city:damascus

  • Syria Truce Comes With Price, but Not for Assad
    By DAVID E. SANGER FEB. 26, 2016
    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/27/world/middleeast/syria-truce-comes-with-price-but-not-for-assad.html

    Une #partition de la #Syrie oui, mais pas n’importe laquelle (ne dit pas l’article),

    Mr. Gordon noted that the cessation of hostilities agreement may “effectively start to develop into a de facto partition of the country, whereby different ethnic groups control the regions they are currently holding.” That is what worries the Israelis, who see a Syrian-Russian-Iranian axis developing on their border, a group that already has the support of the terrorist group Hezbollah.

    Over time, European and Israeli officials say, the cease-fire may give Mr. Assad lasting control of the string of major cities — Damascus to Homs to Aleppo — that are now increasingly in his control, thanks to Russian and Iranian support. And it begins to etch out other territory for the Sunni opposition groups backed by Washington and the Arab states, while giving a sliver in the north to the Kurds.

    John Kirby, Mr. Kerry’s spokesman, disputes the idea that the agreement would carve Syria along the existing battle lines. “You need to look at the text,” he said. “Every document includes explicit commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, and you could argue that we’ve actually made a stronger commitment against partition than ever before, because all of the parties have signed on to that notion.”

    A senior administration official, who would not speak on the record about the internal White House deliberations, argued that the separate enclaves were temporary and would make it possible for negotiations on a political settlement to get started.

  • Près de 100 groupes se sont déclarés pour la cessation des hostilités en Syrie. Pour l’instant globalement respecté - à part quelques accrochages dans le nord et dans la banlieue de Damas (Jobar). Aucun bombardement russe ce jour, aucune activité sur la base de Hmeymim - fait rapporté par les « White Helmets » : https://twitter.com/SyriaCivilDef/status/703511955395506176, défense civile proche de l’"opposition" et agissant en zones rebelles.
    Cependant les bombardements russes contre Da’ich et al-Nousra vont très probablement reprendre.
    Le correspondant de la chaîne américaine ABC, Marquardt, propose, sur son compte twitter, cette carte qui visualise en jaune les zones où s’applique le cessez-le-feu selon les déclarations du Ministère de la défense russe :

  • Long et intéressant article de Nour Samaha dans Newsweek qui fait l’historique des plans de #partition au Moyen-Orient. Même si on regrettera l’angle mort israélien.
    On y trouve, parmi bien d’autres choses - dont certaines bien connues, cette anecdote rapportée par Karim Pakradouni selon laquelle durant la guerre du Liban dans les années 80 des cartes d’une Syrie divisée en 3 Etats confessionnels circulaient. Pakradouni attira l’attention de Hafiz al-Assad sur ces cartes qui était inquiet et convaincu qu’il s’agissait d’une manière pour la CIA de sonder les réactions des gens à un tel plan.
    http://newsweekme.com/middle-east-blurred-lines

    The same happened again during the Lebanese civil war in the 1980s; maps of a partitioned Syria into three minor states—a Sunni state next to Turkey, an Alawite state along the coast, and another Sunni state including Damascus and the South—began circulating amongst journalists and politicians in Lebanon. Pakradouni, a key player among the Lebanese Christian axis during the civil war, saw the maps and brought them to the attention of then Syrian president, Hafez Al Assad.
    “He was very concerned when he heard about them,” he says. “He was convinced it was a CIA plan and that the idea was being floated to see how people would react to it.”
    Meanwhile, factions in Lebanon attempted to capitalize on the civil war crisis and pushed again to create a Christian statelet within the country’s borders; and this time they were more successful. Yet, as Pakradouni—one of the architects of the Christian state—points out, partitioning the country led to a situation that should be an example to all those today who are thinking of attempting the same.

  • Le commentaire d’Abdel Bari Atwan (relayé généralement par @gonzo) sur les déclarations de Kerry quant à un plan B impliquant la partition de la Syrie en quand d’échec de l’accord de cessez-le-feu. Les déclarations de Kerry signalées par @kassem ici : http://seenthis.net/messages/463930
    Le commentaire d’Atwan (en anglais) là :
    http://www.raialyoum.com/?p=396000
    Atawan voit dans ces déclarations la confirmation de l’existence d’un agenda caché comportant la partition confessionnelle de la Syrie et rappelle qu’un certain nombre d’aventures militaires américaines ont fini ainsi :

    Kerry did not suggest that partition would be a solution to the Syria crisis but by linking it firmly to the success or failure of the Cessation of Hostilities agreement placed ongoing efforts to form a transitional government on the back burner.
    Wherever the US has intervened or become involved in a civil conflict partition has often followed. We are thinking of Korea, Vietnam, Sudan, Ossetia, Ukraine and so on.

    Il rappelle les éléments relevés maintes fois sur seen this récemment dont la proposition de « boots on the ground » de la coalition islamique et de la Turquie :

    Military preparations are already in place for a pincer operation involving Saudi-led forces entering Syria from the South via Jordan, and Turkish troops entering from the North, attacking Islamic State and driving out regime forces. This would pave the way for a Sunni entity in the North and East of Syria. A problem here would be the Kurds who are seeking autonomy in the North East- something Turkish President Erdogan resolutely opposes.

    Il s’interroge sur la possibilité que Moscou en vienne à acquiescer à un tel plan et se demande si les élections législatives convoquées pour avril par Assad ne seraient pas à comprendre comme une tentative d’écarter ce risque. Enfin il rappelle à juste titre qu’une partition de la Syrie menacerait tous les Etats de la région, y compris ceux qui en font la promotion comme l’Arabie saoudite (voir ici : http://seenthis.net/messages/459465).

    Where does this leave Russia? The Kremlin is now speaking of ‘similarities’ with Damascus over the future of Syria rather than an identical, indivisible stance. Putin may not oppose the idea of a partition and may have discussed it with Obama without the involvement of Assad.
    If Plan A for Syria was disastrous for the nation and the region, how would you like Plan B?
    Even thinking about partition is a red line for us at Rai al-Youm as it must be for all Syrians and Arabs, including those who have pumped billions of dollars into arming the opposition in an apparently thwarted bid to overthrow Assad.
    If Syria is partitioned this could just be the first of many fragmented Arab states, including Saudi Arabia.

    De fait, tout le monde a vu sur les cartes de 2006 de Ralph Peters, comme sur celle publiée dans le New York times en 2014, que l’Etat saoudien était lui aussi désigné comme candidat à la partition...

    • Et la réponse de Lavrov, pour dissiper les interrogations d’Atwan sur la position des Russes :
      https://francais.rt.com/international/16268-lavrov--il-n-a

      Lavrov : il n’y a pas de plan B en Syrie, et il n’y en aura pas
      Le ministre russe des Affaires étrangères a exclu l’existence, présente ou future, d’un plan B concernant le règlement de la crise en Syrie, contrairement à ce qu’a commenté John Kerry, qui a prévu la partition de la Syrie en cas d’échec.
      « On a tout dit sur ce plan B : il n’y en a pas, et il n’y en aura pas. Personne [ni la Russie, ni les Etats-Unis] ne l’envisage », a martelé Sergueï Lavrov, en répondant à la question des journalistes lui demandant de commenter la proposition des Etats-Unis sur les différents scénarios possibles pour l’avenir de la Syrie. [...]
      La Russie et la Syrie ont réagi négativement à cette proposition ambiguë. Ainsi, le vice-ministre russe des Affaires étrangères Mikhail Bogdanov a déclaré que Moscou ne prévoyait aucun plan alternatif. « Nos partenaires occidentaux nous rendent perplexes, notamment les Etats-Unis, qui mentionnent l’existence d’une sorte de plan B », a-t-il indiqué. Quant à Dmitri Peskov, porte-parole du président russe, il a déclaré que la priorité russe restait de « réaliser le plan, l’initiative exprimée par les deux présidents »

  • The Battle of School Curricula (1): Oppression and Mayhem | SyriaUntold | حكاية ما انحكت
    http://www.syriauntold.com/en/2016/02/the-battle-of-school-curricula-1-oppression-and-mayhem

    There are now more than 5 different curricula taught to Syrian students outside regime schools, as too many sides have decided to chip in each with their own curricular standards.

    Syrian Opposition Interim Government Curriculum: Taught mainly in the rebel-held north and mid-northern areas. It is very similar to the regime curriculum, with pro-Assad content removed and selected religious classes amended. Similar, locally-carved up textbooks are also taught in areas hard to reach by the Interim government, such as the besieged Ghouta in rural Damascus. They sometimes include additional practical trainings on safety and first aid, as well as extra-curricular activities for emotional and social skill development and psycho-social support.
    Islamic Opposition curricula: Such as that of al-Tawheed Front or Al-Cham Committee. These curricula include an increased amount of religious classes, both theoretical and practical. They are also free of pro-regime content but have occasionally also cancelled classes viewed as unorthodox from a conservative religious perspective, such as music or philosophy. More extreme Islamic groups such as Al Nusra Front have “secret” curriculum in their schools with little information available about its content to anyone outside those schools.
    UNICEF “Virtual School for Education in Crises”: A project still under development, “designed to provide children and adolescents affected by conflict in the region with the opportunity to continue their education and receive certification for their learning”. Apart from the obvious access challenges to Internet, electronic devices and electricity altogether, it is still unclear what the content of this curriculum will be exactly, as it has been stated that it will focus only on “Arabic, English, Math and Science”.
    Kurdish curriculum: In northern areas under the rule of Kurdish autonomous government and “Syria’s Democratic Forces” of the PYD party, new textbooks for the first 3 grades of elementary school have been printed in Latin alphabet Kurdish. The possibility of learning Arabic at schools in those areas still vary from one town to the next. This curriculum is the first to introduce Yazidi religious classes in its religion curriculum, alongside those of Christianity and Islam. However, much opposition has faced this curriculum from both Kurds and non-Kurds due to the overt PYD/PKK ideological indoctrination in it, as well as the consequences of the Assad regime closing down public schools that teach this curriculum by cutting off staff salaries and denying them accreditation.
    ISIS schools: Accurate information about education under ISIS is scarce. Back in 2014, the organization used amended regime curriculums in public schools of areas under their control, sometimes completely omitting entire subjects like music, arts, philosophy, history and even chemistry. It was later rumored that they have designed and printed their own curriculum from scratch, the cover front pages of which were leaked recently from their stronghold town of Raqqa through twitter by the media activist group “Raqqa is being slaughtered silently”. The visual aesthetic quality of those books surpasses anything ever published by Assad regime, while content, as the Raqqa group told SyriaUntold “is nothing but blatant warmongering. A simple math problem for grade school would be something like this: If we had 5 Kalashnikovs and 3 grenades, how many weapons do we have in total?”
    Other sources indicate that ISIS are only teaching religious subjects, in addition to practical lessons in martial arts and basic weapon use. Public school teachers were discharged at first, then they were made to attend a “repentance” course of ISIS theological indoctrination as a condition to returning to their work. Those who refused are then declared as infidels, “legally” charged and in some cases have even had their property confiscated or risked facing imprisonment or execution in an attempt to drive them all out. Even private lessons are facing encroachment by ISIS, which puts a whole generation of children in grave danger in these regions.

    #syrie #éducation

  • Le texte officiel de l’accord de cessez-le-feu en Syrie qui vient être signé entre Américains et Russes et qui doit rentrer en application le 27 février à 0h00 (heure Damas) est lisible en intégralité (en anglais) sur le site du State Department :
    http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2016/02/253115.htm

    the cessation of hostilities commence at 00:00 (Damascus time) on February 27, 2016.

    Cet accord de cessez-le-feu ne concerne ni Da’ich ni Jabhat al-Nousra, ni les organisations listées comme terroristes par l’ONU. Certains font remarquer justement que ce texte qui fait référence à la résolution 2254 du CS de l’ONU en abandonne pourtant la formule « ainsi que le Front al-Nosra et tous les autres individus, groupes, entreprises et entités associés à Al-Qaida » http://seenthis.net/messages/458334#message458473
    Une manière de permettre à tous les groupes qui se sont alliés à al-Nousra au sein de la coalition Jaysh al-Fatah, notamment Ahrar al-Cham, de bénéficier du cessez-le-feu.

    The nationwide cessation of hostilities is to apply to any party currently engaged in military or paramilitary hostilities against any other parties other than “Daesh”, “Jabhat al-Nusra”, or other terrorist organizations designated by the UN Security Council.

    Notons en passant que le Parti Islamique du Turkestan en est exclu puiqu’il a été inscrit en 2002 sur la liste des groupes terroristes à l’ONU : https://web.archive.org/web/20121219171112/http://www.un.org:80/sc/committees/1267/NSQE08802E.shtml

    Le 26 février au plus tard, tous les groupes prêts à accepter ce cessez-le-feu devront se faire connaître, ainsi que leur localisation :

    Any party engaged in military or para-military hostilities in Syria, other than “Daesh”, “Jabhat al-Nusra”, or other terrorist organizations designated by the UN Security Council will indicate to the Russian Federation or the United States, as co-chairs of the ISSG, their commitment to and acceptance of the terms for the cessation of hostilities by no later than 12:00 (Damascus time) on February 26, 2016

    On prévoit d’ailleurs d’échanger des informations et même de rédiger une sorte de carte délimitant le territoire de Da’ich, d’al-Nousra et des « autres organisations terroristes listées au CS de l’ONU ». En clair, une carte des endroits où il sera légitime de bombarder :

    The Russian Federation and United States will also work together, and with other members of the Ceasefire Task Force, as appropriate and pursuant to the ISSG decision of February 11, 2016, to delineate the territory held by “Daesh,” "Jabhat al-Nusra" and other terrorist organizations designated by the UN Security Council, which are excluded from the cessation of hostilities.

    Les points 1 et 2 de l’accord concernent respectivement la rébellion armée et le régime et ses forces associées. Ils sont quasiment symétriques et impliquent de cesser les combats avec toutes les armes, de s’interdire d’acquérir du territoire sur les autres parties liées à l’accord, d’user d’un usage proportionné de la force en cas d’opérations défensives et de permettre l’accès des « agences humanitaires » à toutes les populations dans le besoin.

  • Palestinian shot dead after Jerusalem stabbing wounds 2 Israeli officers
    Feb. 19, 2016 10:11 A.M. (Updated : Feb. 19, 2016 11:44 A.M.)
    http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770351

    BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A Palestinian was shot dead after stabbing and wounding two Israeli border police officers outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City on Friday morning, Israeli police said.

    Israeli police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld said the border police officers opened fire on the 20-year-old Palestinian after he drew a knife on them.

    Rosenfeld said the Palestinian was killed, while both officers were lightly wounded and evacuated to hospital.

    Israeli media sites published a photograph purportedly showing the Palestinian’s ID, which identified him as 20-year-old Muhammad Abu Khalaf from the town of Kufr Aqab in northern East Jerusalem.

    Rosenfeld said the area was closed off and there was “heightened security in the area.”

    Damascus Gate has been the site of a number of deadly encounters between Palestinians and Israelis since a wave of unrest swept the occupied Palestinian territory in October last year.

    “““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““
    Un Palestinien poignarde 2 policiers israéliens avant d’être abattu
    AFP / 19 février 2016
    http://www.romandie.com/news/Un-Palestinien-poignarde-2-policiers-israeliens-avant-detre-abattu/678120.rom

    Jérusalem - Un Palestinien a poignardé et blessé deux policiers israéliens avant d’être abattu vendredi près de la Vieille ville de Jérusalem, a indiqué la police.

    Les deux Israéliens, âgés d’une vingtaine d’années, ont été légèrement blessés, selon les secours qui ont aussi fait état d’une femme blessée mais par des tirs apparemment destinés à l’agresseur.

    Ce dernier avait 20 ans et venait de Jérusalem-Est, la partie palestinienne de Jérusalem occupée et annexée par Israël.

    L’attaque s’est produite porte de Damas, principal accès à la Vieille ville du côté de Jérusalem-Est. Ce lieu est le théâtre fréquent d’attaques anti-israéliennes depuis près de cinq mois et les forces israéliennes y sont déployées en nombre.

    #Palestine_assassinée

  • Life as a female refugee: ’You don’t know who to trust’ - Al Jazeera English
    http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/02/life-female-refugee-don-trust-160210092005932.html

    “We never sleep [at the same time]. One of us always stays awake. We’ve heard too many stories of women who have been robbed,” says 38-year-old Samaher from Baghdad. She has a soft voice and sad, dark eyes.

    Three weeks ago she fled Iraq with her baby boy and two female friends.

    Now she is at the transit camp of Vinojug on the Macedonian-Greek border, waiting for the train to Serbia.

    “I am so tired,” she says. “Even when it’s my turn to sleep, I can’t. I am always afraid something might happen.”

    The sun is shining but it is bitterly cold in the camp. Hundreds of refugees huddle together in large tents warmed by patio heaters. On one of the wooden benches sits 30-year-old Manal from Damascus. Her two small daughters, aged three and four, cling to her, while their 10-year-old brother plays elsewhere in the tent.

    Heavily pregnant with her fourth child, Manal has been travelling for two weeks. She crossed the Mediterranean in a rubber boat and walked for kilometres.

    Europe is failing to provide basic protection for them, the Amnesty report stated.

    This problem is now all the more critical because the percentage of women among the refugees who travel through Europe has risen dramatically. Exact data is not available, but according to UNHCR, last summer, a quarter of the refugees were women and children - now it is 55 percent.

  • Israeli forces shoot, kill 2 armed Palestinians near Damascus Gate
    Feb. 15, 2016 12:37 A.M. (Updated: Feb. 15, 2016 12:37 A.M.)
    http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770284

    BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Two Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli forces after the two opened fire on Israeli police near the Damascus Gate in occupied East Jerusalem, an Israeli police spokesperson said.

    The spokesperson said the two were shot and killed at the scene, adding that no Israelis were injured during the incident.

    The two Palestinians were not yet identified.

    The incident was the fifth deadly shooting by Israeli forces during alleged Palestinian attacks on Sunday.

    #Palestine_assassinée

    • Cinq Palestiniens abattus après avoir tenté d’attaquer des soldats israéliens
      AFP / 14 février 2016 22h59
      http://www.romandie.com/news/Cinq-Palestiniens-abattus-apres-avoir-tente-dattaquer-des-soldats-israeliens/676515.rom

      Naplouse (Territoires palestiniens) - Cinq Palestiniens, dont trois adolescents, ont été abattus dimanche lors de trois tentatives d’attaques, dont deux à l’arme à feu, contre des soldats et policiers israéliens en Cisjordanie et à Jérusalem-Est occupées, ont indiqué police et armée israéliennes.

    • Two Palestinians Killed In Fire Exchange With Israeli Soldiers In Jerusalem
      Monday February 15, 2016 03:38

      The first of the slain was identified as Omar Mohammad Amro , who was a member of the National Security Forces in Hebron.

      The second is Mansour Yasser Shawamra .

      Earlier Sunday, the soldiers and police intensified their siege and military deployment in Bab al-‘Amoud area, and all roads leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, as the Chief of the Israeli Police, Roni al-Sheikh, toured in the area.

      The soldiers placed sand hills and iron bars, closing the entire area to the Palestinians from early-morning hours until evening.

      The death of the two Palestinians brings the number of slain Palestinians, this Sunday, to five, including three Palestinians, who were killed in Bethlehem and Jenin, in addition to an 18-year-old Palestinian woman, Kilzar Mohammad al-Oweiwi, who was killed, Saturday, after the soldiers shot her three times, including one bullet that passed through her lung and lodged in her neck.

  • Why Assad’s Army Has Not Defected – Article clairement partisan, mais (1) publié dans un canard républicain influent, désormais éloigné des néo-conservateurs, (2) ce paragraphe relativise la ségrégation des sunnites dans l’armée habituellement présentée sur le ton de l’évidence.
    http://nationalinterest.org/feature/why-assads-army-has-not-defected-15190

    The Syrian Arab Army has held its own for more than five years; its numbers might have been depleted, as is normal for any wartime military, but a close glance at its military reveals that its core, perhaps unexpectedly to many, is Sunni. The current minister of defense, Fahd al-Freij, is one of the most decorated officers in Syrian military history and hails from the Sunni heartland of Hama. The two most powerful intelligence chiefs, Ali Mamlouk and Mohammad Dib Zaitoun, have remained loyal to the Syrian government—and are both Sunnis from influential families. The now-dead and dreaded strongman of Syrian intelligence, Rustom Ghazaleh, who ruled Lebanon with an iron fist, was a Sunni, and the head of the investigative branch of the political directorate, Mahmoud al-Khattib, is from an old Damascene Sunni family. Major General Ramadan Mahmoud Ramadan, commander of the Thirty-Fifth Special Forces Regiment, which is tasked with the protection of western Damascus, is another high-ranking Sunni, as is Brigadier General Jihad Mohamed Sultan, the commander of the Sixty-Fifth Brigade that guards Latakia.

  • Un accord formel a été atteint à Munich entre les pays de l’ISSG (International Syrian Support Group) comprenant tous les acteurs extérieurs du conflit syrien : Saoudiens, Turquie, UK, USA, Qatar, France, Russie, Iran… Il appelle à une cessation des hostilités (mais pas un cessez-le-feu) et à organiser l’accès humanitaire à TOUTES les villes assiégées. Cela semble un bon pas an avant dans toute la partie ouest de la Syrie, mais il y a, selon moi, encore loin de la coupe aux lèvres.
    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/12/syria-cessation-of-hostilities-full-text-of-the-support-groups-communiq

    Major powers agreed on Friday to implement a cessation of hostilities in Syria and to expand delivery of humanitarian aid to people caught up in the conflict.

    Cette aide humanitaire commencera par des largages aériens :

    In order to accelerate the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid, sustained delivery of assistance shall begin this week by air to Deir Ez Zour and simultaneously to Fouah, Kafrayah, the besieged areas of rural Damascus, Madaya, Mouadhimiyeh, and Kafr Batna by land, and continue as long as humanitarian needs persist.

    Mais pourquoi aériens ? C’est-à-dire qu’au sol, certains de l’ « opposition » ne sont pas trop d’accord : http://seenthis.net/messages/459779

    Deuxième problème pour le camp Saoud/Turquie, cet accord de cessation d’hostilités ne vaut évidemment ni pour Da’ich, ni pour al-Nusra, qui restent donc des cibles légitimes pour les bombardiers russes. Le texte de l’accord rappelle d’ailleurs les résolutions du CS de l’ONU ( qui excluaient déjà ces deux groupes et « toutes les entités associées à al-Qaïda » du bénéfice de tout accord de cessez-le-feu) :

    The ISSG members agreed that a nationwide cessation of hostilities must be urgently implemented, and should apply to any party currently engaged in military or paramilitary hostilities against any other parties other than Daesh, Jabhat al-Nusra, or other groups designated as terrorist organisations by the United Nations Security Council. […]The ISSG decided that all members will undertake their best efforts, in good faith, to sustain the cessation of hostilities and delivery of humanitarian assistance, and take measures to stop any activities prohibited by United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2170, 2178, 2199, 2249, 2253, and 2254.

    Du coup c’est toute la coalition de l’opposition dans la province d’Idlib et au nord d’Alep, qui comprend al-Nusra, qui est menacée d’implosion, voire de guerre interne, selon une logique qui a déjà été évoque ici : http://seenthis.net/messages/455545 ( et auparavant ici : http://seenthis.net/messages/433418)
    D’ailleurs on commence à avoir une idée du risque qui pèse sur l’autre composante principale, avec al-Nusra, de cette coalition, le groupe salafiste Ahrar al-Cham. Un des activistes de ce groupe, interrogé par le Guardian, déclare que son groupe rejettera cet accord si al-Nusra n’est pas reconnu et ne peut pas s’assoir à la table des négociations. L’idée qu’une telle revendication, asseoir al-Qaïda à la table d’un accord international soutenu à l’ONU, puisse avoir une quelconque chance d’être acceptée, donne une idée du degré de désespoir au sein d’Ahrar al-Cham :
    http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2016/feb/12/syria-ceasefire-agreed-munich-peace-talks-live?page=with:block-56bda758

    An activist close to the Ahrar al-Sham rebel group said the agreement amounted to giving Russia time and international cover to continue bombing the opposition fighting the Assad regime, writes Kareem Shaheen.
    He warned that Ahrar al-Sham could reject the deal it allows Russia to continue bombing the al-Nusra Front, which operates throughout much of rebel-held territory in the country.
    “I don’t expect Ahrar to accept it, because the agreement is completely illogical,” he said. “It is a waste of time because as long as Nusra is excluded from the agreement it means fighting will not stop in any area.” […]
    “Not only in Aleppo but in most liberated areas there is Nusra, and consequently this agreement cannot be implemented,” the activist said.

    Voila pour la partie ouest (la plus importante) et sud. Mais cet accord, s’il est respecté et suivi d’actes, laisse pendante la question des territoires de l’est tenus par Da’ich. Très probablement le camp Saoud/Qatar va tout essayer pour se maintenir dans l’équation syrienne et donc tenter la solution B qui consiste à prendre le contrôle de tout ou partie de l’est – et cette fois-ci les USA pourraient bien se laisser tenter : http://seenthis.net/messages/457855#message458439 .
    La course vers Raqqa, comme il y a 70 ans celle vers Berlin, pourrait bien avoir d’ores et déjà commencée : http://www.moonofalabama.org/2016/02/the-race-to-raqqa-is-on-to-keep-its-unity-syria-must-win-.html

    • Avec toutefois un bémol : pour atteindre Rakka, pour les Saoudiens il faut passer par l’Irak, la Jordanie ou la Turquie avant d’arriver « sur site » comme ils disent à la radio. Aucun de ces chemins ne me paraît très facile à emprunter. Quant à la voie des airs, il faudra l’accord des Russes...

    • @gonzo : Bien vu ! Je n’y avais simplement pas réfléchi en lisant MoA ! :(

      Hypothèse : puisqu’il faut du temps, il va falloir flinguer cet accord de Munich pour empêcher que l’armée syrienne puisse mobiliser des forces à l’est - quitte à perdre un peu plus de terrain au nord-ouest, et éviter la guerre interne au sein de Jaysh al-Fatah. Campagne de relations publiques contre les frappes russes à prévoir pour masquer les responsables de l’enterrement et accuser Moscou.

      En tout cas, Ryad Hijab laisse clairement entendre que l’opposition de sa majesté Salman pourrait refuser l’accord :
      http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-12/syria-cease-fire-seen-in-a-week-as-talks-lead-to-aid-agreement

      Initial reactions to the deal from within Syria were skeptical. Opposition leader Riad Hijab said on his Twitter account that implementing the cease fire depends on the agreement of the rebels on the southern and northern fronts.

  • 2 Palestinian girls detained after alleged attempts to carry out stab attacks
    Feb. 9, 2016 9:55 A.M. (Updated: Feb. 9, 2016 10:49 A.M.)

    JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Two Palestinian girls were detained by Israeli forces in separate incidents on Tuesday on suspicion of attempts to carry out stab attacks.

    In occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City, Israeli border police approached a Palestinian girl at the entrance to Damascus Gate after noticing her “moving in a suspicious way,” Israeli police spokesperson Luba al-Samri said.

    After asking the teen to open her bag for inspection, she pulled out a knife and attempted to stab the officers who “quickly controlled her without injuries,” al- Samri said, adding that she was taken for questioning.

    The girl was identified as a 16-year-old Palestinian resident of occupied East Jerusalem.

    Shortly after, Israeli media reported a 13-year-old Palestinian girl detained near the illegal Israeli settlement north of the occupied West Bank city of Hebron on suspicion that she intended to carry out an attack.

  • 3 Palestinians shot dead after Jerusalem attack kills Israeli officer
    Feb. 3, 2016 2:55 P.M. (Updated: Feb. 4, 2016 10:50 A.M.)
    http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770107

    JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Three Palestinians were shot dead Wednesday after they killed an Israeli police officer and wounded another in an armed attack near Damascus Gate in occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City, Israeli police said.

    Israeli police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld told Ma’an that “three attackers were shot dead at the scene” by Israeli Border Police after carrying out an attack with knives and an automatic weapon.

    The three Palestinian youths had attracted the attention of Israeli Border Police officers as they approached Damascus Gate, police spokesperson Luba al-Samri said.

    She said they were stopped by the officers, and as one showed their identification card, another pulled out a gun and opened fire. Two female Border Police officers were wounded and evacuated for medical treatment.

    One of them, 19-year-old Hadar Cohen, was shot in her head and later pronounced dead at Hadassah Hospital.

    A spokesperson for the hospital said that the other police officer, 18 years old, was in moderate condition, having received stab wounds across her body.

    Explosive devices were later found near the site, which was cordoned off following the attack, Rosenfeld said, adding that Israeli forces carried out a controlled explosion of the devices.

    Rosenfeld said following initial investigations that the three Palestinians were armed with three automatic weapons.

    Photo of weapon used at the scene. Photo provided by Israeli police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld

    Witnesses told Ma’an that Israeli forces fired stun grenades and pepper spray near the Salah al-Deen Street and Al-Sultan Suliman streets near Damascus Gate to prevent Palestinians from approaching the area.

    Witnesses added the forces also stopped a group of people and inspected them in a “humiliating” way.

    The three Palestinians killed were identified as Ahmad Rajeh Ismail Zakarneh, Muhammad Ahmad Hilmi Kamil, and Najeh Ibrahim Abu al-Rub from the village of Qabatiya near the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

    #Palestine_assassinée

    • Chaos erupts in hometown of 3 Palestinian attackers as Israeli forces raid village
      Feb. 4, 2016 10:37 A.M. (Updated: Feb. 4, 2016 12:18 P.M.)
      http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770116

      JENIN (Ma’an) — Israeli forces stormed the northern occupied West Bank district of Jenin’s Qabatiya village, the home of three Palestinian youth who were shot dead Wednesday after killing one 19-year-old Israeli police officer and seriously injuring another, a PLO spokesman told Ma’an.

      Ali Zakarneh said during the raid, Israeli forces shot and injured four youth with live bullets, one of whom is in critical condition after being shot in the head.

      The spokesperson added that Israeli forces also ran over a 15-year-old boy, identified as Mujahed Zakarneh, with a military jeep. The 15-year-old is also in critical condition.

      The five youth were all evacuated to a nearby hospital for treatment, Zakarneh said.

      Israeli forces also raided the family homes of the three youth who committed the attack and notified the families that their homes would be demolished, requesting they evacuate their belongings in preparation for the demolitions.

    • Palestinian youths slain in deadly attack on Israeli police
      Maureen Clare Murphy | 4 February 2016
      https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/palestinian-youths-slain-deadly-attack-israeli-police

      Nine youths from Qabatiya village have been killed since the beginning of October.

      One of them was a good friend of the three killed on Wednesday, a relative of one of the youths told The New York Times.

      Ahmad Awad Abu al-Rab, 17, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers at Jalameh checkpoint near Jenin during what Israel says was an attempted stabbing attack on 2 November last year. Another boy the same age, Mahmoud Kamil, was wounded and arrested during the incident.

      The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights called the shooting of the boys a crime of excessive force.

      The teens apparently never made contact with the soldiers before they were shot with live fire.

      The Quds news outlet published a photo of Muhammad Kamil participating in a demonstration calling on Israel to return the body Ahmad Awad Abu al-Rab:

  • Le « Y » syrien : Damas-Alep, Homs-Lattaquié par Juan Cole.
    Un résumé à ma sauce : pour assurer sa viabilité, l’Etat syrien ne doit pas perdre le contrôle de la dorsale : Damas-Homs-Hama-Alep et de la côte. Sans quoi, les jeux sont faits. L’intervention russe a permis, en partie, à l’armée syrienne de reprendre le contrôle de ce Y.
    Top 5 Ways Putin has won big in Syria and why Europe is embracing him
    http://www.juancole.com/2016/01/top-5-ways-putin-has-won-big-in-syria-and-is-being-embraced-by-europe.html

    So what has the Russian air force accomplished?
    1. It allowed the reopening of the road from Hama to West Aleppo, ending the siege of that regime-held part of the city and pushing back the rebels from it.
    2. It retook most of Latakia Province, safeguarding the port. Yesterday came the news that the major northern al-Qaeda-held town of Rabia had fallen to the government forces, meaning that Latakia is nearly 100% in government control. These advances into northern Latakia involved hitting Turkmen proxies of Turkey, which is why Turkey shot down a Russian plane last fall. Likely the next step will be to take back cities in Idlib like Jisr al-Shughour, which fell last spring to an al-Qaeda-led coalition, and which could be used as a launching pad for the taking of Latakia port.
    3. It strengthened regime control of Hama and Homs, ensuring the supply routes south to Damascus.
    4. It hit the Army of Islam as well as al-Qaeda and Daesh around Damascus, forcing the latter two to withdraw from part of the capital and killing Zahran Alloush, leader of the Army of Islam.
    5. It hit al-Qaeda and FSA forces in Deraa Province and yesterday the key town of al-Sheikh Miskin fell to the Syrian Arab Army. This is a Deraa crossroads and its loss affects the rebels ability to maneuver in this province.

  • Turkey grants Syrians the right to work, but is it too little, too late? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East
    http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/01/turkey-syrian-refugees-granted-right-to-work.html#

    Yet a large number of the more highly qualified Syrians are already among the hundreds of thousands of refugees who have made it to Europe. They are gone. By granting Syrians work permits, Turkey is trying to stop the remaining, more highly qualified Syrians from going to Europe, as Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan recently said. In an interview with Haberturk television on Jan. 16, Akdogan said, “European countries ... admit Syrians who belong to certain categories [of] qualified labor. Turkey, too, has shortages in certain fields. There are also some other fields where a bit less qualified people can work. The Labor Agency makes announcements for open positions in certain fields but no one would apply. ... [Syrians] can be employed in various fields. If we hadn’t issued the work permits, the qualified labor force would have gone to other countries and we would have been left with a much different picture.”
    (...)
    In an intriguing column on Dec. 15, Saim Tut from the Dirilis Postasi daily offered firsthand accounts of how qualified Syrians were wasted. “What have we done to help educated and qualified Syrians who are trying to open a permanent room of life for themselves in this country, which they see as the closest to them? Nothing,” the columnist wrote. “Most recently, I helped a young pharmacist, a graduate of [Damascus’] Kalamoon University, to get a job as a footman at the restaurant of a benevolent friend of mine. … Yesterday, I went with a heavy heart to [Ankara’s] Esenboga Airport to see off my friend Firas, a nuclear engineer from Hama, to Germany. A few months ago I wrote an article titled ‘Wash the dirty dishes well, Syrian engineer!’ And yes, this had happened right before my eyes. Just how benevolent, how glorious we are!

    #migrants #turquie

  • الميادين | الأخبار - الطائرات السورية تستهدف رتل مساعدات تركية للمجموعات المسلحة
    http://www.almayadeen.net/news/syria-ucM1j31jUkuAy6WQAI9XuA/الطائرات-السورية-تستهدف-رتل-مساعدات-تركية-للمجموعات-المسلحة

    Al-Mayadeen : des avions syriens bombardent un convoi d’aide turque aux groupes armés au nord d’Alep.

    Il y a quelques jours, les chasseurs syriens escortaient les bombardiers russes. Aujourd’hui, l’aviation syrienne est à la frontière turque... Pas de réaction d’Erdogan ? Etrange...

    #syrie

  • Russia, Syria agreed ’open-ended’ military presence for Moscow - The Express Tribune
    http://tribune.com.pk/story/1027961/russia-syria-agreed-open-ended-military-presence-for-moscow

    Russia and Syria in August signed an agreement giving Moscow the go-ahead for an open-ended military presence in the war-torn country, Moscow has revealed.

    The agreement was signed in Damascus on August 26, 2015, more than a month before Russia launched a bombing campaign against the Islamic State group and other “terrorists” at the request of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.

    The Russian government on Thursday released the text of the agreement, which said that it had been “concluded for an open-ended period of time.”

  • Misinformation Causes Confusion About Madaya And Other Besieged Syrian Civilians
    https://shadowproof.com/2016/01/11/misinformation-causes-confusion-about-medaya-and-other-besieged-syrian-

    There are numerous areas under siege but the one that has gotten the most attention has been Madaya, northwest of Damascus. There has been a media blitz on Madaya though it’s not clear why it was singled out as there are other areas that have been besieged for a longer time and might be worse (though they might not — for instance they may have a more porous blockade, it’s not clear).

    But one thing that is not helping the situation with Madaya is that in this media blitz, news organizations are using photos and videos they received from what they call “activists” and some of those photos and videos of horrific starvation are not from Madaya nor are they recent. So this has caused push back from pro-government activists. That push back is being falsely characterized as denial of the starvations, in some cases. These political battles between activists and warring parties and muddy a situation where people are suffering and dying. Five more starvation deaths in Madaya were reported on Sunday alone.

  • Hundreds of Syrians Are Turned Back at Beirut Airport

    BEIRUT, Lebanon — Four hundred Syrians who were trying to fly to Turkey were stopped at the Beirut airport on Friday and were being forced to return to Damascus instead, in a chaotic episode that illustrated how options are narrowing for those trying to flee the war in Syria.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/09/world/middleeast/hundreds-of-syrians-are-turned-back-at-beirut-airport.html?smid=tw-share&_r
    #fermeture_des_frontières #Liban #asile #migrations #réfugiés #réfugiés_syriens #expulsion #push-back #refoulement

  • Why defeating al-Qaeda and its allies is a top priority for Assad rather than ISIS? ISIS is a “marionette”. | Elijah J. Magnier
    https://elijahjm.wordpress.com/2016/01/09/why-defeating-al-qaeda-and-its-allies-is-a-top-priority-for-assa

    The question is often speculated about the reasons why Russia, Syria, Iran and the “Hezbollah” Lebanon attack mainly but not exclusively al-Qaeda fi bilad al-Shan (Jabhat al-Nusra) and its allies among the Syrian opposition rather than attacking the so-called “Islamic state” group, also known as “ISIS”, “ISIL”, “IS” or “Daesh”. For years, many Middle Eastern analysts consciously believed that a sort of “alliance exist between Assad and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi”. This sort of ignorance in Middle Eastern dynamic emanates from a long lasting “conspiracy theory” that managed to affect prestigious media worldwide.

    None the less, the Syrian Army command, and now its allies, have avoided clashing with ISIS in many occasions and on several fronts. In few words, ISIS is said to be “much easier and less urgent to defeat than al-Qaeda in Syria”. Also, as key players in the Middle East and the United States of America have benefitted from ISIS presence and expansion in Syria and Iraq for various reasons, so Assad and its allies did.

    The answer to such a strategy comes from one of the highest decision maker of the joint operations room in Damascus that includes Russia, Syria, Iran and Hezbollah Lebanon (3+1).

  • 6 janvier 2012 : une attaque suicide en plein Damas fait un carnage, nos médias se mettent à utiliser le terme « terroriste » entre guillemets.

    Syria : Up to 25 killed in Damascus blast
    http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-01-06/syria-suicide-bomb/52410276/1

    The government blamed “terrorists,” saying a suicide bomber had blown himself up in the crowded Midan district.

    Damascus bomb kills 25 as regime suffers high level defection
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/8997209/Damascus-bomb-kills-25-as-regime-suffers-high-level-defection.html

    There was no independent confirmation of the number of fatalities. The regime was quick to blame the attack on “terrorists”, which it says have been at the forefront of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad that erupted last March.

    Une autre habitude se met en place à ce moment : l’opposition accuse le régime syrien d’être derrière ces attentats pour (si si) donner une mauvaise image de l’opposition. En France, les fanboys de la rébellitude s’aligneront sur cette accusation, allant jusqu’à prétendre que ce nouveau « Front al-Nousra » est certainement un faux-nez du régime syrien perpétrant des attentats false flag.

    Syria pledges ’iron fist’ response to Damascus bombing
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-16452984

    Maj Maher al-Naimi, a spokesman for the armed anti-government movement the Free Syrian Army (FSA), said the blast was “planned and systematic state terrorism by the security forces of President Bashar al-Assad”.

    Qui sont les djihadistes en Syrie ?
    http://geopolis.francetvinfo.fr/qui-sont-les-djihadistes-en-syrie-12129

    D’autres chercheurs font la même analyse. « Les milieux de l’opposition, rejoints par plusieurs analystes occidentaux, ont estimé que ce mode opératoire relevait d’une mise en scène du pouvoir. Les auteurs des premiers attentats ont, en effet, évité de causer de vrais dégâts à la cible sécuritaire supposée. Ils auraient utilisé, pour crédibiliser la tuerie, des corps de manifestants tombés plusieurs jours plus tôt en prenant soin de rendre impossible toute identification des victimes », estiment François Burgat et Romain Caillet sur le site de l’Ifpo.

    et bien sûr ce grand moment d’excellence sur le site de l’IFPO : Le groupe Jabhat an-Nusra ou la fabrique syrienne du « jihadisme » – François Burgat et Romain Caillet
    http://ifpo.hypotheses.org/3540

  • Ken Roth dans ses œuvres… Après avoir expliqué qu’Assad avait tué Zahran Alloush dans le but de réduire l’opposition à lui-même ou ISIS :
    http://seenthis.net/messages/443513#message443575

    Killing Zahran Alloush is part of Assad strategy of trying to reduce choice to him or ISIS.

    voilà qu’il répète la théorie selon laquelle Assad avait fait libérer Alloush pour « tenter de nuire à l’image de la révolution » :
    https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/682115210845487104

    Assad released jihadist Zahran Alloush from jail June 2011—part of effort to taint uprising http://bit.ly/1mh542I

    Vraiment, ces gens n’essaient même plus d’être cohérents.

    Un autre aspect du message de Roth, c’est qu’il fait reposer sa théorie –
    « part of effort to taint uprising » – sur un lien vers un article d’Aron Lund publié chez Joshua Landis :
    http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/death-of-zahran-alloush-by-aron-lund

    Or l’article de Lund n’énonce pas cette théorie, mais un paragraphe qui ne se risque pas du tout à un tel jugement de valeur :

    Alloush was arrested several times before the uprising for his religious and political activism and sent to the ”Islamist wing” of the Seidnaia prison north of Damascus. There, he formed close connections to many other Syrian Islamists, including people who now run large rebel factions like Ahrar al-Sham. He was released from jail in June 2011 and quickly joined the armed uprising, eventually emerging as the strongman of his home region in the Eastern Ghouta and one of the most powerful rebel leaders in all of Syria.

    La manipulation de Roth est d’autant plus remarquable que, par ailleurs, Aron Lund et Joshua Landis ne sont pas adeptes de cette #théorie_du_complot, et qu’ils l’ont déjà expliqué en août 2014 (contredisant les affirmations péremptoires du fan boy de la rébellitude Thomas Pierret) :
    http://seenthis.net/messages/283373

    Aron Lund : On ne devrait probablement pas présumer de trop de plannification stratégique ni de contrôle, cependant. Certains islamistes ont peut-être été libérés dans le cadre d’une mesure d’administie plus large, d’autres spécifiquement pour semer la merde et radicaliser les rebelles, et il y a certainement aussi des éléments infiltrés. Mais il ne m’apparaît pas évident qu’il s’agit de quelque chose de plus planifié que cela.

    […]

    Joshua Landis. Prévisible, mais tous étaient des prisonniers politiques. Les militants des droits de l’Homme demandaient leur libération. Même moi j’étais en faveur de cette libération.

  • Israel hits Damascus, Russia looks away – Indian Punchline
    By M K Bhadrakuma – December 23, 2015
    http://blogs.rediff.com/mkbhadrakumar/2015/12/23/israel-hits-damascus-russia-looks-away

    The assassination of the Lebanese resistance’s war hero and Hezbollah leader Samir Kuntar in the city of Damascus on Sunday in what is believed to be an Israeli air raid took place right under the Russian nose. Yet Moscow didn’t sneeze. Ever read the famous line in Sherlock Holmes’ Silver Blaze hinging on the ‘curious incident of the dog in the night-time’ (which failed to bark)? The Russian ambivalence comes out in the Kremlin spokesman’s non-committal reaction.

    Israel no doubt pushed the envelope and seems to have got away with it. On Tuesday, in good measure, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu phoned President Vladimir Putin and reached an agreement “in particular to further coordinate anti-terrorist actions” in Syria, apart from discussing the development of cooperation between the two countries in various spheres”.

    To be sure, Moscow is not unaware of the bio profile of the slain Lebanese resistance leader. The RT, in fact, featured a column depicting fairly accurately the cold-blooded logic behind the Israeli decision to eliminate Kuntar (involving an operation on Damascus which is protected by Russia’s famous S-400 missiles and, doubtless would have been approved by ‘Bibi’ himself.) The columnist held out a vague warning to Israel, “Should a similar incident occur again no doubt Russian officials will intervene to stop further Israeli planes flying above an already overcrowded sky”.(RT).

    But, will the dog really bark the next time Israel comes to steal another Hezbollah race horse? The jury is out. The point is, Russia is finding itself between the rock and a hard place.

    Clearly, it is averse to confronting Israel, which may not be a NATO power but enjoys seamless American protection. Yet, Hezbollah is Russia’s crucial partner in Syria. Analysts generally agree that without the Hezbollah’s help, the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad might have packed up. Moscow ought to be quietly pleased with the stellar role Hezbollah militia is performing on the ground in Syria currently in military operations such as the one around Aleppo.

    But then, Russia is also not willing to stick out its neck to protect Hezbollah, although the Israeli ploy to provoke it and distract it from its Syrian campaign against the Islamic State and other extremist groups cannot be in Moscow’s interests either. Truly, the Syrian conflict is riddled with contradictions and what we are witnessing here is one of the major contradictions in the Russian strategy.

    Russia would know that Israel has supported al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria fighting the Syrian regime. But, unlike with Turkey, Moscow prefers to deal with Israel wearing velvet gloves. For one thing, there are umbilical cords that tie the Russian and Israeli political elites, and, besides, on a deeper plane, Russia and Israel are on the same page vis-a-vis ‘Islamic terrorism’. (...)

    #Samir_Kuntar
    #Hezbollah #Russie #Israël #Syrie