city:aleppo

Désormais, revendiquer le rôle positif de nos alliés d’Al-Qaeda se fait de manière tout à fait explicite…

Obama proposes new military partnership with Russia in Syria
▻https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/obama-proposes-new-military-partnership-with-russia-in-syria/2016/06/29/8e8b2e2a-3e3f-11e6-80bc-d06711fd2125_story.html

Because most Jabhat al-Nusra fighters are fighting Assad, if the plan succeeds, Assad will be in a much better position. Meanwhile, the other Sunni Arab groups that are left fighting Assad will be in a much weaker position, said Andrew Tabler, senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The strategy could allow Assad to capture Aleppo, which would be a huge victory for his side in the civil war.

“If the U.S. and Russia open up on Jabhat al-Nusra, that changes the dynamics on the ground in Aleppo and Idlib,” he said. “It would definitely benefit the Assad regime and it could potentially benefit the Kurds and ISIS.”

Deal problématique entre Washington et Moscou en Syrie - Caroline Hayek
▻http://www.lorientlejour.com/article/994670/deal-problematique-entre-washington-et-moscou-en-syrie.html

Robert Ford met par ailleurs en exergue le fait qu’il est impossible de distinguer clairement les combattants d’al-Nosra des autres combattants appartenant à des groupes rebelles soutenus par les États-Unis, car « ils vivent souvent à côté ». Initialement, le secrétaire d’État à la Défense, Ashton Carter, aurait été contre ce plan, mais il a fini par s’aligner sur la position de son gouvernement. La coopération militaire Washington-Moscou sur le bombardement ciblé soulève au moins trois problématiques. La première concerne l’efficacité d’une telle opération, sachant que ce groupe combat principalement le régime syrien, et qu’en venir à bout viserait donc à renforcer la position d’Assad.

La deuxième concerne la possibilité d’une telle opération alors que tous les experts s’accordent à dire qu’il est extrêmement difficile d’établir une stricte séparation entre les combattants d’al-Nosra et les groupes de l’opposition syrienne.

Lire absolument: The Slow Death of the Syria Cease-Fire Brings a Hybrid War With Russia Closer
▻http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alastair-crooke/syria-cease-fire-russia_b_10510126.html

In brief, the cease-fire has failed. It was not observed. The U.S. made no real effort to separate the moderates from Nusra around Aleppo (as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has affirmed). Instead, the U.S. reportedly sought Nusra’s exemption from any Russian or Syrian attack. It reminds one of that old joke: “Oh Lord, preserve me from sin — but not just yet!” Or in other words, “preserve us from these dreadful jihadist terrorists, but not just yet, for Nusra is too useful a tool to lose.”

The cease-fire did not hasten any political solution, and Russia’s allies — Iran and Hezbollah — have already paid and will continue to pay a heavy price in terms of casualties for halting their momentum toward Aleppo. The opposition now has renewed vigor — and weapons.

It is hard to see the cease-fire holding value for Moscow much longer. The original Russian intention was to try to compel American cooperation, firstly in the war against jihadism and, more generally, to compel the U.S. and Europe to acknowledge that their own security interests intersect directly with those of Moscow and that this intersection plainly calls for partnership rather than confrontation.

The opposition now has renewed vigor — and weapons.
The present situation in Syria neither facilitates this bigger objective nor the secondary one of defeating radical jihadism. Rather, it has led to calls in Russia for a less conciliatory approach to the U.S. and for the Kremlin to acknowledge that far from preparing for partnership, NATO is gearing up for a hybrid war against Russia.

It is also hard to see the cease-fire holding any continuing value for Tehran either. While the Iran nuclear agreement seemed to hold out the promise of bringing Iran back into the global financial system, such expectations seem now to be withering on the vine. As a result, Iran is likely to feel released from self-imposed limitations of their engagement in Syria and in other parts of the Middle East. Damascus, meanwhile, only very reluctantly agreed to leave its citizens in Aleppo in some semi-frozen limbo. Iran and Hezbollah were equally dubious.

All this suggests renewed military escalation this summer. Russian President Vladimir Putin will probably not wish to act before the European summit at the end of June. And neither would he wish Russia to figure largely as an issue in the U.S. presidential election. Yet he cannot ignore the pressures from those within Russia who insist that America is planning a hybrid war for which Russia is unprepared.

Conflict among U.S. allies in northern Syria clouds war on Islamic State
▻http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-north-insight-idUSKCN0Z8238

On June 12, one of the many FSA groups in the Aleppo area fired a guided TOW missile at a YPG position, the first attack of its kind, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and YPG said.

The two sides have different priorities in the war, with the FSA rebels battling to oust President Bashar al-Assad, while the YPG is trying mainly to carve out its own areas of control in northern Syria.

Each side also accuses the other of conspiring with its enemies in a struggle with an ethnic dimension pitting groups drawn from Syria’s Arab majority against one that emerged in 2011 with the stated aim of defending the Kurdish minority.

“There is a deepening divide between us,” the politburo chief of the Jabha Shamiya, one of the biggest FSA rebel groups in the Aleppo area. “If there is no quick political solution between the revolutionaries and the Kurds, it is heading towards escalation.”

YPG spokesman Redur Xelil said his group did not aim to spark a battle with FSA groups. But he added: “If they want a war, they will certainly lose.”

#Syrie

Turkish border guards fire on fleeing Syrians, 8 dead: monitor

Syria’s main opposition group expressed surprise that Turkish border guards opened fire on Syrians fleeing into their country

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ClTyaQPXIAEOkYo.jpg

#asile #migrations #réfugiés #Turquie #Syrie #fermeture_des_frontières #meurtre #décès #frontières #réfugiés_syriens

Selon Sputnik News, prétendant citer une source anonyme kurde, la France serait en train de construire une base pour ses forces spéciales près de Kobane, en Syrie.
▻http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160610/1041141404/france-syria-military-base.html

According to a Kurdish source, French forces stationed in northern Syria have begun constructing a military base near the city of Kobani in Aleppo province.
French forces stationed in northern Syria have begun constructing a military base near the city of Kobani in Aleppo province, a Kurdish source told Sputnik on Friday.
“The French have begun constructing a military base similar to the US military bases… French experts and military advisers working in the region will be stationed there,” the source said.

Selon le site pro-régime al-Masdar, il y aurait eu un redéploiement des troupes du Hezbollah en Syrie : le Hezbollah aurait notamment quitté la province d’Alep pour redéployer ses troupes en direction de la Ghouta orientale, du Qalamoun et de la province de Homs, régions plus frontalières ou plus proches du Liban.
▻https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/where-is-hezbollah

The recent jihadist offensive in southern Aleppo may have been a surprise for the government forces, but Hezbollah’s absence during the battle was far more perplexing. Did Hezbollah leave Syria? No. Furthermore, per a Syrian Arab Army (SAA) source in Damascus, Hezbollah deployed almost all of their forces to the Greater Damascus area; specifically, the East Ghouta and Qalamoun Mountains. Hezbollah has a large presence in the East Ghouta region of rural Damascus, but they are not leading the current offensive, which is something they are not accustomed to in this war. Meanwhile, in the Qalamoun Mountains, Hezbollah seems to be taking a more active role in the battle taking place on the Lebanese-Syrian border. This past week, Hezbollah’s media wing “Al-Manar” reported that their forces carried out several attacks against Jabhat Al-Nusra (Syrian Al-Qaeda group) in the Jaroud ‘Arsal area of east Lebanon. In addition to their presence in Jaroud ‘Arsal, Hezbollah was sighted on the other side of the Qalamoun Mountains, carrying out attacks against Jabhat Al-Nusra and the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) at Jaroud Jarajeer, Jaroud Qarah, and Jaroud Faleeta.

Ceci confirmerait les annonces d’Elijah Magnier en mai dans deux articles qui annonçait ce redéploiement du fait de la volonté de se concentrer sur des régions plus directement stratégiques pour lui et de sa volonté de ne pas servir de pion pour le compte des stratégies politiques des Russes et du régime dans leur volonté de conforter leur position politique à Genève :
▻https://elijahjm.wordpress.com/2016/05/19/hezbollah-is-not-willing-to-engage-in-further-battles-if-these-a
et ▻https://elijahjm.wordpress.com/2016/05/25/syriademarcation-lines-similar-to-the-lebanese-civil-war-in-the-

The new situation in Syria has led the Lebanese Hezbollah to redeploy its forces and withdraw a significant number of militants from the established demarcation lines – and decide not to be part of the U.S-Russia political agreement. The decision was taken at high command level in Lebanon, ordering Hezbollah to return to the main cities since all military offensives had been put on ice. Hezbollah will have a defensive military role, will protect the already controlled cities but will also take part in hit-and-run tactics in “enemy land”. Since Damascus agreed to join the political process for the moment, Hezbollah won’t go against the Russian-American deal.

Syria civil war: The message from Moscow
▻http://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/middleeast/2016/06/syria-civil-war-message-moscow-nusra-160604163154005.html

Russia has sent three messages over the past week or so about the situation in Syria.

First, the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front is to be blamed for violating and jeopardising the truce.

“The Nusra terrorist group is active in Aleppo and Idlib today and it is the main obstacle for the further extension of the cessation of hostilities,” the defence ministry said, accusing the group of exploiting the truce to rearm and regroup. 

Second, the US is to be blamed for failing to separate the “moderate opposition units they control from terrorists. That is why further postponing by our American partners in that effort doesn’t only discredit the so called moderate opposition but leads to undermining the peace process”.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned the deadline to back away from al-Nusra will expire this week.

And third, the Turkey border is still being used to smuggle weapons to “terrorists” in Syria.

“The number of heavy trucks moving from the Turkish-Syrian borders to the region of Azaz (Aleppo province) …and to the region of Darat Izza (Idlib province) has increased significantly,” the defence ministry said.

En mars de cette année, une mystérieuse « New Syrian Army » annonçait avoir pris le contrôle du poste-frontière d’al-Tanf, aux confins des frontières syrienne, irakienne et jordanienne, jusque là détenu par Da’ich. Al-Tanf, c’est là : ▻https://www.google.fr/maps/place/At+Tanf,+Syrie/@33.745316,36.4217732,7z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x153e0a85826f8d3f:0xfbaab842977dcbd6!8m2!3d33.48959!4d38.663
Ce groupe sans aucun fait d’armes connu jusqu’ici semblait être soutenu par la Jordanie et les USA, voire servir de couverture à des forces spéciales de ces deux pays : ►http://seenthis.net/messages/474150 et ►http://seenthis.net/messages/468261

Dans un récent article, le Washington Post nous donne des nouvelles de la "New Syrian Army"et décrit un groupe, armé et formé par le programme du pentagone sur une base en Jordanie, et qui connaîtrait désormais des difficultés, malgré l’appui aérien américain, du fait d’un attentat suicide de Da’ich qui aurait décimé ses rangs :
The last remaining Pentagon-trained rebel group in Syria is now in jeopardy WaPo 27.05.16
▻https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/the-last-remaining-pentagon-trained-rebel-group-in-syria-is-now-in-jeopardy/2016/05/27/91de194a-1c5f-11e6-82c2-a7dcb313287d_story.html

The New Syrian Army completed the U.S. training course in Jordan, infiltrated into Syria and then, in March, without fanfare or publicity, seized a pinprick of territory from the militants at the remote Tanaf border crossing with Iraq in the far southeast corner of the Syrian province of Homs.
There they have remained, holding their ground without deserting, defecting or getting kidnapped, unlike many of the other similarly trained rebels whose mishaps prompted the temporary suspension of the program last year.
Even this modest success is now in jeopardy, however, following an Islamic State suicide attack this month. An armored vehicle barreled into the rebels’ base shortly before dawn on May 7, killing a number of them, said Lt. Col. Mohammed Tallaa, a Syrian officer who defected and is the group’s commander.

Avec les échecs du nouveau programme du Pentagone, au sud avec les difficultés de la New Syrian Army et au nord où ces groupes sont en situation difficile dans la poche d’Azaz, il ne reste plus pour les USA pour combattre Da’ich que le YPG kurde qu’on essaie d’enrichir d’arabes au sein des SDF (dans le contexte d’une avancée rapide des SDF au nord de la province de Raqqa) :

In March, the training was restored, with the less ambitious goal of working with existing rebel groups in northern Syria’s Aleppo province. Those groups are now battling for their survival against Islamic State fighters advancing in the area around the town of Azaz near the border with Turkey.
In the meantime, however, the Pentagon has forged ahead with a different alliance, with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which is seen as a rival or worse by many Arab rebel groups. The YPG is responsible for almost all of the territorial gains made so far against the Islamic State in Syria, and its close coordination with the U.S. military is a source of deep resentment among other Syrian rebels. An effort to rebrand the YPG as a coalition with Arab rebels called the Syrian Democratic Forces has brought only a small number of Arabs into the force so far.

Ca va pas fort pour les rebelles de la poche d’Azaz qui après avoir pris du territoire à Da’ich risquent de voir leur microterritoire coupé en 2 par les offensives de Da’ich et perdre la ville de Mare. Reste que la ligne de front ne cesse de bouger dans cette zone et donc que rien n’y est fait :

http://i.imgur.com/uWCrzP6.jpg

Cela dans les contexte où on évoque la création d’une armée « Armée du Nord » (Jaych al-Chamal) sous le patronage turco-américain qui aurait pour but d’empêcher les Kurdes de faire la jonction Kobané-Afrin en prenant du territoire à Da’ich au Nord à partir de la poche d’Azaz, et également de combattre al-Nousra dans la province d’Idlib afin d’aider la rébellion à se distancier du groupe selon les souhaits des Russes - et, semble-t-il, des Américains (mais soyons prudents...) :
▻http://www.thearabweekly.com/?id=5153

The plan was reportedly formu­lated at a meeting May 9th in Turkey and included intelligence officials from the United States, Turkey, Sau­di Arabia and Qatar, in addition to leaders of the rebel groups. Turkish officials bluntly told the insurgents that if they refused to join the pro­posed alliance they would be brand­ed as terrorists.
The Americans are to provide the new force with advanced weaponry. Saudi Arabia and Qatar would cover financial costs. Military operations could start within two weeks. Air cover would be provided by the coa­lition countries while Turkey would offer artillery support from across the border.
According to a field commander with al-Zenki, the plan involves three phases, starting with the an­nouncement of the creation of Jaish al-Shamal. The second step includes moving the groups’ fighters and their weapons via Turkish territo­ries to northern Aleppo. The third phase is the fight itself.
He noted that opposition groups had begun on May 13th mov­ing fighters and heavy weaponry through Bab al-Hawa, a border crossing between Syria and Turkey.
Al-Zenki group is to lead the bat­tle, which is meant to fight ISIS, evict al-Nusra Front from Idlib, lib­erate the town of Al Raii, capture the area to the east of city of Azaz and then the city of Mare’.
The plan was confirmed by US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who declared at a May 13th news conference in Washington that the United States and Turkey share the objective of clearing the area from ISIS.
However, the fact that the plan does not refer to fighting troops loy­al to Assad has aroused suspicions among rebel groups of the existence of a prior agreement between the United States and Russia on the for­mation of the new alliance.
“We fear that the US conditions limit the mission of this (new) army to fighting ISIS,” an al-Zenki com­mander said. “Is there a US-Russian understanding with the Syrian re­gime to avoid fighting between the Northern Army and the Syrian regu­lar army as well as the Kurdish fight­ers who are attempting to control the area?”
It seems opposition groups have no alternative but to go along with the US plan of fighting ISIS out of fear that they will lose land to ad­vancing Assad troops, backed by Iranian and Hezbollah fighters un­der Russian air cover, and also their only supply route from Turkey, which threatened to consider them terrorists if they fail to comply.
Nonetheless, the US-sponsored plan seems to serve the goals of Turkey, which according to high-ranking Syrian opposition sources, “is facing an embarrassing situa­tion” after the killing of more than 25 people and the injuring of dozens of others by ISIS bombardment from Syria on the Turkish town of Kilis.

Criticism of Russian stances on ceasefire in pro-regime Syrian daily | The Mideastwire Blog
▻https://mideastwire.wordpress.com/2016/05/26/criticism-of-russian-stances-on-ceasefire-in-pro-regime-syrian-daily/?fb_action_ids=831499646956088&fb_action_types=news.publishes

On May 25, the pro-Syrian regime Al-Watan daily newspaper carried the following piece by Fares Riad al-Jiroudi: “The Russian-sponsored truce on the Syrian land in partnership with the USA constituted an occasion for launching a new wave of skepticism regarding the real objectives behind the Russian leadership’s military intervention in Syria and the extent of their matching with the Syrian objectives and the objectives of Syria’s allies at the resistance axis especially since the Russian keenness on preserving the truce coincided with decisive Iranian statements expressing a willingness to support the battle of the Syrian Arab army until the cleansing of Aleppo and its suburbs entirely.

“This wasn’t the first of its kind wave of skepticism in the Russian position from within the media circles affiliated to the Resistance axis. But it seems that this wave will subside just like previous waves as the Russian Defense Ministry declared that the unilateral response to the truce breaches will start on May 25 (today). However, this shows that an important number of the Resistance axis’ journalists have so far failed to assimilate the complications of this war that Syria and its allies are fighting against the takfiri groups and their supporters, mainly Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar…”

Aleppo Local Council Launches Community Gardening Initiative Over Siege Concerns

Opposition council says project aims to produce backup food amid concerns of a renewed attempt to blockade the city’s rebel-held districts

http://www.syrianobserver.com/tjcgArtImages/images/IMG-UEM-30530.jpg

Hezbolá captura a varios oficiales de EEUU y de Francia en Alepo - HispanTV, Nexo Latino
▻http://hispantv.com/newsdetail/siria/256259/hezbola-captura-oficiales-eeuu-francia-alepo-frente-alnusra

Selon un site proche du Hezb au sud du Liban, les Hezbollah fait prisonnier des membres des forces spéciales (ou juste des mercenaires) étasusniens et français à Alep. Il s’agirait d’une réponse aux morts iraniens de Khan Touma ou à la mort de Mustafa badreddine près de Damas.

El Movimiento de Resistencia Islámica de El Líbano (Hezbolá) capturó a varios oficiales de EE.UU. y Francia que apoyaban a los grupos terroristas en la ciudad de Alepo, en el norte de Siria.

«En una operación compleja y precisa, las fuerzas especiales de Hezbolá arrestaron a un cabecilla de la llamada oposición armada de Siria, junto a varios oficiales de la Inteligencia de EE.UU. y Francia en las proximidades de Alepo», ha informado este sábado Southlebanon, página Web cercana al movimiento libanés.

Los militares detenidos, según indica la fuente, que cita fuentes de Hezbolá, han formado un centro de operaciones militares, desde donde dirigían los ataques de los grupos takfiríes como el Frente Al-Nusra, rama siria de Al-Qaeda, contra el Ejército sirio y sus aliados.

#syrie #mercenaires

Ça ne surprendra personne mais c’est toujours bon à documenter : selon l’OSDH un émir de Jabhat al-Nousra de la région d’Idlib, est mort de ses blessures suite à des combats contre les forces armées du régime alors qu’il était traité dans un hôpital ... en Turquie :
▻http://www.syriahr.com/en/2016/05/18/46602

An Amir in Jabhat Al-Nusra (al-Qaeda in Levant) of Jabal al-Zawiyah died affected by his injury which he got in previous clashes against the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them in the southern countryside of Aleppo, intersecting sources confirmed to SOHR that commander of Jabhat Al-Nusra died while he was being treated in a hospital inside the Turkish territory.

Tiens une analyse pas entièrement fausse et partisane sur la Syrie. Et c’est sur France 24 :
▻https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOc7RoARYuE

Quelques inexactitudes, cependant :
– la 1ère trêve ne concernait pas Alep. Là il y avait plutôt un accord tacite de retenue qui a de fait mis fin à la tentative d’encerclement d’Alep par le régime
– la position officielle des russes n’est pas que tous les groupes « rebelles » doivent être listés comme terroristes, mais comme le précise plus exactement Wassim Nasr après, les Russes considèrent ainsi tous les groupes qui sont associés à al-Nousra, et ce d’ailleurs en accord avec la résolution 2254 - ce que tout le monde semble oublier ! - dont ils ont accepté récemment que la formulation maximale soit revue à la baisse dans le nouvel accord de cessation des hostilités (tout en souhaitant que JAI et Ahrar soient listés comme terroristes) : ▻http://seenthis.net/messages/488350

Enfin c’est tout de même moins orienté que ce que l’on entend d’habitude...

Gareth Porter sur la fin de la cessation des hostilités et la promesse non-tenue des Américains aux Russes de faire en sorte que les groupes rebelles se séparent d’al-Nousra et sur le fait que les nouveaux accords - qui concernent désormais Alep - ne règlent pas ce problème :
▻http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/35984-obama-broke-pledge-to-demand-syrian-opposition-s-separation-from-nu

The gradual erosion of the cease-fire in Syria over the past month is the result of multiple factors shaping the conflict, but one of the underlying reasons is the Obama administration’s failure to carry out its commitment to Russia to get US-supported opposition groups to separate themselves physically from the Nusra Front — the al-Qaeda organization in Syria.
US Secretary of State John Kerry made the promise to separate the groups as part of the understandings underlying the February 22 cease-fire, but never delivered on it. And by the time Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov finished negotiating on how to make the “cessation of hostilities” more effective in the Syrian city of Aleppo on May 2, the Obama administration had effectively withdrawn that concession completely.

L’article documente dans le détail les différentes déclarations de part et d’autre sur cette question.
Selon lui les Russes se sont retenus de bombarder massivement les zones autour d’Alep et d’Idlib de février à mars pour laisser le temps aux Américains de réaliser leur promesse :

The Russians agreed to refrain from air attacks on Nusra Front forces until the expected physical separation could be carried out. That concession explains the relative paucity of Russian air attacks against the Nusra Front zones in Aleppo and Idlib provinces from late February through March.

Ce que Porter omet d’indiquer c’est que les concessions russes sont allées au-delà puisque dès la rédaction des accords de cessez-le-feu de février les Russes ont accepté de renoncer à la formulation de la résolution 2254 du Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU incriminant les groupes classés terroristes comme « le Front al-Nosra et tous les autres individus, groupes, entreprises et entités associés à Al-Qaida » :
▻http://seenthis.net/messages/463575, pour n’incriminer finalement qu’al-Nousra et Da’ich.

La tentative ratée de la Russie hier, de faire passer une résolution au CS de l’ONU classant Ahrar et Jaysh al-Islam comme terroristes (vote contre de la France, du RU, des USA, et de l’Ukraine) illustre ce qu’elle a concédé :
▻http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2016/May-11/351601-russian-bid-to-blacklist-syrian-rebel-groups-blocked-at-un.ashx
Si la formulation de la résolution 2254 avait été conservée dans les accords de cessez-le-feu, le fait qu’Ahrar participe encore aux combats au sein de Jaych al-Fatah aurait suffi puisque cette coalition est bien une « entité associée à al-Qaïda »...

Article très intéressant d’Elijah Magnier sur les divergences actuelles entre Damas, Téhéran et le Hezbollah d’un côté et la Russie de l’autre quant à la cessation des hostilités :
Russia equivocates in Syria, Iran is confused and al-Qaeda takes the initiative
▻https://elijahjm.wordpress.com/2016/05/11/russia-equivocates-in-syria-iran-is-confused-and-al-qaeda-takes-
Morceaux choisis :

The Damascus and Moscow alliance faced with the cooperation of the Middle Eastern regional countries and the United States in Syria is failing at the moment. Al-Qaeda in al-Sham (Jabhat al-Nusra) although excluded from the Cease-fire, grabbed the initiative on the ground and counter attacked south of Aleppo with many allies: Ahrar al-Sham, Jund al-Aqsa, Jaish al-Sunnah and the Turkestan forces (all not excluded from the Cease-fire) fighting within the ranks of Jaish al-Fateh, the “army of conquest,” which includes more jihadist organizations and others more moderate.[...]
Now that over 97 cities and towns are engaged in the cessation of hostilities (COH), the Russian President Vladimir Putin needs a strong case to return to the Syrian arena in full force. Today, Moscow has placed itself alongside flexible American diplomacy, which in Syria changes according to developments and is unwilling to re-initiate a military campaign that could be considered aggressive to various countries in the Middle East. Such a flexible Russian attitude has angered Tehran and Damascus and their proxy allies, forcing them to alter plans of deployment.[...]
Decision makers in Syria say “Moscow gave the time for rebels to regroup and reorganise their offensives. There is no point in fighting and dying in areas we don’t need to hold on to. Before the Russian intervention, we were defending the main cities and no force could have managed to break in. Now we are on several fronts without serious coordination between all forces. It is time to change tactics and reduce military deployment”.[...]
“Countries in the region are prepared to wait seven more months for a new U.S. President who would interact with Assad more aggressively than President Barack Obama. These countries will continue supporting the rebels in the next 7 months, sending money and weapons so they are prepared for another confrontation. The allies of Damascus consider Russia has repeated what the late President of Egypt Anwar al-Sadat did in 1973 when he stopped the war suddenly and gave Israel the opportunity to regroup its forces, returning to regain the initiative and overcome the Egyptian third army, all of which resulted in the Camp David agreement”.[...]
It is therefore expected that Hezbollah, a strong and effective ally of Damascus, will modify its deployment plans on the battlefield to mitigate the human losses as long as there is an unclear horizon and that Russian politics in Syria are unclear, say the sources. Six months ago, Damascus and its allies decided to retreat to the main cities and abandon distant and rural areas, difficult to supply logistically and considered less strategic. Today, Hezbollah refuses to engage in all on-going battles when military plans are drawn up but not implemented, even with limited officers. If Russia is willing to hit only ISIS in the East of Syria and refrain from hitting al-Nusra and other jihadists spread in vast area around Aleppo, Hezbollah is not willing to lose more men to keep a status quo. There will be no withdrawal from Syria but redeployment and reduce participation in many forthcoming battles, according to sources on the ground.
A fuzzy future is overwhelming Syria. It seems that the appeasing Russian policy of appeasement with regard to Jahbat al-Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham and other jihadists will negatively affect the Syrian army provided that there are no other changes in the Syrian dynamic. The war in Syria is not expected to end soon.

Article original en arabe dans le journal koweïtien al-Raï ici : ▻http://www.alraimedia.com/ar/article/special-reports/2016/05/10/678502/nr/syria

An Opportunity in Aleppo

Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, is once again the center of media attention. Two weeks of devastating airstrikes against the rebel-held parts of the city ended on Wednesday after the United States and Russia agreed on a new cessation of hostilities in the city. However, clashes continued in nearby rural areas in southern Aleppo province, and the government and the rebels traded accusations that the truce has already been violated by the other side.

http://timep.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/BN-GZ318_syria0_J_20150217063546-704x318.jpg

Restructuration et réactivation de la coalition Jaych al-Fatah.
En gros Jund al-Aqsa, jugé trop complaisant avec Da’ich en est exclu, ce qui permet de réintégrer le groupe de la légion de Sham (Faylaq al-Sham) proche des FM. Avec bien sûr des brigades mineures affiliées à l’ASL mais dont l’article ne donne pas le nom.
Les deux principaux groupes de cette coalition restant al-Nousra (branche syrienne de la Qaïda) et Ahrar al-Cham. Est intégré aussi le Parti islamique du Turkestan oriental, désigné comme organisation terroriste par le CS de l’ONU, comme al-Nousra, et donc exclus de la cessation des hostilités.
▻http://syriadirect.org/news/victory-army-commander-on-restructuring-infighting-led-to-%E2%80%98brea

Seven Islamist fighting groups, including the Salafist Ahrar a-Sham and Al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat a-Nusra, formed the Victory Army in March 2015 with the stated goal of “liberating the good city and the good people of Idilb,” the former referring to the capital of the eponymous northwestern province. After accomplishing its inaugural goal in four days, the new coalition proceeded, over the following seven months, to capture the rest of Idlib province from pro-regime forces.
The exclusion of Jund al-Aqsa paved the way for Feilaq to return, the source said. “The main reason for our return to the Victory Army is the absence of Jund al-Aqsa,” said an official from Feilaq a-Sham’s high command who requested anonymity, adding that the coalition will now focus its efforts on the Aleppo front. […]
The Victory Army says it does not want to make an enemy out of their former ally, Jund al-Aqsa, and that the inclusion of the Turkistan Islamic Party may be a nod at keeping a line open.

(Du 30 avril) On the Ground in Aleppo: Bloodshed, Misery and Hope
▻http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/world/middleeast/syrian-city-torn-by-war-shows-jarring-resolve-to-try-to-live-normally.html

Mr. Assad, the president, faced new accusations of war crimes after airstrikes hit Al Quds hospital, on the rebel side of Aleppo, on Wednesday night. By Friday, rescuers said they had pulled 55 bodies from the rubble, including 29 children and women, some of whom had been in labor, according to one aid group. Doctors Without Borders, which had been supporting the hospital, denounced the bombing as “outrageous.”

Residents in government-controlled areas have learned to fear the “hell cannon,” an improvised form of rocket fashioned from modified propane gas cylinders and packed with explosives and metal objects that is used by some insurgent groups, including those that receive American assistance.

Both sides have been ravaged by bombardments, although only the government has fighter jets and helicopters at its disposal, which have reduced broad swaths of rebel territory to rubble.

Disregard for civilian life is universal. On Thursday, after the hospital attack, rebel rockets rained on virtually every district of government-controlled Aleppo in a fierce barrage that claimed dozens of casualties. Taxis and ambulances screeched to a halt outside the city’s Al Razi hospital as desperate relatives rushed bloodied and dust-covered people, many of them children, into the emergency ward.

Syrie : qui sont les « casques blancs », héros anonymes de la guerre ? - L’Express
▻http://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/monde/proche-moyen-orient/syrie-qui-sont-les-casques-blancs-heros-anonymes-de-la-guerre_1739792.html

http://static.lexpress.fr/medias_10685/w_605,h_350,c_fill,g_north/v1448541539/les-casques-blancs-volontaires-de-la-defense-civile-syrienne_5470884.jpg

Syrie : qui sont les « casques blancs », héros anonymes de la guerre ?

Documents à l’appui (mais en arabe) Al-Akhbar (▻http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/257163) montre que ces « héros ordinaires » sont une énième invention des communicants chargés de vendre à l’opinion occidentale la guerre de Syrie. En arabe dans le texte, ces sauveteurs sont nettement moins photogéniques...

#syrie

Comme le note angry arab, tandis que les médias rapportent à juste titre que les bombardements aériens des forces du régime tuent des civils, notamment à Alep sous contrôle rebelle, les médias occultent complètement les morts civils dans la zone d’Alep tenue par le régime, où les rebelles bombardent au mortier et avec les « canons de l’enfer », et qui ont fait une vingtaine de morts depuis quelques jours :
▻http://angryarab.blogspot.fr/2016/04/like-i-have-been-telling-you-syrian.html

Like i have been telling you, Syrian rebels have been bombing the shit out of Aleppo residents but not a word about that
Only when Syrian regime forces kills civilians it is news. Killing of civilians in the territories under the control of the regime does not warrant coverage.

Lien vers article NYT en exemple :
▻http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/29/world/middleeast/aleppo-syria-strikes.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share

▻http://arretsurinfo.ch/im-sameer-from-damascus

War in Syria has been raging for five years causing millions to leave the country. This is the story about those who stayed.

The start of the bloody conflict forced many Syrians to put their lives on hold until the situation stabilises. But five years on, there is no end in sight to the devastating war. Many civilians have lost their homes, their possessions and even their loved ones. Trying to preserve at least some normality of life, people learnt to live in the state of emergency. Just like in peaceful times, they go to the market, socialise in cafes, work, get married and organise big weddings. But even in the capital, Damascus, that has seen less devastation than a lot of other big Syrian cities and so welcomed many internally displaced war refugees, no one is truly safe. Shells here explode and kill indiscriminately, destroying roads, cars and buildings and taking lives of those who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Sameer Alfarra is a cameraman at Syrian TV Channel. He came to Damascus from Aleppo, fleeing the war and leaving his house and businesses behind. During the years of war, he saw the strength of the ordinary Syrians who decided to stay in their home country. Filming people’s stories every day, visiting new sites of destruction, losing his colleagues in war casualties, he knows better than anybody, what it takes the Syrians to go on with their lives every day and stay strong. Through the lens of his camera, he wants to show us the toll this war has taken on Syrian people as well as their unbroken spirit and how through all the hardships and grief that befell them, they manage to preserve love and hope for a peaceful future.

Le porte-parole de l’opération Inherent Resolve juge que les bombardements russes contre Alep ne compromettent pas (« it’s complicated ») l’accord de cessez-le-feu du fin février, arguant que c’est principalement (« primarily ») al-Nusra qui tient Alep, et que Nusra ne fait pas partie de l’accord… (Ça me semble suffisamment important pour que tu n’en entendes plus parler.)

Defense Department says Nusra in Aleppo
▻http://uk.businessinsider.com/defense-department-nusra-aleppo-putin-assad-2016-4

US Army Col. Steve Warren, the spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq, was asked whether Russian airstrikes on Aleppo, the current epicenter of the war, meant that Moscow was preparing to end the cessation of hostilities (CoH) agreement between government forces and the opposition signed on February 29.

Warren responded that it was “complicated” because al-Nusra “holds Aleppo” and is not party to the agreement.

Warren said of Russia:

I’m not going to predict what their intentions are. What I do know is that we have seen, you know, regime forces with some Russian support as well begin to mass and concentrate combat power around Aleppo. ... That said, it’s primarily al-Nusra who holds Aleppo, and of course, al-Nusra is not part of the cessation of hostilities. So it’s complicated.

The Defense Department made a big gaffe that helps Putin and Assad in Syria
▻http://www.businessinsider.com/defense-department-nusra-aleppo-putin-assad-2016-4

(Au passage, cet article est la preuve s’il en faut que le journalisme mainstream n’est pas « #objectif »- comme il se plaît à s’auto-décrire- puisque s’il se fait un devoir de souligner les « #gaffes », c’est qu’il tait les #omissions par pur esprit partisan.)

US Army Col. Steve Warren, the spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq, was asked whether Russian airstrikes on Aleppo, the current epicenter of the war, meant that Moscow was preparing to end the cessation of hostilities (CoH) agreement between government forces and the opposition signed on February 29.

Warren responded that it was “complicated” because #al-Nusra “holds Aleppo” and is not party to the agreement.

#objectivité #excuses_bidon

Un point assez complet sur les combats actuels en Syrie et la pause dans les pourparlers :
Syrian rebels launch new assaults as opposition seeks peace talks ’pause’
MEE / 18.04.16
▻http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/rebels-launch-new-offensives-syrian-opposition-seeks-pause-peace-talk
Relevé des points saillants :
A Lattaquieh :

Among the groups involved in the Latakia offensive are Kataib Ansar al-Sham, the al-Qaeda-linked Turkistan Islamic Party, Ahrar al-Sham, Jaish al-Islam and the First Coastal Division.

A Hama :

There were also reports of a new opposition offensive against government targets in Hama.
According to the pro-Assad al-Masdar news site, fighters from the al-Qaeda splinter group Jund al-Aqsa launched a major assault on the al-Ghaab Plains near the Hama-Latakia axis, in an attempt to capture the village of Khirbat al-Naqous.

A Alep :

On Sunday, government jets carried out air strikes in Aleppo province that killed at least 11 civilians, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights.

Formation d’une nouvelle chambre d’opération commune Ahrar al-Cham/ Jaysh al-Islam et groupes labellisés ASL - sans qu’al-Nousra qui participe aux combats, avec d’autres organisations classées terroristes (Parti Islamique du Turkestan), n’en fassent formellement partie :

A number of groups, including the powerful Ahrar al-Sham group, also announced on Monday the “formation of a joint operations room to begin the battle...in response to violations by the army of Assad”.

Toujours la question d’Assad sur laquelle les négociations achoppent :

Negotiations between the opposition and the government have stalled over the government’s refusal to discuss the opposition’s call for Assad to step aside as part of any peace deal and some have suggested that rebels on the ground have pushed for the opposition negotiators to withdraw from talks altogether.

Les tweets de Mohammed Allouche, négociateur du HCN (opposition de Ryadh) appellant à frapper le régime partout - et donc à mettre fin à la cessation des hostilités :

On Sunday, Mohammed Alloush, senior negotiator for the HNC, called in a tweet for the resumption of attacks on Syrian government targets.
“Don’t trust the regime and don’t wait for their pity,” Alloush wrote on Twitter.
“Strike them at their necks [kill them]. Strike them everywhere,” he said, reciting a passage from the Quran dealing with war.

En bonus de jolies photos/vidéos récentes de rebelles avec des missiles anti-tanks américains TOW et des missiles sol-air portatifs (chinois)...

#option_Stinger