Top Syrian rebel killed in airstrike near Damascus

BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press


BEIRUT (AP) — Opposition activists say an airstrike near the capital Damascus has killed top rebel commander Zahran Allouch.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an airstrike hit an Islam Army meeting near the Damascus suburb of Otaya on Friday killing several officials including Allouch.

The Local Coordination Committees said Allouch was killed by a Russian airstrike in al-Marj area near Damascus.

The Lebanon-based AL-Mayadeen TV said Allouch was killed during a meeting to reconcile two feuding militant factions near Damascus. The station said 13 airstrikes hit eastern Damascus on Friday.

Saudi-backed Allouch is one of the most powerful rebel commanders and his group controls large parts of the Damascus suburbs.

His death comes a month before peace talks between the Syrian government and the opposition are to begin in Geneva.

-- (c) Associated Press 2015-12-26

So, in trying to follow the story, who are the good guys and who are the bad guys? Choose one in each category.

Good guys.

1. Syrian government.

2. Rebels.

3. Russians.

Bad guys.

1. Syrian government.

2. Rebels.

3. Russians.

Cheers.

Here we go then, it isn't actually hard to figure out who are the good and bad guys when you actually know the history of the region and how the current situation came to be. You can either acquire a BS opinion on Fox News etc, or if you're someone that likes to read, former US President staffer David Stockman has an excellent essay here:

http://davidstockmanscontracorner.com/christmas-2015-why-there-is-no-peace-on-earth/

Very good outline covering quite a few aspects, well worth the read...

As mentioned in another topic 'a complex web' of competing interests.

Allouch was going to represent the Army Of Islam at the upcoming peace conference. Some analysts claim the killing of Allouch is contrary to the objective of trying to put in place pragmatic political solutions to reduce the level of violence. Russia also recently bombed and killed dozens during a ceasefire in Idlib, yet again complicating efforts by parties to try and reach political outcomes.

Army of Islam has previously filmed executions of Daesh members in revenge for murders of their members by Daesh and so it goes on & on.