[Centraal] Crisis in Syrië en Irak #415 Aleppo

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Op woensdag 30 november 2016 13:31 schreef DustPuppy het volgende:
Rusland vraagt om opheldering:

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twitter:

XSovietNews twitterde op woensdag 30-11-2016 om 14:10:35 LifeNews: Syrian Foreign Ministry: Erdogan's statements put an end to his lies. https://t.co/nDUrF06XdJ reageer retweet

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Op woensdag 30 november 2016 00:42 schreef Aloulu het volgende:

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Iran is een religieuze staat. Het heeft zoals Saudie Arabië een duidelijke religieuze ideologie die het actief exporteert. Overal waar Iran zich heeft bemoeid met conflicten is er in het kielzog van militaire hulp ideologische "aid" meegestuurd om zieltjes te winnen. Al in Bosnië, maar ook in Irak na de val van Saddam (strijd tussen wilayat alfaqih sjia en non-WF sjia in Irak) of zelfs met staatshoofden waar geen conflict is maar men het verkoopt onder het mom van "Iraans Cultureel Attache", zoals in Marokko voordat men de banden verbrak, of Tunesië van voor de revolutie. Dit beperkt zich tot het verspreiden van 12-er sjia lectuur en bekeerlingen (gratis) in Qom laten studeren bijvoorbeeld.

Als je denkt dat Syrië anders is is het alsof je stelt dat ook Saudie Arabië niet moeite doet om elke klein kans niet te benutten om diens ideologie te verspreiden. Syrië is verwoest en kan behalve alle militaire hulp van Iran ook economische hulp gebruiken straks. Iran zal daar goed op inspringen, met de bekende ideologische inslag als winstpunt en gedrevenheid zieltjes te winnen. Opkopen van grond, investeringsprojecten beginnen, allemaal onderdeel van en tweede fase waarin economisch gezien de tentakels worden uitgespreid en Assads-regime sowieso geen kant meer op kan omdat het weinig keuze of alternatieven heeft. Met altijd op de achtergrond de verspreiding van de heersende doctrine in de Islamitische Republiek Iran: 12-er sjia Islam met wilayat al Faqih inslag: autoriteit behoort aan nu Khamenei.

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Op woensdag 30 november 2016 13:45 schreef DustPuppy het volgende:
Nieuwe speler erbij (als sinds september, maar vooruit).

[ afbeelding ]
Eentje die komende maanden erg belangrijk gaat worden.

Toffe vlag wel, eigenlijk.

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Op woensdag 30 november 2016 18:46 schreef Slayage het volgende:
weer een nieuwe PKK proxy of is dit een directe militie gecreeerd door de assadisten? mijn arabisch is niet zo best.

twitter:

Avashin twitterde op woensdag 30-11-2016 om 17:56:13 reports that local groups in Azaz asking YPG for help to kick out Turkish backed Al Qaeda groups from the city. #TwitterKurds reageer retweet

twitter:

Syria_Rebel_Obs twitterde op woensdag 30-11-2016 om 18:38:45 #SRO | LOCAL SOURCE - Liwa Asifat al-Shamal (part of Jabhat ash-Shamiya), main #Azaz brigade, had talks in past days with #Afrin #SDF (1) reageer retweet

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Op zondag 27 november 2016 14:49 schreef Zahreddine het volgende:
Als de ''rebellen'' slim zijn geven ze gewoon Aleppo op.

twitter:

sayed_ridha twitterde op woensdag 30-11-2016 om 23:59:29 Turkish-FSA forces have suffered large losses in a number of failed offensives against SDF/YPG at Qert Weran, Oshali & Sheikh Nasir reageer retweet

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Op donderdag 1 december 2016 10:05 schreef HSG het volgende:

twitter:

sayed_ridha twitterde op woensdag 30-11-2016 om 23:59:29 Turkish-FSA forces have suffered large losses in a number of failed offensives against SDF/YPG at Qert Weran, Oshali & Sheikh Nasir reageer retweet

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Op donderdag 1 december 2016 10:50 schreef TheJanitor het volgende:

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Benieuwd wie Al-Bab gaat krijgen.

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Op donderdag 1 december 2016 11:03 schreef HSG het volgende:

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Straks wordt het allemaal kebab!

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Op donderdag 1 december 2016 11:10 schreef TheJanitor het volgende:

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Win-win voor iedereen.

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Op donderdag 1 december 2016 11:14 schreef HSG het volgende:

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Heb je gelijk ook het voedselprobleem opgelost.

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The Turkish military operation in Syria is not against anyone but terror groups, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Dec. 1.

Earlier, Erdoğan on Nov. 29 said that the Turkish military had launched its Euphrates Shield Operation that started in late August in Syria to end Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s rule.

Details to come...

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Neither Russia nor Syria staged deadly attack on Turkish soldiers in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said during an official visit to Turkey on Dec. 1.

Speaking at a joint news conference after meeting his Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in the Mediterranean resort town of Alanya, Lavrov also said through a translator that Russia was “ready to speak with all parties in the Syrian conflict.”

Four Turkish soldiers were killed and nine others were wounded in the air strike during a Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army operation in northern Syria.

International agencies misquoted Lavrov as saying in earlier reports that Syria was responsible for the attack due to translation mistake.

December/01/2016

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Syrian rebels in secret talks with Moscow to end Aleppo fighting

Turkey-facilitated negotiations without US show how Washington could become sidelined

19 MINUTES AGO by: Erika Solomon in Beirut , Mehul Srivastasa in Istanbul and Geoff Dyer in Washington

Syrian rebels are in secret talks with Russia to end the fighting in Aleppo, according to opposition figures, a development that shows how the US could become sidelined in some of the Middle East’s most pivotal conflicts.

Four opposition members from rebel-held northern Syria told the Financial Times that Turkey has been brokering talks in Ankara with Moscow, whose military intervention last year on the side of President Bashar al-Assad helped turn the five-year civil war in the regime’s favour. Russia is now backing regime efforts to recapture the rebel’s last urban stronghold in Syria’s second city of Aleppo.

“The Russians and Turks are talking without the US now. It [Washington] is completely shut out of these talks, and doesn’t even know what’s going on in Ankara,” said one opposition figure, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.

The outgoing administration of US President Barack Obama has provided limited training and weaponry for the rebels but had long been hesitant to give forceful backing that could turn the tide in the opposition’s favour. President-elect Donald Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly signalled his willingness to back Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s efforts to shore up the Assad regime in the five-year civil war, arguing that the Kremlin is acting to stamp out Islamic extremists.

While the secret talks are not the first time a rebel representative has met with the Russians, those familiar with the talks said it was the first time such a large number of opposition groups were involved — a sign of where they think they will have to turn to reach a deal.

The negotiations are riven by the tensions between Ankara and Moscow, however. The Kremlin confirmed on Wednesday that Mr Putin spoke with Recep Tayyip Erdogan after the Turkish leader had said he was seeking Mr Assad’s overthrow. A Turkish official, who asked not to be named, said talks over an Aleppo ceasefire were derailed after Mr Erdogan’s comments caused a Russian delegation to abruptly cut off talks while waiting for Mr Erdogan and Mr Putin to speak.

Though the talks have made little progress, the fact they are taking place, without US involvement, underlines the shifting political dynamics in the Middle East. Regional actors now seem more willing to bypass Washington to seek out pacts with Russia, which is keen to develop the image of a rising power that can help broker such deals.

The fierce Russia-backed aerial assault has nearly flattened Aleppo. In the past week regime forces have made steady advances, capturing more than a third of rebel-held districts.

Yaser Alyoussef, a spokesman for the Nour al-Din al-Zinki brigades, called the talks “consultations, not negotiations,” adding that they were ongoing but had so far been unsuccessful.

“There are consultations with the Russians through Turkish mediation to calm things down and bring in essential goods into the city,” he said. “We want to bring in basic things, even if just a single bag of rice could come in. At this point everything is needed, from food and fuel to medicine.”

None of those who spoke about the negotiations would clarify if the rebels met the Russians face-to-face or indirectly, with Turkish officials mediating.

On Thursday Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, met with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in the Mediterranean town of Alanya, where he said Russia was willing to work with all parties in Syria. Asked about talks with the rebels, he told journalists: “We have never avoided contacts with any political opposition groups or with field commanders,” adding that Turkish officials often related information to them about the rebels.

For Washington, any such negotiations have ramifications far beyond Syria. Emile Hokayem, a fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, blamed the marginalisation of the US in the civil war on Barack Obama, who has shown a reluctance to entangle Washington in regional rivalries, leading Middle East leaders to turn to Moscow instead.

“The American approach to this conflict guaranteed the US less and less relevance, not just in the Syrian conflict but also the broader regional dynamics. There has been a loss of face and a loss of leverage,” he said. “The politics of the region are being transformed and this happened under Obama, whether by design or by failure.”

Libyan general Khalifa Haftar, who holds an eastern portion of the war-torn country, recently went to Moscow seeking military support. Turkey, having resolved its dispute with Moscow over the downing of a Russian jet, is believed to have reached an understanding with Russia that allows Ankara to deploy its forces in parts of northern Syria. Egypt and several Gulf countries have also increased communications with Russia, Mr Hokayem said.

Charles Lister, a Syria expert at the Middle East Institute in Washington, said the first meeting between Russia, Turkey and the rebels took place on Monday in Ankara, and another meeting was likely on Saturday.

“Russia is hedging its bets. It would prefer to make a deal with the opposition,” he said. “If Aleppo were to fall, the Syrian regime would need so many troops to hold the city that its forces would be left thin elsewhere in the country — or dependent on Iranian help, which Moscow would prefer to avoid.”

In parallel to the talks in Turkey, the US has been pursuing negotiations to restore the ceasefire and aid deliveries to Aleppo, including talks with Russia through the Geneva process and regular phone conversations between John Kerry, outgoing US secretary of state, and Mr Lavrov.

One opposition figure, when asked why he thought Russia would seek a deal with the rebels just as Mr Assad appeared to be winning, said Moscow was “essentially saying: ‘Screw you, Americans’.”

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Op donderdag 1 december 2016 14:38 schreef no1uknow het volgende:

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https://www.ft.com/content/bc167c3a-b71d-11e6-961e-a1acd97f622d

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"Fantastic peace deal, tremendous terms, we get the oil, you get protection."

"If you don't agree with us and make peace we will bomb the hell out of you. And boy believe me some folks can't wait to turn on CNN and watch your country lit up. They don't care who's in power, they really don't. Do you know what a Nuclear Football is? I could test one on your country and I wouldn't lose any support. Putin [...] he won't care he's a good friend, a fantastic friend, he could be the sole gas supplier for Europe, he'd love that, it's incredible."

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Op donderdag 1 december 2016 12:15 schreef Slayage het volgende:
erdo is teruggefloten door de russen

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"I can only say that a telephone conversation between our president and Erdogan took place yesterday, and the topic [of Turkey’s presence in Syria] was addressed. Yes, he [Erdogan] gave an explanation," Ushakov told reporters on Thursday, without elaborating.

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Op donderdag 1 december 2016 15:17 schreef Charleville het volgende:
Voor de mensen die nieuwsgierig zijn hoe Aleppo er voor de oorlog uit zag, in deze link heb je enorm veel foto's .

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De gastvrijheid is misschien wat minder dan vroeger, heb ik de indruk. Daar zullen 9/11 en de golfoorlogen wellicht niet vreemd aan zijn. De bevolking is ook een stuk religieuzer geworden. Vroeger was een hoofddoek de uitzondering (het Alawitisch minderheidsbewind hààt de soenitische meerderheid), nu is het eerder de regel. Als je al een 'liberaal' uitziende Syriër ontmoet is dat meestal een regeringsgezinde Alawiet of een Christen.

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Op donderdag 1 december 2016 13:35 schreef zarGon het volgende:

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SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

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SPOILER

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In een spoiler omdat het veels te veel/lang blabla is.

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Op donderdag 1 december 2016 12:55 schreef Szura het volgende:
Tja, als toch niemand je wat kan maken...

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Op donderdag 1 december 2016 13:35 schreef zarGon het volgende:

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SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

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SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

In een spoiler omdat het veels te veel/lang blabla is.

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Op donderdag 1 december 2016 16:26 schreef Koskesh het volgende:

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Super, bedankt voor het delen!

Ook interessant om te zien wat er in die reeks wordt gezegd in 2008:

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Radicalisatie in opkomst, leidend tot massale steun aan jihadisten onder de bevolking.

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Op donderdag 1 december 2016 16:34 schreef Slayage het volgende:

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zou me niks verbazen als het een naaistreek van putin blijkt te zijn, dan is het briljant uitgevoerd iig. echter blijft het giswerk en volgens wat tweets van bosno sinjic hebben de turken een toezegging gekregen van de russen TOT al bab en dat dat de reden was van de syrische/russische bombardementen op de turken (volgens zijn bron in het turkse leger)

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Op donderdag 1 december 2016 13:35 schreef zarGon het volgende:

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SPOILER

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[..]

SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

In een spoiler omdat het veels te veel/lang blabla is.

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Iraqi Army has found its very own Stalingrad, where they are able take some ground with armor support, but are unable to hold it against enemy counter attacks that ISIS is able to conduct on their own terms.

Close quarters battle from house to house and room to room against an opponent is grueling and the lack of success is demoralizing. Iraqi Army does not possess the skills or motivation required to successfully defeat ISIS in infantry warfare.

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Op donderdag 1 december 2016 18:55 schreef Zahreddine het volgende:
Mosul duurt inderdaad lang...

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IS: vanuit strijdgebied niet meer op sociale media

Berichten zouden volgens IS getraceerd worden, met bombardementen als gevolg.

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Giving Voice to Millions of Americans: End US Wars of Intervention

I recently met with President-elect Donald Trump to give voice to the millions of Americans, including my fellow veterans, who desperately want to end our country’s illegal, counterproductive war to overthrow the Syrian government. We had an hour-long, meaningful, back-and-forth discussion about the problems with current US policy in Syria and where to go from here.

I felt it critical to meet with him now, before warmongering neocons convince him to escalate this war that has already taken more than 400,000 lives and left millions of Syrians homeless and in search of safety for themselves and their families.

I conveyed to the President-elect how the post-9/11 neocon agenda of interventionism and regime-change has left US foreign policy absurdly disconnected from our actual security interests. Our actions to overthrow secular dictators in Iraq and Libya, and attempts now to do the same in Syria, have resulted in tremendous loss of life, failed nations, and even worse humanitarian crises while strengthening the very terrorist organizations that have declared war on America.

Since 2011, the United States—working with Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, and Turkey—has been providing support to “rebel groups” fighting to overthrow the government and take over Syria. A recent New York Times article reported that these “rebel groups” supported by the US “have entered into battlefield alliances with the affiliate of al-Qaeda in Syria, formerly known as al-Nusra.” How the United States can work hand-in-hand with the very terrorist organization that is responsible for the killing of 3,000 Americans on 9/11 boggles my mind and curdles my blood.

The stakes are higher now than ever. Get The Nation in your inbox.

This absurd alliance has allowed terrorist groups like al-Qaeda to establish strongholds throughout Syria, including in Aleppo, where they are now using the civilian population as human shields and their deaths as propaganda tools.

Additionally, escalating this regime-change war by implementing a “no fly/safe zone” in Syria would not only be ineffective, it would put the US in direct military confrontation with nuclear-power Russia, require tens of thousands of ground troops and a massive US air presence, and commit us to yet another endless war in the Middle East that does not serve American or Syrian interests.

In short, even if the US-Saudi alliance were successful in overthrowing the Syrian government, we would be saddled with the responsibility of building a new nation in Syria. Trillions of US taxpayer dollars, and who knows how many American lives, will be lost, and there will be little to show for it. As was true in Iraq and Libya, the US has no credible government or leader able to bring order, security, and freedom to the people of Syria if Assad is overthrown. To maintain order after Assad’s fall would require at least 500,000 troops in a never-ending occupation.

The most likely outcome of this regime-change war is that it will open the door for ISIS, al-Qaeda, and other terrorist groups who are the most powerful fighting forces on the ground, to take over all of Syria, amass powerful weapons (many of which will have been provided to them by the US), and pose a far worse threat to the Syrian people, religious minorities, and to the world.

The crux of my advice to President-elect Trump was this: we must end this ill-conceived, counterproductive regime-change war immediately. We must focus our precious resources on investing in and rebuilding our own country and on defeating al-Qaeda, ISIS, and other terrorist groups that pose a threat to the American people.

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Op donderdag 1 december 2016 20:15 schreef Szura het volgende:

-knip-

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Op donderdag 1 december 2016 22:35 schreef Zahreddine het volgende:
West Ghouta opgekuist!

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Op donderdag 1 december 2016 22:43 schreef Zahreddine het volgende:

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En dan te denken dat het Southern Front ooit via Dera'a Damascus wou innemen

leeft het SF nog?

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Op donderdag 1 december 2016 22:32 schreef EdvandeBerg het volgende:

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Deze mevrouw snapt het helemaal!

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Op donderdag 1 december 2016 22:50 schreef Zahreddine het volgende:

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Zouden ze beter in het Noorden ook eens doen, nu weten we tenminste wat de rebellen zonder steun van buitenaf zijn.