Syria: Assad forces tighten grip on Aleppo

[rooster59]

Syria: Assad forces tighten grip on Aleppo

 

 

Russian-backed Syrian forces seized strategic territory to the north of Aleppo on Saturday, marking the first major ground advance of an offensive to retake rebel-held zones and bring the entire city under Assad regime control.

 

Pictures provided by Syrian government-controlled media purportedly show the battle for Handarat, a former Palestinian refugee camp, in rebel hands for years.

 

On elevated ground, it overlooks one of the main roads into Aleppo where residents of the rebel-held half say warplanes have unleashed unprecedented firepower.

 

Aleppo resident Yousef said that early on Saturday morning, President’s Assad’s forces struck with a powerful missile that shook everything, killing seven children and their mother.

 

“There is no civil defence or first aid. He has destroyed the country and killed many people. There are still many under the rubble and we continue to pull them out,” he said.Rebel officials said heavy air strikes on Saturday hit at least four areas of the opposition-held east. Video of the blast sites showed huge craters several metres wide and deep.It is unclear whether Syrian or Russian warplanes are behind the new wave of fierce air strikes that have left dozens dead and dealt a bitter blow to any hopes of reviving a short-lived truce.The United Nations children’s agency UNICEF said the fierce attacks have left nearly two million people in Aleppo with no running water. Negotiations are underway, it says, to repair a water pumping station and get water flowing back to the city.

 

 

The collapse of peacemaking, and Assad’s decision to launch an all-out assault on the last big urban area still in rebel hands, appears to mark a turning point in a conflict that was in stalemate for years. Assad and his allies seem more determined than ever to crush the nearly six-year-old rebellion by force.

 

Western countries and international aid organisations say they fear for the lives of the more than 250,000 civilians believed to be trapped in the rebel-held zone of Aleppo, Syria’s biggest city, divided into opposition and government sectors for years. The army says it is only targeting militants.

 

 

 

-- © Copyright Euronews 2016-09-25

[i claudius]

Assad may be a cruel bastard ,but so were the other rulers America and the west deposed , look what happened after ,utter chaos and a far worse outcome . these countrys are still living in the middle ages . let their rulers sort it out ,

[coma]

This is good news. Hopefully it will all be over soon.

[bannork]

Hell on earth.

[johnnywishbone]

The west in general and the USA in particular will on the final analysis have little positive effect anywhere in the Middle East
Shia Sunni Tribal Sharia.
No true comprehension I would think.
"I from the government and I'm here to help"
Does not compute.
Mans inhumanity to man
Seems boundless.



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[craigt3365]

46 minutes ago, i claudius said:

Assad may be a cruel bastard ,but so were the other rulers America and the west deposed , look what happened after ,utter chaos and a far worse outcome . these countrys are still living in the middle ages . let their rulers sort it out ,

This is a civil war.  Why is Russia involved?  It's an internal conflict.  Russia is bombing those who oppose Assad, not just IS.  Why aren't you complaining about that?

[i claudius]

Because I don't care ,

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[i claudius]

As long as the rebels get killed ,good ,we should help

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[craigt3365]

3 minutes ago, i claudius said:

As long as the rebels get killed ,good ,we should help

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One man's rebel is another's freedom fighter.  Sad you don't care.  That's the big problem in the world today.

 

These are just ordinary citizens fighting a corrupt and brutal dictator who has massacred thousands of innocent civilians.  With the support of Russia.

[FritsSikkink]

2 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

One man's rebel is another's freedom fighter.  Sad you don't care.  That's the big problem in the world today.

 

These are just ordinary citizens fighting a corrupt and brutal dictator who has massacred thousands of innocent civilians.  With the support of Russia.

The problem today is that the USA invades every country to control its resources.

[pkspeaker]

4 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

This is a civil war.  Why is Russia involved?  It's an internal conflict.  Russia is bombing those who oppose Assad, not just IS.  Why aren't you complaining about that?

Russia is involved because the US and it's gulf state allies sought to overthrow the Baathest Assad regime and replace it with their cronies; And that can only be done with direct US military involvement-the US became involved in Syria's civil war before russia did. Once they overthru Assad (and somehow got the situation stabilized) they would then build a pipeline from the gulf thru syria and into europe; so as to strategically undercut Russian exports. plus the fact that Russia has a naval base in Syria and has historically supported it as one of their best allies-they will loose both if Assad looses.  

[Asiantravel]

42 minutes ago, pkspeaker said:

Russia is involved because the US and it's gulf state allies sought to overthrow the Baathest Assad regime and replace it with their cronies; And that can only be done with direct US military involvement-the US became involved in Syria's civil war before russia did. Once they overthru Assad (and somehow got the situation stabilized) they would then build a pipeline from the gulf thru syria and into europe; so as to strategically undercut Russian exports. plus the fact that Russia has a naval base in Syria and has historically supported it as one of their best allies-they will loose both if Assad looses.  

 

 

 

[Thorgal]

This is a civil war.  Why is Russia involved?  It's an internal conflict.  Russia is bombing those who oppose Assad, not just IS.  Why aren't you complaining about that?

It's not a civil war. Too many foreign mercenaries involved in the IS franchise, or what some still call the moderate rebels.

There's no a single word here of the many warnings before bombing to the civil population who support the 'moderated rebels'.

The Syrian conflict started in fact far from Damascus.

Russia has a pact with Iran and Syria, similar to the NATO.


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[Pakboong]

5 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

This is a civil war.  Why is Russia involved?  It's an internal conflict.  Russia is bombing those who oppose Assad, not just IS.  Why aren't you complaining about that?

Russia has been an ally of Syria for quite some time. What is the US doing there? They are not a Syrian Ally and have not been invited.

[coma]

This page has some good IS demographic charts that break down where these "foreign mercenaries" in its ranks come from. Don't know how accurate it is. Be hard to assess.  

 

About 3,000 fighters have gone to join the extremist group in Syria and Iraq from Tunisia and many more thousands have gone from their homes in Europe

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/11660487/Islamic-State-one-year-on-Where-do-its-fighters-come-from.html

[simple1]

40 minutes ago, Pakboong said:

Russia has been an ally of Syria for quite some time. What is the US doing there? They are not a Syrian Ally and have not been invited.

 

The US has long contended that collective self-defence of Iraq can legally encompass airstrikes in Syria, so long as that government remains "unwilling or unable" to prevent its territory being used as a base for ISIS. UN Ambassador Samantha Power argued that: "The Syrian regime has shown that it cannot and will not confront these safe-havens effectively itself." The US accordingly "initiated necessary and proportionate military actions in Syria" to "regain control of Iraq's borders."

[craigt3365]

2 hours ago, pkspeaker said:

Russia is involved because the US and it's gulf state allies sought to overthrow the Baathest Assad regime and replace it with their cronies; And that can only be done with direct US military involvement-the US became involved in Syria's civil war before russia did. Once they overthru Assad (and somehow got the situation stabilized) they would then build a pipeline from the gulf thru syria and into europe; so as to strategically undercut Russian exports. plus the fact that Russia has a naval base in Syria and has historically supported it as one of their best allies-they will loose both if Assad looses.  

Some of your points are spot on.  Yes, the US was there first.  But only marginally.  No boots on the ground.  The US wanted to overthrow the Assad regime for very good reasons!  He was killing his own people, including chemical attacks.  I don't see how anybody can't see that or understand the significance. 

 

Yes, Russia is there for 3 big reasons.

 

1. Syria is one of Russia's top customers for weapons.

2. A gas pipeline was underway that would undermine Russia's strangle hold on Europe.

3. Russia has had a navy base there for a long time.

 

Read up on how Russia is also trying to stop the gas pipeline in the Caucases.  I saw that pipeline a few months ago and read the new in the local press.  Russia is not well liked in that area.

[craigt3365]

4 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

The problem today is that the USA invades every country to control its resources.

You should do some research on how much oil and gas the US produces and how much they got from Iraq.  It will be educational for you.  This has nothing to do with energy.  And everything to do with human rights and the global economy.

[craigt3365]

1 hour ago, Thorgal said:

It's not a civil war. Too many foreign mercenaries involved in the IS franchise, or what some still call the moderate rebels.

There's no a single word here of the many warnings before bombing to the civil population who support the 'moderated rebels'.

The Syrian conflict started in fact far from Damascus.

Russia has a pact with Iran and Syria, similar to the NATO.

Seems many would argue with you about the civil war:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_civil_war

Quote

The Syrian civil war (Arabic: الحرب الأهلية السورية‎‎) is an ongoing multi-sided armed conflict in Syria in which international interventions^[127] have taken place. The war grew out of the unrest of the 2011 Arab Spring and escalated to armed conflict after President Bashar al-Assad's government violently repressed protests calling for his removal.^[128] The war is now being fought among several factions: the Syrian Government, a loose alliance of Syrian Arab rebel groups, the Syrian Democratic Forces, Salafi jihadist groups (including al-Nusra Front) who often co-operate with the rebels, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The factions receive substantial support from foreign actors, leading many to label the conflict a proxy war waged by both regional and global powers.^{[129][130][131]}

 

Show a credible link regarding warnings to the civilian population before bombing.

 

The conflict started here, from the link above:

Quote

The protests began on 15 March 2011, when protesters marched in the capital of Damascus, demanding democratic reforms and the release of political prisoners. Security forces retaliated by opening fire on the protesters,^[176] and according to witnesses who spoke to the BBC, the government forces detained six of them.^[177] The protest was triggered by the arrest of a boy and his friends by the government for writing in graffiti, "The people want the fall of the regime", in the city of Daraa.^[176][178]

 

[pkspeaker]

The Assad regime is not alone when it comes to collateral damage and human rights abuses.  the Assad regime is secular, the 'moderate' rebels that the US supports are NOT secular, they are SUNNI islamic fighters, their agenda is to make Syria NOT secular and that the country's political landscape will be dominated by sunni islam.  beter the assad regime than religious fanatics.

 

The Assad regime gave women rights and protected minorities including christians and even jews.  It was the elder Assad that protected the jewish community in syria and would not allow them to be scape goated because of what israel does.   

[craigt3365]

1 hour ago, pkspeaker said:

The Assad regime is not alone when it comes to collateral damage and human rights abuses.  the Assad regime is secular, the 'moderate' rebels that the US supports are NOT secular, they are SUNNI islamic fighters, their agenda is to make Syria NOT secular and that the country's political landscape will be dominated by sunni islam.  beter the assad regime than religious fanatics.

 

The Assad regime gave women rights and protected minorities including christians and even jews.  It was the elder Assad that protected the jewish community in syria and would not allow them to be scape goated because of what israel does.   

BS.  The Assad government is far from secular.  Do some basic research on this.  He represents a minority religion.   I quit reading your post after that comment.

[FritsSikkink]

7 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

You should do some research on how much oil and gas the US produces and how much they got from Iraq.  It will be educational for you.  This has nothing to do with energy.  And everything to do with human rights and the global economy.

Dream on, the USA and human rights. Keeping humans detained for years without official charges and no lawyer to be seen. Don't be pedantic it doesn't suit you 

[simple1]

11 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

You should do some research on how much oil and gas the US produces and how much they got from Iraq.  It will be educational for you.  This has nothing to do with energy.  And everything to do with human rights and the global economy.

 

Have to differ with you on this post. The US would consider energy resources from the region in it's national interest as the energy products fuel the economies of many US global supply chain trade partners.

[craigt3365]

6 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

Dream on, the USA and human rights. Keeping humans detained for years without official charges and no lawyer to be seen. Don't be pedantic it doesn't suit you 

If you are talking about those in Gitmo, you are aware of how they were caught and what they were doing?  And what they did to our soldiers that were caught?  No lawyers either.

[craigt3365]

2 hours ago, simple1 said:

 

Have to differ with you on this post. The US would consider energy resources from the region in it's national interest as the energy products fuel the economies of many US global supply chain trade partners.

We are in agreement.  My last comment was about the global economy.  Most economies suffer when there are disruptions in the energy supply chain.  For sure the US is aware of this as it impacts our economy a lot.  We are all interconnected today in a global society!

[ddavidovsky]

13 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

BS.  The Assad government is far from secular.  Do some basic research on this.  He represents a minority religion.   I quit reading your post after that comment.

 

It's an interesting issue. Agreed Assad represents a minority religion, as Saddam did in Iraq, and Baathism is clearly just another nationalist/fascist smokescreen allowing an intellectual minority to lord it over a doltish majority. Baathism purports to be secular and deemphasises religion in politics, but presumably that's just to give the impression that the political divide is not a religious-sectarian one, because the last thing the minority in power wants is a religious-sectarian uprising against it in a region where religious feeling is incendiary. Interestingly, Baathism worked for both Sunni and Shia minorities (in Iraq and Syria respectively) so is secular to that extent, but of course it is basically crypto-religious. Minority nationalists are full of such tricks.

Edited September 26, 2016 by ddavidovsky

[pkspeaker]

18 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

BS.  The Assad government is far from secular.  Do some basic research on this.  He represents a minority religion.   I quit reading your post after that comment.

He IS of a minority religion, but the political party he represents is the BAATHEST party.  This is in fact a pan-arab nationalist party, it goes back to the 60's the hey-day or arab nationalism.  NONE of the Baathest political ideology declares shia-islam or allowite islam or sunni islam as the 'official state religion', it only recognizes that SYria is a predominantly muslim country.  Their constitution at least in theory is supposed to be fair, true as in the USA, in practace there is 'privilege' in any society.  You can't have it both ways!  The USA is a secular country-true, but in fact the congress in WDC is highly influenced by religious jewish and christian zionists.  So by your standard the USA is just like Iran or Israel- a country with an official state religion.  It's true that Assad's inner security circle and the republican guards are of his allowite sect, BUT for example nearly ALL of Syria's air force pilots are Sunni's AND what most impressive is there HASN'T BEEN 1 DEFECTION!  With all those Sunni's launching airstrikes everyday-they can land in turkey and defect anytime-never happened! and the regime is supported by many Sunni's that fight other sunnis who are trying to overthrow him.  If he didn't have the support of a significant portion of the sunni population + minorities like christians(the CHRISTIANS in Syria support Assad) the he would have lost power by now. The elder Assad did not rise to power because he was from the odd 'allowite' sect, he rose to power by out maneuvering his rivals to become the autocrat in chief, and he did this politically by extolling the virtues of pan arab nationalism.

Edited September 26, 2016 by pkspeaker

[Grouse]

USA secular?

 

God bless America....

[craigt3365]

10 minutes ago, pkspeaker said:

He IS of a minority religion, but the political party he represents is the BAATHEST party.  This is in fact a pan-arab nationalist party, it goes back to the 60's the hey-day or arab nationalism.  NONE of the Baathest political ideology declares shia-islam or allowite islam or sunni islam as the 'official state religion', it only recognizes that SYria is a predominantly muslim country.  Their constitution at least in theory is supposed to be fair, true as in the USA, in practace there is 'privilege' in any society.  You can't have it both ways!  The USA is a secular country-true, but in fact the congress in WDC is highly influenced by religious jewish and christian zionists.  So by your standard the USA is just like Iran or Israel- a country with an official state religion.  It's true that Assad's inner security circle and the republican guards are of his allowite sect, BUT for example nearly ALL of Syria's air force pilots are Sunni's AND what most impressive is there HASN'T BEEN 1 DEFECTION!  With all those Sunni's launching airstrikes everyday-they can land in turkey and defect anytime-never happened! and the regime is supported by many Sunni's that fight other sunnis who are trying to overthrow him.  If he didn't have the support of a significant portion of the sunni population + minorities like christians(the CHRISTIANS in Syria support Assad) the he would have lost power by now. The elder Assad did not rise to power because he was from the odd 'allowite' sect, he rose to power by out maneuvering his rivals to become the autocrat in chief, and he did this politically by extolling the virtues of pan arab nationalism.

Good post.  Not sure the USA has an official state religion.  Unless you group a whole bunch of sub religions under Christianity.  But that doesn't make sense.  They are quite distinct.  Just like the variations of Islam in these countries.  Vast differences and deep hatreds! LOL

 

I'd be surprised to see a Syrian jet fighter land in Turkey!  Never happen.

 

Religion sure makes things complicated, eh?

[simple1]

Christians are also pilots in the Syrian Air Force, but are limited in rank advancement, same as with the Egyptian Air Force. There have been  defections from the Syrian Air Force, though I would assume they would have been very careful to ensure their loved one's departure from Syria. Syrian Air Force Intelligence has been identified as the most cruel in their use of torture.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Syrian_defectors