Damascus submits chemical details to watchdog Rebels, jihadists agree truce as Syria seeks ceasefire

The News 21 Sept 2013 DAMASCUS: Syrian rebels have agreed a truce with jihadists after clashes for a key border town, an NGO said on Friday as a senior official said Damascus wanted a ceasefire in Syria’s wider conflict. Iranian President Hassan Rowhani, meanwhile, offered to broker talks between the opposition and the Islamic republic’s government allies in Damascus. After the latest round of a war-within-a-war between foes of the Syrian regime, the opposition National Coalition accused Al-Qaeda front group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) of violating the principles of the revolution. ISIS seized the town of Azaz on the border with Turkey in hours-long fighting on Wednesday, in the latest in a growing spate of clashes between jihadists and mainstream rebel units of the Free Syrian Army (FSA). The Northern Storm brigade, which is loyal to the FSA and was based in Azaz, agreed to the truce with ISIS under which both sides pledged to observe a ceasefire, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The deal was brokered by Liwa al-Tawhid, a powerful rebel brigade loyal to the FSA, which sent fighters to the town on Thursday who have deployed between the two sides, the NGO said. The rival groups also undertook to free detainees captured in the fighting and to immediately return any looted goods. Any future problems would be put to an arbitration committee, the Britain-based watchdog added. Azaz has symbolic as well as strategic value as it was one of the first towns to be captured from government troops, in July 2012, by FSA fighters, who set up their own administration. Tensions have spiralled between some mainstream rebel groups and ISIS in recent months, especially in northern Syria, where the opposition controls vast swathes of territory. In the wider conflict, Syria’s deputy premier said Damascus believes the 30-month-old war in his country has reached a stalemate and would call for a ceasefire if long-delayed peace talks in Geneva were to take place. “Neither the armed opposition nor the regime is capable of defeating the other side,” Qadri Jamil told Britain’s Guardian newspaper. When asked what his government would propose at the stalled Geneva II summit, he replied: “An end to external intervention, a ceasefire and the launching of a peaceful political process.” On the northern front, the National Coalition issued a rare condemnation of ISIS, accusing the group of violating the principles of the revolution by turning its guns on FSA fighters. “The Coalition condemns the aggressions against the forces of the Syrian revolution and the repeated disregard for the lives of Syrians, and considers that this behaviour runs contrary to the Syrian revolution,” a statement said. It accused it of having “links to foreign agendas” and of seeking to create a “new state inside the Syrian state entity in violation of national sovereignty”. Meanwhile, Syria has begun supplying details of its chemical arsenal, the world’s chemical weapons watchdog said on Friday. A senior Syrian official, meanwhile, said Damascus wanted a ceasefire in the 30-month war, which has reportedly killed more than 110,000 people and forced more than two million to flee. Hours before a deadline for President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to provide details on its arsenal, the Hague-based group tasked with dismantling the arms said it has received an initial report.

UN hits back at Russian claims of bias US to retain military threat against Syria

The News 19 September 2013 WASHINGTON: The US military will maintain the threat of force against Syria in case the regime fails to abide by an agreement to relinquish control of its chemical weapons, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Wednesday. “We should keep that military option exactly where it is. We have assured the president that our assets and force posture remain the same,” Hagel told a press conference. “We are prepared to exercise any option that he would select.” Hagel’s comments made clear the United States had no plans to withdraw destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean, which had been prepared to launch cruise missile attacks to punish Damascus over its alleged use of chemical weapons. He said it was clear “the credible threat of US force” helped to persuade Syria to agree to a US-Russia accord that calls for the regime to turn over its chemical arsenal to international control. US defence officials told AFP four destroyers equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles remained in place in the eastern Mediterranean, ready to launch a possible attack if diplomacy fails. Hagel and General Martin Dempsey, the military’s top-ranking officer, also said the administration was still considering whether to have the Pentagon take over the arming of Syria’s rebels from the Central Intelligence Agency, which would involve larger scale assistance. Despite agreeing to the deal on securing Syria’s chemical weapons, Washington and Moscow remain at odds over who carried out the August 21 chemical attack outside Damascus. Russia says the Syrian regime has handed over new evidence implicating rebel forces in the deadly incident. But US President Barack Obama has said it was “inconceivable” that anyone other than the Syrian regime could have carried out the attack. Meanwhile, The United Nations on Wednesday hit back at Russian claims that experts who reported on the use of chemical weapons in Syria were biased. “The terrible facts speak for themselves,” UN spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters, insisting that UN leader Ban Ki-moon has the “fullest confidence” in the team which reported this week. Nesirky said the United Nations was checking with Russia’s UN mission on comments made by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov about the UN inspectors. “On the face of it these reported remarks are an attempt to call into question the secretary general’s investigation team led by Professor Sellstrom and the credibility of its thoroughly objective report,” Nesirky said.

Bomb hits bus in Syria, kills 19

The News September 19, 2013 - Updated 1432 PKT DAMASCUS: A Syrian official says a roadside bomb has targeted a bus in the country's central province, killing 19 people. The official at the governor's office in Homs province says Thursday's explosion in the village of Jbourin also wounded four people on the bus. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. It was not immediately clear why the bus was targeted. Syria's civil war, which has left more than 100,000 dead since the crisis erupted in March 2011, has taken increasingly sectarian overtones. Most of the rebels trying to overthrow Assad. (AP)

Brahimi urges US, Russia to build on Syrian deal

The News Wednesday, September 18, 2013 From Print Edition GENEVA/KUWAIT CITY/BEIRUT: The UN-Arab League envoy on Syria on Tuesday urged the United States and Russia to build on their recent rapprochement to allow progress towards a political solution to the conflict. Veteran negotiator Lakhdar Brahimi, who wants to revive efforts to hold a peace conference in Geneva aimed at bringing the warring parties together, called on the two powers to build on the momentum from a deal on Syria’s chemical weapons. “What matters now is that this rapprochement between Russia and the United States is confirmed, lasts, and that together these two leading countries mobilise other leading countries so that we finally move towards a political solution,” he said in an interview with Swiss public broadcaster RTS. Brahimi said he would like to see negotiations begin in Geneva “the day after tomorrow”. “But to be realistic, they’re not going to be before October, and probably not in early October,” he said. “The problem isn’t getting a conference started, the problem is to be sure that there’s real, solid political will from the players who count.” The conference was first proposed by the United States and Russia in May but momentum towards holding the event was lost as Washington and Syria’s staunch ally Moscow bickered over the conflict. It is expected to be discussed when Brahimi meets US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on September 28 on the sidelines of a UN General Assembly session in New York. Washington and Moscow were deadlocked over how to deal with President Bashar al-Assad until a deadly August 21 chemical attack provided the impetus for agreement. The so-called Geneva II peace talks are meant to be based on the results of talks in the Swiss city in June 2012, when world powers agreed that Syria needed a transition government. But the warring sides failed to agree on whether Assad could play a role in forming it, or whether his closest representatives could serve on the interim team. That dispute, coupled with an inability to halt the fighting on the ground, meant the 2012 plan was never implemented. The conflict erupted after a crackdown on protests against the Assad regime in March 2011. It morphed into a sectarian war which has claimed over 100,000 lives, driven more than two million refugees from the country and displaced millions more within Syria. “There is no military solution to this conflict. There is no side which can win the war,” said Brahimi. Meanwhile, some seven million people are in urgent need of humanitarian aid due to the conflict in Syria, a UN top official said on Tuesday, saying $4.4 billion is needed this year. Of those in urgent need, more than two million have taken shelter outside Syria, while more than four million people have been displaced within the country, said UN Emergency Relief coordinator Valerie Amos. “We are doing what we can but it is not enough,” she told a conference in Kuwait, adding that UN agencies have 1,000 staff on the ground, mostly Syrians. She highlighted a wide hole in the funds available for humanitarian aid to the victims of the Syrian conflict. “We need a total of $4.4 billion for Syria and neighbouring countries just for this year. So far we have raised $1.84 billion of that,” said . “The challenge we face is that the increased financial requirements for Syria could imply diverting funds from other very serious crises around the world,” she said. More than 110,000 people have been killed since the rebellion against the government of President Bashar al-Assad erupted in March 2011, according to activists. In a related development, a car bomb exploded at the main entrance to Syria’s rebel-held Bab al-Hawa border crossing into Turkey on Tuesday, a monitoring group said. “A car bomb hit the main gateway to the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which could not immediately verify whether there were any casualties

Khra Sach TV Reprt on Syria

Syria some facts

A Plea for Caution From Russia What Putin Has to Say to Americans About Syria By VLADIMIR V. PUTIN Published: September 11, 2013

MOSCOW — RECENT events surrounding Syria have prompted me to speak directly to the American people and their political leaders. It is important to do so at a time of insufficient communication between our societies. Relations between us have passed through different stages. We stood against each other during the cold war. But we were also allies once, and defeated the Nazis together. The universal international organization — the United Nations — was then established to prevent such devastation from ever happening again. The United Nations’ founders understood that decisions affecting war and peace should happen only by consensus, and with America’s consent the veto by Security Council permanent members was enshrined in the United Nations Charter. The profound wisdom of this has underpinned the stability of international relations for decades. No one wants the United Nations to suffer the fate of the League of Nations, which collapsed because it lacked real leverage. This is possible if influential countries bypass the United Nations and take military action without Security Council authorization. The potential strike by the United States against Syria, despite strong opposition from many countries and major political and religious leaders, including the pope, will result in more innocent victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syria’s borders. A strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of terrorism. It could undermine multilateral efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and further destabilize the Middle East and North Africa. It could throw the entire system of international law and order out of balance. Syria is not witnessing a battle for democracy, but an armed conflict between government and opposition in a multireligious country. There are few champions of democracy inSyria. But there are more than enough Qaeda fighters and extremists of all stripes battling the government. The United States State Department has designated Al Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, fighting with the opposition, as terrorist organizations. This internal conflict, fueled by foreign weapons supplied to the opposition, is one of the bloodiest in the world. Mercenaries from Arab countries fighting there, and hundreds of militants from Western countries and even Russia, are an issue of our deep concern. Might they not return to our countries with experience acquired in Syria? After all, after fighting in Libya, extremists moved on to Mali. This threatens us all. From the outset, Russia has advocated peaceful dialogue enabling Syrians to develop a compromise plan for their own future. We are not protecting the Syrian government, but international law. We need to use the United Nations Security Council and believe that preserving law and order in today’s complex and turbulent world is one of the few ways to keep international relations from sliding into chaos. The law is still the law, and we must follow it whether we like it or not. Under current international law, force is permitted only in self-defense or by the decision of the Security Council. Anything else is unacceptable under the United Nations Charter and would constitute an act of aggression. No one doubts that poison gas was used in Syria. But there is every reason to believe it was used not by the Syrian Army, but by opposition forces, to provoke intervention by their powerful foreign patrons, who would be siding with the fundamentalists. Reports that militants are preparing another attack — this time against Israel — cannot be ignored. It is alarming that military intervention in internal conflicts in foreign countries has become commonplace for the United States. Is it in America’s long-term interest? I doubt it. Millions around the world increasingly see America not as a model of democracy but as relying solely on brute force, cobbling coalitions together under the slogan “you’re either with us or against us.” But force has proved ineffective and pointless. Afghanistan is reeling, and no one can say what will happen after international forces withdraw. Libya is divided into tribes and clans. In Iraq the civil war continues, with dozens killed each day. In the United States, many draw an analogy between Iraq and Syria, and ask why their government would want to repeat recent mistakes. No matter how targeted the strikes or how sophisticated the weapons, civilian casualties are inevitable, including the elderly and children, whom the strikes are meant to protect. The world reacts by asking: if you cannot count on international law, then you must find other ways to ensure your security. Thus a growing number of countries seek to acquire weapons of mass destruction. This is logical: if you have the bomb, no one will touch you. We are left with talk of the need to strengthen nonproliferation, when in reality this is being eroded. We must stop using the language of force and return to the path of civilized diplomatic and political settlement. A new opportunity to avoid military action has emerged in the past few days. The United States, Russia and all members of the international community must take advantage of the Syrian government’s willingness to place its chemical arsenal under international control for subsequent destruction. Judging by the statements of President Obama, the United States sees this as an alternative to military action. I welcome the president’s interest in continuing the dialogue with Russia on Syria. We must work together to keep this hope alive, as we agreed to at the Group of 8 meeting in Lough Erne in Northern Ireland in June, and steer the discussion back toward negotiations. If we can avoid force against Syria, this will improve the atmosphere in international affairs and strengthen mutual trust. It will be our shared success and open the door to cooperation on other critical issues. My working and personal relationship with President Obama is marked by growing trust. I appreciate this. I carefully studied his address to the nation on Tuesday. And I would rather disagree with a case he made on American exceptionalism, stating that the United States’ policy is “what makes America different. It’s what makes us exceptional.” It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation. There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy. Their policies differ, too. We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal. Vladimir V. Putin is the president of Russia.

US, Russia seal landmark deal on Syria weapons The News 15 Sept 2013

GENEVA: The United States and Russia on Saturday unveiled an ambitious plan to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons by the middle of next year and left the door open to sanctions if Damascus failed to comply. The landmark deal was hailed by the West, but rejected by rebels who warn that it would not halt the bloodshed in the conflict which has killed more than 110,000 people and displaced millions in two and a half years. Under the accord struck in three days of talks in Geneva between US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad now has a week to hand over details of his regime's stockpile. Kerry said Assad's regime must also provide "immediate and unfettered" access to inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). "The inspectors must be on the ground no later than November... and the goal is to establish the removal by halfway through next year," said Kerry, flanked by Lavrov. The pressure is now on Assad to deliver, with Obama warning that "the United States remains prepared to act" if Damascus fails to comply. "While we have made important progress, much more work remains to be done," Obama said. Echoing Obama's warning, Kerry said there must be "no games, no room for avoidance of anything less than full compliance by the Assad regime". But while Britain, France and the OPCW welcomed the deal, the rebels fighting Assad's regime greeted it with dismay, fearing it has scuppered any chance of Western intervention on their side. "We cannot accept any part of this initiative," General Selim Idriss, the head of the Free Syrian Army, told reporters in Istanbul. "Are we Syrians supposed to wait until mid-2014, to continue being killed every day, and to accept (the deal) just because the chemical arms will be destroyed in 2014." And Iran, which has been one of Assad's main allies, said the United States no longer has a pretext to attack Syria. Amid an intensifying diplomatic drive over the Syrian conflict, Kerry flies to Israel on Sunday to brief Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the deal, as well as discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. He will then travel to Paris for a Monday meeting with French counterpart Laurent Fabius and British Foreign Secretary William Hague as well as the Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal. Kerry said the steps agreed on Saturday would be encapsulated in a UN Security Council resolution drawn up under Chapter Seven of the organisation's charter, which provides for enforcement through sanctions including the possible use of military force. But with Russia strongly opposed to the use of military threats against its long-term ally, and wielding a veto on the Security Council, Kerry acknowledged it was "impossible to have a pre-agreement" on what would happen in the event of non-compliance. Lavrov signalled that Moscow would back some form of sanction, saying the Security Council would act under Chapter Seven if Syria fails to meet its demands. Kerry said that Syria's bloody civil war could only be ended through negotiations, and he reiterated that he would meet with Lavrov again soon, this time in New York, to try to breathe life into planned peace talks between the regime and the opposition. For Lavrov, Saturday's accord was an "excellent" agreement "whose significance is hard to overestimate". Meanwhile, fighting on the ground in Syria continued unabated with rebel and regime forces engaged in a fierce battle for control of the ancient Christian town of Maalula, near Damascus. Washington and Moscow hope to revive plans for peace talks in Geneva that seek a political transition to end the conflict that began in March 2011 with peaceful protests against the Assad regime and quickly turned violent following a brutal government crackdown of the demonstrations. (AFP)

An American Anchor Devastated US Govt on Syria War, waTCH iT !!! Fox News

Rallies and protest across Pakistan, to express solidarity with Syria and Egypt

US not expecting UN resolution on Syria to include use of force - September 14, 2013

WASHINGTON: The United States does not expect a UN Security Council resolution on Syria's chemical weapons to include a potential use of military force due to Russian opposition, senior Obama administration officials said on Friday. The officials, who briefed a group of reporters on condition of anonymity, said the United States would instead insist that the resolution include a range of consequences should Syria refuse to give up chemical weapons in a verifiable way. Those consequences could include increased sanctions, the official said. The United States wants to see progress with Russia and the United Nations toward a deal on disarming Syria of its chemical weapons over the next couple of weeks, the officials said. (REUTERS)

Oil prices mixed amid Syria focus

The News 13 Sept SINGAPORE: Oil price were mixed in Asian trade Friday as dealers monitor diplomatic efforts to make Syria give up its chemical weapons and avert a US-led military attack, analysts said. New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in October, eased three cents to $108.57 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for October rose 15 cents to $112.78.

Roza Syeda Zainab (SA) Damascus

US arms experts going with Kerry to meet Russians

The News WASHINGTON: A team of US arms experts will accompany Secretary of State John Kerry to Geneva to meet with Russian counterparts for high-stakes talks on Syria's chemical weapons, a US official said Wednesday. Kerry is set to meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov first on Thursday, but officials said the talks could stretch into Saturday. Russia said Wednesday it had given the US its plan to put Syria's chemical weapons under international control amid hopes of a diplomatic solution to the crisis triggered by an alleged gas attack near Damascus last month. The move came a day after threatened US-led strikes against President Bashar al-Assad's regime were put on hold in response to Russia's offer to oversee Syria giving up its arsenal. Kerry and Lavrov are expected to closely examine the Russian proposal, but State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that so far Moscow had "put forward ideas" rather than a "lengthy package," adding there were still "components that need to be worked out." "We certainly know that there are challenges. There are potentially a large amount of chemical weapons in Syria's stockpile," Psaki said. So the United States and Russia would have to "figure out how to make the destruction effort logistically and technically possible." Kerry will also meet with the UN-Arab League special envoy on Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, during his visit to Geneva, Psaki added. President Barack Obama has dispatched Kerry to Geneva, after Syrian officials appeared to welcome the Russian proposal to rein in its chemical weapons. Acknowledging for the first time the existence of Syria's chemical weapons, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said Damascus would be prepared to join the international convention on banning such arms. "Over the last 48 hours... the credible threat of US military action has created a diplomatic opportunity to remove the threat of chemical weapons in Syria without the use of force," Psaki said. Kerry was to head to Geneva later Tuesday "not only to meet with Foreign Minister Lavrov, but we will also be bringing a team of experts to meet with their team of experts," she told reporters. Washington wanted to "hear from the Russians about the modalities of their ideas that they have put forward and to assess whether they meet our requirements" for the disposal of Syria's chemical weapons, she said. "Our goal here is to test the seriousness of this proposal, to talk about the specifics of how this would get done, what are the mechanics of identifying, verifying, securing and ultimately destroying the chemical weapons." But she stressed the path forward would require "willingness from both sides." There were currently no plans for Kerry to meet with Muallem, she added.(AFP)

Strikes could worsen Syria sectarian violence: Ban

The News SAINT PETERSBURG: UN chief Ban Ki-moon made an impassioned plea Friday against military action in Syria, warning that it could spark further sectarian violence in a country already suffering from a humanitarian crisis "unprecedented" in recent history. Speaking at a humanitarian meeting hosted by Britain on the sidelines of the G20 summit, Ban called on world powers to put aside their differences over the Syrian conflict, and to take concerted action to get desperately needed aid to the population. "I must warn that ill-considered military action could cause serious and tragic consequences, and with an increased threat of further sectarian violence," Ban said. About third of Syria's pre-war 20.8 million population has fled abroad or have been forced from their homes during the popular uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's regime which is now in its third year, UN refugee agency data showed. "This is a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented proportions in recent history," Ban said. But "as as some flee the country, others dig in to fight," Ban said, pointing to the need therefore to "avoid further militarisation of the conflict and revitalise the search for a political settlement instead." With a political solution proving elusive as world leaders dig in their heels over their entrenched positions, Ban called for unity in securing humanitarian aid for the population. A funding shortage was also threatening to leave refugees in neighbouring countries with no food, he said, adding that stocks would run out within days in Lebanon and within two weeks in Jordan. "The world must do everything within its powers to stop the suffering of the Syrian people. Let us use this united recognition of the problem as our starting point for focused and positive action," he said. "Your support in exercising leverage on all parties to facilitate humanitarian access is critical."

Warship with 'special cargo' sent by Russia toward Syria: navy source

The News MOSCOW: A Russian warship carrying "special cargo" will be dispatched toward Syria, a navy source said on Friday, as the Kremlin beefs up its presence in the region ahead of possible US strikes against the Damascus regime. The large landing ship Nikolai Filchenkov will on Friday leave the Ukrainian port city of Sevastopol for the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiisk, from where it will head to Syria's coast, the Interfax news agency quoted a source from the Saint Petersburg-based central naval command as saying. "The ship will make call in Novorossiisk, where it will take on board special cargo and set off for the designated area of its combat duty in the eastern Mediterranean," the source said. The source did not specify the nature of the cargo. Russia has kept a constant presence in the eastern Mediterranean during the Syrian crisis. In recent days Russia has made steps to beef up its naval grouping in the region. The Russian destroyer Smetlivy will soon join the group in the region as well as the destroyer Nastoichivy, Interfax has said. The anti-submarine ship Admiral Panteleyev has already entered its zone of operation as the flagship of the current rotation of the Mediterranean grouping, a military source has told the news agency. Already in place in the eastern Mediterranean are the frigate Neustrashimy, as well as the landing ships Alexander Shabalin, the Admiral Nevelsky and the Peresvet. They are expected to be joined by the large landing ships Novocherkassk and Minsk and the missile cruiser Moskva. The reconnaissance ship Priazovye is also on its way to join the group. The US already has a strong naval presence in the region and any US military action against Syria is widely expected to be launched from the sea.

Opposition to Syria strike urged by liberal group

The News WASHINGTON: A new TV ad that urges Congress to oppose U.S. military strikes against Syria underscores the difficulty President Barack Obama is having in getting liberals to support him. The 30-second ad paid for by the liberal activist group MoveOn.org says the U.S. didn't set out to spend eight years at war in Iraq and a decade in Afghanistan and predicts the same thing will happen if Congress approves military action in Syria. The ad concludes by telling Congress, ``Don't lead us down this road again.'' Viewers are urged to call Congress to voice opposition. MoveOn says the ad will air this week on MSNBC, with a heavier rotation around Obama's address to the nation on Tuesday night. The group is spending in the ``mid five figures'' to air the ad.

pakistani talibaan in shaam war by kamran khan

Syria

American Shiite Muslim groups speak out against Syrian military strike

American Shiite Muslim groups speak out against Syrian military strike