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Over 50 people hospitalized in Syria’s Aleppo after militants shell city with poison gas – reports

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At least 50 residents of neighborhoods in Syria’s Aleppo have been treated for symptoms of toxic gas poisoning after militants attacked the residential area with gas-filled munitions, Syrian media reported.

The Al-Khalidiye and Al Zahraa neighborhoods, as well as Nile Street, were targeted by rocket fire on Saturday evening, Syria’s state SANA news agency reported. The munitions used by the rebels were rigged with toxic gas, causing dozens of civilians to suffer from asphyxiation, the agency said.

The hazardous substance has been preliminarily identified as chlorine, according to medical officials.

The head of the health department of the Syrian city of Aleppo, Ziad Haj Taha, reported that 50 people were taken to two Aleppo hospitals after the shelling, noting that the number of the injured is likely to rise.

“Ambulance services continue to provide assistance to victims of poison gas use by terrorist groups, presumably chlorine,” Taha told Russian Sputnik news agency.

Chlorine, which was first used as a weapon during WWI, may cause lasting health damage and can be fatal at high levels of exposure.

Children and women are reported to be among the victims of the attack.

The Syrian armed forces fired back, targeting the positions of the militants north of Aleppo, a SANA correspondent reported, adding that they appear to have suffered heavy losses.

“The Syrian army responded to the shelling of militants, attacking the positions from which the shelling was carried out, militants suffered significant losses,” a Syrian military source confirmed the retaliatory attack to Sputnik.

SANA has released a video showing purported victims of the attack wearing oxygen masks as they are being treated in an Aleppo hospital.

Moscow has repeatedly accused anti-government rebels of plotting a chemical weapons attack with the possible goal of framing Damascus. Last month, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that a hardline Islamist group affiliated with the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) got hold of two canisters filled with chlorine after raiding the headquarters of rival Jabhat al-Nusra group [rebranded as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham].

Syria holds first local elections since 2011

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Millions of people have been displaced in the civil war and one-third of the country remains out of government hands. But the Syrian regime is holding local elections across the country to show strength and normalcy.

Syria held local elections for the first time since 2011 on Sunday, in a bid to show strength and present a veneer of normalcy as President Bashar al-Assad’s government re-extends control over large swaths of the country.

Syrians in government-controlled areas cast ballots for more than 40,000 candidates competing for 18,478 seats on local administrative councils.

State news agency SANA said there was “good turnout” at the 6,551 electoral stations, without specifying. Images from state media showed voters putting ballots into plastic boxes with ubiquitous pictures of Syrian President Bashar Assad on the wall looking on.

According to observers, the results are almost sure to be rigged in favor of the ruling Baath Party, which has dominated politics and security in the authoritarian state since the 1960s. Most of the candidates were either from the Baath Party or tied to it.

Sending a message

Backed by Iran and Russia, the Assad regime has turned the tide in the seven-year civil war and now controls almost two-thirds of the country.

Pro-government forces have most recently retaken control of the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta and the southwest corner bordering Jordan and Israel.

After casting his vote in Damascus, Prime Minister Imad Khamis said the elections sent a message to the world that Syria had defeated terrorism and the country has returned to normalcy, state media SANA reported.

Refugees unable to vote

Nearly 12 million people out of a pre-war population of 22 million who have been either internally displaced or made refugees outside the country were unable to vote.

No vote was held in rebel-held Idlib province, where more than 3 million civilians are at-risk ahead of a widely anticipated government offensive that for now appears to have been put on hold pending efforts by rebel-backer Turkey to cut a deal with Russia.

The local elections were also not held in northern Syria, where US-backed Kurdish forces have set up a self-administered region alongside Arab and minority allies.

Autonomy on the table

The Kurds, who have had a tacit understanding with the Assad regime, seek a federal Syria that recognizes minority rights and local administration.

The Syrian Democratic Council, the political wing of the armed Syrian Democratic Forces, has organized a series of elections in de facto autonomous Democratic Federation of Northern Syria.

High-level talks between representatives of the self-administered region and Damascus are yet to reach a breakthrough.

Syria last held local elections in December 2011, only nine months into the uprising. Council members serve four-year terms and are mostly responsible for providing services and handling administrative issues.

Syria held parliamentary elections in 2016 and a presidential vote in 2014 that again cemented Assad and Baath Party rule over the country.

Turkey destroyed Mosul and Aleppo Now wants its share of reconstruction with Help from Russia

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GEORGE OURFALIAN/AFP/Getty Images
A boy walks amid the rubble of destroyed buildings in the city of Aleppo, Syria, July 22, 2017.

by Fehim Tastekin,

Although Turkey publicly appears to sustain its anti-Bashar al-Assad stance on Syria, it is actually getting ready for a new Syria that will allow Assad to stay on as the country’s president. While a termination of the de facto Kurdish autonomy in northern Syria seems to be the first precondition for a possible normalization between Ankara and Damascus, there is another unspoken condition as well: the allotment of a share in Syria’s reconstruction.

Naturally, the Assad administration does not have the intention to allot any share to Turkey, which is accused of supporting anti-regime military groups that have destroyed the country and looted Aleppo’s industrial zones. However, Turkey’s control of a sizable territory in northern Syria and its cooperation with Russia make it difficult for Damascus to exclude Turkey from these calculations.

Turkey’s influence over opposition groups that could have a bearing on the Geneva process can not be dismissed. Turkey has been able to preserve its most important trading partner position with Syria despite the seven-year-old conflict. Its geographical proximity to Syria, logistical superiority and advanced capacity of its construction sector encourages Turkey to obtain a substantial part in the reconstruction process.

Moreover, Turkey is currently organizing local entities in al-Bab, Jarablus, Azaz, Cobanbey and Afrin that are de facto under its control. It is also setting up systems for security, education, religion and even issuing ID cards to residents. In addition it has started building a road network.

Manbij, which Turkey has begun patrolling the periphery of following an agreement with Washington, is also in the works. If Turkey can impose its control over the area, a new highway will be built between Jarablus and Manbij. In fact, local sources have confirmed that the construction work has already started.

The Turkish government sees Manbij as a key trading hub both for Iraq and Syria, and Manbij and al-Bab will be preludes to the rebuilding of Aleppo. This de facto situation created by Turkey will likely be a stepping stone to lucrative reconstruction contracts.

Ankara’s entire calculations are based on getting the reconstruction contract for Aleppo. But will Russia and Iran, which also have spent billions of dollars in Syria, allow Ankara to get what it wants?

For the reconstruction of Aleppo, Ankara relies on its negotiations with Russia. An operation in Idlib and potential withdrawal of Turkish troops from there may well determine the outcome of those negotiations. Ankara hopes that an agreement with Russia on these two issues may overcome the reluctance of Damascus to deal with Turkey.

A foreign technocrat who is closely involved in the reconstruction process of Syria said that Assad considers the reconstruction process an “extremely delicate” issue. He told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “Contacts are top secret at high levels. Assad insists that those who had a part in destroying Syria cannot have a role in its reconstruction and he prefers Russian, Iranian and Chinese firms. Can Russia persuade Damascus to allot Turkey a portion?”

Aleppo school to be named after fallen Armenian soldier

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Syria fallen Armenian soldier

A school in Syria’s Aleppo will be named after Krikor Ashnakelian, a fallen Armenian soldier of the Syrian army, upon the order of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Syria’s education minister has already launched the process of naming the school in honor of the fallen hero, Aleppo-Armenian Zareh Sisserian said on Facebook.

She has also posted a photo, which shows the Syrian leader has paid a visit to Ashnakelian’s family.

Suicide bombings kill 38 in southern Syrian province

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A series of suicide bombings and attacks in southern Syria, including a suicide bomber who struck at a busy vegetable market, killed 38 people on Wednesday, state media reported, blaming Islamic State militants for the carnage.

The Associated Press reported, the attacks were reminiscent of the horrific violence by the Islamic State group that spread mayhem across the country, already ravaged by the civil war.

Al-Ikhbariya state-run TV showed images from several locations in Sweida province where the bombers blew themselves up, including a vegetable market and a busy square in the provincial capital, also called Sweida.

 

Source Panorama.am

BREAKING NEWS: Syria recognizes South Ossetia and Abkhazia

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YEREVAN, MAY 29,  Syria has recognized the Republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

“The Syrian Arab Republic and the Republic of South Ossetia have agreed on mutual recognition and on establishing diplomatic relations, according to the South Ossetian Foreign Ministry, TASS reports.

“The Republic of South Ossetia and the Syrian Arab Republic declare mutual recognition and the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries at the level of embassies from the date this communique is published,” the document says according to TASS.

President of the Republic of Abkhazia Raul Khadzhimba delivered a speech on the occasion of the mutual recognition.

“On May 29, 2018, the Republic of Abkhazia and the Syrian Arab Republic declared mutual recognition and the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two states at the level of the Embassies which reflects their common intention to develop these relations in all spheres.

This event was preceded by great work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia, the Embassy of the Republic of Abkhazia in the Russian Federation and other institutions of the Republic of Abkhazia. Mutual visits of Abkhazian and Syrian officials took place and close ties were established.

The day before, on May 28, a tripartite meeting of the Ambassadors of the Republic of Abkhazia, the Syrian Arab Republic and the Republic of South Ossetia in the Russian Federation took place, in the course of which the Ambassadors agreed on the text and the release date of the communiqué and exchanged relevant notes.

We highly value this step of the leadership of the Syrian Arab Republic and we are confident that our relations will be developing in the spirit of mutual respect and cooperation. I am certain that in the near future, peace will come to the Syrian land and that its people will start a peaceful life”, he said, according to his website.

This is a developing story

Turkish delegation visits Damascus, meets senior officials, “Authentic Turkish Crime Kiss and Kill.”

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Turkish delegation

A Turkish delegation visiting Damascus on an economic and political mission says respecting Syria’s sovereignty is a main precondition to end the conflict in the Arab country.  

In a Thursday meeting with Syria’s parliament speaker Hammoudeh Sabbagh, the delegation representing the Eurasia Local Governments Union from Turkey reiterated that Syrians had the right to determine their own destiny and no third party has the right to interfere, pressure or try to influence the will of the Syrian people.

Syria’s official SANA agency cited head of the delegation Hasan Cengiz as saying in the meeting that the war on Syria, which is well in its eighth year now, came as part of a wider project to divide the Middle East region.

Cengiz added that the only way out of the conflict would be for others outside Syria to respect the country’s sovereignty and the right of its people to determine their future.

The remarks are the first of their kind for a senior Turkish politician since the war started in Syria in 2011. Turkey has been one of the main countries supporting the opposition in Syria, especially those openly vying to topple the government through armed confrontation.

Turkey has even boots on the ground in northern Syria where it is fighting Kurdish militants. Ankara considers the militant group known as the YPG an extension of the PKK, which is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey.

Syrian authorities have repeatedly criticized Turkey for launching a military operation in late January to oust the Kurds from the town of Afrin.

Sabbagh, the Syrian parliament speaker, told the visiting Turkish delegation that Turkey has committed an aggression against Syria by maintaining a military presence north of the country, adding that the move represents a flagrant violation of international laws.

Sabbagh said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was directly responsible for the bloodshed in Syria, adding Erdogan has always pursued an aggressive policy toward Damascus government over the past years.

Turkey is increasingly wary of US plans in Syria, including its schemes to carve out a mini-state for Kurds along Turkish borders.

Initially a dyed in the wool ally of US and a facilitator of the campaign against the Syrian government, Ankara has swung toward Iran and Russia in their efforts to end the crisis in Syria.

While catholic Pope renews appeal for peace in Syria However protestant UK and USA push for war

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pope for peace in Syria

pope for peace in Syria

Pope Francis called on world leaders on Sunday to renew efforts to bring peace to Syria, saying he was deeply troubled by their failure to agree on a joint plan to end the bloodshed, Reuters reports.

“I appeal again to all the political leaders, so that justice and peace prevail,” he said in his weekly address to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

“I am deeply disturbed by the current world situation, in which, despite the tools available to the international community, it is difficult to agree on a common action in favor of peace in Syria and other regions of the world,” he said.

Last Sunday, the pope denounced a reported gas attack in Syria as an unjustifiable use of “instruments of extermination”.

The United States, France and Britain fired dozens of missiles early Saturday to strike at Syria’s chemical weapons program — the biggest intervention yet by Western countries against Syria, which is backed by Russia and Iran.

Iraqis burn US flags, shout ‘Stop destroying Syria’

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Iraqis come out in their thousands in Baghdad as well as the holy cities of Najaf and Basra to protest airstrikes on Syria by the US, Britain, and France.

Hundreds gathered in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square with Syrian and Iraqi flags on Sunday, to demonstrate their support for the Syrian people. They burned several US flags and then stomped on them.

“Stop destroying Syria as you destroyed our country,” shouted the protesters, in reference to the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. “No to America, no to the bombardment of Syria,” they chanted.

The Western trio fired more than 100 missiles at Syria early Saturday following an alleged chemical attack in the town of Douma near Damascus.

Syria, which surrendered its chemical weapons stockpile during a process monitored by the United Nations chemical watchdog in 2014, has rejected carrying out the attack.

The Syrian government has said the attack was staged to give the aggressors a pretext to launch the airstrikes following recent army victories against terrorists near Damascus.

Crowds also took to the streets in the cities of Najaf and Basra, south of Baghdad.

The Iraqi government warned Saturday that the Western airstrikes on Syria were a “very dangerous” development that could fuel a Takfiri resurgence in the region.

On Sunday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari warned of the huge dangers of a military escalation in Syria in a telephone conversation with Acting US Secretary of State John Sullivan.

Jaafari stated that any further act of aggression against the conflict-plagued Arab country would undermine security and stability in the Middle East region as a whole.

Who rule USA Haley or Trump? Haley says US troops not leaving Syria until objectives achieved

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Protesters seen in New York City, April 14, 2018.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley says the United States would not pull American troops out of Syria until its goals were accomplished.

It is Washington’s goal “to see American troops come home, but we are not going to leave until we know we have accomplished those things,” Haley said on Sunday during an interview with Fox News.

Haley listed three goals for the US: ensuring that chemical weapons are not used in any way that pose a risk to American interests, that Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group is defeated and that there is a good vantage point to watch what Iran is doing.

On Saturday, Haley told the Security Council that the US is “locked and loaded” to strike again if Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad’s government uses chemical weapons again.

The Syrian government has rejected claims that it was behind the suspected chemical attack near the capital Damascus on April 7. The attack purportedly took place in the former militant-held town of Douma in Eastern Ghouta.

Haley’s warning comes after American, British and French forces fired over one hundred missiles at the Arab country on Saturday.

The American military described that attack as “precision strikes” on three targets in Syria that it falsely claimed to be associated with the country’s alleged chemical weapons arsenal, without producing any evidence.

The strike has drawn global outcry since it was carried out before the international chemical weapons watchdog could probe the incident.

The attack also drew immediate and fierce condemnation from Syria as well as China, Russia Iran and Iraq, accusing Washington, London and Paris of deliberately violating international law and blatantly breaching Syria’s sovereignty.

In condemning the US-led attack, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad insisted on Saturday that the missile strikes would only strengthen his nation’s resolve to keep its fight against Western-backed terror groups and “crush terrorism in every inch of the nation.”

The US has reportedly around 2,000 troops stationed in Syria working as “advisers” to US-backed militant groups fighting the Syrian government.

Late last month, US President Donald Trump announced that the US would withdraw from Syria “very soon,” just hours after the Pentagon highlighted the need for American troops to remain in the country.