person:elijah magnier

Le leader du Hezbollah : “Israël va sans doute nous attaquer cet été et vous pourriez me perdre”. – Elijah J. Magnier
▻https://ejmagnier.com/2019/04/20/le-leader-du-hezbollah-israel-va-sans-doute-nous-attaquer-cet-ete-et-vous

Le dirigeant du Hezbollah Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah croit en la possibilité d’une guerre surprise avec Israël, cet été, au Liban.

S’adressant à ses plus hauts commandants, Sayyed Nasrallah leur a demandé de ne pas cacher la réalité de la situation ni la possibilité d’une guerre à leurs hommes, leurs familles et aux gens des villages et des villes dans lesquels le Hezbollah opère.

“Il se pourrait bien que je ne sois plus parmi vous très longtemps ; il est possible que tout le premier niveau du leadership soit tué. Israël peut réussir à assassiner de nombreux dirigeants et commandants. Leur mort n’entraînera pas celle du Hezbollah, parce que notre parti ne s’appuie pas uniquement sur des individus mais sur l’ensemble de la société, qui est un élément essentiel de son existence”, a déclaré Sayyed Nasrallah pendant le meeting. Il a ajouté que “des mesures et des procédures ont déjà été décidées pour répondre à la situation la plus grave (l’assassinat d’un membre du haut-commandement y compris celui de Sayyed Nasrallah lui-même).”

Propos inquiétants d’un dirigeant qui parle rarement pour ne rien dire...

#hezbollah #nasrallah

On a mission from God : Pompeo messages evangelicals from the Middle East - Asia Times
▻http://www.atimes.com/article/on-a-mission-from-god-pompeo-messages-evangelicals-from-the-middle-east

http://static.atimes.com/uploads/2019/01/000_1C69M0-1600x960.jpg

Commentaire ironique d’Elijah Magnier sur Twitter (▻https://twitter.com/ejmalrai/status/1085258903045238784) : Al-Baghdadi a également une « mission divine » et Dieu doit vraiment s’intéresser au Moyen-Orient pour y envoyer autant d’envoyés !

“This trip is especially meaningful for me as an evangelical Christian, coming so soon after the Coptic Church’s Christmas celebrations. This is an important time. We’re all children of Abraham: Christians, Muslims, Jews. In my office, I keep a Bible open on my desk to remind me of God and His Word, and The Truth.”

He added that he was in Cairo to herald another truth, that America was a “force for good” in the Middle East.

Pompeo then proceeded to rip into former president Barack Obama, who some fringe evangelists have accused of being a secret Muslim and even the Antichrist. The secretary of state used his speech to air domestic grievances, blaming Obama for the rise of Islamic State (ISIS) and the empowerment of Iran.

“Remember: It was here, here in this city, that another American stood before you. He told you that radical Islamist terrorism does not stem from an ideology. He told you that 9/11 led my country to abandon its ideals, particularly in the Middle East.

“The results of these misjudgments have been dire,” Pompeo told an assembled group of blank-faced students, eliciting little palpable reaction.

“We grossly underestimated the tenacity and viciousness of radical Islamism, a debauched strain of the faith that seeks to upend every other form of worship or governance. ISIS drove to the outskirts of Baghdad as America hesitated. They raped and pillaged and murdered tens of thousands of innocents. They birthed a caliphate across Syria and Iraq and launched terror attacks that killed all across continents,” he said.

Finalement je vire le post sur Palmyre sur le thème des fake news, puisque la ville semble être finalement tombée. Elijah Magnier maintient que les médias occidentaux ont annoncé la chute de Palmyre avec une journée d’avance, mais de fait, le thème n’est plus vraiment les fake news.

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.

Selon Sputnik, citant as-Safir, le Hezbollah se préparerait activement à un nouveau conflit avec Israël
▻http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160529/1040428723/hezbollah-israel-conflict-escalation.html

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to Lebanese daily As-Safir, Hezbollah was placing its rocket arsenal along the northern border with Israel and tracking the movements of the Israeli army.
Adnan Badreddine, brother of top Hezbollah commander Mustafa Badreddine, grieves at his brother’s picture in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon
The newspaper reported that the group was building several “sophisticated” tunnels on the border with Israel following the example of the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas, which had reportedly built several tunnels between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

Le dernier article d’Elijah Magnier dans al-Raï note également les préparatifs du Hezbollah dont la direction semble penser, dans le contexte de la nomination de Liebermann à la Défense, qu’une agression israélienne dans un avenir proche est très probable : multiplication des exercices côté israélien, perception israélienne d’un Hezbollah affaibli par son implication en Syrie (malgré l’expérience acquise), tensions exploitables au Liban, soutien tacite des pays du Golfe à une attaque israélienne ... :
L’original en arabe ici : ▻http://www.alraimedia.com/ar/article/special-reports/2016/05/27/682645/nr/lebanon
Traduction en anglais là : ▻https://elijahjm.wordpress.com/2016/05/31/the-drums-of-war-are-beating-hezbollah-versus-israel

Every time a political solution seems imminent in Syria, and the warring factions adhere to the ceasefire imposed by Russia and the US, the drums of war are heard along Lebanon’s southern border.

Along these borders, preparations for the war are on-going. Hezbollah believes that it is directed against them “given that the region has been set against Hezbollah, having been branded as a terrorist organization by the GCC countries and the majority of western countries”.

Sources on the ground say “ Hezbollah is preparing for the next war with Israel that the latter may impose along the Israeli-Lebanese borders. The present Israeli government is packed with warmongers and its Secretary of Defence Lieberman will rely on the Israeli army to raise the levels of tension and not just along the borders. But he may well provoke a response from Hezbollah that will send the situation over the edge”.

Sources add, “Israel is carefully assessing Hezbollah’s increasing development and experience gained from its participation in the Syrian war. Israeli leaders maybe asking themselves: up to what point shall they allow Hezbollah to expand? Israeli society is one where, confronting the dangers along its borders, war is a primary focus. Right now, this puts Hezbollah in the spotlight”.

According to sources on the ground “Israel believes that Hezbollah is exhausted from the long war in Syria, where a number of its high profile leaders were killed, and where their forces were drained. Moreover, Israel believes its own forces can take adequate and efficient measures (when the war starts) to intercept Hezbollah’s missiles through its Iron Dome and other intercept advanced systems. Israeli soldiers run constant war drills simulating different war scenarios. The objects of these drills are multiple: boosting morale, enhancing military and technological capabilities and prepare the population for a forthcoming war. In addition, regional countries like Saudi Arabia encourage and support strikes against Hezbollah (considered a terrorist organisation by many Gulf countries). Hezbollah’s effective participation in the war in Syria and Iraq is propagandised as a sectarian campaign and its militants are accused of “committing genocide against the Sunnis”. Moreover, Hezbollah is also portrayed as a hegemonic force in Lebanon, confiscating the political and military decisions of the country. This is why Israel is enthusiastic about a war, especially as Prime Minister Netanyahu – accused of cowardice – has not yet waged a war against Hezbollah”.

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

La trêve étendue à Alep, dont la ville même, à la suite d’un accord entre Russes et Américains, pour une durée de 48h
▻http://www.rfi.fr/moyen-orient/20160504-syrie-accord-moscou-washington-une-cessation-hostilites-alep?ns_campaig

Le département d’Etat américain a confirmé mercredi soir un accord entre Washington et Moscou portant sur l’extension à la ville d’Alep de la cessation des hostilités. Damas s’engage à respecter une trêve de 48 heures à Alep à partir de jeudi matin.
C’est par un bref communiqué que le département d’Etat américain a confirmé l’accord. Cette trêve « est entrée en vigueur aujourd’hui à 00H01 », heure locale, « dans la province d’Alep, y compris dans la ville d’Alep », précise le communiqué. « Nous avons constaté une réduction générale de la violence dans ces zones, même s’il y a des informations faisant état de la poursuite de combats à certains endroits », ajoute le département d’Etat américain, dans ce communiqué.

A court terme c’est certainement une bonne nouvelle pour les civils d’Alep, ceux de la zone gouvernementale (la majorité de la population restant à Alep), comme ceux de la zone rebelle.
Première remarque. S’il est aisé de comprendre comment Moscou peut faire pression sur Damas pour faire respecter cette trêve temporaire - que l’on cherchera à reconduire, on comprend moins comment les Américains peuvent garantir une telle trêve puisque leur position officielle a toujours été de dire qu’ils n’avaient pas de moyens de pression pour faire respecter la trêve à al-Nousra. Soit c’est faux et ils disposent bien de moyens au moins indirects (par leurs alliés) pour cela, soit c’est un accord de dupes.
Seconde remarque la cessation des hostilités n’ayant jamais concerné Alep, le fait de passer d’un accord tacite, qui durant la trêve avait amené aussi le calme à Alep, à un accord officiel (même temporaire) est une vraie victoire pour al-Nousra puisqu’il s’agit d’une première entorse au principe selon lequel il ne peut bénéficier de la CdH.
Ce fait accompli affaiblit la ligne diplomatique des Russes qui consistait, en s’appuyant sur les textes du CS de l’ONU, à refuser une telle couverture politique à la branche syrienne d’al-Qaïda en espérant contraindre les pays qui soutiennent la rébellion à pousser celle-ci à se distancer d’al-Nousra (avec l’arrière-pensée que la rébellion serait ainsi affaiblie, étant donné la puissance d’al-Nousra et sa présence étendue).
Comme le note Elijah Magnier dans un de ses tweets, c’est une première défaite diplomatique pour la Russie :
▻https://twitter.com/EjmAlrai/status/727927978768912384

It is obvious that #Russia has lost a round to the #USA who’s Secretary of State showed more intelligence in negotiation over #Syria.

La réactivation récente de Jaysh al-Fatah (alliance al-Nousra/rébellion dite modérée) illustre parfaitement que les Russes sont encore loin d’avoir réussi à imposer cela : ▻http://seenthis.net/messages/485792

A la fin de l’article de RFI, citation de Balanche qui déclare que les Russes ont menacé de fournir des missiles sol-air au PKK (le PYD ferait passer la commande ?) si les soutiens de la rébellion (ici est visée la Turquie) en fournissaient à celle-ci (ce qui a probablement déjà eu lieu) :

On a peur que ça s’envenime. C’est-à-dire que les rebelles pourraient disposer à l’avenir de matériels plus sophistiqués, comme des missiles sol-air qui seraient distribués par les Turcs et les Saoudiens. Et Moscou a déclaré en off que si ce matériel arrivait entre les mains de la rébellion, les Russes pourraient distribuer aussi ce matériel à des groupes comme le PKK… Là on aurait clairement une escalade du conflit. Russes et Américains cherchent à éviter cela.

#option_Stinger

إبلاغ عواصم عربية بمضمون « خطة ثلاثية » لروسيا وأمريكا لحسم العملية السياسية في سوريا | القدس العربي Alquds Newspaper
▻http://www.alquds.co.uk/?p=507911

Rumeurs autour d’une recette russo-étasunienne pour résoudre la crise syrienne. Pour ce que ce dit : 1) des élections fiables ; 2) une nouvelle Constitution ; 3) une présidentielle ensuite où il vaudrait mieux que Bashar ne se présente pas pour les USA, mais les Russes ne sont pas d’accord [Quant aux Syriens qui sont dans le pays, curieusement on peut imaginer qu’ils plébiciteraient leur actuel président, surtout après une telle guerre "victorieuse".]

لتوجه المحدد، نظرياً وعلى الورق حتى الآن يتحدث عن المبادرة وفي أسرع وقت ممكن لتنظيم انتخابات عامة في سوريا تفرز برلماناً منصف التمثيل، تشارك فيه جميع الأطراف، على أن تنظم هذه الانتخابات بدلاً من تلك التي يتحدث عنها النظام السوري بعد تعهد موسكو بمنعه من الاستفراد بإجراء الانتخابات والحرص على وجود مؤسسة برلمانية تمثيلية مقنعة للمعارضة المسلحة وتمثل الفئات الإجتماعية جميعها.
حسب الورقة المقترحة روسياً وأمريكياً الانتخابات ينبغي أن تحظى بالرعاية «الأممية» وتجري تحت رقابة وإشراف المؤسسات الدولية وهي خطوة توضع مسودة خاصة لخطواتها ومراحلها التفصيلية.
الخطوة الثانية ستكون «وضع دستور جديد» يعكس توازنات القوى الجديدة في المؤسسات التمثيلية التي تنتج عن انتخابات ذات مصداقية قد لا تعجب المعارضة ولا النظام ولكنهما لا يملكان الطعن بحيثياتها أو التشكيك بنتائجها.
وضع دستور جديد ينظم آلية الحكم سيكون الخطوة التي ستسبق الخطوة الثالثة والأخيرة والمتمثلة كما تم إبلاغ العاصمة الأردنية عمان وهي وضع آلية لانتخابات رئاسية يتصور الفرقاء أن الرئيس بشار الأسد شخصياً يمكنه المشاركة فيها وإن كانت الولايات المتحدة لا زالت تفضل تدخل موسكو للحيلولة دون مشاركته في هذه الانتخابات التي ستقود لرئيس دولة يعمل بصلاحيات منقوصة وبحكومة تمثل أغلبية برلمانية كاملة الصلاحيات.

De fait, Damas annonce que les élections quelque peu bousculées qui étaient prévues, seront un peu repoussées...

#syrie

Comment l’Iran perçoit le retrait partiel des forces russes de Syrie ?
Selon cet article d’al-Monitor, assez sereinement, même si l’on se demande quel genre d’accord a pu être passé par les Russes avec les USA.
▻http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/03/iran-reaction-russia-withdrawal-syria.html

Mehdi Mohammadi, who was an adviser to the hard-line former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, believes that due to the high probability of the cease-fires being extended, Russia decided to pull some troops from Syria because of the costs of provisioning operational forces. He added that there are enough troops to carry out attacks against terrorist groups when needed.

Mohammadi wrote in Tansim March 15 that Russia had informed both Damascus and Tehran of the details of the withdrawal. The main question, according to Mohammadi, is, “What concession has America and the opposition agreed to in exchange [for the Russian withdrawal]?” Mohammadi, without specifying to whom he might be referring, added, “Whatever it is, there is a great strategist standing behind these events.”

Moscow informed Washington, Damascus and Tehran of its intention to reduce forces in Syria
▻https://elijahjm.wordpress.com/2016/03/16/moscow-informed-washington-damascus-and-tehran-of-its-intention-

Russian aircraft continue leaving Hammymeem military base daily for two destinations: One back home and another to continue bombing ISIS positions. Six months ago, Russia has managed, in few days, to establish a vast military operation in Syria and turn the course of the war. If the Cease-fire falls apart, the over hundred jets will return also in a matter of days for the “plan B”.

#Syrie #Russie

Is there a war between Israel and Hezbollah any soon ?
▻https://elijahjm.wordpress.com/2016/03/09/is-there-a-war-between-israel-and-hezbollah-any-soon
Elijah Magnier, toujours intéressant. Bon, en bref, la réponse selon lui et sa source, plutôt non, malgré de vives tentations côté Tel Aviv :

The source goes on, “ In 2006 Damascus opened its arms stores to Hezbollah. In 2016, 2017 or any other future year, the Syrian regime will not stand idly by because it no longer have anything to lose. It is impossible to avoid the war if an ally, who has lost thousands to death and injury, is being attacked. The radius of the war would expand beyond a simple war against Hezbollah only. But above all, this goes against Russia’s interests, which seeks to end the war and defeat Al-Qaeda and ISIS. Therefore, striking Hezbollah is not the same as striking Hamas. This war has many ramifications that no one wants to face at this moment. Israel must live with Hezbollah just as the two Korea’s live with each other”

Le compte twitter de Saleh Muslim, chef du PYD qui domine le YPG kurde, relaie un article qui explique comment les USA sont en train de perdre les Kurdes syriens au profit de la Russie :
▻https://twitter.com/serokepyd/status/705137080129736704
L’article en question, d’ailleurs factuellement solide :
▻http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-03-01/how-the-us-lost-the-kurds

(via twitter Elijah Magnier)

Raqqa/Deïr az-Zor : avec les préparatifs pour la bataille de Mossoul la course à la prise du contrôle du territoire syrien sous contrôle de Da’ich entre des alliances concurrentes se met en place doucement, mais sûrement.

Selon Elijah Magnier, le régime et ses alliés ne lanceront pas la bataille sur Raqqa tant que la bataille de Mossoul ne sera pas lancée par les Américains et leurs alliés. D’abord parce que ce serait s’exposer à des déplacements de troupes de Da’ich d’Irak vers la Syrie, et ensuite parce que le principal danger reste al-Nousra qui dispose de soutiens extérieurs. En attendant cette bataille de Mossoul, ils se concentrent donc sur al-Nousra dans la province d’Idlib et essaient de se positionner pour reprendre 3 villes à Da’ich : Qaryatayn, Palmyre et Tabaqa
▻https://elijahjm.wordpress.com/2016/03/01/the-raqqa-offensive-needs-mosul-first-and-the-iraqi-popular-mobi
The Raqqa offensive needs Mosul first and The Iraqi Popular Mobilisation Force to Syria

The Syrian “axis of resistance”, formed of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Lebanese “Hezbollah” Special Forces, Iraqi of the PMF, Pakistani and Afghan militias, all operating in Syria and backed by Russia, are preparing new military plans to advance on two main axes in the north of Syria: The first, in the northwest in Jisr al-Shughur, Idlib and rural areas of Aleppo to counter al-Qaeda in the Levant – Jahbat al Nusra and its allies. The second, is the attack against ISIS on three fronts: Qariyateyen, Palmyra, and Tabqa, without going too close to Raqqa. Both al-Qaeda and its Jihadist allies on one hand, and ISIS on the other, are not included in any cease-fire or deal related to a possible peace process or Cease-fire in Syria. While Russia and its allies prepare for their war in Syria, the U.S.A is gathering Iraqi forces and many American advisors around Mosul for the Iraqi J-Day.

La reprise de Qaryatayn et Palmyre (Tadmor), qui sont encore loin d’être faites, permettrait d’attaquer ensuite non seulement Raqqa par le sud mais aussi de briser le siège de Deïr az-Zor. Quant à Tabaqa, sa prise permettrait de couper Raqqa de toute la rive ouest du lac Assad et d’un accès à la Turquie au nord.

En tout cas, côté Irak, les préparatifs pour la bataille de Mossoul semblent se mettre en place. D’autant que le YPG a récemment progressé en prenant la ville de Shedadeh sur l’axe Hasakeh-Deïr az-Zor. Et les déclarations d’officiels américains sont assez ambigües pour laisser penser que la course vers Raqqa, au moins par l’Irak pour la coalition américaine, est lancée :
▻http://www.defenseone.com/threats/2016/02/battle-mosul-has-begun/126304
The Battle for Mosul Has Begun

“We are focused on eliminating the enemy in Raqqa every single day. We’re doing airstrikes there constantly,” McGurk said. “We know more now than we ever did before, and we’re beginning to constrict [the coalition’s] hold on Raqqa.”
Carter called Shadadi “a critical node for ISIL training and logistics, as well as for its oil enterprise. As our partners take control of Shadadi, I believe we will learn a great deal more about ISIL’s criminal networks, its criminal enterprise, and what it does to sustain them.”
McGurk said the Mosul push will be guided from a new joint operations center in Makhmur, southwest of the Kurdish capital of Irbil. The coalition also has forces in Sinjar, Hit, and al-Assad Air Base to the south, a key special operations launching point which has remained under U.S. and Iraqi control.
“Because of our strategy and our determination to accelerate our campaign, momentum is now on our side and not on ISIL’s,” Carter said.

Al-Monitor s’intéresse lui aussi au sujet :
▻http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/02/syria-regime-advance-raqqa.html#ixzz41f6V3BGR
Is Syrian regime about to retake Raqqa ?

Regarding the next steps, the same leader in Athriya said, “Our operations will continue along the Athriya-Raqqa axis, and our forces will secure the road from Athriya to Khanasir. The Russian air force will protect the two forces [on the Athriya-Khanasir and Athriya-Raqqa axes] against any attacks that might risk us losing the regions we retook.” The Syrian regime managed to regain control over the town of Khanasir on Feb. 25.
Abdel Rahman Daoud, a political analyst close to the Syrian regime, told Al-Monitor, “The Syrian army will stand its ground in the Raqqa battle because regaining the province is an important step to eliminate the danger of division, and because the Russian leadership wants to block the way to any US attempt to control IS’ main stronghold amid the public field race between Russia and the United States.”
The Raqqa battle is still relatively far away if we look at it from the perspective of distances that the Syrian army would have to cross. But from an ambitious perspective, it has become imminent. IS has blocked the road the Syrian regime would need to cross to reach the north of the country. This might make the regime’s ambitions harder to fulfill.

Tu sais, cette théorie selon laquelle la mort d’Allouche compromet les négociations ? Alors ce matin : Syrie : évacuation de 450 combattants et civils de trois localités
▻http://www.bfmtv.com/international/syrie-evacuation-de-450-combattants-et-civils-de-trois-localites-939704.html

Plus de 450 combattants et civils, dont des blessés, ont commencé à être évacués lundi de trois localités syriennes, en vertu d’un rare accord passé entre le régime de Damas et la rébellion sous l’égide de l’ONU, a annoncé une ONG.