Syrian rebels, local govt. agree to truce in Homs

January 15, 2015 By administrator

Activists say Syrian rebels and local government officials have agreed to a truce in the last opposition-held area of the central city of Homs, according to the Associated Press.

Activist Beibars al-Tilawi said the 10-day truce beginning Thursday, Jan 15, will allow more food to enter the al-Waar area. He says it will also provide time to negotiate a more lasting resolution to the 20-month standoff in al-Waar, which has been besieged by government forces.

Al-Tilawi said rebels sought the truce to alleviate the suffering of civilians, and because they were outgunned by government forces.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the truce.

Syrian rebels (FSA) abandon Aleppo, leader flees to Turkey

November 17, 2014 By administrator

Murat Yetkin

Some 14,000 militants of the Syrian rebel group have abandoned Aleppo, while its commander has fled to Turkey, according to Turkish security sources.

The Free Syrian Army (FSA), the recognized armed opposition group against the Bashar al-Assad in Syria, has ceased its resistance in Aleppo, Syria’s second biggest city, withdrawing its 14,000 militia from the city, a ranking Turkish security source told the Hürriyet Daily News on Nov. 17.

“Its leader Jamal Marouf has fled to Turkey,” confirmed the source, who asked not to be named. “He is currently being hosted and protected by the Turkish state.”

The source did not give an exact date of the escape but said it was within the last two weeks, that is, the first half of November. The source declined to give Marouf’s whereabouts in Turkey.

As a result, the FSA has lost control over the Bab al-Hawa border gate (opposite from Turkey’s Cilvegözü in Reyhanlı), which is now being held by a weak coalition of smaller groups led by Ahrar al-Sham.

The source said some of the weaponry delivered to the FSA by the U.S.-led coalition in its fight against both Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) and the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria might have fallen into the hands of Ahrar al-Sham and al-Nusra, the Syria branch of al-Qaeda.

A weakening Western-supported opposition in Syria could not only put Aleppo in jeopardy, but also weaken the U.S.-led coalition in Syria and Iraq, which might affect the positions of other important players in the region, such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Israel.

Turkey’s false-Flag operation (ISIL) success, US House Votes to Authorize Aid to Syrian Rebels

September 17, 2014 By administrator

nytimes reports
A House divided along unusual and unpredictable lines voted Wednesday to authorize the training and arming of Syrian rebels to confront the militant group Islamic State, backing President Obama after he personally pleaded for support.
The 273-to-156 vote was over a narrow military measure with no money attached, but it took on outsize importance and was infused with drama. Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio and Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the minority leader, actively and strongly backed the legislation, and both sought to portray it as a modest measure. The Senate hopes to pass it as soon as Thursday.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/18/us/politics/house-vote-isis.html?emc=edit_na_20140917

Syrian rebels, govt. say poison gas used in village, blame each other

April 12, 2014 By administrator

April 12, 2014 – 17:55 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The Syrian government and rebel forces say poison gas has been used in a central village, injuring scores of people, while blaming each other for the attack, the Associated Press reports.

The main Western-backed opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, says dozens of people were hurt in a poison gas attack Friday, April 11, in the village of Kfar Zeita.

State-run Syrian television on Saturday blamed members of the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front for using chlorine gas at Kfar Zeita, killing two people and injuring more than 100.

In August, a chemical attack near the capital, Damascus, killed hundreds of people. The U.S. and its allies blamed the Syrian government for that attack, which nearly sparked Western airstrikes against President Bashar Assad’s forces. Damascus denied the charges and accused rebels of staging the incident.