Al-Nusra establishes a Sharia Council, and Assad declares
Jihad. The 21st Century is officially on leave in Syria.
Sunday March
10, 2013
Today’s
Death Toll: 125 martyrs
including 15 women, 13 children, and two martyrs under torture. 46 martyrs reported
in Damascus and suburbs (including 14 martyrs in Mleiha), 38 in Aleppo, 12 in
Hama, 9 in Idlib, 12 in Deraa and 8 in Homs (LCCs).
Points
of Random Shelling: 277 points. Aerial
bombardments: 19. Scud bombing: 4. Shelling using Surface-to-Surface missiles: 4.
Shelling using cluster bombs: in Mayadeen and Rumaileh. Thermobaric bombs recorded
in al-Bab city in Aleppo. Artillery shelling counted in 112 points. Rocket
shelling counted in 70 points. Mortar shelling counted in 60 points (LCCs).
Clashes: 125. Successful operations included
the liberation of Baba Amr neighborhood and laying siege to the political
security headquarters in Insha’aat neighborhood in Homs City. In Raqqa, FSA rebels
shot down a MiG near al-Mansoura. In the town of Khan Sheikh in Damascus
suburbs, FSA rebels managed to take control of Brigade 137 seizing 11
Antiaircraft guns and a large number of weapons and ammunition. In Hama, FSA
liberated the Mgheir village (LCCs).
News
Islamists
Try to Firm Grip on Syria Regions Nearly a week after Islamist groups
announced the capture of most of the city of Raqqa and the northeastern
province bearing the same name, fierce clashes to gain control of the few
outposts the government holds there continued Sunday, said opposition
activists. Regime forces are battling insurgents on multiple fronts, including
near Damascus, the capital.
US
and Europe in 'major airlift of arms to Syrian rebels through Zagreb'
The United States has coordinated a massive airlift of arms to Syrian rebels
from Croatia with the help of Britain and other European states, despite the
continuing European Union arms embargo, it was claimed yesterday.
Syrian
rebels pierce Assad's siege lines in Homs: opposition Syrian rebels
broke through government lines to ease a siege of their positions in the
strategic central city of Homs on Sunday despite coming under fierce aerial
bombardment, opposition campaigners said… Homs, 140 km (88 miles) north of
Damascus in central Syria, lies on a vital road juncture linking army bases on
the Mediterranean coast, home to a large proportion of Assad's Alawites, and
government forces in the capital Damascus.
Rebels
in Syria Release U.N. Peacekeepers to Jordan, Easing Crisis in Border Zone
The peacekeepers, from the Philippines, arrived “well and unharmed,” United
Nations officials said on Saturday.
Thousands have been killed and
millions made homeless in Syria's civil war, but it has also caused irreparable
damage to some of the world's most precious historical sites. The treasures now
being destroyed matter to everyone on the planet, argues historian Dan Snow.
UN
refugee chief: Syria refugees could triple “If this escalation goes on,
we will have – and nothing happens to solve the problem – we might have in the
end of the year a much larger number of refugees, two or three times the
present level,” Guterres told reporters in the Turkish capital, Ankara.
Twenty
bodies turn up in Aleppo's "river of martyrs" It was the
largest number of bodies lifted in a single day from what became known as
"the river of martyrs", after 65 bodies turned up in late January. An
average of several bodies a day have been appearing in the river since, several
activists in the northern city, which is near Turkey, told Reuters.
Syria's
opposition postpones meeting to form government The Syrian National
Coalition meeting to elect a provisional prime minister, which was due to be
held on March 12 after being postponed once already, has been rescheduled for
March 20, but it was uncertain it would be held even then, the sources said.
Americans
are training Syria rebels in Jordan: Spiegel Spiegel said it was not
clear whether the Americans worked for private firms or were from the army but
said some wore uniforms. The training focused on use of anti-tank weaponry.
Some 200 men have already received such training over the past three months and
there are plans in the future to provide training for a total 1,200 members of
the "Free Syrian Army" in two camps in the south and the east of the
country.
'Hezbollah, Syria
try to expand conflict into Lebanon' “President Bashar Assad’s regime
and Hezbollah now realize that it is impossible for them to regain control over
Syria, therefore they are looking to cancel Lebanon’s parliamentary elections
and cause security instability in Tripoli, Sidon and other regions,” sources
told Now Lebanon. By canceling the elections, the Hezbollah-controlled
government would be able to stay in power until the Syrian conflict dies down,
said Lebanese MP Ammar Houri, who was speaking on the Voice of Lebanon radio
station on Sunday.
Israel
official warns of ‘Somalization’ of Syria The spokesman for Israel’s
Foreign Ministry has voiced his concerns about the potential for radical Sunni
elements to take power in a post-Assad Syria.
Yigal Palmor said all could see how different extremist groups are
playing their own games in the chaos currently taking over Syria. “There is a
great concern that uncontrolled elements at the service of extremist ideas will
manage to take over smaller or bigger separate territories inside the Syrian
borders,” he told the Hürriyet Daily News in an interview in Jerusalem. “The
‘Somalization’ of Syria is a great concern. We hope that this war ends as
quickly as possible, with a central power emerging that will rule all Syria,”
he said.
Special
Reports
Because women are rarely involved in
the armed side of the revolution, they are much less likely to get stopped,
searched, or hassled at government checkpoints. This has proved crucial in
distributing humanitarian aid throughout Syria. Syrian women have participated
in aid relief deliveries both to FSA-controlled areas and -- covertly and at
great risk to themselves -- to areas still under government control. To evade
arrest, women inside Syria communicate largely through Skype and Facebook to
provide neighborhood-level reports on security conditions and aid needs. Syrian
women outside the country, largely based in Turkey, raise support and funnel it
over the border.
My
new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on
January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “Syria
2013: Rise of the Warlords.” It should be read in conjunction with my
previous briefing “The
Shredded Tapestry,” and my recent essay “The
Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.”
Shenanigans
The delay in choosing a provisional government by the opposition
is not simply about failure to agree on its general makeup. There is an actual
ideological war going behind closed doors between the Muslim Brotherhood and
its allies who, as usual, are trying to impose their candidates and manipulate
the process and Coalition leader Moaz Alkhatib who is trying to streamline the
process making more transparent and inclusive, especially of women, secular
currents, in-country figures and minorities.
Moreover, Alkhatib is trying to push for establishment of a system of
accountability that can keep the government in check to prevent cronyism,
corruption and mismanagement, or stop them in time. The Brotherhood has been
trying to railroad the process by inserting its nominees at the last minute and
trying to manipulate the media through carefully orchestrated leaks of names of
possible nominees and internal correspondences trying to showcase Alkhatib as
stalling and painting him as a stooge for the Americans.
Indeed, a provisional government is needed but not just any government.
Moreover, if this provisional government is not able to operate freely and
safely in liberated areas, it will simply fail to serve the purpose for which
it was established: to unify these territories under one leadership and prevent
the fragmentation of the country. The conditions that can allow for a
provisional government to operate on Syrian soil are not there yet, Mr.
Alkhatib realizes this, and he realize that the current push for establishing a
provisional government is meant simply to undermine the Coalition authority and
bring us back to the days when the Muslim Brotherhood dominated the political
process.
This is not about keeping Syria together. It’s more about who will be
the top warlord in liberated areas. In this connection, Jabhat Al-Nusra has a
slightly different answer (see below).
The Qaradah Conundrum
Local activists in Latakia report that new clashes took place between
pro- and anti-Assad Alawite clans in the town of Qardaha, the Assads
hometown. Around 14 people from both sides are said to have been killed.
Reports could not be independently verified, but the incident is said to have
taken place on Sunday morning.
Social media is also abuzz with reports of the assassination of Hilal
Assad, a cousin of Bashar and one of the chief figures behind pro-Assad
Alawite militias in the province of Latakia. Once again, this could not be
independently verified.
The Assadist Jihad
The High Religious Council of Syria, an official religious body
controlled by the Assad regime, declared Jihad against the rebels and
called on all able bodied young men to join the Syrian army. The call is not
likely to be heeded except by the brainwashed few, but the significance of the
call is it indicates a further weakening of the regime, and seems to be part of
its strategy to prepare for Guerilla warfare in Damascus.
Another element of this shift might be the recently circulated
ordinance calling on all state ministers to relocate to Doummar Projects,
a suburb located near the top of Qasayoun Mountain just outside of Damascus city.
The decision was made for “security reasons,” and seems to come as a prelude to
unleashing hell on the city itself from the surrounding mountains.
Video Highlights
Deir Ezzor
The north bank of the Euphrates River in Syria is now effectively liberated.
In the town of Mayadeen, Deir Ezzor, Jabhat Al-Nusra held
a military parade celebrating the establishment of a Sharia Council to rule the
Eastern Province. The troops we see here are called the policemen or the
enforcers of the rules of the Sharia Council http://youtu.be/gjE1OHlqkDc , http://youtu.be/yNhV-qwqrFY
Local activists say that the local population that remains in the city,
around 30,000 (half the population was forced to flee over the preceding year
on account of pounding by pro-Assad militias) is not happy with this
development, nor are other rebels groups in the city. Al-Nusra members have
been trying to impose Sharia rule on the city. At night, local inhabitants took
to the streets demanding Al-Nusra’s departure chanting “Syria is free, Al-Nusra
should leave.” http://youtu.be/McTlm99Igy8
People are also afraid that Al-Nusra presence could leave to aerial or Scud
bombardment of their town. The people were not wrong, soon after Al-Nusra’s
parade the rural areas around the city were targeted by a Scud http://youtu.be/LiTFJfiC338 An aerial
bombardment soon followed http://youtu.be/hufRvlYGn4s
, http://youtu.be/mqXneSb1wAo
Seeing that the Council’s jurisdiction is meant to encompass the entire
Eastern region and not only Mayadeen, the town, in a sense, has become the
provisional capital of the Islamic Caliphate of Syria. But the issue is not
settled yet, as tensions between Al-Nusra and its affiliates and more moderates
groups in city continue to grow, the two sides might end up clashing.
Meanwhile, battles elsewhere in the province continue, as rebels assert
their control and destroy more of pro-Assad troops and militias. Here they chase
away troops from the 113th Brigade
http://youtu.be/bDZQ2L8YZ60 , http://youtu.be/r5vNDpGShNA Rebels from Liwa
Al-Ikhlas, an affiliate of Jabhat Al-Nusra, fire at a helicopter gunship
that landed to evacuate the last of the pro-Assad militias on the scene http://youtu.be/tZAIzkMjD2A , http://youtu.be/FV9EZ21mzU4 The spoils http://youtu.be/L91sVFSDvMQ , http://youtu.be/-N_t_hcDe04 The Euphrates
Storm Brigade also took part in the operation http://youtu.be/GhvMBk3hw7Y A long video
surveying the scene of the battle http://youtu.be/naWLJtg2yv4 One of the
confiscated armored vehicles http://youtu.be/LDjNeVPmlz4
Elsewhere, members of Jabhat Al-Nusra hold an auction for the
tanks and BMPs they confiscated http://youtu.be/pF3-Hq2-v1U
Homs
Rebels declare that the famous refinery of Homs has been shelled
by the regime. This is Syria’s main refinery, and one of only 2 refineries in the
country http://youtu.be/3m0WSS4ckfI Some
of the installation were set ablaze http://youtu.be/yH5fn4rIMHY
The pounding also destroys the paint factor http://youtu.be/hZq6s8d1NRQ
Ghanto, Homs Province: the village is attacked using incendiary
cluster bombs http://youtu.be/p8dzKS0l1aA
These bodies belong to pro-Assad militias who tried to invade rebel
strongholds in Homs City http://youtu.be/KYAZ1jWFkh8
the strongholds have been under siege for close to 18 months now, but rebels,
as few as they are, remain entrenched. Assad needs to control Homs City and
province in order to secure access to the Alawite-majority coastal enclave. Rebel
strongholds come under renewed shelling after the failure of the attack http://youtu.be/WPkvsHveOyw , http://youtu.be/zyEY4J7RzS8 Scenes of
devastation http://youtu.be/LPbK6CE5-xo
The neighborhood of Baba Amr gets pounded by MiGs soon after its
liberation http://youtu.be/bX2NLzzobKU
, http://youtu.be/44x37csXdag , http://youtu.be/5hcNrOR5vvc
Jabhat Al-Nusra documents some of their recent operations in
Homs (Dar Al-Kabirah) and Hama provinces where with pro-Assad militias and
occasionally with Hezbollah fighters have intensified over the last few weeks http://youtu.be/6BVLAEMNaPg
Rebels from the Farouq Brigade (members of the Syrian Islamic
Front) attack a loyalist convoy on a road in Sahel Al-Ghab, Hama
Province http://youtu.be/B6ehJov7h0k
Aleppo
In Aleppo Province, Col. Abdul-Jabbar Al-Oqaidi, helps in pounding the Minnigh
Airport http://youtu.be/R92aXDZqlGg
A new massacre takes place in Aleppo along the Quwaiq River in Boustan
Al-Qasr Neighborhood in Aleppo City: local activists find over 20 bodies
strewn along the banks http://youtu.be/4fpYQXDAxPw
, http://youtu.be/EKFmMPy-b-k Removing
the bodies http://youtu.be/bcpLQJHjIqw
Daraa
Rebels from Shuhada Al-Yarmouk Brigade, Daraa, release the UN
observers http://youtu.be/ZTTy4yt_bZE
Reception by Jordanian authorities http://youtu.be/ueVrpaAnXjU
UN Observers cross over to the Jordanian side http://youtu.be/nHli334QV_0
Elsewhere in Daraa, in the town of Abdeen, rebels take control
of the positions of the heavy artillery operated by regime loyalists http://youtu.be/hso3Eh0f_NM Spoils of
war http://youtu.be/DPtr--13XwY
Survey of the scene http://youtu.be/ZebDvRENcLQ
, http://youtu.be/nbfh75RBX3Y
In Daraa City, rebels destroy a tank http://youtu.be/qClWKeTurfM
Elsewhere in the province, the battles continue to rage http://youtu.be/UTB-iqD-Jx8
Damascus
Rebels in Damascus City target the March 8 Complex in Abbasid Square
now used by pro-Assad snipers http://youtu.be/FVBa8xfdzMQ
, http://youtu.be/ilyrtTUybds Packing
up http://youtu.be/Btum98fPLow Pro-Assad
militias reapond by pounding Jobar Neighborhood http://youtu.be/ro1sAFoxwlk
Rebels destroy a tank in Mleihah, Eastern Ghoutah http://youtu.be/1qlogJVy_88 On the
outskirts of town, people find 14 bodies belonging to people who seem to have been
field executed: 2 men, 4 children and 8 women http://youtu.be/SBhTTiDQuBA , http://youtu.be/5DWu0FOVFHs The burial http://youtu.be/tvB6J76UBeE At first,
locals had found pieces of clothes buried in the field, which made them dig up
the fields and find the bodies http://youtu.be/0GiBJZ4NQB0
, http://youtu.be/3q_76b-NwHg , http://youtu.be/w_ztCQ14K2c
Other towns in Eastern Ghoutah also come under intense aerial
bombardment: Jisreen http://youtu.be/uuq6Gw5XpEw
Kafar Batna http://youtu.be/G0hKOcjW4to
Saqba http://youtu.be/VDnRBtxdMHI
Raqqah
An aerial raid leaves many dead in Al-Rumaila Neighborhood in Raqqah
City http://youtu.be/4KFGVBhkung
Elsewhere
In a sign of increasing extremism in the ranks, rebels somewhere in
Syria (they don’t identify their location) destroy a Shia shrine http://youtu.be/0PFowslfXm4 Some
activists questioned the authenticity of the video, but it is clear by now that
some rebel groups are operating as extremist criminal gangs.
Rebels force their captives to curse Bashar Al-Assad, just as pro-Assad
militias use to force their rebel captives to praise him http://youtu.be/5FjuEbCrbQc
Rebels bring down a plan with heat-seeking missile http://youtu.be/LeSWoGOldeY
Member of Jabhat Al-Nusra arrest a loyalist soldier pretending
to be dead http://youtu.be/-bCugKEZDOU
Haass, Idlib: pulling bodies from under the rubble in the
aftermath of a Scud attack http://youtu.be/xYEd_AWFFJI
, http://youtu.be/LJ2N1nWLOZ8 The
general scene http://youtu.be/nkoC9N8WSGc
, http://youtu.be/e0E4H-RsXE8
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