Syrian Army Plans to Launch Offensive on Deir Ez-Zor, Raqqa

April 29, 2016 By administrator

The Syrian armed forces plan to retake the city of Raqqa from Daesh, and Russian aviation is expected to support the operation, according to Russia’s UN Office envoy.

GENEVA (Sputnik) – The Syrian army is planning to launch an offensive on Deir Ez-Zor and Raqqa with the support of the Russian air group deployed in Syria, Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva Alexei Borodavkin said.

“In line with UNSC [UN Security Council] Resolution 2254, the ceasefire regime in Syria does not apply to Daesh, al-Nusra Front and other terrorist groups…As a result of operations by the Syrian armed forces with [the] support of Russian combat aircraft [the Syrian] city of Palmyra has been liberated, and now further offensive operations are being planned in the direction of Deir Ez-Zor and Raqqa,” Borodavkin told reporters in Geneva.

Syria Ceasefire Mostly Holding but Some Forces Attempt to Disrupt It

“There are forces that are deliberately provoking the failure of the cessation of hostilities. We are constantly talking about the need to block the Turkish-Syrian border through which terrorist group fighters flow and weapons, military equipment and ammunition are smuggled. It is necessary to firmly curb this flow in order to strengthen the ceasefire regime,” Borodavkin stressed.

According to the Russian envoy, the United States and Russia are making joint efforts to put an end to the Syrian conflict.

“We are well aware that there are opponents of the cessation of hostilities and they will do everything they can to disrupt this regime, which is what is happening now,” Borodavkin said, adding nonetheless that “in general, the regime is being adhered to.”

A US-Russia-brokered ceasefire came into force across Syria on February 27. Syria has been mired in civil war since March 2011, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups. The truce does not apply to terrorist groups such as Daesh and al-Nusra Front.

More Militant Groups Cut Ties With al-Nusra Front, Join Ceasefire

“The groups that want to join the cessation of hostilities must sign relevant documents, report their exact location and disengage from Nusra Front units because, at present, they are, unfortunately, heavily mixed on the battlefield,” Borodavkin told reporters.

According to Borodavkin, “certain progress” has been observed in the US work with illegal armed groups in Syria.

“Contacts and cooperation between Russian and US militaries have recently intensified. Phone conferences between Hmeymim [Russian air base in Syria], Amman, Moscow and Washington are regularly held. Our militaries are meeting at the negotiating table with maps and necessary intelligence data that help to prevent violations of the cessation of hostilities and strengthen it. I think that in the near future many issues will be resolved within this US-Russian military cooperation,” Borodavkin told journalists.

No Evidence Jaish al-Islam, Ahrar ash-Sham Join Truce

“We heard statements from these groups that they have allegedly joined the cessation of hostilities [in Syria] but we have no official confirmation [of these statements],” Borodavkin told journalists.

The envoy recalled that the leadership of Jaish al-Islam and Ahrar ash-Sham had repeatedly stated they were fighting “shoulder to shoulder” with al-Nusra Front militants and called on the jihadists to unite in their fight against government forces.

“If Ahrar ash-Sham and Jaish al-Islam are serious about finding a political solution to the conflict in Syria, they have to radically change their positions,” Borodavkin emphasized.

On Tuesday, Russia requested to add the two groups operating in Syria to the UN sanctions list that already contains Daesh. The Saudi-backed High Negotiations Committee (HNC) of the Syrian opposition includes representatives of both Ahrar ash-Sham and Jaish al-Islam.

Breaking News: Russian pilots launch their first airstrikes in Syria, U.S. officials say

September 30, 2015 By administrator

Wednesday, September 30, 2015 8:37 AM EDT report nytime
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia escalated the stakes in his contest with the West over influence in the Middle East on Wednesday, as Russian pilots carried out their first airstrikes in Syria.
Russian warplanes dropped bombs near the central city of Homs, according to American officials in Washington, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to make a public statement. Moscow informed American officials in advance, they said.
The attack came hours after Mr. Putin pushed a measure through the upper house of Parliament approving the use of Russian military forces abroad.
Russian officials and analysts portrayed the move as an attempt both to fight Islamic State militants and to try to ensure the survival of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, Russia’s main ally in the Middle East. But Russian intervention would most likely prolong and complicate the war, as it would keep Mr. Assad in office and would add Russian forces to the already complicated patchwork of forces deployed there.
Sergei B. Ivanov, Mr. Putin’s chief of staff, appealed to the upper house, the Federation Council, for the measure, describing it as an open-ended deployment of the Russian Air Force to support Mr. Assad — at his request — in his fight against the Islamic State.

Turkish security forces launch operation targeting Kurd PKK

March 24, 2015 By administrator

Turkish security forces have launched an operation targeting shelters and stores believed to belong to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the military said on Tuesday, March 24, days after the group’s jailed leader called its armed struggle “unsustainable”.

Teams in the southeastern Mardin province were looking for outposts of the group, which has waged a three-decade insurgency against Ankara, according to Reuters.

“Security forces are conducting an operation with five teams with the aim of identifying and destroying shelters and stores believed to belong to the separatist terrorist group in the Mazidag countryside of Mardin,” the military said in a statement.

On Saturday jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called for his group to hold a congress on ending its armed struggle, which he said had become “unsustainable”. However, he stopped short of declaring an immediate end to the struggle.

President Tayyip Erdogan, then prime minister, launched talks with Ocalan in late 2012 to end an insurgency that has killed 40,000 people, ravaged the region’s economy and tarnished Turkey’s image abroad. Progress has been faltering since then, but Kurdish faith in Ocalan remains undiminished.
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