killed across Syrian on Tuesday, among them 58 civilians, 23 soldiers and 19 rebels, said the Observatory, which relies on a network of sources on the ground for its information

The latest violence came as the United Nations said more than four million people in Syria are in desperate need of aid, up sharply from 2.5 million in September.

Syria rebels target Assad as missile toll mounts | Bangkok Post: news

 

[SajeevJino]

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