Cyprus-Forum.com

[yialousa1971]

Foreign militants join armed gangs in Syria: Western media


Members of an armed gang in Syria

Western media say a number of foreign militants have joined armed gangs fighting against the Syrian government, while clashes continue between Syrian security forces and rebels.


According to Agence France Presse (AFP) and the CNN, insurgents have entered the Syrian territory from several Arab countries and are now at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey.

The Western news outlets say the foreign militants are mainly from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya and the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, fighting between armed groups and the Syrian army continues in the northwestern city of Aleppo.

In the capital, Damascus, however, calm has been restored and reports say fighting is underway mainly in the al-Tal suburb of the city.

On Wednesday, Syrian forces clashed with armed gangs in the southwestern city of Dara’a, about 114 kilometers (70 miles) south of the capital, and several nearby villages.

There were also reports of sporadic clashes between Syrian troops and rebels in the western city of Homs on Tuesday.


Separately, UN Under Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous told reporters in Damascus on Wednesday that about “half the military observers have been for the time being sent back to their countries,” referring to the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS).

On April 21, the UN Security Council voted on Resolution 2043 to establish “for an initial 90-day period, a supervision mission, to be known as UNSMIS, comprising an initial and expeditious deployment of up to 300 unarmed military observers, including an appropriate civilian component and air transportation assets, to monitor a cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties.”

The Security Council unanimously approved a resolution on July 20 that extended the UN observer mission for 30 days.

Ladsous added that the mission “operates on a reduced basis, reduced in numbers, reduced in team size in the provinces and does what it can.”

The new head of the UNSMIS, Senegalese Lieutenant General Babacar Gaye, who replaced Norwegian Major General Robert Mood, also told reporters in the Syrian capital on Wednesday that he was taking over “in a very difficult situation.”

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 and many people, including large numbers of security forces, have been killed in the turmoil.

HSN/MA

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/07/26 ... med-gangs/

[Get Real!]

If you really take Tarpley at face value, then you'll also believe that anthropogenic global warming is a fraud. I'm actually interested in how many people here actually believe that global warming is not caused by people (fraud means not even a little bit)...

Global warming, global cooling, and global moving sideways are old baloney theories from the 60s (to keep the funding going to useless “researchers”) that just keep resurfacing in turns!

2-3 months ago it was snowing in central Nicosia like the Swiss Alps… was that the result of global warming?

[dinos]

If you really take Tarpley at face value, then you'll also believe that anthropogenic global warming is a fraud. I'm actually interested in how many people here actually believe that global warming is not caused by people (fraud means not even a little bit)...

You believe in "global warming".

The point is not about 'global warming' but about the cause, and whether or not I believe in it is irrelevant. Further, the source quoted in the "article" you posted did not challenge the existence of 'global warming' - he claims that people did not cause it.

Are you fundamentally disagreeing with the source of your post?

[GreekIslandGirl]

If Russia manages to save Syria from the combined onslaught of Turkey, Britain and the USA - we should seriously think about having a Russian base here. What a shame Makarios was never allowed to complete that relationship.

[Cap]

global warming is a fraud. Climate change is a reality.

[bsharpish]

If Russia manages to save Syria from the combined onslaught of Turkey, Britain and the USA - we should seriously think about having a Russian base here. What a shame Makarios was never allowed to complete that relationship.

Here - surely you mean there, not here.

Here - I'm sure Cypriots would be thrilled to have another power setting up house ...... Maybe they could let the russians have 2 bases to balance the evil imperialist British , hey after that, why not allow the yanks in too and soon after the Chinese

The best thing for "here" would be NO bases for anyone, NO Turkish army, NO anything other than an independent, prosperous, unified, peacefull and completely autonomous Cyprus.

No flags with red/blue colours of any sort.... Just white and Gold

[yialousa1971]

Turkey sets up secret anti-Assad rebel base with Saudi Arabia and Qatar - reports

Published: 27 July, 2012, 22:34

Syrian rebels attack the municipal building in the city center
of Selehattin, near Aleppo, on July 23, 2012. Were these weapons
supplied by Turkey? (AFP Photo/Bulent Kilic)

Turkey is directing the rebel fight against Bashar Assad, after setting up a secret base on its border with Syria, with help from Qatar and Saudi Arabia. It devises tactics and supplies weapons for the uprising, according to Reuters sources.

It is unclear how long the base, described as the “nerve center” of the anti-Assad campaign has existed, and its location is given only as Adana, a city 60 miles from the border. Adana is home to Incirlik, a huge air base run jointly by Turkey and the United States, though it is not clear whether it was used for this operation.

"Three governments are supplying weapons: Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia," said the source, reportedly based in Doha, the capital of Qatar.

The source claims the base was set up at the request of Saudi deputy foreign minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al-Saud during his visit to Turkey, which was open to the idea. Turkey then took control of operations once the base was established.

“It's the Turks who are militarily controlling it. Turkey is the main coordinator/facilitator. Think of a triangle, with Turkey at the top and Saudi Arabia and Qatar at the bottom."

Disunited and badly trained when the uprising against President Assad began 18 months ago, recently Syrian rebels have had a string of successes against the supposedly better-trained and better-equipped regular soldiers. They have held down large parts of the country and advanced on the capital Damascus earlier in July. An audacious suicide attack last week took out four of the most senior security officials in the Assad circle.

These successes may have been made possible by the steady flow of arms from the Adana location, most of which appear to have been purchased illegally to cover the sponsors’ trails.

"All weaponry is Russian. The obvious reason is that the Syrian rebels are trained to use Russian weapons, also because the Americans don't want their hands on it. All weapons are from the black market,” claims the source, which says arms are also obtained by looting loyalist weapons stores.

Ankara has enjoyed a difficult diplomatic relationship with Assad, whose family has been in charge in Syria for 40 years, and so immediately backed the uprising. At the same time, Ankara has staunchly denied arming the rebels. It has also condemned the suicide attack on ministers as an act of terrorism.

Meanwhile, the small but wealthy state of Qatar has already played a key part in helping topple the regime of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya last year, and was widely suspected of being involved in the Syrian civil war.

Although the three countries involved have long been accused of arming the rebels, this is the first time specific information has emerged about a concrete center of operations.

America looks on

The Adana operation is notable not only for who is involved, but also for who isn’t.

"The Americans are very hands-off on this,” alleges the source, “US intelligence are working through middlemen.”

The source claims Turkey has been “begging” for high-tech surveillance equipment, such as drones, but their pleas have gone unheard in Washington.

The United States has backed the rebels throughout the conflict. It has used utmost diplomatic pressure through the UN and conferences with allies to force Assad to leave his position, something the Syrian president says he will not do without negotiation. It has also provided money and expertise for the opposition.

However, government insiders have repeatedly expressed reservations about the fractious union of Assad enemies, many of whom are radical Islamists likely to be as opposed to Washington as Assad ever was. It has used utmost diplomatic pressure through the UN and conferences with allies to force the Syrian President to leave his position as an unconditional part of any peace settlement, something Assad says he will not do. Similarly, Syria has an impressive stockpile of chemical weapons that could pose a deadly terrorist threat in the wrong hands.

Dennis Ross, who advises Obama on Middle East policy, has summed US policy as "adopting the least bad option."

Yet US involvement may now grow significantly, after Reuters reported that a recently adopted presidential directive will allow US foreign agencies to directly assist the rebels, perhaps even at Adana, although there are no plans to supply them with weapons, despite repeated requests.

"I have to say that we are also increasing our efforts to assist the opposition," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton proclaimed publicly on Tuesday.

http://www.rt.com/news/syria-rebel-base ... qatar-230/

[yialousa1971]

Former British soldiers training Syrian "rebels"
22 July 2012

A British Army source revealed last night that former SAS soldiers are training Syrian rebels in Iraq in military tactics, weapons handling and communications systems.

More than 300 have passed through a base just inside the Iraq border, while a command course is run in Saudi Arabia.

Groups of 50 rebels at a time are being trained by two private security firms employing former Special Forces personnel. “Our role is purely instructional teaching tactics, techniques and procedures,” said a former SAS member.

Source and full story: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/334 ... -in-Syria-


Fast forward to 4:25 and look at the bald guy with glasses at the right end of the video, he looks Western European. While all the other terrorists are shouting 'Allahu Ackbar' this bald guy just stands next to them and smiles. Note that this guy also wears a different kind of camo vest compared to all the other rat terrorists.

[yialousa1971]

The Fighting In Syria Has Begun - Russian Marines On Standby




In the early morning hours of Saturday, the Syrian army began a dangerous operation to take back specific zones that are currently being controlled by the rebels in Aleppo.

Meanwhile, the first Russian fleet, which has been anchored between Cypriot and Syrian waters, is waiting to meet up with the North Atlantic fleet (or the largest fleet in Russia) on Monday or Tuesday. Moscow has already announced that it will not deploy land troops unless it is only necessary, but reports are claiming that it has moved a great number of troops to the area already. Maybe the Kremlin believes that by doing so it will be in a better position to negotiate with the West "on equal terms" if land forces are eventually used.

The Syrian army used artillery and antitank attacks, and then Mil Mi-17 helicopters were set into operation firing rockets on the rebels, as were Mil Mi-25 guns. The helicopters concentrated on the Salachentin, Al-Azamige, Qasr el-bust, and al-Mashhad al-Soukari districts (phonetic spelling). Two helicopters suffered 12.7 mm. gun shots and returned to base.

The battle in Aleppo is actually going to determine how the conflict will develop. For instance, if the Syrian government manages to regain control of these areas (which consist of eight large building complexes and a University) they will be successful in their offensive against the rebels following the bomb attack that killed several top regime officials more than a week ago because they will have cleaned up the danger pockets in Damascus. If on the other they are not successful in doing so, then the regime will suffer from a great strategic defeat. A report from the Greek military news site defencenet said that several units of British special forces are already scattered throughout these regions, no further details were disclosed.

With this in mind, this is probably why Assad ordered his troops to abandon the Kurdish areas, and he instead sent them to these zones because they are in a better position to battle against these forces. This move allows him to save on manpower as well as resources and at the same time is becoming a "big headache" to Turkey because Syria is now in a better position to reciprocate on the threats from Ankara since the northern area has already become a base for the PKK!

The same report on defencent also revealed that BMP-1 APC and BRDM-2 defense systems are already being moved to the districts followed by T-72 tanks.

From what it looks like infantry assault forces will be put into operation by the end of the day.

http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.co.uk/2012 ... ssian.html

[kimon07]

It looks like the West is presently loosing their war against Syria. Everybody now knows that all will depend on the out come of the battle for Aleppo which seems to be presently won by the Syrian Army. I wonder. What will happen if Assad manages to crash the insurgency? Will the West stage an open war against Syria with some excuse or the other?

more below on Aleppo.

The bid for Syria’s first safe haven in Aleppo region is thwarted

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report July 30, 2012, 10:19 AM (GMT+02:00)
Tags: Leon Panetta Free Syrian Army safe haven Syrian army Aleppo

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta commented Monday, July 30 on his way to the Middle East that the Syrian army’s shattering assault on Aleppo, Syria’s commercial hub, “will ultimately be another nail in Assad’s coffin.” This was a measure of the frustration generated by the failure for now of the Western-backed Arab bid to establish a safe haven in the Aleppo region. It was thwarted by the ruthless drive of Syria army’s 18th and 11th Divisions and parts of the 14th with massive air and artillery support to destroy rebel forces.

When Panetta declared, “It’s not a question of whether he’s coming to an end, it’s when,” pro-Assad forces were again rooting out and liquidating rebel forces in Aleppo as they did in Damascus ten days earlier.

More…
http://www.debka.com/article/22223/The-bid-for-Syria’s-first-safe-haven-in-Aleppo-region-is-thwarted