If the Americans have no clear public policy on the goings-on
in Syria, the Russians have a dozen at any given moment. Whatever talks are taking
place behind closed doors between the two parties don’t seem be making any
difference so far. What the haggling is all about is hard to know. But my
limited experience in such matters indicates that indirect modes of communication
often prevail even in secret talks. Each side will have to continually guess
what the other side really wants, because neither side is willing to say it
clearly and openly. And both sides have notoriously been either bad at guessing,
or unwilling to admit, even to themselves, what the other side really wants,
because they don’t really want to give it.
Saturday December
22, 2012
Today’s
Death Toll: 143, including 2
children and 3 women: 75 in Damascus and suburbs (including 30 bodies were
found in Bahdaliya, 5 in Hamouriya, and 5 in Qaboun), 30 in Aleppo, 13 in Hama,
8 in Raqqa, 7 in Idlib, 5 in Daraa, 4 in Homs and one martyr in Deir Ezzor. Points of Random Shelling: 199.
Clashes: 116. Rebels
gained control of the Qaybar battalion in Efreen in Aleppo, liberated Ishara
battalion in Homs, liberated two checkpoints at the entrance of Raqqa, and
gained control of the Siyasa and Elim roundabouts in Raqqa. They also forced
regime forces to retreat from the southern region of Mourek in Hama (LCC).
News
Syria
Rebels Threaten To Storm Christian Towns Of Mahrada, Sqailbiyeh A video
released by rebels showed Rashid Abul-Fidaa, who identified himself as the
commander of the Ansar Brigade for Hama province, calling on locals in Mahrada
and Sqailbiyeh to rise up against Assad's forces or prepare for an assault.
In
Syria's Aleppo, 'We're starving. I can bear it but what about my children?'
Rebel fighters have hunkered down in warehouses to halt offensives by Assad's
forces in the civil war. The few lucky bakeries in Aleppo that have supplies
often have hundreds standing in line, hoping for a few loaves.
Syria:
Strong Coalition Message Against Targeting Civilians The Syrian
National Coalition (SNC) sent a clear signal that targeting civilians violates
the laws of war. The coalition’s statement on December 19, 2012, condemned
attacks on civilians, regardless of their nationality.
Iran
says to send humanitarian aid to Syria's Palestinians Aid would be
dispatched in Yarmouk, where insurgents took control earlier this week.
The Russian Conundrum
Video Highlights
Rebels in Damascus take control of an interrogation center in the
suburb of Harasta used by the Republican Guard. One of the slogans
written on the wall goes as follows: “If you’re a patriot, you will be saved
100%. But if you were an infiltrator, then you will be missing 100%.” http://youtu.be/fMxImqALJEU Gathering
for the assault against the center http://youtu.be/HbLqZAtKe2w
, http://youtu.be/txixHKGkB8U Hitting
the compound with a rocket http://youtu.be/ZpaC26dH-RI
Preparing the rocket http://youtu.be/LWk2XOgSGOw
In Qaboun Suburb, Damascus City, locals search through the
rubble in search of bodies after a booby-trapped car exploded http://youtu.be/DiTCeTwxGQY , http://youtu.be/wNZGDiPNdx4 , http://youtu.be/IcRKeNKO56w , http://youtu.be/Y8_9RYUr15s , http://youtu.be/joHUbSS2G8U Local
activists blame regime loyalists for the explosion, as Qaboun is mainly a
rebel-held area.
Shelling leave many dead in Hamouriyeh Suburb, in Eastern
Ghoutah, Damascus http://youtu.be/qOnZ8s3Glp4
, http://youtu.be/28ZwC2gmEHg , http://youtu.be/4n3I8ded4tA the shelling
of Zibdeen leaves many vehicles on fire http://youtu.be/Tk8JVerCnjs
This rant by an Islamist rebel in Damascus against another
group, Liwa Al-Haqq, believed to be supported by the Muslim Brotherhood serves
as an indication of the kind of schisms that will divide rebel groups in the
near future. Basically, the disagreement here is that members of Liwa Al-Haqq
seem to have abandoned their positions to collect the booty and claim the
victory on video, allowing regime forces to move in against other rebels http://youtu.be/KBnWvYx0yqY The rebel
leader, Abu jabber, rails against the Brotherhood and says Syria can only be
led by a true pious Muslim. Such disputes happen every day and are usually
swept under the carpet and go unreported.
A new Kurdish rebel group is formed in Kobani, Aleppo http://youtu.be/duqi71scvK0 But is it
more a counterweight to the popular PYD militias? With the takeover of the
Kurdish-majority town of Ras Al-Ain by Jabhat Al-Nusra, Kurdish territories
were divided in two parts. There are different efforts by the Syrian National
Council (not the Coalition) aimed, we are told, at reconciliation between Arab
tribes, Kurdish population and Islamist rebel groups. But the moves seem to
indicate a containment strategy meant to prevent a drive towards autonomy by
the Kurdish population, and could, as such, instigate a larger conflict between
Arabs and Kurds. The formation of “independent” Kurdish fighting units and
battalions may be part of a larger strategy aimed at containing the Kurds, not
fighting the regime.
Members of Jabhat Al-Nusra in Aleppo claims that they had
arrested these Alawite officers in the village of Shaikh Sulaiman and that one
of them later blew himself up killing himself and his comrades http://youtu.be/tcdhiXrTPUY The video
does not appear to support this claim, as there are no signs of an explosion or
of wounds caused by an explosion. The officers seem to have been executed.
Reports of executions of captured Alawite officers by Islamist rebels,
especially those belonging to Jabhat Al-Nusra and its affiliates are
widespread, although seldom captured on video. But they attest as to the
growing sectarian nature of the conflict.
Some of the missiles locally manufactured by rebels affiliated with Liwa
Al-Tawhid in Aleppo http://youtu.be/RSuDMup4nT0
A missile in action: the target Aleppo International Airport http://youtu.be/6xPNnvmHyzg
Despite continuing battles, local councils do their best to maintain
basic services: garbage collection in Al-Sukkari Neighborhood, Aleppo
City http://youtu.be/7kTGoD96kvo , http://youtu.be/S9DG3xmc_cw
Rebel leader and defector, Col. Abdul-Jabbar Al-Oqaidi, awards the sash
of independence to supporters of the revolution in Aleppo City http://youtu.be/-CBAs-Dg9mw
In Yabroud, Damascus, rebels exhibit an armored vehicle that
they have gained in recent fighting http://youtu.be/zihyyq4c7xE
A pipeline blows up in Deir Ezzor during clashes between
loyalists and rebels http://youtu.be/I6Ggy48XobU
Meanwhile, the siege of the Military Airport continues http://youtu.be/L5-AmZL1vbg
An activist from Mourek, Hama, comments on the current clashes
taking place in his town http://youtu.be/e7wyOoeSUvY
, http://youtu.be/fi2KbTCB6Ko Treating
the wounded http://youtu.be/ypZwk95NkAY
Rebels are trying to take back the city one checkpoint at a time http://youtu.be/CoT3X_YB3TI , http://youtu.be/viH2sbHHQRY Several
checkpoints have so far fallen http://youtu.be/izIRUxTAZuU
, http://youtu.be/k0RK45HxNPM , http://youtu.be/Vm_3tAUCEFw
In Sultaniyeh, Home, rebels try to take down a fighter jet but
fail http://youtu.be/Y2vNJZ6kbdM Meanwhile,
in Jobar, Homs City, jets take part in the pounding http://youtu.be/rqYKCo3pHQY
Leaked video documents the use of missile launchers in the pounding of Daraa
City http://youtu.be/sDcbaDDFqb8
Rebels consolidate their hold of the areas around the town of Efreen,
Aleppo, by taking control over Qaybar battalion: gathering http://youtu.be/EAkJOdc_lBU , http://youtu.be/9I7XeR90yQU , http://youtu.be/8dw4qJihVSc the attack http://youtu.be/zixBGzIeUzE , http://youtu.be/wAHNsabXhO8 , http://youtu.be/wxSU6Z3CrvA , http://youtu.be/pcwjj5-Mel8 , http://youtu.be/K0-3C43dv1w
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