Jaysh al-Islam to surrender to Russian, fighters to evacuate to northern Syria

April 8, 2018 By administrator

Jaish al-Islam, the last remaining rebel group in Eastern Ghouta, has agreed to leave its holdout in Douma for an opposition-held area in northern Syria, according to opposition negotiators and the Russian foreign ministry.

The deal came a day after a chemical attack killed scores of people and affected hundreds of other Douma residents. The attack prompted global outrage but was dismissed as “fabrication” by the Syrian government, whose forces on Friday launched an offensive against the rebels under the cover of air raids.

The agreement, which was reached between Jaish al-Islam and Russia on Sunday, includes a ceasefire and the evacuation of fighters and civilians from the area.

“According to people who helped negotiate this agreement, Jaish al-Islam has agreed with the Russian forces to begin evacuating with their families, as well as anyone else who wants to leave,” Al Jazeera’s Natasha Ghoneim, reporting from Amman, said.

Under the agreement, Russian military police will move into Douma to keep Syrian forces out, added Ghoneim.

The Russian army also said on Sunday it had struck a deal with Jaish al-Islam to withdraw about 8,000 of its fighters and some 40,000 of their relatives.

Major General Yuri Yevtushenko was quoted as saying by The Associated Press news agency that a convoy of 100 buses had entered Douma to begin the evacuation.

Russian news agency RIA, citing a security source, said Jaish al-Islam fighters will leave Douma in two batches in the coming hours.

A deal was also reported earlier in the day by Syria’s official news agency SANA, which cited a government source as saying that the agreement would see “the departure of all so-called Jaish al-Islam terrorists to Jarablus within 48 hours”.

In exchange, Jaish al-Islam would release hostages it had been holding, the source said, according to SANA.

Armenia’s national security service urges armed group to surrender by 5pm

July 30, 2016 By administrator

ANS surrender YEREVAN. – Armenia’s national security service issued a statement concerning the Friday clashes in Yerevan.

The statement says shots from different weapons were heard from the building of seized police compound. The shooters targeted police officers who were on duty in Sari Tagh area.

“In addition, the armed group detonated a grenade in the territory of the regiment, and then tried to set on fire a bus parked near police regiment, throwing burning objects under it.

Thanks to adequate response of law enforcement agencies all firing points were suppressed, and the aggressive actions of the armed groups prevented. According to preliminary data, a policeman and members of the armed group were wounded in a shootout,” the statement reads.

Armenia’s national security service said these actions couldn’t continue any longer.

“Please be informed that after the events of late July 29, all existing reasonable possibilities of a peaceful solution have been exhausted. Provided by the Constitution of Armenia and justified under the circumstances, the use of force is absolutely necessary to protect the citizens from an attack dangerous to their life and health,” the statement reads.

“Therefore, members of the armed group are given time until 5p.m. in order to lay down arms and to surrender without resistance. Otherwise, special units of law enforcement agencies are authorized to open fire without warning and disarm any armed person in the territory of police regiment or beyond.

Any attempt to penetrate into the territory without the authorization of the regiment will be is considered as aiding terrorism and the perpetrators, regardless of their status, will be held accountable. All attempts to break through the police cordon by force will be prevented by measures under the law,” the

Yerevan Update: Armed group storming Yerevan police headquarters is not going to surrender

July 23, 2016 By administrator

Hostage 23-1 YEREVAN. – Member of “Sasna Tsrer” group Varuzhan Avetisyan, one of those who seized the building of police regiment, stated that the reports about their intention to give up are false.

“I have data that someone spreads rumors as if “Sasna Tsrer” will start a press conference to announce the surrender. Actually we staged an armed revolt, took up arms with the mission to liberate our country.

It assumes disobedience of the people the number of which slowly, for some reasons, but steadily grows. Also rumors that I haven’t confirmed data on release of the two last hostages are spread. It is lie,” he stated.

A group of armed men stormed into a Yerevan police patrol regiment, on early morning on July 17, and took several police officers hostage. Deputy regiment commander Artur Vanoyan was killed, and four other officers of the law plus one of the attackers were wounded during the ensuing gunfire exchange.

The gunmen demand the release of Jirair Sefilian, an imprisoned opposition activist.

It has been the seventh day since a group of armed men stormed into a capital city Yerevan police station. Four hostages, including two senior police officers, were released on Saturday.

Syrian Militants Surrender in Droves to Daraa Governorate

October 3, 2015 By administrator

Over 450 Syrian militants and 250 criminals wanted by government have laid down their arms and return to peaceful life in the south-west of war-torn country.

Roughly seven hundred armed militants and criminals surrendered themselves to the local authorities in the Syrian Daraa Governorate that is situated next to the border with Jordan in the last two days, national Syrian Arab News Agency Sana reported.Hundreds of militants and other law offenders decided to hand themselves over to authorities under the terms of a national reconciliation program.

According to media reports, militants have surrendered their arms to law enforcement, including large numbers of machine guns, automatic weapons and sniper rifles.

The brightest example of the reconciliation program’s success, which was started by the Syrian government, occurred in the city of Homs in the west of the country in 2014. Over 1,500 militants, who had seized the city center, yielded themselves to authorities that time.

The program provides citizens with the opportunity to go through rehabilitation to start a peaceful life if they lay down their arms and stop fighting.A full scale war has been waging in Syria since 2011. According to UN statistical data, the conflict has claimed the lives of more than 220,000 people. Various militant groups declared war on the legitimate Syrian government, the most notorious being the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra jihadist groups.

Source:sputniknews.com

Turkish Kurdistan Cizre will not surrender

September 11, 2015 By administrator

In Cizre, Turkish Kurdistan city has been placed under martial law for almost two weeks. In this city, where, however, the state does not confront the PKK guerrillas, but the population that defends, it is a war that is being waged. The city, its population, means of communications are cut off from the outside. Cizre was attacked by the army. A massacre took place in Cizre. In Turkey more than 308 attacks were carried out in the last 48 hours by the extreme right, against the Kurds and against the offices of the HDP.

In Cizre, Şırnak province, the people resisted against the war waged by the palace. 5000 policemen and soldiers were sent to help in Cizre where martial law continues. During the blockage continues, homes and civilians were targeted yesterday armored vehicles doing the rounds in the city, threatening to shoot all that moved. Despite the attacks and blockade, the people continue to resist, the HDP elected said, “Be attached to Cizre which is under the threat of a massacre, break the blockade.” Since last Friday, nine people lost their lives in organized attacks.

Other information available: on New Turkey

Iraq army leaders to face trial for surrender to ‘Islamic State’ in Ramadi

August 16, 2015 By administrator

The Iraqi prime minister has approved the court martial of several top commanders for withdrawing from the city of Ramadi last year. This move allowed for the swift takeover of the city by “Islamic State.”

Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi approved on Sunday the investigative council’s recommendation to court-martial military commanders who abandoned the positions attacking “Islamic State” (IS) militants in Ramadi.

In a statement from his office, Abadi said the government would refer “a number of the leaders to the military judiciary for leaving their positions without orders and contrary to instructions (and) despite the issuance of a number of orders not to withdraw.”

Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s western Anbar province, fell to the extremists in mid-May of 2014, dampening Baghdad’s hopes of quickly routing the militants from its north and west. In June the country’s second city of Mosul also fell to the militia, leading to the further collapse of the government army.

According to a senior British military officer, Brigadier Christopher Ghika, Ramadi was lost solely because “the Iraqi commander…elected to withdraw.”

With the national military greatly weakened, Baghdad has had to rely on the help of Shiite militias funded and assisted by former foe Iran to defend the capital and try to regain the large swaths of land lost to “IS.” Ahead of the fall of Ramadi, Abadi had wanted to keep militias on the sidelines in Anbar so as not to deepen sectarian tensions with the country’s Sunni population, which often complains of being marginalized.

In recent months, Iraqi security forces and Shiite militias have managed to recapture much of the ground seized by IS, though the majority of Anbar province remains under its control.

es/bk (AFP, Reuters)