Riyadh Archives

Sputniknews Report: Washington and Riyadh ‘Plan to Let 9,000 Daesh Leave Mosul and Move to Syria’

October 13, 2016 By administrator

deash-move-to-syria Intelligence agencies of the United States and Saudi Arabia plan to allow more than 9,000 Daesh fighters leave the Iraqi city of Mosul and travel to eastern Syria where they will take part in a major offensive to recapture Deir ez-Zor and Palmyra among over things, an unnamed source in military and diplomatic circles in Moscow told RIA Novosti.

“American and Saudi intelligence services have reached an agreement to provide all militants a safe passage to leave the city with their families before” Iraqi security forces and their allies launch the operation to free Mosul, he suggested. The matter was ostensibly settled during the preliminary phase of the offensive.

When the Mosul campaign begins, “coalition warplanes will launch airstrikes solely against isolated and abandoned houses within the city,” the source noted, adding that these targets have been chosen in coordination with the militants.

Daesh fighters, he said, will then move to Syria.

“More than 9,000 Daesh fighters from Mosul will be redeployed to eastern Syria to carry out a large-scale offensive which will involve among other things taking control over Deir ez-Zor and Palmyra,” the source detailed.

For Washington, this plan, the source suggested, will be an attempt to diminish Russia’s success in Syria. Moscow has been credited with helping the Syrian Arab Army turn the tide of war that has seen Damascus fighting against foreign-sponsored terrorist groups for more than five years. “Apart from political dividends, the other goal of this operation clearly involves discrediting the achievements of the Russian Aerospace Forces. Surely, this is also an attempt to undermine [Bashar] al-Assad,” the source said.

Senior officials at the General Intelligence Directorate, Saudi Arabia’s primary intelligence, served as mediators between the US and the militants, the source said, adding that they will also guarantee that Washington delivers on the deal. He explained that a similar idea was previously employed in Fallujah.

Baghdad-led forces freed Fallujah in late June after a three-months-long siege. Political analyst Alexander Perendzhiev doubted that this plan will work. Daesh “has Iraqi roots; Mosul is their stronghold and they will clearly be unwilling to leave Iraq,” he told RIA Novosti. “Mosul will probably remain in the hands of terrorists. Some of them will travel to Syria and the rest will pretend that they surrender.” The expert further said that the Democrats will try to claim any success in Mosul, whether perceived or real.

Turkey, Riyadh, and Qatar ‘Responsible for Downing Russian Helicopter in Syria’

August 1, 2016 By administrator

A Russian Mi-8 helicopter was shot down in northwestern Syria on Monday killing all five Russian servicemen on board. In an interview with Sputnik, Dr. Marcus Papadopoulos, Editor of Politics First Magazine, put the blame on an alliance of terrorist groups called the Army of Conquest and its suppliers.

“I have no doubt about that. They have in their possession advanced weapons. We are talking about tanks, other armored vehicles, antitank weapons and antiaircraft missiles. The question is who has supplied them with these antiaircraft missiles?” he continued, adding that they could have apparently been supplied by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar.”

“Therefore, they are responsible for the downing of Russia’s Mi-8 helicopter, which was on a humanitarian mission in Syria, and for the death of all five Russian servicemen on board,” Marcus Papadopoulos continued.

Dr. Papadopoulos said that the Army of Conquest formed at the beginning of 2015 and after its formation it scored a major battlefield victory when it captured Idlib city in the north of Syria and the rest of the province.

“Its political and financial backers are Saudi Arabia and Turkey and even though Ankara may now be reconsidering its policy of supporting Islamist terrorist groups, Turkey is the major supporter of the Army of Conquest responsible for numerous atrocities in Aleppo with their artillery bombardment of civilians,” he noted.

https://soundcloud.com/radiosputnik/riyadh-qatar-and-turkey-responsible-for-downing-of-russias-mi-8-in-syria-marcus-papadopoulos

When asked that whether the downing of the Russian helicopter and the death of its crew will lead to the Army of Conquest losing its foreign sponsors or becoming officially recognized as a terrorist group, Dr. Papadopoulos said that “there is little chance of that happening because the Americans are supporting numerous other Islamist terrorist groups in Syria.”

He said that when in 2013 Daesh started to make its move in Syria there was no condemnation from the American government. It was only toward the end of that year when Daesh reemerged in Iraq and started posing a direct threat to the Western-backed Iraqi government that the Americans finally acted. Prior to that, they were only too happy to see Daesh advancing in Syria, capturing Syrian territories and committing atrocities.

“So there is no chance of the US listing the Army of Contest as a terrorist group,” Dr. Papadopoulos noted.

The downing of the Russian helicopter came shortly after Daesh posted a video where it called for waging a jihad against Russia.

When asked whether these two things could be connected somehow, Dr. Papadopoulos said that after Russia launched its antiterrorist campaign in Syria that actually turned the table in that conflict, it is now seen by Daesh, al-Nusra Front, the Army of Conquest and others as one of their main enemies.

Answering a question about the terrorists disseminating video accounts of their atrocities, Dr. Panadopoulos said that such photos and videos must be banned and that there should be censorship.

“I don’t really care what people in the West say about censorship being not in line with Western values of democracy and freedom of expression. There has to be a line drawn somewhere, that pictures of atrocities, beheadings, of bodies being dragged behind trucks should be prohibited on social media.”

“This would deprive the terrorists of a very important channel of recruitment. We have to fight them on the battlefield and we should also beat them on social media by banning their pages on Facebook and preventing them from uploading their appalling photos and videos,” Dr. Marcus Papadopoulos emphasized.

The downing of the Mi-8 has become the deadliest episode for the Russian military since it started bombing terrorist-held territories in Syria in September 2015.

European Parliament calls for an embargo on arms shipments to Riyadh

February 25, 2016 By administrator

arton122572-480x238 The European Parliament demanded Thursday an embargo on arms supplies to Saudi Arabia, criticizing its airstrikes in Yemen and the maritime blockade imposed on the country, which made “thousands of deaths”.

In a resolution adopted by a large majority at a plenary session in Brussels, MEPs call on the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini, to “launch an initiative to impose an arms embargo EU against Saudi Arabia. “

They condemn “the coalition airstrikes led by Saudi and the naval blockade it has imposed in Yemen, which have led to thousands of deaths, and yet further destabilized” the country. In a statement, the humanitarian organization Action against Hunger was immediately welcomed that the EU “finally spoke again on this crisis, one of the most serious in the world today.”

While the text is not binding but for Mike Penrose, CEO of Action against Hunger France, “this resolution is a signal to all Member States inviting them to break the silence and to no longer participate in disaster humanitarian underway in Yemen. “

Riyadh led since March 2015 Arab-Sunni coalition in Yemen against Houthi Shiite rebels, accused of being supported by Iran. These, from their stronghold of Saada (north), took control of many areas including the capital Sanaa. The government recognized by the international community based in Aden (south), although its leaders often stay in Riyadh for security reasons. The conflict in Yemen has more than 6,100 dead, nearly half civilians, and about 30,000 injured, according to the UN.

The United States is the leading arms supplier to Saudi Arabia, with sales reaching $ 90 billion between 2010 and 2014 by the Congress, but the main countries of the EU have also recently delivered bombs, equipment or signed arms contracts for billions of euros. According to Avaaz NGOs, including an online petition collected 750,000 signatures, the United Kingdom has authorized in 2015 the sale of fighter jets and unmanned Paveway bombs. France signed in October 2015 contracts with Saudi Arabia in the maritime and military sectors whose value is estimated at more than ten billion euros, says Avaaz.

The UN expressed concern early January of the use of cluster munitions in Yemen by the Arab coalition led by Riyadh, saying they had received “disturbing reports” about their use in attacks against residential areas and buildings civilians in Sanaa on 6 January.

Its secretary-general Ban Ki-moon warned Riyadh, noting that it “could constitute a war crime.”

(FNA) Riyadh, Ankara in Collaboration to Supply Terrorists in Syria with Ukraine’s SAM Missiles

October 27, 2015 By administrator

(FNA)– Turkey and Saudi Arabia have developed a plan to supply sophisticated air defense missile systems to the terrorist groups in Syria from the Ukrainian army.

Saudi Arabia and Turkey are spending huge sums to open their path into the Ukrainian army’s missile depots to transfer the surface-to-air SAM-8 and SAM-9 missile systems to Northern Syria to strengthen the terrorist groups, the Arabic-language Lebanese al-Akhbar reported on Tuesday.

The daily underlined that the Ukrainian army officials are opposed to Russia and its military strikes against the terrorists in Syria.

According to al-Akhbar, certain sources have revealed that the Saudi-Turkish plan has already made so much success that Russia has revised contingency plans after assessments showed a strikingly higher possibility that their helicopters could be targeted by these anti-aircraft missiles now.

Turkey and Saudi Arabia have been supplying terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq with arms and funds all throughout the last 4 years.

In relevant remarks, Iraq’s Vice-President Nuri al-Maliki took Saudi Arabia and Turkey responsible for spreading terrorism through their huge continued support for terrorist groups, specially the ISIL.

“The ISIL was a movement created by certain regional states, headed by Saudi Arabia, with sectarian and political goals,” Maliki, a former Prime Minister, told FNA in the Northeastern city of Mashhad in August.

“The ISIL is supported by Saudi Arabia and Turkey as Ankara sought to overthrow President Assad’s government,” he added.

Elsewhere, Maliki referred to the internal situation in Iraq and its fight against the terrorist groups, and underlined the popular forces’ vital role in taking back ISIL-held regions.

The popular forces helped the Iraqi army after senior clerics issued a fatwa (religious decree) in support of campaign against terrorism and “we believe that there wouldn’t have been any Iraq now if it hadn’t been for them”, he added.